What is The Big Screen?
It's an online film festival. Filmmakers from the South send their films to BBC Hampshire and BBC Dorset and we show them on our websites. This is the fifth year of the festival. What does the festival hope to achieve?
Students, amateur filmmakers and aspiring new professionals are producing great work all the time, but very few people see it. The festival provides a platform for short films which otherwise might not get screened - and what bigger screen is there than the world wide web? The films are streamed to your computer in real time and in broadband quality. That means you can watch straight away - there's no waiting for a lengthy download. Who can enter?
Anyone with a film to show. The entrant must be from, live or study in Hampshire, Dorset and the Isle of Wight or the film must have a close connection with the region. Who's involved?
The festival is jointly hosted by BBC Hampshire and BBC Dorset. Harbour Lights cinema and City Eye are both festival partners. This year's films will be judged by the film critic, Mark Kermode. What's the prize?
Mark Kermode will pick his favourites from a shortlist of films chosen by BBC Big Screen organisers. The winners will be shown at a special screening event at Harbour Lights cinema in Southampton. Winners will also receive a trophy and the shortlisted films receive a certificate. What are the categories?
There are five categories of film in the festival: Arts, Drama, Animation, Comedy and Factual/Documentary. Make sure you let us know which category you want your film to be shown in. My film has violent scenes, features naked actors and is 3 hours long. Will you show it?
No, we won't. Ten minutes is the maximum length we can show in full, but that doesn't mean you can't enter a longer film. We are happy to show clips or shortened versions of films - so long as you do all the editing. We won't show films which include language or behaviour which we consider inappropriate for the website. In such cases we may choose a suitable clip if there is one, but occasionally we won't show a film at all. If you think your film would have trouble getting a PG rating then there's your answer. What about copyright issues?
This is very important and the full terms and conditions can be found in the festival rules. If you enter a film, it must be your own work and any content, such as music, must have all the necessary permissions and clearance to be streamed on the internet and shown at a film festival. Your ideas and suggestions are welcome.
Whether you're working alone or involved with a film-making group, educational facility, film club or any other film-related organisation we'd like to hear from you. Drop us an e-mail to let us know what you're doing, or if you have any suggestions for the festival. | 
