The 3rd Annual Filmshift Festival was created by independent filmmaker, Jeremy Jed Hammel, as a way to combine three of his passions: The art of film, bringing people together, and giving back to charity in his local community.
Filmshift is held every year at the Somerville Theater in Somerville, MA. We present independent films of most genres and we have special Showcases for local films, student films, and films that have a connection to Environmental or Sustainable topics. We offer a cash prize, awards from our sponsors, and superlative awards to our filmmakers.
Some genres of films that we’re seeking include, but are not limited to: Drama, Comedy, Thriller, Horror, Documentary, Music Video, Animated, and Student films..
Ten percent of our gross ticket sales are donated to Christopher’s Haven, a local charity that finds low-cost or no-cost housing for families staying in Boston for their child’s cancer treatment.
After two years of relying on the generous support of business sponsors, Hammel put on a hugely successful Kickstarter fundraising campaign. So for our third year, Filmshift is brought to you entirely by our friends and family!
The Shiftys
Films entered into competition at The Filmshift Festival are eligible to win cash and prizes along with our Shifty Awards.
For most of our awards, feature-length and short works compete together for the same set of prizes.
We present Shifty Awards in the following categories:
Best of Festival
First Place
Our First Place winner will receive a $1000 cash prize and a 12-month online subscription to Filmmaker magazine, provided by Filmshift.
Second Place
Our Second Place winner will receive $250 and a 12-month online subscription to Filmmaker magazine, provided by Filmshift.
Third Place
Our Third Place winner will receive and a 12-month online subscription to Filmmaker Magazine, provided by Filmshift.
Special Awards
The Shifty Uplifty Award
Presented to films that uniquely inspire and uplift through the art of film. This award is also given to films that best exemplify the ideal that we should treat all people with respect, understanding, and compassion. (As compassionate as we are, we will award no more than 5 films in this category in order to maintain the value of the awards.)
The Shifty Lime Time Award
Presented to films or filmmakers with particularly creative or strong contributions to the “Green” and/or 10% Shift revolution. (No more than 5 films to be awarded in this category.)
Audience Awards
Determined by the festival viewing audience’s vote and overall rating of the films.
Honorable Mention
Certificates of Merit will be given to a handful of films screened at the festival in the following categories:
- Feature
- Short
- Documentary
- Music Video
Student Showcase
Student films entered into competition at The FilmShift Festival are eligible to win cash and prizes along with our Shifty Awards.
Learn more more about our student film festival»
