FILM POSITIVE - Uplifting Stories From Today’s Up And Coming Filmmakers

Hallmark Movie Channel has formed a partnership with NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts to showcase short films from talented student filmmakers and recent alumni. 

The initiative, “Film Positive,” seeks to support the creation of short films with inspirational, uplifting messages and to showcase those works on a national platform.  This initiative affords new filmmakers a wonderful opportunity to gain exposure for their work, as well as a broadcast credit on the channel.

Students and alumni of the Undergraduate Film & TV Department and the Graduate Film Program in the Kanbar Institute of Film & Television are invited to submit short films to air on Hallmark Movie Channel and hallmarkmoviechannel.com. 

All submissions must live within the spirit of the Hallmark Brand, that is:

- Be rooted in the centrality of human relationships, connectedness and caring.
- Send an inspirational and uplifting message.
- Be family-friendly. This is distinct from family-oriented, which means something is specifically geared to family and kids.  Family-friendly indicates the material would simply be appropriate for all ages, not offensive or too “mature” in nature.

Submission Requirements:

- Application
- Signed Release Form
- Projects up to 30 minutes in duration.
- Produced before, during, or after applicant attended NYU (NOT limited to curricular projects).
- Submissions should be made on DVD and applicants are asked to submit 3 copies.
- Eligibility is limited to currently enrolled students and alumni who graduated within the last 5 years (May 2004 - May 2009). 
- Submissions must be received by May 27, 2009.

Selection Process:

Students and eligible graduates will submit their work to a committee of distinguished judges.  This committee will nominate projects to send to Hallmark Movie Channel who will select those to air.  Nominees will be announced on July 1, 2009 and the winners announced on September 1, 2009.  The winning submissions will begin airing on Hallmark Movie Channel and hallmarkmoviechannel.com in October 2009.  The filmmaker will retain all rights to the project if it is selected to air.

Application and release are available under "Downloads" section to the right.  All materials should be sent to:

Patti Pearson
Maurice Kanbar Institute of Film and Television
New York University
721 Broadway, 9th Fl
New York, NY  10003

Hallmark Movie Channel, the second linear channel from Crown Media United States LLC, simulcast in SD (Standard Definition) and HD (High Definition), is a 24-hour cable network dedicated to bringing viewers the greatest family movies of all time with a mix of classic theatrical films, presentations from the acclaimed Hallmark Hall of Fame library, original Hallmark Channel movies and special events.  In today’s crowded television landscape, the network is a unique and captivating entertainment experience, providing programming that families can watch together, and is now available in nearly 16 million homes.  Crown Media also operates Hallmark Channel which provides a diverse slate of high-quality entertainment programming to a national audience of over 86 million subscribers.  For more information on Hallmark Movie Channel, please visit www.hallmarkmoviechannel.com.