FESTIVAL PROCEDURES
Depending on the number of entries received, every film may not be selected for screening. A prescreening committee will view each entry to determine which works will be screened during the Festival. All films must conform to the rules printed at right.

ELIGIBILITY
Though the Happy Valley Film Festival seeks to inspire filmmakers to produce works for the festival, submissions are not limited to new films. Films made for other purposes and re-edited to conform to HVFF rules are permitted. However, films submitted to previous Happy Valley Film Festivals are not eligible. Above all, HVFF invites works of creativity, innovation, and exceptional storytelling from all walks of life.

FORMAT
The Happy Valley Film Festival welcomes films shot in all mediums. However, all films must be submitted on either DVD, CD, or VHS. Digital formats used: MPG, MOV, WMV, AVI, etc.

SUBMISSION PROCEDURES
Please read this page in its entirety and fill out the entry form, including a brief description of your film. Mail your film to the address at right. Your film will not be returned and it becomes the possesion of the Happy Valley Film Festival.

Download the submission form if you are submitting a film

We can even lend you a camera!

Entry Mailing Address
Happy Valley Film Festival
509 Marjorie Mae Street
State College, PA 16803

CONTACT US:
email: brian@happyvalleyfilmfest.com

"People assumed that one day film would be as accessible and inexpensive as writing, and now it practically is. For the price of a typewriter, you can make films with sound and burn them on a DVD.... Filmmakers can afford to work now. No more excuses, or filmmakers' block, or procrastination. Either they start shooting, or they are waiting for the vanity crew, or they aren't filmmakers."
--Gus Van Sant, Director, “Drugstore Cowboy,” “My Own Private Idaho,” & “Goodwill Hunting.”

THE RULES
The Happy Valley Film Festival is committed to free expression, but we still have rules. We make them up as we go along, so each rule has been named for the filmmaker who committed the infraction seriously enough to warrant creation of a new rule:

The Boose Rule:
Drunken video diaries of two-day winery tours in real time with little or no editing are strongly discouraged. Fifteen minutes or less, no exceptions and no shenanigans. Watches are cheap, get one and use it. (Please see note below.)

The Brandon Rule:
Nausea-inducing home movies of water skiers or heavily medicated women in labor are strongly discouraged. Letting the camera run for fifteen minutes is not the same as making a film. Some editing is required, or your fifteen minutes is up.

The Scott Rule:
Out-takes that show the making of your film in real time are strongly discouraged. Feel free to take a walk down memory lane with your crew, but don’t ask the audience to come along. Out-takes must not be longer than the film itself.

Rules are made to be broken, so it is possible to get special dispensation for your film if you feel that it might violate one of these rules. Please submit an explanation for your request in writing to the HVFF film selection committee when you submit your film.