Optic Nerve Film Festival:
call for submissions
Early submission deadline: June 16
Final deadline: July 7
Public screening: August 23
Museum of Contemporary Art, North Miami
770 NE 125th Street
North Miami, Florida 33161
The Museum of Contemporary Art, North Miami (MOCA) is seeking film and video submissions for the 2013 edition of Optic Nerve, the museum’s popular film and video showcase for emerging artists. MOCA is broadening the scope of this annual festival, now in its 14th iteration, by accepting entries from artists worldwide. This wider application pool allows MOCA to create new connections and contexts for the participating artists.
“MOCA’s Optic Nerve program is designed to provide emerging artists with an important venue in which to show their works and we want this year’s program to represent the most innovative and important film and video being created today. Encouraging new work is an important part of our mission,” said MOCA Executive Director and Chief Curator Bonnie Clearwater.
Submissions will be reviewed by a jury of video and art professionals that include Andrew Bonacina, Artistic Director of International Project Space, London; Bonnie Clearwater, Executive Director and Chief Curator, MOCA North Miami; Alex Gartenfeld, Curator, MOCA North Miami; Debbie Grimberg, independent curator, Buenos Aires; Kathryn Kraczon, Curator, ICA, Philadelphia; Aram Moshayedi, recently appointed Curator, Hammer Museum, Los Angeles; and Hanne Mugaas, Director and Curator, Kunsthall Stavanger, Norway.
Selected films will be screened at MOCA (770 NE 125th Street, North Miami, FL, USA, 33161) on Friday, August 23. Subsequent international screening dates will be announced. Winning video(s) will be purchased for the museum’s permanent collection.
Due to the high volume of entries expected this year, submissions will be capped at 225.
Since its beginnings in 2000, over 125 artists and artist collaboratives have been featured, many showing their work for the first time publicly. Recent winners have included Brian Bress, Susan Lee-Chun, Justin Long and Autumn Casey. Juan Carlos Zaldivar’s film Shift, the winner of 2012 Optic Nerve, was selected for the 2013 Cannes Film Festival Court Metrage.
Submission guidelines:
All submissions must contain original material and must have been created within the last two years. Entries must have a running time of no longer than five minutes in length (strictly enforced).
Entries are limited to two per person.
To apply, click here.
Processing fee:
Non-refundable
10 USD per entry if received by June 16th (5 USD for MOCA members)
20 USD per entry for non-members due July 7 (10 USD for MOCA members)
All artists will be notified by mail or email as to the status of their submissions.
For more information, please contact Janice Angel, Programs Manager at 305 893 6211 ext. 29 or e-mail jangel [at] mocanomi.org.
MOCA’s Knight Exhibition Series is made possible by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Exhibitions and programs at MOCA are made possible through grants from the City of North Miami and are sponsored in part by the State of Florida, Department of State, the Florida Council on Arts and Culture, and National Endowment for the Arts and with the support of the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council, the Miami-Dade County Mayor and Board of County Commissioners. The Museum of Contemporary Art is accredited by the American Association of Museum and is a 2012 recipient of the National Medal for Museum and Library Services.
