The Biola Film Festival is an annual film festival and awards ceremony run by and for Biola University students. Every year, the festival seeks to recognize and reward all of the outstanding films and projects created by students of every year through fun and fellowship. Our events span a weekend full of screenings and gatherings.
This year's awards and prizes are currently being determined. Please stay tuned for more information.
Rules and Terms Part A: Eligibility of Projects
• Films and scripts must have been completed after March 10th 2022 (otherwise recognized as the last season's deadline).
• Projects submitted in years past may not be resubmitted.
• Submissions must be shorter than thirty (30) minutes, including the opening and closing credits.
• Submissions to Best Commercial must be under two (2) minutes. • Submissions to Best Screenplay - Unproduced must be under thirty (30) pages.
• Feature films are not eligible for any category.
• The festival does not explicitly bar submissions if their content violates Biola University's Community Standards but often the jury includes respected and upstanding university representatives who hold the right to judge submissions against their own beliefs and values on matters of art, truth, and beauty.
Rules and Terms Part B: Eligibility of Filmmakers
• Submissions completed before a student’s time at Biola will not be accepted.
• If the project was completed while the student was currently enrolled at Biola University (regardless of school/department, undergraduate or graduate level) they are cleared and welcomed to submit to the festival even if they are now graduates.
• Alumni who have completed projects since graduating also retain a grace period where they may submit post-graduate work. The grace period is circumstantial and is based on whether or not the project entered development while they were enrolled and was finished within six months of their commencement date. This is primarily focused on senior thesis projects.
Rules and Terms Part C: Copyright
A release form for every copyrighted item in your film (music, images, or anything else that may be copyrighted) must be available for review upon request. Copyright holders often reduce rates for student and festival films. Sometimes this can be negotiated to be free. Biola University, its officers, directors, agents, employees, and festival staff are not responsible for the inclusion of any unlearned materials in your films.
Rules and Terms Part D: Requirements per Project
Projects must contain four (4) items.
1. The full project uploaded to FilmFreeway.
2. A poster.
3. Full cast and crew credits list.
4. At least two (2) screengrabs/stills from the project.
Additional items such as teasers, trailers, official documentation proving enrollment, and writer/director bios and headshots are welcome but optional.
Appendix I: By submitting a film or script, the applicant denotes that they have obtained consent from any and all owners, creators, writers, producers, and other authorized stakeholders and representatives of the film whose consent is required to submit the film to the festival and respective awards categories.
Appendix II: All submissions grant the Biola Film Festival certain privileges, including but not limited to the rights to use the film footage and press materials from the film for festival promotional purposes including but not limited to promotional advertising, private internet hosting for viewing, Film Festival DVD/Blu-Ray assets, in any and all parts of the universe by any means whatsoever.
Appendix III: Entry Conditions and Release
By entering this contest, each participant agrees to release and hold harmless Biola University, its subsidiary, parent and affiliated companies, prize contributors, sponsors, and any other organizations responsible for administering, advertising or promoting the contest and promotion, and every one of their respective members, directors, employees, agents and representatives (collectively, the “Released Parties”) past and present from and against any and all claims, expenses and liability, including but not limited to damages and negligence to property and persons, including but not limited to invasion of privacy, defamation, slander, libel, violation of right of publicity, copyright, infringement of trademark or other intellectual property rights relating to a participant’s entry, participation in the promotion and/or acceptance or use or misuse of prize; provided however, that such release will not apply to any commercial exploitation of the script by a Released Party in violation of your rights under applicable copyright law; and (c) indemnify, defend and hold harmless the Biola University and its sponsor, agents and employees from and against any and all claims, expenses and liabilities (including reasonable attorneys fees) relating to an entrant’s participation in the Contest and/or entrant’s use or misuse of prize.