Blue Mountains International Film Festival

Please note that BMIFF reserves the right to alter these regulations without notice and that these regulations are not confirmed to govern regulations for future festivals.

1. Submission Deadlines

Only films submitted to the correct category, accompanied by the correct fee and received by the allocated deadline will be considered. BMIFF reserves the right to disqualify a submission, and to have any and all paid fees forfeited, should the submission not meet all of these requirements.

2. Definitions

Short Film
This category is reserved for any film whose runtime is 40 minutes
or less (including credits). If the film is submitted into any Short category and the length is greater than this definition stipulates, The Submitter will be required to pay the fee increase before the film may be considered in another category. Failure to do so will mean that the film will not be considered for the Festival and any and all fees paid prior will be forfeited.

Feature Film
This category is reserved for any film whose runtime is 90 minutes or more (including credits). If the film is submitted into any Feature category and the length is less than this definition stipulates, BMIFF will not refund any portion of the fees paid.

Australian
If at least half of a film’s total film funding for development or production is from Australian sources, if at least half of the film was shot in Australia, and/or if at least half of the post production work was done in Australia, a film can be classified as (at least) an Australian co-production and is thus eligible to be submitted into any Australian category. If the film is submitted in an Australian category and there is no indication that any of the corresponding definitions apply within the FilmFreeway fields ‘country of production’ or ‘country of filming’, MIFF will change the category and the Submitter will be required to pay the fee increase before the film is considered. Failure to do so will mean that the film will not be considered for the Festival, and any and all fees paid prior will be forfeited.

International
This includes all films that do not fall under the ‘Australian’ definition; to reiterate, Australian co-productions can be submitted into any Australian category. If the film is submitted into an International category and it meets the conditions for an Australian category, BMIFF will change the category; the film will still be considered for the Festival, but BMIFF will not refund any portion of the fees paid.

3. Payment

The submission fee:
• must be made in USD, as collected by FilmFreeway.
• is payable by Visa, Mastercard, American Express, JCB, Discover, Diners Club, UnionPay or PayPal, and accepted via FilmFreeway only.
• cannot be waived (NO EXCEPTIONS).
• cannot be discounted, including for the submission of multiple films.

Please note:
• BMIFF cannot provide refunds for submissions that do not meet eligibility criteria or are otherwise deemed to be disqualified under these regulations.
• Films submitted without payment WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED and the submission will be disqualified.

4. Preview Screener Formats

BMIFF accepts online screeners only. Any submission sent via disc or any other physical format will not be considered for the Festival; should this be the only format in which the submitted film is delivered, the submission will be disqualified, and any and all fees paid will be forfeited.

Short and Feature Preview Screener Formats
Submitted films must be either uploaded directly to FilmFreeway or supplied as a password-protected Vimeo link or unlisted YouTube link entered directly into the FilmFreeway online application form. Please note that:

• BMIFF does not accept screeners via email; you must upload it directly to FilmFreeway or a third-party site such as Vimeo or YouTube.
• If the password changes at any point between the date of submission and the Festival, the Submitter must inform BMIFF via email immediately. Any film submitted with an incorrect or outdated password cannot be considered for the Festival; in such a case, the submission will be disqualified, and any and all fees paid will be forfeited.
• If the screener is supplied via a Vimeo link, please ensure that the privacy settings are updated such that embedding is allowed; this ensures that BMIFF can view the film via FilmFreeway.

As with all other submissions, if the work is not received by the appropriate deadline, the submission will be disqualified, and any and all submission fees paid will be forfeited.

5. Eligibility requirements

To be eligible for consideration, all submissions must meet the following requirements:
• Films must have been completed after 1 January 2023.
• Films must not have been (or will not be) broadcast on television or publicly screened, distributed, or exhibited in a physical location within the state of NSW, Australia, prior to 15 jUNE 2026. The only exceptions to this requirement are private screenings for cast, crew, and/or investors and film-school graduation screenings.
• Films must not have been (or will not be) available commercially online and accessible from the state of NSW, Australia, either for free or via on-demand services prior to 15 JUNE 2026. Screenings as part of a digital or online festival are permitted if the festival is for a limited run, and access by Australian viewers is prohibited via geoblocking.
• Films where the original language is not English must provide subtitles in English.

Please note:
• BMIFF reserves the right to program films that do not adhere to the above eligibility requirements.
• These regulations are specific to BMIFF 2026 only and do not indicate eligibility for any future iterations of the festival.

6. Authorised Use and Inclusion of Materials

It is the sole responsibility of the Submitter to:
• secure permission from the rights holders of any and all copyrighted and/or trademarked content or materials included within the film
• clear all content within the film from any and all actual or potential legal claims and issues, including, without limitation, claims based on theories of libel, defamation, invasion of privacy, violation of rights of publicity, theft of trade secrets, breach of confidence, breach of confidential relationship, and breach of express or implied contract (“Third Party Claim/s”).

BMIFF will not be held responsible for any unauthorised inclusion of:
• any copyrighted and/or trademarked content or materials within or relating to the submitted project, including any content or materials that are or may become the basis for any Third Party Claim/s for copyright infringement and/or trademark infringement, trademark dilution or unfair competition
• any content or materials within or relating to the submitted film that are or may be the basis for any Third Party Claim/s.

If any unauthorised inclusion of materials as set out above applies to a submitted film, MIFF reserves the right to forego consideration of that film, or to withdraw the film from confirmed programming – in which case any and all fees paid prior will be forfeited.

7. Prior Submissions

If a film has previously been submitted to BMIFF, it is not eligible for submission to the 2026 Festival.

8. Selection

Submission to BMIFF is with the understanding that selection may be for any and all exhibition formats that constitute BMIFF 2026, including in-cinema screenings, digital exhibition or both.

All Submitters will be notified of an outcome by end of March 2026. Festival programmers select and invite all films presented at BMIFF. If the Submitter’s contact details change during the submissions period, you must immediately inform BMIFF via submissions(at)bmiff.com.au.

If the film is selected to screen at BMIFF 2026, it must be made available in one of the following formats, received by BMIFF no later than close of business (5pm AEST) 30th April 2026:

Shorts and Features

• DCP (DCI Compliant)
• Pro-Res
• Other video format compliant with BMIFF’s digital platform requirements

Other screening conditions, if selected:
• If invited to screen for both in-cinema and digital exhibition, the film must be made available in formats appropriate for both settings.
• The Submitter must provide a minimum of three (3) digital copies of stills from the film via email or WeTransfer (minimum image specifications: 300dpi, PNGs or JPEGs only). Electronic Press Kits (EPKs), digital posters, director headshots and social media handles may also be supplied to BMIFF, but are not mandatory. Please note: BMIFF may supply these materials to third parties for the purpose of editorial coverage of BMIFF. These materials may also be used for BMIFF’s publicly available print publications and print products as well as online media (BMIFF website/s, BMIFF mobile application/s and BMIFF social media channels), where they will remain available without any time or territorial restrictions. Please be aware that BMIFF cannot make photographer attributions within our printed or online guides.

If selected, BMIFF strongly encourages the Submitter to supply closed captions and/or audio description so that the film can be viewed by audiences with access requirements.

9. Correspondence

All correspondence from BMIFF regarding FilmFreeway submissions will be sent via FilmFreeway, directly to the email address of the Submitter, or through third-party email campaign software. Please do not unsubscribe from BMIFF communications, as you may miss key updates.

BMIFF’s selection decisions are final and no correspondence will be entered into. BMIFF does not provide critical analysis or feedback.