Short Film Contest Beckons Miami Filmmakers to Sundance Film Fest

Conjure whatever cliché you prefer — Gwyneth Paltrow missing the elevator in Sliding Doors or a butterfly flapping its wings in Africa — but the tiniest moments can alter the course of your paltry, short life. Consider the recent success of artist Jillian Mayer who followed up on an email about a Guggenheim video biennale and, months later, was honored as one of the top 25 artists in a sea of 23,000. Now she’s being chased by Google video biographers, German radio stations, and the Associated Press.

So just in case someone out there thinks you’re awesome, we’re starting a Call for Submissions feature here on Cultist. After all, deadlines are the pressures that make coal poop diamonds, right? Right. We’ve already told you about a sweet contest to art up a dumpster for Art Basel. Now there’s a Short Film Contest, sponsored by Time Warner and IFC, where the winners will be sent to this year’s Sundance Film Festival.

You have until this Sunday, yes, Halloween, to submit a video that’s

between two and five minutes long. There’s no desired theme or parameters. To

enter, just upload your short film to Time Warner Cable’s new YouTube

channel. Jugdes, which includes mumble-core bigwig Joe Swanberg (Hannah

Takes the Stairs) and horror film director Ti West (House of the

Devil), will then whittle the submissions down to the 25 best. From

there, the general public of meatheads will vote on the online entries

to choose the final four.

Each winner will receive a trip to Sundance, $500 greenbacks, all our

admiration, and a year of high-speed cable and internet — a cash value

of we don’t know how much because it’s completely out of our own budgets. In order to qualify, you have watch your fucking language, not employ any child actors, and respect all copyright laws. So no toddlers with tourettes jamming out to “Whip My Hair.”