Before entering a submission to a film festival, it is important to navigate the legalities of the action.
- Submission rules and regulations
All film festivals have their own individual rules for submission. These rules are normally laid out in the official submission guidelines, and can include details such as:
- Film length
- Genre or theme
- Premiere status
- Submission dates
Before submitting, make sure your film complies with all the submission deadlines.
- Rights and Permissions Needed
Many governing bodies of film festivals require proof of rights to any submission. This means you must own the copyright to all content contained in the film, and that you have the rights to publicly display the film.
- Public exhibition Rights
Various festivals require that your film be either a regional, national, or international premiere, meaning that it would be the first time your film has been displayed to a public audience, or been distributed in any way. This includes on online sites such as youtube.
- Music and Audio Rights
Ensure that you are not using any copyrighted material in your film, and that all the music you use is either licenced or available on the public domain.
- Submission fees
Oftentimes film festivals and award ceremonies will require you to pay a submission fee before you’re able to submit your film. Ensure that you can afford the fee, or if you qualify for a fee waiver.
- Distribution Rights
While most film festivals do not require you to sign over the distribution rights to your film, there are some that require an exclusivity agreement prior to submission, meaning that the organization running the festival would have full rights to distribute your submission. Ensure that you are not unknowingly signing away your rights to the film upon submission, and be sure to only grant a non exclusive licence for any submission you submit.
