Rules & Regs

Mission Statement

Our mission is to give voice to the voiceless by providing an audience for unknown artists and important works, removing barriers for those seeking to enter the media as well as celebrating artists who prefer to remain outside the mainstream.

Operations / Regulations

• We reserve the right to alter/delete/amend these rules as we see necessary, and to allow exceptions when & where we deem it appropriate, without penalty to any qualifying work
• As far as exceptions go, we will be the most flexible/lenient with documentaries.
• We reserve the right to add or remove categories at no penalty to qualifying works previously submitted.
• All works must include a title screen. We may be screening films back to back and the audience must know when one ends and another begins.
• Works should be no more than 15 minutes in length, including credits/titles.
• Online screeners are permitted for submissions. However, all works selected for inclusion within the festival must be available on DVD or Blu-ray to ensure compatibility with venues.
• Works that glorify or advocate hate or violence will not be permitted. This includes bigotry of all kinds such as racism, homophobia and religious intolerance.
• All subjects/genres are welcome except pornography. We do not accept pornography!
• Works of any language are acceptable though we recommend English subtitles.
• BEFORE SUBMITTING, if there is any question about your work’s qualifications or if you need an exception to any rule (film length, for example), contact us FIRST, before you submit! We will not refund the submission fees for unqualified entries so check with us first if there is any doubt. You may be asked to make your work available to us.
• Permissible works include film narratives, documentaries, animation and internet content.
• Internet content would be any video produced specifically for viewing over the internet. This would include webisodes, How To videos and the like.
• Works could be produced at any time. There is no date restriction on works.
• We will accept works which have already been publicly shown or made available online.
• Everyone is free to submit works for festival screening without restriction but, any submission with a connection to the festival’s staff/volunteers will be excluded from consideration for awards.

• The number of screenings, days and venues is at the sole discretion of the Festival.
• Works produced by people under 18 years of age must be submitted by an authorized representative (parent/etc) 18 years of age or older.
• By submitting a film a person is certifying that they have every legal right to the work, that they are either the copyright holder or legally represent the copyright holder of the work and that all content (dialogue, music, etc) is either original to the work or that they have obtained all rights and clearances. The submitter agrees to assume all responsibility for damages resulting from the public display of the work, including but not limited to all legal fees associated with copyright infringement claims or contract disputes.
• DO NOT use FedEx, UPS or any carrier other than the postal service to ship entries or other materials. The USPS will not deliver materials from private shipping firms to a Post Office box.
• DVDs, videos and materials submitted to the festival will not be returned.
• Mailed inquires/submissions must include the film representative’s name, the title of the film, any tracking or identification number and all pertinent contact info including physical mailing address.
• Final selection of films will take place no later than two weeks prior to the festival.
• Once an entry payment has been processed we cannot provide a refund. If a payment is disputed the applicant may be subject to any fees
• AGAIN, if there is any doubt as to whether your work qualifies or if you need an exception, ask FIRST, before you submit! Once your entry/payment is processed it will not be refunded. You may have to make your film/video available to us in order to answer your question.