The first Salon des Refusés was held in France way back in 1863. Works which failed to satisfy the accepted definition of "art" at that time, were deemed dangerously subversive by the cultural elite and excluded from art exhibits.

 

Eventually, rejected artists persuaded Napoleon III to set up the Salon des Refusés, providing them with an opportunity to show their work. These rejected artists, including Renoir, Monet and Manet, would eventually become known as the Impressionists.

 

In celebration of the original Salon, the Salon des Refusés Atlantique, established by Steven James May in 2001, provides a venue for video and film makers, rejected by the Atlantic Film Festival, to screen their work.

 

There is no official selection of work screened at the Salon. Instead, the Salon is "programmed" by randomly drawing submitted Atlantic Film Festival rejection letters from a lottery. The pile of letters drawn at the end of the day will be the works to be screened at the Salon.

 

Oh, also, contrary to what you may have heard, we're actually huge supporters of the Atlantic Film Festival. While the Salon is an entirely independent entity, the AFF was very helpful when we were first starting out back in 2001. Also, if there was no AFF there would be no Salon. One thing that all Salon participants share is a desire to screen at the AFF. Many end up doing just that with their future films. Think of the Salon as an experimental incubator of innovation and liberated cinema. We've screened films from France, the UK, Spain, the US and Canada over the years.

 

How to apply:

 

Step 1: Apply to the Atlantic Film Festival (applications available at www.atlanticfilm.com).

 

Step 2: Get rejected.

 

Step 3: E-mail your rejection letter from the Atlantic Film Festival, along with a completed Salon application form, to salonatlantique(at)hotmail(dot)com.

 

Step 4: Hope you are randomly selected to have your reject screened at the Salon.