Strange Beauty Film Festival

2013 will be starting off with a bang when the 4th annual Strange Beauty Film Festival rocks the Manbites Dog Theater in Durham, North Carolina on January 24-26.

Strange Beauty is a short films only festival that has two requirements. One: Films have to be 30 minutes long or less. Two: Films must be “strangely beautiful.” But, what does that mean exactly? In the fest’s words, they show:

Short fiction, documentary, experimental, animation, underground, funky, and otherwise wholly unclassifiable works that lie somewhere between terrifying normality and sublime fever dreams. We’re looking for movies that strike a nerve, shake us up, come back to haunt us.

Last year’s Strange Beauty is the first one we listed on the Underground Film Journal and we were thrilled to include it in our roster of fests we cover, especially with its powerhouse lineup of filmmakers. They screened work by experimental animators like Jodie Mack and Lyn Eliot; great avant-garde films from Canadian filmmakers like Clint Enns and Jaimz Asmundson; a classic short by Windsor McKay; experimental films by Tony Gault, Don Swaynos and a ton more great filmmakers. See the full lineup here.

There’s only one deadline this fall with an extremely reasonable entry fee:

Final Deadline:
Nov. 15, 2012
Entry fee: $10

To submit, please visit the Strange Beauty website.

Boston Underground Film Festival

Unbelievably, the Boston Underground Film Festival will be celebrating its amazing 15th year in 2013. Ok, it’s not so unbelievable since the fest puts on such a wild and wooly event every year, no wonder it’s beloved by cult, oddball and experimental movie fans the world over.

Specific dates haven’t been set yet, but it will take place next year in late March per tradition. As for what they’re looking for:

The festival seeks the alternative, the confrontational, the political and the controversial. BUFF seeks films that celebrate alternative visions and sounds, offering a platform that encourages new ideas and work and pushes the envelope in style and content.

Last year’s festival kicked off with John Dies at the End by cult movie legend Don Coscarelli, who attended the fest in person. Then, they screened underground hits like Jaime Heinrich‘s Happily Never After, Richard Bates Jr.’s Excision, Steven Kostanski‘s Manborg, Jack Perez’s Some Guy Who Kills People; plus, tons of short films from the likes of Carey Burtt, Brian Lonano, Robert Putka and many more. See the full lineup here.

BUFF has several deadlines you need to be aware of:

Early Deadline:
July 27, 2012
Entry Fee: Feature: $45
Shorts: $30
Medium Length: $40

Regular Deadline:
Sep. 28, 2012
Entry Fee: Feature: $55
Shorts: $40
Medium Length: $50

Late Deadline:
Dec. 14, 2012
Entry Fee: Features: $65
Shorts: $45
Medium Length: $60

Final Deadline:
Dec. 28, 2012
Entry Fee: Features: $85
Shorts: $60
Medium Length: $80

To submit, please visit the Boston Underground Film Festival website.

Cross Process

Cross Process is a new film journal looking to release experimental short films on DVD. Each disc will contain about 60-90 minutes of material and will be released about two times a year. DVDs will be distributed through the journal’s website and at “various locations.”

As for what types of films Cross Process is hoping to release, they are:

Looking for films that both explore and exploit boundaries. These films may be animated, shot on film, created mathematically, digital, documentary in nature, lyrically inclined, installation pieces, footage of amazing video performances, or anything else imaginable. In short, if you’re a very straightforward narrative filmmaker, this is likely not the venue for you.

Contributors selected for the journal will receive a copy or two of the disc that their film appears on

If interested, please visit the Cross Process website for more info.