Don’t delay! Send in your 2018 submissions to Moondance now! Beat the crowd!
THE REALLY BIG NEWS #1: MOONDANCE WINNING AND SELECTED FILMS FOR 2018 WILL BE SCREENED, SEPTEMBER 21 & 22, IN A BEAUTIFUL THEATRICAL VENUE: THE MAIN SANCTUARY OF THE HISTORIC UNITY CHURCH OF OAK PARK, ILLINOIS! Oak Park has the distinction of being the former homes of Ernest Hemingway, Frank Lloyd Wright, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and other well-known creative people, such as Richard Bach, Edgar Rice Burroughs, and John Sturges, filmmaker (The Magnificent Seven, The Great Escape), as well as the notorious Sam Giancana, mafia crime boss.
Oak Park is only 8 minutes by train to the great city of Chicago!
BIG NEWS #2: WE HAVE EXTENDED THE SUBMISSIONS PERIOD TO JULY 31ST! THE WINNING SUBMISSIONS IN ALL CATEGORIES WILL BE ANNOUNCED IN MID-AUGUST AND WINNING & SELECTED FILMS WILL BE SCREENED SEPTEMBER 21st & 22nd. PLAN TO ATTEND THE 2018 MOONDANCE TO SEE THE FILMS!
2018 CALL-FOR-ENTRIES!
Submissions closing date: July 31st
CATEGORIES: FEATURE, SHORT, DOCUMENTARY, ANIMATION & DRONE FILMS, FEATURE & SHORT SCREENPLAYS, MUSIC VIDEOS, FILM SCORES & ORIGINAL MUSIC, STAGE PLAYS, SHORT STORIES, TV PILOTS, WORKS BY & FOR KIDS, AND MORE!
Thank you for watching our winning films & supporting the Moondance!
SOME THINGS TO CONSIDER:
Photo by Atmo, Wildquest.com
Swimming with the wild dolphins underwater is an unforgettable experience. It’s a moment where past meets future. The moment of Now. Being a guest in their world is a humbling experience and when they choose to connect with us our hearts are filled with unconditional love. Its a moment of bliss. Dolphin Bliss.
The June Full Moon is called the Full Strawberry Moon. This Full Moon got its name from the Algonquin tribes who knew it as a signal to gather the delicious ripening fruit of wild strawberries.
2018 CALL-FOR-ENTRIES!
Extended submissions closing date: July 31st
FEATURE, SHORT, DOCUMENTARY, ANIMATION & DRONE FILMS, FEATURE & SHORT SCREENPLAYS, FILM SCORES & ORIGINAL MUSIC, SHORT STORIES, TV PILOTS, AND MORE!
Big Change #1: Moondance winning and selected films for 2018 will be screened in a local theatrical venue. (We just weren’t happy with the films being online on Vimeo in 2017.)
Big Change #2: We have extended the submissions period a month to July 31st! The winning submissions in all categories will be announced in mid-August and winning & selected films will be screened in late September.
Don’t miss reading all the great filmmaking & writing articles written by the pros exclusively for Moondance. Read about: how to win a screenplay competition; how to win a film festival competition; winning titles & loglines for films & scripts; screenplay submissions; movie script writing; writing character, dialog & action; how to get an agent; what Hollywood wants to see; directing indie films, documentaries, short films, animation; film scores; stage plays; short stories; TV MOW; TV pilots; kids films; music videos; radio plays,and more!
MOONDANCE SUPPORTS:
GreenWave is an ocean farmer and fisherman-run organization dedicated to building a new blue-green economy that creates jobs, mitigates climate change and grows healthy food for local communities. GreenWave’s 3D Ocean Farming model was named as one of the 25 Best Inventions of 2017 by TIME Magazine, and GreenWave’s Founder, Bren Smith, was named one of 25 People Shaping the Future by Rolling Stone. “This is only the beginning. There are 10,000 edible plants in the ocean.” Underwater vertical farming may become the future of food, thanks to commercial fisherman Bren Smith, who invented a sustainable way to produce seafood. Learn more about the project in this VIDEO:
PANGOLINS ARE THE MOST ILLEGALLY TRADED MAMMAL IN THE WORLD. WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE?
Pangolins are the only mammals that are covered in scales. Pangolin scales are made of keratin, just like our finger nails, and make up 20 % of their body weight. When it is threatened, a pangolin will curl itself into a tight ball, which is impenetrable to predators. This unique mammal can consume up to 20,000 ants a day. That’s about 73 million ants a year! Pangolins can close their ears and nostrils using strong muscles to protect them from ant attacks.
They have long, sticky tongues, which are often longer than their body and attached near its pelvis and last pair of ribs. If a pangolin fully extends its tongue, it is longer than the animal’s head and body! Pangolins are hunted for meat, for use in traditional medicine, as pets, and as fashion accessories.
The large-scale illegal trade in pangolins is drastically driving down their numbers. It is estimated that since 2000,more than 1 million pangolins have been traded illegally at the international level, which makes them the most trafficked wild mammal in the world. All 8 species of pangolins are threatened with extinction, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). These protections will not stop the pangolin poaching crisis alone. Much more work needs to be done to stop the killing, trafficking, and demand for pangolins.
Pangolins are difficult to maintain without expert care and thus rarely survive in captivity. It is crucial that conservation efforts focus on the areas where pangolins are being hunted, to stop their removal from the wild.
DONATE!
Make a donation to help support pangolin conservation today.
Being fearless, Moondance is where monotonous conformity is considered mediocrity, and extravagant individualism, innovation, uniqueness and experimentation is encouraged, awarded and applauded!
We look forward to previewing your submissions!
RULES FOR THE BLUES
Most Blues begin, “Woke up this mornin’…”
Iconic blues musician, Howlin’ Wolf
Blues cars: Chevys and Cadillacs and broken down trucks. Blues don’t travel in Volvos, BMWs, or Sport Utility Vehicles. Most Blues transportation is a Greyhound bus or a southbound train. Jet aircraft and state-sponsored motor pools ain’t even in the running. Walkin’ plays a major part in the blues lifestyle. So does fixin’ to die.
Teenagers can’t sing the Blues. They ain’t fixin’ to die yet. Adults sing the Blues. In Blues, adulthood means being old enough to get the electric chair if you shoot a man in Memphis.
Blues can take place in New York City, but not in Hawaii or any place in Canada. Hard times in St. Paul or Tucson is just depression. Chicago, St.Louis, and Kansas City still the best places to have the Blues. You cannot have the blues in any place that don’t get rain.
Breaking your leg ‘cuz you skiing is not the blues. Breaking your leg ‘cuz a’ alligator be chomping on it is. You cain’t have no Blues in a office or shopping mall. The lighting is wrong. Go outside in the back to sit by a dumpster.
Good places for the Blues: lonesome dirt road or highway, jailhouse, empty bed. Bad places: Ashrams, gallery openings, Ivy League institutions, golf courses
No one will believe it’s the Blues if you wear a suit, ‘less you happen to be a’ old black man, and you slept in it. Do you have the right to sing the Blues? Yes, if: you’re older than dirt, you’re blind, you shot a man in Memphis, you can’t be satisfied. NO if: you have all your teeth, you were once blind but now can see, the man in Memphis lived, you have a retirement plan or trust fund.
Acceptable Blues beverages are: bad wine, bad whiskey or bad bourbon, moonshine, swamp water, black coffee. The following are NOT Blues beverages: mixed drinks, wine coolers, Snapple, mimosas, sparkling water.
If it occurs in a cheap motel, behind a dumpster, in a shotgun shack, or next to the train tracks, it’s a Blues death. Stabbed in the back by a jealous lover is another Blues way to die. So is the electric chair, substance abuse, and dying lonely on a broken down cot. You can’t have a Blues death if you die during a tennis match, in a spa or hot-tub, or while getting liposuction.
Persons with names like Sierra, Sequoia, and Rainbow can’t sing the Blues no matter how many men they shoot in Memphis.
I don’t care how tragic your life: if you own a computer or cell-phone, you cannot sing the blues. You best destroy it – with fire, a spilled bottle of Mad Dog, or get out a shotgun. Maybe your big woman just done sat on it.
Harry and Megan now have the titles of Duke of and Duchess of Sussex, a nod to the last Duke of Sussex, Prince Augustus Frederick, a son of King George III who supported the abolition of slavery and also backed civil rights for Jews and political dissidents.
“Barak and I have always believed in the power of storytelling to inspire us, to make us think differently about the world around us, and to help us open our minds and hearts to others.” ~ Michelle Obama
“Keep throwing those darts at the dartboard. Don’t listen to the critics…” ~ Will Ferrell
Seek beauty, truth, harmony…the promise of the future and the blessings of today. Live well, laugh often, love much, gain the respect & the love of children; fill your niche, accomplish your tasks; leave the world better than you found it. Appreciate Earth’s beauties & express it. Look for the best in others and give the best you have.
2018 CALL-FOR-ENTRIES!
FEATURE, SHORT, DOCUMENTARY, ANIMATION & DRONE FILMS, FEATURE & SHORT SCREENPLAYS, FILM SCORES & ORIGINAL MUSIC, SHORT STORIES, TV PILOTS, AND MORE!
Have a fabulous, unique idea for a movie? That’s wonderful, but you need to know how to turn your great story into a great logline. There is and always has been only one real secret to success in the entertainment industry: Tell a great story. Period. And you need to figure out how to tell that fabulous story in only 25 words or less! You need to learn how to get your script idea enthusiastically read by an agent and then a producer, director and actors. Learn what they look for in a title and logline. Your first impression to these movers and shakers is all about the fine art of pitching your film or screenplay, your TV series concept, your film, or story idea, via your eye-catching and memorable title and logline.
“SELL THE SIZZLE; NOT JUST THE STEAK!”
A great title for your film or screenplay is the first (and maybe only) introduction to an agent, a producer, director or studio. “You’ve got 3 minutes; pitch me what you’ve got,” is what you’ll hear from the entertainment industry movers & shakers who might buy your project. But you probably wouldn’t even get that meeting or a reply to your query letter, if you didn’t have an interesting title and logline that caught their eye.READ MORE HERE:
“I am not what happened to me; I am what I choose to become.” ~ Carl Jung
“Choose to live by choice, not by chance. Make changes, not excuses. Be motivated, not manipulated. Be useful, not used. Choose self-esteem and listen to your inner voice.”
IN MEMORIAM:
MARTY CUNY, MOONDANCER
MARTY CUNY was known for his stunt & crew work on the filmsThunderheart(1992) andCrazy Horse(1996). Marty, an enrolled member of the Oglala Lakota Tribe was born on the Pine Ridge Reservation where he was delivered by his grandmother. Among his many accomplishments, Marty excelled in screenwriting. Focusing on both fiction and non-fiction, his screenplays have been featured at the Moondance International Film Festival, Boulder, Colorado. Marty also attended the film festival annually and always gave a traditional Lakota Blessing Ceremony, and one year, as he was finishing the blessing, a double rainbow suddenly appeared overhead, to the amazement of the festival-goers gathered there.
For the past 45 years Marty Cuny has been makingdolls and other traditional styled craftwork. With awards from the Red Cloud Indian Art Show and pieces in collections coast-to-coast – including the Smithsonian – Marty continued to use his art to tell the story that might otherwise be lost. He learned the craft from watching and learning the techniques of beading from his grandparents. They taught him the basics of how to use the leather, beads, feathers, rawhide and horsehair. His inspiration in creating his work is drawn from dreams and a desire to incorporate what had occurred in history, and the knowledge that he could share with the people who have come to appreciate the culture and history of the Lakota people. Marty Cuny, National award-winning artist, writer and actor. made his journey to the Spirit World on March 24, 2017.
“You’re only here for a short visit. Don’t hurry. Don’t worry. And be sure to stop and smell the flowers along the way.” ~ Walter Hagen
2018 CALL-FOR-ENTRIES!
FEATURE, SHORT, DOCUMENTARY, ANIMATION & DRONE FILMS, FEATURE & SHORT SCREENPLAYS, STAGE PLAYS, FILM SCORES & ORIGINAL MUSIC, SHORT STORIES, TV PILOTS, AND MORE!
“When you reach for the stars, you may not quite get one, but you won’t come up with a handful of mud, ether.” ~ Leo Burnett
Vincent Van Gogh “Wheatfield With Crows”
“Creativity is allowing oneself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep.” ~ Scott Adams
Please be sure to check out our very popular Moondance magazine articles HERE! Don’t miss reading all the great filmmaking & writing articles written by the pros exclusively for Moondance. Read about: how to win a screenplay competition; how to win a film festival competition; winning titles & loglines for films & scripts; screenplay submissions; movie script writing; writing character, dialog & action; composing winning film scores; how to get an agent; what Hollywood wants to see; directing indie films…and more!
Submit your work right now to take advantage of the $25 early-bird entry fee! And, due to popular request, we have extended the early-bird discounted entry fee through April 30!
The Moondance selected film screenings are online-only! All winning & selected films will screen on our own Vimeo Pro site. Now our best films will have the opportunity for not only a one-time local theater screening but also an international audience of many thousands of viewers, on a computer or any mobile device, for a long time to come, instead of maybe an audience of 50-100 or so, screened only once at a local film festival’s theatrical venue. This is truly today’s preferred, state-of-the-art & most important global networking, promotional & networking advantage!
Please watch this inspiring Moondance winning music video directed by Moondance award-winner Lou Hamilton: flash mob in London’s Trafalgar Square to bring public awareness of child sex trafficking and exploitation.
If of thy worldly goods thou art bereft
And from thy slender store
Two loaves alone to thee are left,
Sell one, and with the dole,
Buy hyacinths to feed thy soul.
~ Saadi (1184-1283), Persian poet
MOONDANCERS WRITE US:
• “I am glad to know that MOONDANCE continues to be a bright star on the international film festival circuit.” ~ Chris Nebe, Moondance award-winning documentary filmmaker
• “You still have one of the most respected film and creative venues for aspiring whomever who actually do real work, and the global response seems to know it.” ~ Gino Mateo, Canada,Moondance award-winning writer
E-mail from Vimeo on February 17th about our online film program:
“In the past 24 hours, your videos received 108 plays!”
Thank you for watching our winning films & supporting the Moondance!
A FEW THINGS TO THINK ABOUT:
“Sometimes, all you need is for somebody to believe in you, in order to be able to accomplish what you may never have thought you could do!” ~ Drew Brees
“Do not go only where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path, and leave a trail for others to follow.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Wind from the Sea” Andrew Wyeth
“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” ~ Eleanor Roosevelt
Buster Keaton
“It is not only for what we do that we are responsible, but for what we do not do.” Moliere
Longtime Moondance award-winning filmmaker, workshop presenter, friend and mentor, Joseph Consentino, passed from this journey to another on Friday, January 19, 2018.
After graduating from St. John’s and Columbia Universities with degrees in journalism, Joe became a photojournalist for Saturday Evening Post, Look Magazine and Sports illustrated. His photographs have been celebrated in numerous books, collections and exhibits including a portrait of Edward Steichen, which resides at the Museum of Modern Art. Joe endeavored to add greater dimension to his lens by telling stories through documentary film making, and a new chapter began.
Together with Sandra (film editor and producer) Joe created Consentino Films Inc. and Big Bear Films, LLC. They honed their craft with respectful dignity, winning several Emmy Awards, and were nominated for an Academy Award.
Through the Ridgefield Playhouse Film Society, which Joe founded, evenings were spent enjoying films and interesting Q&As with actors and directors. Their respect for Joe made them want to participate and educate us as an audience. These events provided a window into the work and tenacity necessary to bring movie magic to life.
Another “major” passion of Joe’s was baseball. Upon graduating from St. John’s University, he was drafted by the Boston Red Sox organization and played for several seasons before an injury ended his career. After moving to Ridgefield and starting a family, Joseph applied his baseball acumen to the small diamond – coaching hundreds of young children in the Ridgefield Little League. As his players progressed through high school he started the town’s first travel baseball team – the Ridgefield Nighthawks American Legion team.
In 2003, Joe, along with George Foster (former Cincinnati Reds and NY Mets All-Star), took his love for the sport one “diamond” further by founding the New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL). Joe’s goal was to give student athletes a better chance to have their talents recognized by Major League scouts. Since its inception, over 135 NECBL alumni have played in the Major Leagues.
Joe’s family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to: www.gofundme.com/joseph-consentino-memorial-fund All funds received will be used to sponsor a major improvement for an existing Ridgefield Little League ball-field in Joseph’s honor.
SOME THINGS TO THINK ABOUT:
“The most fearless hearts, the audacious dreamers, have always maintained a sense of optimism that often flies in the face of the available evidence.” ~ Martin O’Malley
“Life isn’t about finding yourself, life is about creating yourself.” ~ George Bernard Shaw
dawnspitfire.wordpress.com
“Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds you plant.” ~ Robert Louis Stevenson
Our Moondance Mermaid has taken a very well-deserved break and a hiatus from the festival, after 18+ years! She’ll be relaxing on some sunny shores, swimming with wild dolphins, and helping to save our precious coral reefs and marine environments. See you again, next time! Splash!
