Hollywood Black Film Festival Adds Diaspora Sidebar, Now Accepting Films & Scripts For 2013 Edition

Full details below via press release…

Film & Script Submissions Now Being Accepted for 13th Edition of the Hollywood Black Film Festival; New FILM DIASPORA Sidebar Added

The Hollywood Black Film Festival (HBFF) — recognized as one of the leading black film festivals in the world — is now accepting submissions for the 2013 festival, to be held October 2-6, 2013 in Hollywood, CA.  Regular feature, short, student and documentary film submissions, Project Stargazer submissions, and scripts for the Storyteller Competition will be accepted through June 16.  The late deadline is July 8. 
HBFF welcomes narrative features, shorts, student and documentary films for its competitive program.  Animation films and music videos submitted are accepted for the non-competitive program only.  All films submitted must have been completed after September 1, 2012.
HBFF will introduce a new competitive sidebar this year, FILM DIASPORA, to showcase independent films and filmmakers from the African Diaspora.  Feature, short and documentary films submitted to compete in FILM DIASPORA must have been produced by filmmakers residing outside the U.S. — in Africa, the Caribbean, Central or Latin America.
HBFF has a history of screening films from throughout the Diaspora. In addition to opening the 2011 festival with “A Million Colours,” a South African film, HBFF has screened films from Nigeria, Ghana, Central African Republic, Burundi, Kenya, Burkina Faso, Niger, Haiti, Bahamas, Jamaica, Brazil, Cuba, and Trinidad and Tobago.  Submissions for the FILM DIASPORA category must have been completed after September 1, 2011.
HBFF accepts film submissions from all filmmakers, however to be eligible for the festival’s competitive program, one of the film’s creative principals, i.e. the writer, director or producer must be Black or of African heritage.  All other films will be considered for our invitational program.  Please notify the festival in your application if your submission does not meet the requirements for the competitive program and you wish to be considered for the invitational program.
Films that have screened at HBFF include director John Singleton’s box office blockbuster, “2 Fast 2 Furious,” the critically-acclaimed “The Hurricane” (starring Academy Award® winner Denzel Washington), director Kasi Lemmons’ “The Caveman’s Valentine” (starring Samuel L. Jackson), and director Reggie Rock Bythewood’s “Dancing in September.”
Submissions for the 2013 HBFF Storyteller Competition are sought from black screenwriters who are serious about a career as a screenwriter. Submissions of screenplays of 90-120 pages, on any topic and genre, will be accepted.
Project Stargazer, a new partnership with NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, is accepting story ideas that clearly feature one or more NASA technologies as a plot element in the story. Submissions must include a logline, synopsis, treatment and an artistic statement describing your creative vision for the project.
All films, scripts and story ideas must be submitted through Withoutabox (WAB) at https://www.withoutabox.com/login/1175.  Submission fees for all categories are detailed on WAB.  $15 discount available for student submissions.
Festival Dates: October 2-6, 2013
Call for Entries: April 1 – July 1, 2013
Earlybird Deadline: May 5, 2013                          
Regular Deadline: June 16, 2013                            
Late Deadline: July 1, 2013                                      
WAB Extended Deadline: July 8, 2013                    
Add HBFF to your watch list on withoutabox.com to receive e-mails about call for entries and deadlines. 
For more information:
FILM COMPETITION –  http://www.hbff.org/submit-to-the-hbff-2013-film-competition/
(FILM COMPETITION FAQ’s – http://www.hbff.org/filmmaker-faqs-2013/ )
STORYTELLER COMPETITION – http://www.hbff.org/submit-to-the-hbff-2013-storyteller-competition/
(STORYTELLER FAQ’S – http://www.hbff.org/hbff-2013-storyteller-faqs/ )
PROJECT STARGAZER – http://www.hbff.org/submit-to-hbff-2013-project-stargazer/
(PROJECT STARGAZER FAQ’S – http://www.hbff.org/hbff-2013-project-stargazer-faqs/ )
Like HBFF on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/hollywoodblackfilmfestival. 
Follow HBFF on Twitter at https://twitter.com/HBFF.
For more info: http://www.hbff.org, info@hbff.org. 
article by Tambay A. Obenson via indiewire.com