** Unfortunately, the Covid-19 pandemic has affected us more than we imagined it would. For the moment, JIFF is permanently "On Hold." We know for sure there will be no festival in 2021, but if things improve, we might be back in full force in 2022. Only time will tell. **

The festival that specializes in music-themed films...

A place for music on film, the Jukebox International Film Festival (JIFF) brings you top-notch films about music, musicians, musical styles, venues and songs portrayed in music videos.

JIFF is produced by Carson City Classic Cinema Club 2nd Unit, who have been conducting regional festivals for several years. Now, C5 2nd Unit is asking filmmakers to submit music-themed films in a festival format.

The Jukebox International Film Festival (JIFF) works closely with Jazz & Beyond: Carson City Music Festival. JIFF is designed to compliment the organization by presenting films that celebrate music and musicians.

JIFF's location for 2021 remains TBA due to the Covid-19 health crisis, although the dates have been set tentatively for August 17-August 19, 2021. An awards presentation will follow the conclusion of the Festival. The films are free to watch. JIFF will present a series of workshops and other programming that will be fee-based. Tickets are available for purchase in advance and at the door.

To qualify, narrative films (features and shorts) must in some way incorporate musical themes, such as storylines that focus on musicians or performers or songwriters, music-oriented settings or locations, or other celebrations of music. If you're not sure about your film qualifying, please feel free to send any questions you might have to the Festival.

Documentary films (features and shorts) must focus on real life stories of musicians or performers or songwriters, or include stories about music-oriented events, settings or locations, or otherwise celebrate real life music and musical events in some way.

Music videos are self-explanatory and may not exceed seven (7) minutes in length.

There are no genre restrictions in any category.

Awards and prizes will be presented to the winning films in each category. Films will be judged by a panel of music and film industry professionals. Judging will take place before the Festival. The full list of judges will be published prior to the start of the Festival. All decisions made by the judges will be considered final.

Revised on January 4, 2021.

All films selected by the Festival will receive one (1) All-Access pass to attend the Festival. If the entrant or filmmakers are unable to attend, they may give their pass away only with the prior approval of the Festival.

Awards categories are as follows:
BEST PICTURE (FIRST PLACE) – BY CATEGORY
BEST PICTURE (RUNNER UP) – BY CATEGORY
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY – NARRATIVES ONLY
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY – NARRATIVES ONLY
BEST ACTING – NARRATIVES ONLY*
BEST DIRECTOR – BY CATEGORY
BEST OF FESTIVAL – BY CATEGORY

*We will strive to present two awards, one for Best Actor and one for Best Actress, but it will depend solely on the films that make it into our lineup and the judges.

Winners will receive customized awards. The type and nature of the award will be decided by Festival staff as the Festival dates grow closer. Additional awards and prizes may be added prior to the start of the Festival. Awards are subject to change without notice.

Revised on August 20, 2020.

PLEASE READ CAREFULLY, AS YOUR FILM MAY NOT FIT OUR CRITERIA. WE ARE A NICHE FESTIVAL. WE DON’T WANT YOU SPENDING MONEY ON FEES IF YOUR FILM IS NOT A GOOD FIT FOR US.

1. Jukebox International Film Festival DOES NOT offer discounts or fee waivers of any kind. Please DO NOT write to us asking for free rides;

2. In our 2nd year we rejected 5 films that had nothing whatsoever to do with music. In our 3rd year, it was four. Had those filmmakers read what our festival is all about, they could have saved their money and used it to submit their films to festivals that were more appropriate;

3. If you have any doubts about whether your film is appropriate for JIFF, please contact us. We’ll review your film and advise you to submit or not submit it. This happened in four cases in 2018 and twice in 2019. The filmmakers were not 100% certain their films were right for JIFF. They contacted our coordinator, who looked at each film, and in all the cases, it was suggested that they indeed submit their films. Two went on to be top winners in their categories;

4. Entrants must submit an online digital screener of their film;

5. The filmmakers whose films are selected for inclusion in the Festival will be asked to send a high definition copy of their film via WeTransfer or similar online transfer services;

6. Communication is essential at this point. In 2018, we had to drop a film from the selections because the filmmaker was lazy and took forever to submit the requested materials. They arrived too late. His film was not on our screening schedule;

7. All submitted films must in some way relate to music as described in the Event Description. If you're not sure about your film qualifying, please feel free to send any questions you might have to the Festival;

8. Entry forms and payment will not be processed without an accompanying online digital version in the accepted format. Films should, at a minimum, be in 1920 X 1080 resolution, use the h.264 video codec and be in either .MOV or .MP4 file format;

9. We can handle higher resolutions, but DCP is not an option at this time;

10. High resolution production stills or high resolution screen captures taken from your film, a log-line and short synopsis, along with the director’s full name and biography, are required for promotional use by the Festival. Please do not send these items until such time as we request them;

11. Please be sure to note if your film will be any kind of premiere: World, U.S., West Coast, etc. In 2018, we were pleased to present three U.S. Premiere and seven World Premiere films. In 2019, we had two U.S. Premieres, two World Premieres and seven West Coast Premieres;

12. Note that you do not need to inform us of lesser premieres, i.e. individual States (California premiere, Nevada premiere, etc.). These premieres are awesome, but they do not mean much to the people we seek grant funding from. They only want to see U.S., World and West Coast Premiere statistics;

13. All entries must be in English or subtitled, unless special arrangements have been made with the Festival;

14. If your film arrives without subtitles, we will request ONCE only that you provide a file with subtitles. It is imperative you check your Spam and Junk folders regularly, as our emails going to these folders caused one filmmaker to lose his screening spot in a past year. He didn’t know we were trying to contact him;

15. The Student fee option may only be used by entrants whose films were produced as bona fide student films. Additionally, entrant must provide proof that the film was produced while the entrant/filmmaker was a student. Documentation will be requested by the Festival and must be sent to the Festival at the listed email address. Failure to provide the required documentation will result in the film being disqualified from the Festival;

16. Exceptions to the Rules & Terms must be requested in writing and must be authorized by the Festival. If we grant an exception of any kind, you may be required to produce said exception upon request. Failure to do so might result in said exception not being honored;

17. By submitting, the filmmaker agrees to let the Festival use excerpts from their films for use in JIFF 2021 trailers, publicity and promotions. Jukebox International Film Festival is hereby granted the right to utilize an excerpt from any film submitted and accepted for exhibition at the Festival for promotional purposes;

18. The individual (or business entity) submitting the film hereby warrants that they have all pertinent legal clearances and is authorized to commit the film for screening, understands and accepts these requirements and regulations and must be able to provide said documentation to the Festival if so requested. Failure to produce requested documentation will result in disqualification. Furthermore, once a film is submitted, approval is granted for Festival screening whether it is accepted into other film festivals or not. The entrant shall indemnify and hold harmless Jukebox International Film Festival from and against all claims, liabilities, losses, damages, and expenses (including but not limited to attorney's fees, and costs of the court) which may be incurred due to any claim involving copyright, trademark, credits, publicity, and screening;

19. Jukebox International Film Festival, may at its own discretion, notify filmmakers of "Official Selection" status PRIOR TO the published "Notification Date," mainly to help facilitate travel planning if filmmakers are coming from distant locations;

20. Award winners not present shall be responsible for all shipping costs related to sending their awards and prizes to them. Shipping costs will be provided to the winners after the festival closes. Upon receipt of payment to the Festival, the awards and prizes will be shipped;

21. Jukebox International Film Festival reserves the right to revise these Rules & Terms without notice. Reasonable efforts will be used by the Festival to inform all entrants of any changes before the start of the Festival;

22. Moving into our 4th year, we are not yet able to offer travel stipends or assist in any monetary way with travel and accommodations. In our first years, we were honored to have many filmmakers accompany their films to our festival. They were very understanding and took on the expenses of visiting us on their own. The same will be true of our 4th year. We will make deals with local hotels to offer discounted group room rates, but for the most part, filmmakers will have to make their own arrangements for travel and accommodations;

23. In 2018, bands that were featured in selected documentaries accompanied the filmmakers to our festival. While the experience was exciting, please understand that we are not here to provide special deals on accommodations, nor are we here to provide transportation on the local level;

24. We WILL do the following: a) we will help book visiting bands into local clubs throughout the region (Carson City, Reno, Lake Tahoe, Northern California), as we have established relationships with many venues now; and b) we will provide lists of resources to call upon while visiting (i.e. instrument rentals, equipment rentals, transportation options, etc.);

25. Please understand that our staff if already overwhelmed with the tasks of running this film festival. We cannot also be club promoters, drivers, equipment rental specialists, etc. Any musicians or bands visiting must arrange for their own equipment needs and check with each venue we book you into to see what equipment they have available, then procure what is needed to effectively play those clubs;

26. If you are a traveling musician or band coming with the filmmaker of the film you appear in, you may contact us at any time for additional information and all rules concerning your visit during the festival;

27. Additional Terms and Conditions may apply.

Revised on August 20, 2020.