The Van d’Or Independent Film Awards 2013 (Powered by Ford)

ABOUT THE AWARDS

After the success of our inaugural Van d’Or Awards for Independent Film in 2011, we went one better in 2012 with a bigger, shinier ceremony, hosted by none other than film critic legend Barry Norman, all thanks to our brilliant sponsors, Ford.

In 2011 we celebrated some of the films which Cannes in a Van screened during the festival, plus those which had a special place in our hearts were honoured with an Un Certain Regard award. The overall winner of the Van d’Or for Best Film, Fixing Luka (dir. Jessica Ashman) went on to win a BAFTA Scotland Award in November 2011.

2012 was a little different, with new categories added into the mix, we awarded a pan-European crop of independent films and introduced a special Student Film in Transit category too – specifically for film students with some serious prizes to be won, courtesy of Ford. The judging panel consisted of key players in the industry, distributors, promoters, actors, directors, producers and a few surprises.

The 2013 Van d’Ors is set to raise the bar even more, with the quality of entries looking to be the best yet.
The winners and nominees will tour with Cannes in a Van: Film in Transit in the coming year, giving those entries some much deserved promotion and coverage via organised screenings, festivals and other events to-be-confirmed.

You can keep up-to-date with developments via our
Van d’Or Awards Facebook page here.

SUBMISSIONS ARE NOW CLOSED

We’ve kept it simple…
There are 3 categories for entries:

SHORT

All short film genres except music-based should be submitted in this category (ie. short fiction, animation, short documentary, motion design). Films should be under 20 mins in length.

MUSIC-BASED

Music promos & innovative / experimental work under 10 mins from new and established filmmakers. Entries must include a soundtrack which is at least 80% music-based and is the main audio focus of the work.

FEATURE

While Cannes in a Van generally concentrates on short film genres, The Van d’Or Awards introduces a new category recognising those milestones in independent film – The Feature. Films entered in this category must be between 30 – 120 minutes in length and can be any genre (ie. documentary, fiction, horror etc).

Before entering your film please read the submission guidelines here.

SUBMISSION DEADLINES

22 April Early-bird submissions open
(via Withoutabox & The Van d’Or Awards site)
12 June Early-bird submissions deadline
9 Aug Final submissions deadline
16 Aug Extended submissions deadline

The awards categories are as follows:
The Van d’Or Award for Best Film (Short)
Best Feature-length Film
Best Director
Best Cinematography
Best Actor
Best Actress
Best Comedy
Best Screenplay
Best Sound Design
Best Animation
Best Motion Design
Best Documentary
Shooting People Grass Roots Award
Screen Social award for Best Music-based film

Films of note which the judges feel deserve special mention will be awarded  an Un Certain Regard prize.