The Theme for the 2023 Prize is Faces in the Street

Enter the inaugural Henry Lawson Festival of Arts Micro Film Competition!

If you own or have access to a smartphone, digital device or drone then the time to make a film is now!

Our Henry Lawson Festival will be a red-carpet event.

 

Peoples Choice Award $200

Over 16

1st Prize $300

2nd Prize $200

Under 16

1st Prize $300

2nd Prize $200

Submit a short film using a smart phone, digital device or drone that includes the theme for the festival.

This year’s theme invites reflections on modern Australian life that we have witnessed, which might capture the elements of hardship and despair; courage and fortitude; or compassion and mateship.

Submit your film by 29th May 2023.

Categories are for Juniors up to 16 years & Open over 16 years.

Context of Faces in the Street

The impetus for Henry Lawson’s poem Faces in the Street came from a rainy night at Petersham Station after the young Henry had just arrived in the city from the bush. In his fragment of autobiography, Henry writes that it was the faces of the poor and unemployed that he encountered every day on the streets of Sydney that made such an impression on him.

Fortunately for Australia, Henry’s later short stories and verse also presented many other aspects of Australian life, observing the wider world with wry humour, insight and compassion. It is this wide range of elements that we encourage competitors to explore in this year’s competition.

Your film must be shot entirely on a smartphone, digital device or drone and be 3 minutes or less, the rest again, is up to you!

From all eligible entries, finalist films will be selected to screen in the inaugural Grenfell Henry Lawson Festival of Arts Micro Film Competition.

Conditions of Entry

  • Your film must be shot entirely on a smartphone, digital device or drone.
  • Films for the inaugural Grenfell Henry Lawson Festival of Arts Micro Film Competition must be no longer than 3 minutes including titles and credits. There is no minimum time limit.
  • The Grenfell Henry Lawson Festival of Arts Micro Film Competition accepts any and all genres, except X rated films and excessive gratuitous violence.
  • All scripts and ideas must be your original material.
  • Copyright material can only be used if you have written permission to do so, and we can ask at anytime to see this permission.
  • You can use any software or apps to edit your video and audio, and can edit on any device.
  • You can use any software for colour correction or special effects.
  • You can use external microphones, lenses, lighting, tripods, etc.
  • Your film must meet all the terms and conditions of the festival to be eligible.
  • The judges’ decisions are final and no correspondence will be entered into regarding film selections and prize winners.
  • The inaugural Grenfell Henry Lawson Festival of Arts Micro Film Competition is for Australian filmmakers. Under 16 competition  is a film who’s director and at least one other key creative role are 16 years or under at the time of filming. All other roles on the film, including the Director of Photography and actors and editors may include people of all ages, however, the film must be the idea of a filmmaker 16 years and under and all concepts of editing, camera angles and all other relevant artistic choices must be primarily decided upon by the filmmaker or group of filmmakers 16 years and under who enters the film.
  • All feature film entries must never have had a public screening, to be eligible for entry.

If your film is selected to screen at  The Grenfell Henry Lawson Festival of Arts of Arts Micro Film Competition  you must remove your film from anywhere that it is shown online for the duration of the festival. You may make it private but your film can not be publicly viewable online until the completion of the 2023 festival.

Payment can be made here.

The entire film must be shot on a smartphone, digital device or drone.

  • You can use any software to edit video and audio.
  • You cannot use copyright material unless you have documentation to prove you have legal authorisation from the musician, artist, writer or record label. We may ask for this documentation at any time. This includes all music and sound effects in your film. You must have the copyright for these.
  • You may also be required to provide Actor Release Forms to be signed by the people appearing in your film.
  • The festival is open to Australian filmmakers of ALL ages.
  • Submission deadline is 11:59pm (AEST), 29 May 2023.
  • All content submitted must be in accordance with the law and any perceived illegal activity will be reported to the appropriate authorities.
  • If your film is selected as a finalist for The Grenfell Henry Lawson Festival of Arts Screenings, then you may be required to submit 30 seconds of RAW footage as proof that you shot your film on a smartphone or tablet. Your film must also be submitted in 16:9 ratio and in a non-compressed format. We recommend an MP4, Apple Pro Res or Quicktime file, the largest size possible, with a constant frame rate and Stereo 48kHz sound.
  • Your film can have screened in other film festivals, just as long as you have never entered it into The Grenfell Henry Lawson Festival of Arts.
  • The cost of entry to The Grenfell Henry Lawson Festival of Arts Micro Film Festival is $10.
  • You can enter as many films as you like.
  • The Grenfell Henry Lawson Festival of Arts Micro Film Competition is for Australian
  • If anyone is found to have broken any of the rules then you may be disqualified from the festival at the discretion of the panel.
  • By entering, you agree to allow your film to be screened as part of our festival..
  • By entering, you agree to allow The Grenfell Henry Lawson Festival of Arts to distribute your film to a third party. Your film’s producer will be consulted on any deals and we will never distribute your film without complete permission and agreeance to do so. If no suitable agreement can be found, then we will not include your film in the distribution. This in no way impacts your entry in to The Grenfell Henry Lawson Festival of Arts itself.
  • The Grenfell Henry Lawson Festival of Arts accepts any and all genres. The only exceptions are films with excessive violence or gratuitous violence and R & X rated content – these will not be accepted.
  • External filming equipment is allowed to be used during the shoot and include lenses, external sound equipment, microphones, lighting equipment, tripods and other devices to hold the phone and/or tablet, etc.
  • You cannot use copyright material unless you have documentation to prove you have legal authorisation from the musician, artist, writer or record label. We may ask for this documentation at any time. This includes all music and sound effects in your film. You must have the copyright for these.
  • You may also be required to provide Actor Release Forms to be signed by the people appearing in your film.
  • The festival is open to filmmakers of ALL ages.
  • Submission deadline is 11:59pm (AEST), 29 May 2023.
  • All content submitted must be in accordance with the law and any perceived illegal activity will be reported to the appropriate authorities.
  • The judges decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.
  • If your film is selected as a finalist for The Grenfell Henry Lawson Festival of Arts Micro Film Festival Screenings, then you may be required to submit 30 seconds of RAW footage as proof that you shot your film on a smartphone or tablet. Your film must also be submitted in 16:9 ratio and in a non-compressed format. We recommend an MP4, Apple Pro Res or Quicktime file, the largest size possible, with a constant frame rate and Stereo 48kHz sound so it will look good on the big cinema screen.
  • The cost of entry for 2023 is $10 standard fee.
  • You can enter as many films as you like.
  • If anyone is found to have broken any of the rules then you may be disqualified from the festival at the discretion of the panel.
  • By entering The Grenfell Henry Lawson Festival of Arts Micro Film Festival , you agree to allow your film to be screened as part of our festival.

By entering, you agree to allow The Grenfell Henry Lawson Festival of Arts Micro Film Festival to distribute your film to a third party. Your films Producer will be consulted on any deals and we will not distribute your film without complete permission and agreeance to do so. If no suitable agreement can be found, then we will not include your film in the distribution. This in no way impacts your entry into The Grenfell Henry Lawson Festival of Arts Micro Film Festival itself.

Please fill out the form below and a representative of the HLF committee will contact you.

Form Payment

Please ensure you complete the relevant payment associated with your form submission. Your entry is deemed incomplete until this payment is made.