Garden State Film Festival Announces Final Call for Entries

Independent filmmakers, time is running out to submit your entries to the Garden State Film Festival (GSFF), New Jersey's largest and most respected film festival. The Garden State Film Festival has competitive categories in documentary, animated, narratives all short and feature lengths, as well as music videos, commercials, trailers and student projects. Submission instructions for can be found on the festival's web site at www.gsff.org. The deadline for all submissions is November 15, 2015 and the film festival runs from March 31- April 3, 2016 in Atlantic City, NJ.

In 2015, the festival featured 180 films from 19 countries, hosted an open talent casting call, held engaging panel discussions, opening and closing ceremonies and inspired the next generation of filmmakers. Ed Asner, Lieutenant Governor Kim Guadagno, Armand Assante, James Wilder, Siobhan Fallon Hogan, and Chance Kelly were among the celebrities and honorees who attended. The long running event is a staple in the independent film festival circuit and celebrates its historic 14th anniversary in 2016.

"The Garden State Film Festival is dedicated to celebrating the very best in independent films on all levels with respected industry experts. New Jersey, with its legacy as the birthplace of the American filmmaking industry, makes it the perfect place for an event of this caliber," said Executive Director Margaret Fontana. "As my first year in this positon at GSFF, I am excited to see the talented pool of submissions and continue the tradition of showcasing excellence in indie movies that the festival has come to represent."

The Garden State Film Festival also invites composers who have written and produced tracks for independent films to be recognized for their contribution to the production of quality movies, judged by professionals. The new Movie Music Track category is the first competition of its kind, and GSFF is the only independent film event to recognize composers, artists and producers of scores, soundtracks and theme songs judged solely on their own merit. Producers may submit their works, regardless of whether the film has been submitted or accepted. Information about this category is also on the web site atwww.gsff.org.

Entries are additionally being accepted for the Garden State Screenplay Competition, coordinated with the New Jersey Screenwriter's Network. The winning screenplay will be read by professional actors at the festival. Screenplays should be submitted by November 15, 2015 to: www.gsff.org
The winners of all competitions will be recognized at The GSFF Black Tie Awards Dinner held on April 3, 2016 at the Claridge Hotel.
At last year's festival, a panel of professional judges selected winning entries in a number of categories including the best Feature Length, Short, Documentary (short and feature length), Animation (short and feature length), Music Video, PSA, Commercial and Trailers with Student Categories in all as well as the Home Grown Awards for films where 75% of principle photography was shot in New Jersey. The Audience Choice Award was selected using their CineBallot system, a new state-of-the-art technology for smart phones, designed by and launched at GSFF. #GSFFAC