- The Call for Entries Window is Open NOW

- Entry Window Closes March 15th, 2022 at 5 P.M., Round One of Voting Begins

- Announcement of Nominations April 12th, 2022 at 5 P.M., Round Two of Voting Begins

- Nominees Certification Reception and Party May 5th, 2022

- The 9th Eclipse Awards Award Ceremony May 12th, 2022

How does the nomination process work?

To reach nomination level in the first round, past nominees and winners of the Eclipse Award view all entrants and by means of a secret on-line balloting procedure determine, by the number of their votes, which entrants will be nominated for an Eclipse Award. Entry of any work for consideration is never a guarantee of a nomination. Previous nominees and winners who are voting members are instructed to follow the principles of voting for preferred works to receive the nomination. When actual voting takes place, however, it is the voting member's sole discretion in which work to vote for.

For Primary Categories, the Producer(s) receive the nomination.

For the Crafts, (Writing, Sound, Cinematography, Acting, etc.) the credited Artist receives the nomination.

Refer to the important dates at the top of this page to know when the nominations will be announced.

Once nominated, the particular work moves into the second round of voting. Different voting members will view your work in this second round along with voting members who are working industry professionals in cities across the U.S. and Europe. This second round will determine which single work from each of the categories and crafts will receive the Eclipse Award.

Am I notified before the ceremony if I've won?

No. Tallies of the votes are held until the night of the ceremony. When the envelope is opened is when everyone knows. Nominees are strongly encouraged to attend the official award ceremony.

Can I enter a work and select multiple craft categories?

Yes, but each Craft Category comes with an entry fee. Managing voting members across the country takes a considerable amount of staff time. We suggest you select the Craft category that you believe reflects the strongest element of your produced piece. Your peers doing the voting will take it from there.

If my work makes it through the nomination process and the judges select me for an eclipse, do I have to purchase the statue?

The statue is awarded to you for your skill in content creation. Withholding an award until you buy it is in bad taste.

What does the $35 entry fee cover?

The $35 entry fee covers a portion of the processing of your submitted work and any other handling we incur. The sponsors cover everything else (Except your fancy duds worn to the award ceremony.).

After I submit my YouTube / Vimeo URL, why do I still need to upload a full resolution file?

Youtube / Vimeo playback is necessary for judges in North America and Europe as well as voting members here in Michigan to view your work. These Youtube / Vimeo links that you provide are for voting members only and the link to your entry that you provide is placed in a password protected platform for those voting members. The full resolution file of the submission is necessary for the production of the awards ceremony and the Eclipse Awards broadcast which is aired in the winter after the ceremony. Your nominated or winning work highlights the Michigan content creators community and deserves the recognition. All works receiving nomination and the Eclipse Award are broadcast at a later date on the televised Eclipse Award Film Festival. This is a televised only film festival, not a film festival in the traditional sense and for many content creators gives them a local television audience. This televised Film Festival is very important as it highlights the work of content creators and encourages which builds up the production community.

For uploading, what is the maximum file size?

You will upload to The Eclipse Awards Dropbox site. Your maximum file size for the upload is 10 GB. If you have a file larger, you can mail or drop off a thumb drive to WKTV Studios 5261 Clyde Park, Wyoming, MI 49509. If you're file is larger than 10 GB, we strongly encourage you to maintain full resolution of your work in order to never compromise image quality via compression. It's unfortunate, but there are too many variables. We will return thumb drives. You need not provide postage. (see below).

Is there any risk of my work being distributed without my authorization?

The Eclipse Awards is diligent and prides itself on the trust that film makers have in submitting their work. Any and all subject matter files will be deleted after the final round of voting is complete. If you are a nominee, however, you will be asked to provide a 20 second clip of your entry which will become a part of the The Eclipse Awards televised ceremony. Additionally, for promotional purposes, a broadcast of all the nominees and winners in their entirety will air on WKTV in the Fall and Winter as a promotion prior to the next season's awards. This should not act as an impediment to festival consideration, but is a mandatory part of The Eclipse Awards process. After the initial local broadcast, you simply have to inform us to remove your nominated or winning work from the broadcast line up and it will be deleted from our system, forever. To ensure that it is deleted from our system forever once it is initially broadcast, email your deletion request to . You will receive receipt of your communication with us.

Can I have the uploaded file returned?

Unfortunately that is not possible. Files are deleted after judging (except those that are nominated). (see above) If you dropped-off or mailed a thumb or hard drive, those are returned. For return of those items, you need NOT provide postage, but please make sure your entry form is printed and enclosed with your name and address.

For uploading, what is the codec and maximum file size?

The Eclipse Awards uses Dropbox, a web site specially developed for uploading large files. The link is found on the confirmation email. We prefer to utilize .MOV files in the Pro Res 422 codec, but will accept MPEG. Your maximum file size for the upload is 10G gigabytes.

The Award Ceremony is televised live. What about broadcast rights?

By submitting your work you are granting permission for the broadcast of your work for both the live award ceremony in clip form and in its entire form on WKTV. This airs in the following winter after the awards ceremony. Be certain that you have obtained all clearances for any copy written material (if applicable) within your submission.