Achill Island Film Festival

PLEASE READ ALL ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA, RULES, TERMS & CONDITIONS BEFORE ENTERING AS NO REFUNDS WILL BE GIVEN.

Foreign language films must have English subtitles at the time submitted. Dialogue lists will NOT be accepted.

Entrants are responsible for obtaining any necessary licenses, royalties, release forms, clearances, and permits necessary to present their work. Achill Island Film Festival is not responsible for any claim involving copyright, trademark, credits, or royalty infringement related to the work.

Achill Island Film Festival reserves the right to refuse to screen any submission deemed by the Festival to be inappropriate.

Only films completed on or after 1st January 2020 are eligible for entry into the 2023 Festival competitions. Films in the Irish Language Category can be completed on or after 1st January 2020 to be eligible.

Achill Island Film Festival accepts no responsibility for loss or damage of entries during shipment to or from the Festival.

Entrants must submit an ONLINE digital version of their film for viewing consideration. NO DVD's, Blu-Rays or Computer Files will be accepted.

Entry forms and payment will not be processed without an accompanying digital ONLINE Preview Copy in the accepted format. Tell us everything you can about your film and why you are submitting it but at this stage we do not require a press pack.

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

There are no exceptions to the festival regulations & fee waivers are not available.

By submitting, the filmmaker agrees to let the festival use excerpts from their screeners for use in Achill Island Film Festival trailers, publicity and promotions.

Achill Island 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. The individual or corporation submitting the film hereby warrants that it has all pertinent legal clearances and is authorized to commit the film for screening, and understands and accepts these requirements and regulations. Furthermore, once a film is submitted, approval is granted for festival screening whether it is accepted in other film festivals or not. The undersigned shall indemnify and hold harmless Achill Island Film Festival from and against any and all claims, liabilities, losses, damages, and expenses (including but not limited to attorney's fees, and costs of the court) which may be incurred by reason of any claim involving copyright, trademark, credits, publicity, screening, and loss of or damage to the screening videos screened or entered.

The decision of the festival Co-Directors will be final in all matters.
Entries are invited in the following categories:⁣

- Feature Films⁣
- Feature Documentary
- Short Films
- Short Documentary
- Animation

Conditions for Entry⁣:
-Films should be presented in their original versions with English language subtitles or commentary where necessary.⁣
-New films must have been completed after 1 Jan 2020.
-Please note that films submitted through an incorrect category will not be considered.
-THE FESTIVAL DOES NOT PAY SCREENING OR OTHER FEES FOR SUBMITTED FILMS.⁣

Criteria for Best Locally Made Film Submissions (at least 1 of the followed should be fulfilled):
-Filmmakers who are based in Achill Island
-Filmmakers born in Achill Island but based elsewhere⁣
-Films shot on Achill Island (or mostly)
For this purpose, 'filmmakers' include the roles of Writer, Director, DP and/or Producer only.

Unfortunately, due to the large amount of submissions received, the Festival cannot offer feedback regarding films that are not selected for the programme. Please don’t be discouraged if your film is not accepted to Achill Island Film Festival. There are often many influencing factors on why your film may or may not be accepted or be suitable for the Festival.⁣

Using extracts of the films and film stills for promotion⁣:
The entrant agrees that up to three minutes of their film may be used by the Festival in promotional activities including screening a clip on television, inclusion in the Festival’s trailer, and on the Festival’s website. Please ensure that uploaded stills and headshots are of print quality and that you have permission to allow the Festival to use these for promotional and press purposes in perpetuity. ⁣

Unsolicited submissions, waivers and discounts⁣:
The Festival respectfully requests that entrants do not send unsolicited screener (Vimeo etc.) links to Festival staff, and do not appeal for fee waivers. The Festival fees are necessary to ensure that all films are viewed and fairly considered, as well as to support the costs of curation and Festival delivery.⁣
Non-English language films⁣:
To qualify for selection, all non-English language films must have an English-subtitles unless it is footage of life on Achill Island. ⁣

How to send your film⁣:
Please submit your film via the online submission platform, FilmFreeway.

Screening Fees
THE FESTIVAL DOES NOT PAY SCREENING OR OTHER FEES FOR SUBMITTED FILMS.⁣

General⁣:
Acceptance of these Terms and Conditions implies that the entrant will abide by them in their dealings with the Festival and also that the entrant is legally entitled to submit the film for consideration. Entry to the Festival implies that the entrant has the right to do so, has pre-cleared all materials that comprise the film, and is an authorised representative of the team that holds the intellectual property in the film.⁣

Entering a film to Achill Island Film Festival implies the acceptance of these Terms and Conditions.⁣

The Festival reserves the right to change the Terms and Conditions at any time.⁣

All submissions are screened and evaluated by the Achill Island Film Festival Preview and Selection Committee. Their reports are final and confidential.

PLEASE NOTE: No fees will be paid to screen these films.

In the event of a film being withdrawn, Achill Island Film Festival will not be liable to refund the fee or return the materials entered.

Achill Island Film Festival will determine the date and time when submissions will be screened. Achill Island Film Festival cannot be held accountable for changes to the schedule after the festival line-up is announced.

One entry fee per category. The same film can be entered into one or more categories, but each category requires an entry fee.

If music or additional film material used in your film is not original, then permission from source must be obtained. The responsibility for this rests entirely with the filmmaker. Failure to obtain clearance could result in your film being withdrawn from the Festival. In this event, Achill Island Film Festival will not be liable to refund the fee or return the materials entered.

The submission of a film to Achill Island Film Festival will be considered to be an acknowledgement of the festival rules.

Please do not send DVD's or copies of your film direct to us unless requested to do so. At time of submission we will only accept your entry if your film is upload to FilmFreeway.

Once we have received your Film, Photo(s), Fee and Form you will receive an email confirming your entry is ‘In Consideration’. Please note that unless we receive ALL these items your entry is NOT confirmed.

Please note that we only accept completed short films and NOT scripts.

Please note that if your film is selected and screened, filmmakers attend at their own discretion. Achill Island Film Festival is not liable to pay for nor make any financial contribution towards travel or accommodation expenses if a filmmaker decides to attend. In addition, directors are not required to introduce their films or participate in Q&A's, unless specifically requested to do so. Please note that Achill Island accommodation tends to be booked ahead months in advance so finding it may prove difficult closer to the Festival.

General⁣:
Acceptance of these Terms and Conditions implies that the entrant will abide by them in their dealings with the Festival and also that the entrant is legally entitled to submit the film for consideration. Entry to the Festival implies that the entrant has the right to do so, has pre-cleared all materials that comprise the film, and is an authorised representative of the team that holds the intellectual property in the film.⁣

The Festival wishes all potential entrants the best of luck with their submission, and their film.⁣

The Festival reserves the right to change the Terms and Conditions at any time.⁣