A celebration of paranormal filmmaking, the 2012 EBEFF includes screenings, social events and networking opportunities, and a closing night Banquet and Awards Ceremony where the coveted EBE statues will be awarded. The festival runs in conjunction with the International UFO Congress which is the largest annual UFO conference in the world.

Narrative short films (30 minutes or less) and feature length (60 minutes or more) completed after Jan. 1, 2010 will be considered.

Deadlines are:
* Regular – Jan. 15, 2012. Regular Entry Fees: $25 per category entered
* Late/Final Feb. 1, 2012. Late Entry Fees: $30 per category entered

EBEFF 2012’s “EBEs” will be awarded to the Best Feature and Best Short film and People’s choice at a special Awards Banquet to honor the filmmakers and their works February 25th, 2012.

Terje and Truls Toftenes of New Paradigm Films. (image credit: Peter Beste)

“We are very excited to host the festival this year and we already have some top-rate submissions,” said Festival Co-Organizer Maureen Elsberry. “This is really a celebration and exhibition of the amount of research, passion and dedication these individuals put into their work ” Elsberry said.

The International UFO Congress’ “EBE” Film Festival is a celebration of investigative filmmaking, with free films screened all day Tuesday February 21st and in the evenings Feb. 22 – 24th at the beautiful desert oasis at the Fort McDowell Resort & Casino in Scottsdale, Arizona.

For submission rules and application visit: 2012 UFO Film Festival
For further information call 480-302-2147.

Make sure to “like” the new International UFO Congress Facebook page!

About the International UFO Congress:

The International UFO Congress is an Arizona based organization dedicated to the dissemination of information related to many areas in ufology. It was established in 1991 and hosts an annual conference which is the largest of its kind in the world. It features presentations given by authors, researchers, experts, enthusiasts, and those who have witnessed paranormal or anomalous phenomena from all over the world. It also provides a forum to discuss the experiences and findings. This event usually has over 20 Speakers, a Film Festival, tons of vendors as well as experiencer sessions. Topics generally covered are abduction, UFO sightings, UFO crashes, crop circles, paranormal experiences, government conspiracy and much more.

Now through Tuesday June 7th get 35% off of your purchase of any 2011 IUFOC DVDs or merchandise.

Just visit the Open Minds Store and the discount will automatically be applied to your order.

Purchase your DVDs here.

Want to win an Open Minds prize pack?

It’s real simple: All you have to do to be entered into our random drawing is go Like the Open Minds magazine facebook page and then re-tweet the following:

@openmindstv is giving away a UFO prize pack! Like the Open Minds facebook page and retweet this message to enter! http://bit.ly/j58H0s #UFO

The lucky winner will receive the following:

• 1 year subscription to Open Minds magazine
• 1 Open Minds Investigates Vol. 1 DVD
• Open Minds coffee mug
• and a signed Legacy of UFO Case Files poster by Michael Schratt

The winner will be announced on Friday afternoon at 1:00 PM Arizona time.

Official Rules:

1. One entry allowed per person. Feel free to re-tweet it as often as you like, but you will only be entered once into our random drawing.
2. Prize pack will be shipped to any location within the U.S.

“Michael Schratt (military aerospace historian) presents a fully illustrated and well documented lecture using technical engineering drawings and full color visual aides, specifically focusing on the most shocking UFO case files originating from the CUFOS archives. Cases covered include: The 1972 “Fiery Ellipse” case over Venezuela, the 1968 “Vent UFO” case over Saskatchewan, 1976 Dana Point CA “Fat Frisbee” case, 1972 Long Island “Flying Iron” UFO case, 1964 Cisco Grove CA “Bow and Arrow” case, 1988 “Conning Tower” UFO case over Gresham OR, 1967 Ririe ID multiple occupant UFO case, The 2003 “Flying Truss Bridge” case over Helena MO, 1966 encounter between a ¼ mile diameter UFO and a USAF B-52 over South Vietnam, and dozens more. Strap in and prepare yourself for a rapid fire whirlwind tour of the most significant yet buried UFO cases ever to be revealed outside the “Blue Room”.”

Below is a 5-minute preview of the presentation:

The full 1 1/2 hour presentation can be rented for $2.99 here: Michael Schratt: Bombshell UFO Cases Revealed

We will be updating the section with more exclusive video presentations and more as time goes on.

View information on Michael Schratt.

With mass UFO sightings in China being so frequent, it wouldn’t be that surprising to discover the Chinese Government making plans to interact with extraterrestrials. China has a long history of reported UFO encounters and interactions with extraterrestrials dating back 3000 years! There are even ancient UFO bases rumored to still exist in the Kunlun mountain range.

Dr. Steven Greer

Please mark it in your calendars – FEBRUARY 23-27, 2011 – THE 20th Annual International UFO Congress!

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

Enter to win by joining the Open Minds email newsletter – just enter your email address in the mailing list box here. if you’re already on the list, you’re automatically entered to win.

The Fourth Kind has been called “the most shocking alien abduction movie to date.” The movie directed by Olatunde Osunsanmi stars Mila Jovovich as Dr. Abigail Tyler who discovers a common theme of alien abduction in her patients during a sleep study in Nome, Alaska.

“In remote Alaska, citizens have been mysteriously vanishing since the 1960s. Despite multiple FBI investigations, the truth behind the phenomena had never been discovered-until now.”

The drawing will occur at random on April 16, 2010 and the winner will be announced during Open Minds Radio show with guest Paul Davies. The winner will also be notified via email.

You can read Maurizio Baiata’s review of the Fourth Kind here: The Fourth Kind: Pulling the strings of the abduction phenomenon (may contain spoilers).

How many times have you seen “UFOs” written as “UFO’s”? I see it on a daily basis, and it drives me crazy every time.

Let’s take a trip back to elementary school.

The apostrophe is used either to show possession (e.g. The ship’s lights were flashing), or with a contraction (e.g. I can’t believe what I’m seeing).

So, you can use “UFO’s” when writing a sentence like, “The UFO’s shape was triangular,” or “We could see into the UFO’s many windows.” But when used in a title like “UFO’s In Space” or “Four States Sight UFO’s,” the usage of the apostrophe is wrong.

If you read someone’s writing and notice the incorrect apostrophe usage in the word “UFOs,” bring it to his or her attention so we can eliminate this problem.

Thanks for letting me rant.

I was amazed from the very first moment I stepped into the large ballroom at the World Trade Center. Seeing and hearing the impressive sound system, observing the elaborate lighting setup, and seeing the 5 projection screens, I thought that perhaps I was in the wrong ballroom, because this setup reminded me more of a concert, and not the UFO conferences with which I am familiar.

I admit, I was mildly concerned about not being able to understand the presentations delivered in Spanish, but real-time translation service was provided. In fact, in the sea of the 1000+ chairs, a translation headset was on every chair. Spanish speakers were translated to English and vice versa.

It was great getting to meet Erich von Danikan, and to watch his presentation. Additionally, it was an unexpected treat getting to watch Robert Dean deliver the event’s closing. Bob was a last-minute addition to the conference, and not many people knew he would be present.

Overall, I was blown away by the production quality of this conference. Kudos to Jaime Maussan for organizing such a quality event. I don’t think the turnout met the expectations of the event organizers, but I think this conference has made a positive impact, and if it continues next year, I’m sure it will grow substantially.

Our Open Minds team had the pleasure of enjoying dinner last night with the wonderful company of Don Schmitt, Michael Salla, and the wonderful gentleman himself, Robert Dean. We were pleasantly surprised to find out that Robert Dean is a last-minute addition to the conference, and will be speaking on the final day of the event.

Everything begins at the WTC this afternoon. Remember, Open Minds is streaming the conference live, and you can watch the entire conference for the low price of $29.95. Read more details at http://www.openminds.tv/events/cumbre-mundial-ovni-conference/.