Engauge, an experimental film festival based in Seattle, WA, and now in its second year, invites you to submit your work originating on film. Engauge was founded to highlight and augment the Lightpress Grants. Offered twice yearly by our primary sponsor, the Interbay Cinema Society, Lightpress Grants help filmmakers with the funding to professionally digitize their films. In keeping with our mission, “Engauge” will consider only films that began on celluloid.

That means that somewhere in the film making process, you the filmmaker actually worked directly with celluloid, either by loading film into a camera and shooting it, or looking through and selecting found film footage, or directly scratching, painting or drawing onto or collaging footage as direct animation, or photogramming objects onto film.

We will screen most films in a digital format, but we can also accept 16mm and 35mm film prints for exhibition.

Engauge was founded by two Seattle artist/filmmakers working in 16mm and 35mm. We favor DIY techniques, matte box experiments, in-camera editing, found footage collage, direct animation, hand- and eco-processing, optical printing, pin-hole exposures, laser printing onto film, various analogue hacks, etc.

Rules & Terms

All work submitted for consideration must have originated on film that you the filmmaker worked with directly. Work that uses “film” imagery taken from films on DVD or was otherwise digitized before you got your hands on it is not eligible. By submitting to our festival, you are guaranteeing that your film meets this criterion.

Films must be 10 minutes or less to be considered. Longer work will not be accepted.

You can submit up to 2 films.

Films must be submitted directly from the filmmaker. We will not negotiate with or accept work submitted through distributors. Such submissions are automatically disqualified.

We are committed to a festival that reflects the international and diverse nature of experimental work.

We will pay an honorarium for each film we screen.

Films must be completed after December 31, 2011.