The Stylist Short Cuts Competition Is Now On!

By Caroline Lichnewsky

* Call for Entries *

To celebrate Women in Horror Month and our upcoming release of The Stylist on ARROW on March 1st, we’ve decided to launch The Stylist Short Cuts Competition!

Supported by the team behind The Stylist, this competition aims to discover, celebrate and promote female filmmakers within the Horror film industry. As a main criteria to participate in this short film competition, your entry will have to be written or directed by a woman, trans or non-binary filmmaker.

All entries will be reviewed and assessed by The Stylist team – which includes Jill Gevargizian (director, co-writer & producer of the film), Najarra Townsend (lead actress & producer of the film), Sarah Sharp (production designer & producer of the film), Robert Patrick Stern (director of photography & producer of the film) and John Pata (editor & producer of the film) – alongside the ARROW team. Each entry will be considered for the following five categories of the competition:

Award for Best Editing
Award for Best Art Direction
Award for Best Cinematography
Award for Best Performance
Award for Best Short Film

The best three entries for each category (including the winners) will see their work featured on ARROW as part of one of our upcoming seasons and also receive a cash prize and a bundle of Arrow goodies!

* How To Enter This Challenge *

Main requirements:

Your short film cannot exceed 5min.
Your short film has to be written or directed by a woman, trans or non-binary filmmaker.
Your short film must be an original work realized and completed in 2020/2021.
All entries must be in English language or include English subtitles.
You must comply with the Terms & Conditions as laid out below.

Entry Guidelines:

There is no entry fee to participate!
Only one entry per filmmaker will be accepted.
The deadline for all entries is 11:59pm GMT on March 15th, 2021. No entry will be accepted past that time.
You will need to submit your entry via the FilmFreeway platform. Please note that entry via other means will be invalid and won’t be judged.

Submit on FilmFreeway

* Selection Process & Timeline *

Once the competition has closed, the team behind The Stylist and the ARROW team will review all submissions and select the winners. Each category will select its top three entries. All entries submitted will automatically be considered for the five categories. It is possible for an entry to be awarded across several categories.

Sharing her enthusiasm about being involved in this competition, director Jill Gevargizian mentions: “Discovering short films gave me the realization that at a smaller scale even a regular person can make something that looks like it had a Hollywood budget. When the concept for The Stylist first came to me I wanted it to be a feature but I also knew I needed more experience behind the camera before I took on such a huge project. Short films have been a way for me to learn the craft and build a name for myself. It’s important for me to also say that I believe short films are their own art form, and not only a stepping stone to features. I think I speak on behalf of The Stylist and Arrow teams when I say I’m honored to support woman, trans and non-binary filmmakers in following their dreams. I’m so excited to see the submissions and discover new talent – the type of people that realize you just have to go for it, even when it’s terrifying.”

Competition dates: Feb 15th – March 15th 2021

Selection Process: March 16th – April 15th 2021

Winner Announcement: April 23rd 2021

* Prizes *

Best Short Film Award Winner – Prize:

£1,000 Cash Prize
Special coverage on our Arrow Films Website
A 6-month ARROW subscription

Best Performance / Best Cinematography / Best Art Direction / Best Editing Award Winners – Prize:

£250 Cash Prize
Special combo coverage on our Arrow Films Website
A 3-month ARROW subscription

The ten other shortlisted shorts (2nd and 3rd place entries for each category) will receive a £100 Cash Prize.

All 15 short films (best three per category including the category winners) will see their work featured on ARROW as part of one of our upcoming seasons in the UK, US and Canada (non-exclusive SVOD rights) and hosted on our Arrow Website in a dedicated blog post area. The 15 filmmakers (including the category winners) will receive an Arrow Video Bundle.

✂️ Submit your killer cuts now! ✂️

* Terms & Conditions *

1. Instructions on how to enter The Stylist Short Cuts Competition (“Competition”) and details regarding the Competition contained herein form part of these Terms and Conditions (the “T&Cs”). Entry into and participation in this Competition is deemed acceptance of these T&Cs. This Competition is not valid in conjunction with any other offer, competition or promotion.
2. The Promoter of this competition is Arrow Film Distributors Limited.
3. The Competition is free to participate and is open to any person worldwide who is 18 years or over with the exception of employees of the Promotor and their families. Any costs of the filmmakers accessing the Promoter’s website and entering the Competition are the filmmaker’s sole responsibility.
4. Each filmmaker may only submit one film to the Competition and this film can be no longer than five minutes in total duration.
5. All films must be submitted on-line in a digital video format via the platform FilmFreeway.
6. All short films entered into the Competition must be in English or contain English Subtitles. Non-English entries without subtitles will unfortunately be disqualified.
7. Each filmmaker’s entry must be an original work and written or directed by a woman, trans or non-binary filmmaker.
8. By entering your short film in the competition, you are agreeing to, consenting to and warranting the following:
a. That the Subscription Video on Demand Rights (as that term is usually defined in the film industry) in your short film can be exploited, distributed and/or otherwise used by Arrow on Arrow branded platforms and services in the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, USA and Canada for a period of two (2) two years in the original English language version and, if the original version is not in English, then the original language version with English sub-titles;
b. That Arrow can promote, advertise, market and publicize your short film in all media including without limitation via the internet in its sole discretion;
c. That Arrow will have free access to and delivery of MP4 files for your short film and, if available, any artwork and extras materials; and
d. That your short film is totally original to you and that you have all necessary rights and has obtained and paid for all necessary consents, clearances, authorizations, releases and/or licenses which may be necessary for Arrow to exploit, transmit, advertise, promote, market, publicize your short film and no person, company or third party involved with your short film has any right to any further payments due to Arrow’s exploitation, transmission, advertisement, promotion, marketing, publicizing and/or other use of your short film;
e. Your short does not violate or infringe upon, defame or will defame, hold in a false light or will hold in a false light any personal, private, civil, property, proprietary right or any other similar right, or defame or violate any rights of privacy or publicity, moral rights or any other right of any person, firm, partnership, corporation or association.
9. Each filmmaker must own the entire copyright in the film that is entered by the filmmaker in the Competition and must not infringe upon the copyrights, trademarks, rights of privacy, publicity or other intellectual property or other rights of any person or entity and by entering a film into this Competition each filmmaker is warranting that this is the case. The filmmaker shall indemnify the Promoter in respect of any and all liability arising from any infringement of any rights whatsoever that may arise in respect of the film and the Promoter reserves the right to disqualify any filmmaker who does not comply with these conditions.
10. In circumstances where a film or parts thereof are derived from or contain images, sounds or material from an existing work, the filmmaker must have obtained copyright clearance from the owner of that existing work for the inclusion of that existing work in the film, which must be produced to the Promoter on demand. In circumstances where a film or part thereof contain images of persons, locations, trademarks, marks or other images which would require permission for use, the filmmaker must have received appropriate written releases for their use which must be produced to the Promoter on demand. By entering a film in the Competition, each filmmaker is warranting that any and all such releases have been obtained which include without limitation consent to the film’s submission in the Competition and to the exploitation and use of the film as set out in these T&Cs and elsewhere in the Competition.
11. Filmmakers can only use their own original music in their film, or they may use music that is copyright-free or in the public domain. If any other music is used then the filmmaker must also submit a fully executed license setting out the terms of the use of the relevant piece of music.
12. Any film entered in the Competition must not defame any person or entity, or be disparaging to any religion, race or nation, or contain any language which is lewd, obscene or inappropriate. The Promoter reserves the right to disqualify any filmmaker who does not comply with these conditions.
13. By entering a film in the Competition, each filmmaker is acknowledging and agreeing that the Promoter can exploit and use such film (in whole or in part) in the Promoter’s determination for the purposes of the Competition, promotion and marketing of the Promotor and the Competition and on video on demand platforms worldwide and grants the Promoter an irrevocable, non-exclusive license to publish the film on the Promoter’s websites and social media platforms to communicate the film to the public in the territory of the world, and in full or in part in any other promotional and marketing material of the Promoter for the purposes of the Competition.
14. The Competition commences at 12:00 midday GMT on February 15th 2021 (the “Competition Opening Date”) and closes at 11:59pm GMT on March 15th 2021 (the “Competition Closing Date”). The period between the Competition Opening Date and the Competition Closing Date shall be the Competition entry period. No entry will be accepted past the Competition Closing Date. The Promoter accepts no responsibility for any entries that are incomplete, illegible, corrupted or fail to reach them by the relevant closing date for any reason. Proof of sending is not proof of receipt. Entries via agents or third parties are invalid. Entries become the property of the Promoter and are not returned.
15. By entering the Competition, the filmmakers are aware that their participation is entirely at their own risk and that they hereby waive, relinquish and surrender to the Promoter all claims of any nature and howsoever arising (including as a result of negligence) which but for such waiver, surrender or relinquishment they may or otherwise have against the Promoter either directly or indirectly arising out of their participation in the Competition.
16. By entering the Competition, filmmakers hereby warrant that all information submitted is true, current and complete. Any filmmaker who has provided fraudulent, incomplete or inaccurate information may be automatically disqualified. Failure by the Promoter to enforce any of its rights at any stage of the Competition does not constitute a waiver of those rights.
17. In the event of unforeseen circumstances, the Promoter reserves the right (a) to substitute alternative prizes of equivalent or greater value and (b) in exceptional circumstances to amend or foreclose the promotion without notice. No correspondence will be entered into.
18. The winner(s) will be notified via email and announced on the social media channels of The Promoter.
19. The Promoter makes no guarantee of the availability of its web services and will not be held responsible for the interruption of the services which may interfere with the ability to participate in the Competition.
20. Except for any liability that cannot be excluded by law, the Promoter (including its officers, employees and agents) excludes all liability (including negligence), for any personal injury; or loss or damage (including loss of opportunity) whether direct, indirect, special or consequential arising in any way out of the Competition.
21. The Promoter collects personal information of the filmmakers in order to conduct the Competition and may, for this purpose, disclose such information to third parties, including but not limited to agents, contractors and service providers and as required by law. By entering this competition, all filmmakers consent to the transfer and disclosure of their personal data to the Promoter for the purposes of this Competition. The Promoter may, for an indefinite period, and provided the filmmaker has not withdrawn consent, use such information for promotion, marketing and publicity purposes.
22. These T&Cs shall be governed by the laws of England and Wales and the courts of London shall have sole jurisdiction.
23. The Promoter reserves the right to change, suspend or cancel the Competition, or to change these T&Cs by notice on the Promoter’s website. Promoter shall not be required to specify any reasons for any changes and shall not incur any liability as a result.
24. By entering the competition each filmmaker agrees to be bound by these T&Cs.