And it’s live! The Hobnobben Film Festival is now accepting film submissions.

Our mission is to provide unique opportunities to explore our world through the art of film, and Hobnobben Film Festival, which will take place October 9 - 11, 2020, allows us the opportunity to do this on a level well beyond your typical movie screenings.

“Filmmakers, from all backgrounds, have a unique ability to transform the art of storytelling through visual presentation,” said Amanda Hille. “At Hobnobben, we strive to find storytellers, who are local and international, student and professional, that showcase stories that might not otherwise be heard and connect those stories to what is happening in Fort Wayne”

Storytelling: This is what Hobnobben is about.

The festival aims to champion unique and diverse storytellers. For the festival’s 5th annual film festival, programmers have increased the number of awards categories to allow the team to better highlight and recognize the amazing work being done by storytellers using the medium of film.

“Through Hobnobben, Fort Wayne is able to participate in stories you won’t see on the big screen or streaming services,” said Christi Hille. ”In 2019, we were able to showcase content from all walks of life: There was a punk rock clown music video, an experimental film exploring the mother daughter relationship, a documentary exploring racial inequalities in U.S. housing, and a one-shot film shot on a rooftop in Iran. We’re so excited to see what stories filmmakers in 2020 have to offer.”

Call for Fort Wayne Student Submissions

Are you a Fort Wayne Area high school student or undergraduate student? Or - do you work with college or high school production students? Then you might be eligible for a waiver code when submitting your work to Hobnobben! Contact the Hobnobben team at info@hobnobben.org before submitting your work through FilmFreeway to check.

“We would really like to see more submissions from the talented pool of students we know we have here in Fort Wayne,” said festival co-chair Alix Watson. “We hope that by removing any kind of financial barrier, we can help high school and undergraduate students become even more embedded with this creative community of storytellers.”

Hobnobben Submission Information & Deadlines

Dates and Deadlines:

• February 29, 2020: Earlybird Deadline

• May 30, 2020: Regular Deadline

• June 30, 2020: Late Deadline

• August 15, 2020: Filmmaker Notification Date

• October 9 – 11, 2020: Event Date

Submission Categories

Narrative Feature

Open to all narrative genres (e.g.:live-action, animated), 40 minutes or longer.

Feature-Length Unscripted

Open to any feature-length unscripted films, 40 minutes or longer.

Animated Shorts

Open to animated shorts of any genre, not to exceed 40 minutes.

Unscripted Shorts

Open to all unscripted shorts, not to exceed 40 minutes.

Fiction Shorts

Open to all fiction submissions, not to exceed 40 minutes.

Student Work: High School & Undergraduate

Open to all submissions from those currently enrolled as a student, or by a recently graduated student, with a graduation date no longer than one year from submission. All genres accepted. Anything up to 40 minutes can be submitted to this category.

First-time Filmmaker & Advanced Student

Open to all submissions from first-time filmmakers and graduate students. All genres accepted. Anything up to 40 minutes can be submitted to this category.

Indiana Reels

All submissions to this category must be directed by a resident of Indiana (or those from Indiana), be shot in Indiana, or highlight an Indiana-based story. Anything up to 40 minutes can be submitted to this category.

WTFw: What the Fort Wayne?

Bring your weird to Fort Wayne. Have a film that defies description or categorization? Trippy music video? Experimental art piece? Something we don’t yet have a term for? Submit it here!