Damah Film Festival Call for Submissions

During the same week that the United States began bombingAfghanistan, the Damah Film Festival—Spiritual Experiences inFilm made its debut in Seattle. In a state of heightened alert and newfears, festival attendees grappled with spiritual-themed films that hadan intense, raw edge. On October 10-12, the 2002 Damah FilmFestival—Spiritual Experiences in Film will return to Seattle ArtMuseum for a second season of exploring the spiritual themes that todaydominate the news and the average American mind.

Last October, filmmakers and viewers from around the world flockedto the first-time festival, igniting workshops with searing discussionsabout the significance of spiritual themes in film and in life. Thefestival attracted more than 800 festival-goers, 243 short filmsubmissions, and 10 prominent jurors, including Academy Award winnerBruce Joel Rubin (GHOST), Ralph Winter (PLANET OF THE APES), HowardKazanjian (RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK and RETURN OF THE JEDI), and ChrisWillman (senior writer for ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY).

The Damah festival is unique among short film festivals in its edgyspiritual focus. The only required element for entry: filmmakers mustcapture “spiritual experiences” in thirty minutes or lessby telling stories of struggle and redemption, preferably withunexpected endings. Damah does not limit submissions by genre oracquisition format; it is friendly to first-time filmmakers as well asprofessionals since films are judged by the power of the story, nottechnical expertise in filmmaking.

“Damah” (Duh-MAH) is a Hebrew word which means“inspirational metaphor”-- a form of storytelling oftenseen in the parables of the New Testament in the Bible.

Deadline for submissions is May 15; the submission fee is $25. Latesubmissions will be accepted until July 1 at a cost of $45.

More than $15,000 in prize money will be awarded at the 2002 DamahFilm Festival, and films will be screened on the festival Web site,www.damah.com.

For information on submitting your film, go towww.damah.com/submit.html.