Borscht Film Festival Accepting Submissions

The cool kids' table in the cafeteria is inviting you to sit with them. Or at least that's what it feels like when the Borscht Film Festival announces it's accepting submissions for next year's festival. Above is a trailer for their CCCV short series (CCCV is the Roman numeral for area code 305). Some of last year's CCCV stories went on to screen at Tribeca and Cannes, and one resulted in an MTV production deal. (Daniel Cardenas, who made "Xemoland" about Key Biscayne last year, is working on a pilot for an animated series with MTV.)

If you'd like to get in on that Borscht action (ahem, we voted it Miami's Best Film Festival), there are four ways to get involved:

• Writers and directors have until August 1 to submit applications that prove they have something original to say about Miami. Six of each with be paired to produce this year's CCCV stories.
• Local musicians also have until August 1 to apply for the new program, Borsht Auris, which matches a musician with a director to create a short inspired by music.
• Filmmakers armed with completed shorts (2 to 15 minutes long) have until next February to submit them. The filmmakers must be under age 30 (poof -- there goes this writer's dream), and the film must be about South Florida (OK, that makes sense). The ten best shorts will screen in the Borscht Select Short Films Program.
• Last, if you're good at peeling potatoes, giving reassuring pats on backs, or holding a boom mike for several hours without throwing a fit, Borscht would like to hear from you too.

More details and the necessary entry forms can be found at borscht.info. Good luck!