Enter the third annual Brickworld Film Festival

We’re very excited to announce the third annual Brickworld Film Festival!

The Brickworld Film Festival is part of Brickworld Chicago, one of the largest conventions of LEGO fans in the world. Last year, we invited attendees to submit their brick animations (or live-action brick flicks) and screened the 8 entries (spanning a variety of genres and styles, from a live-action comedy sketch to a pulp-style space adventure) to an enthusiastic audience of over 160 people.

The event theme for Brickworld Chicago 2014 is “Candy, Sweet Escapes,” so we’re asking this year’s entrants to keep this concept in mind when creating/selecting their submissions. We expect to see some films featuring the Ice Cream Machine and Downtown Bakery. However, we’re also hoping to see other creative approaches to the theme; for instance, last year’s winning film, “From Baking to Bad Guys,” could easily fit in this year’s theme.

Like last year, David and David will carefully review all the entrants, and select the best one to declare the winner.  Additionally, an ‘Audience Favorite’ will be voted on during the festival screening.

For those of you on the fence about attending Brickworld Chicago, keep in mind there’s more to the event than just the film festival. On Thursday, we’ll be teaching a three-hour workshop on brick animation, which covers basic techniques and includes some hands-on animation time. There are also displays, workshops, presentations, contests, games, and a ton of LEGO bric-a-brac to keep your attention.

Official Rules

• You must be a Full Registrant of Brickworld Chicago to enter.
• Your film must be longer than 30 seconds and shorter than 5 minutes in length.
• Your film must be uploaded to YouTube.
• Your film should use LEGO elements to tell a story. It can be animated or live action, or a combination of the two.
• Your film must not contain any copyrighted audio. Bricks in Motion has a great list of places you can find royalty free music and sound effects.
• Your film should incorporate the theme “Candy, Sweet Escapes” in some way.
• Your film must not have been submitted to any previous Brickworld Film Festival.
• Limit one film submission per person.
• Films should be enjoyable by all ages. Curse words, excessive violence, sexual content, and drug use will be grounds for disqualification.
• To submit, e-mail bwfilmfest@brickanimation.com by June 1, 2014 with the following information:
  • Your Full Name
  • Your Age
  • A link to your film on YouTube
• A prize will be awarded to the film that best exemplifies the LEGO values of creativity, fun, and technical excellence; as decided by the judges.
• An additional prize will be awarded to the film that receives the most votes from the audience at the festival screening.

If you have any questions, please ask them in the comments. Also, leave a comment if you’re planning to attend Brickworld Chicago.  We look forward to seeing your films!