Ready to make a movie?
Rocket Reels will feature original, short films created by Houston-area elementary and middle school students. Team up with friends or family, bring your ideas to life, and you could see your film on the big screen!
Submission Deadline:
Coming soon!
Eligibility & Rules
Who can submit? Rocket Reels is open to elementary and middle school students in Houston. Students will provide their school name and grade when submitting their film.
Keep it short. Film “shorts” should be between 1:30 and 2 minutes long.
Kids make the movies. Students should take the lead, but it’s totally okay to work with parents, siblings, friends, teachers and other adults. All collaborators should be listed in the film’s credits.
Keep it kid-friendly. Films must be appropriate for a G or PG audience. No profanity, nudity, graphic or realistic violence, realistic portrayals of guns or other weapons, bullying, or other content inappropriate for children and teens. Keep it family friendly!
No AI-generated films. Films should be created by the student(s), using their own ideas, performances, footage, animation and editing.
Use original or cleared material. Try to use your own music, footage, artwork, and other creative material, or material that you have permission to use.
Parent/guardian permission is required. A parent or legal guardian must give permission for the student to participate, and for the film to be screened publicly as part of the Houston Kids’ Film Festival. The required release will be completed as part of the submission process.
Credit your crew. Every film must include the following information in the credits:
Directed by [Student Name(s)]
With help from [Parent/Adult/Friend Collaborator Names, if applicable]
[Student’s School Name(s)] | [Grade]
Keep it original. Films must be original work created by the student(s) submitting them.
Technical Requirements
Shoot it like a movie! All films must be shot horizontally—not vertically. The festival screen is a standard 16x9 widescreen format, just like the movies you see in theaters. So turn that phone sideways and think BIG!
Format: Please submit your film as a QuickTime (.mov) or MPEG (.mpeg) file.
File size: Please do your best to keep your film under 100 MB.
Submit online: When your film is ready, click the SUBMIT ONLINE button above and complete the submission form.
Wait for upload instructions: Once we receive your submission form, we’ll email you instructions for uploading your film.
Please do not upload your film to YouTube or Vimeo.
Questions? Email us at houstonkidsfilmfest@gmail.com.