Please review all B!tchFest Film Festival & Screenplay Contest Rules & Terms before submitting. By submitting your project to the festival, you are agreeing to ALL of the following Rules and Terms in full. If you have any questions, please contact BFestivalLA@gmail.com
GENERAL RULES & GUIDELINES
1. All entrants must be at least 18 years old for their project to be eligible.
2. All genres of films and screenplays are accepted.
3. There is no limit to the number of projects you may submit. Multiple entries from the same submitter are accepted, and you may also submit the same project to multiple categories.
4. The entry fee is applicable per category. Submitting your film to any film category not only qualifies your project for festival consideration, but also enables your cast and crew to be considered for the Cast & Crew Awards free of charge.
5. For screenplay submissions, we prefer scripts written by women and/or members of the LGBTQIA+ community. While screenplays written by men and non-LGBTQIA+ individuals are welcome, they must either focus on female or LGBTQIA+ characters OR address women’s or LGBTQIA+ issues and themes to be eligible.
6. For consideration, film projects must feature at least one woman or member of the LGBTQIA+ community in a key production role—such as director, writer, producer, cinematographer, or lead actress/actor. OR the film should address women’s or LGBTQIA+ issues and themes to be eligible.
7. Writers and filmmakers who reside outside the United States are welcome to enter the contest; however, all scripts must be submitted in English, and all foreign-language films must contain English subtitles or be dubbed in English.
8. B!tchFest Film Festival & Screenplay Contest and its employees and judges claim no ownership or option on your work. All ownership and rights to screenplays and film projects submitted to this festival remain with the original rights holders.
9. Entry fees are as listed on the site checkout form. Pricing may vary across different platforms based on each site’s rules, regulations, and commissions. The pricing listed on the B!tchFest website is based on FilmFreeway pricing. All entry fees are non-refundable. No coupon or discount is applicable to a previously submitted entry. Entries must be received on or before the listed deadline dates by 11:59 PM Pacific Time, and submission fees must be paid in full at the time of submission.
10. Our in-person festival will feature screenings exclusively for winners in each applicable category, trophy award presentations for all category winners, red carpet photos, live-recorded Q&A panels with film and screenwriting category winners, and an industry meet-and-greet event.
11. B!tchFest Film Festival & Screenplay Contest reserves the right to make essential changes, postponements, rescheduling, or cancellations to competition dates, deadlines, announcement dates, awards, categories, and/or the festival venue at its discretion without contestant consent. The organizers may modify or choose not to award any listed prizes or award categories. B!tchFest reserves the right to amend its rules, terms, release agreements, and conditions at any time.
12. The decisions of the judges are final and cannot be contested. There is no individual score that guarantees advancement to the festival, as advancement, placement, and ranking are based on overall competition scores as a whole.
13. By submitting to the B!tchFest Film Festival and Screenplay Contest, you agree to our terms and conditions and to receive marketing newsletters, film festival discounts, and updates related to this contest and any affiliated sources via email. We will never sell your information to third parties.
14. Anyone who submits a project shall hold harmless B!tchFest Film Festival & Screenplay Contest and its judges, employees, associates, organizers, volunteers, and sponsors from and against any and all claims, liabilities, damages, losses, and expenses (including but not limited to attorney’s fees and court costs) arising out of or relating to any claim involving copyright, plagiarism, credits, publicity or right of publicity, trademark, defamation, invasion of privacy, screening, technical issues during submission or screening, breach of submission terms, or loss of or damage to any materials submitted to the festival, including any third-party claims related thereto.
15. Notification of Winners, Runners-up, Finalists, Semifinalists, and Official Selections will be sent through the submission platform (when applicable) or by email, and posted on our website, BitchFestLA.com. It is the entrant(s)’ responsibility to provide current and accurate contact information for notification purposes and to keep their submission profile updated. B!tchFest Film Festival & Screenplay Contest has no responsibility for correspondence that is misdirected as a result of the entrant(s)’ failure to provide current and correct contact information, or that is sent to spam or junk mail folders. It is the entrant(s)’ responsibility to respond to placement notification emails with any requested information and/or materials necessary to participate or claim any awarded prizes. Failure to respond by the stated deadline will result in the entrant’s inability to participate.
16. Should an entrant win an award at the B!tchFest Film Festival & Screenplay Contest, they will receive the award in person at the Festival Awards Ceremony in Los Angeles. If not present, it is the recipient’s responsibility to arrange for a representative to receive the award on the submitter’s behalf. If no representative of the project is present at the festival in person, no award will be presented. The festival is not required to ship awards to recipients who do not have a representative of the project present at the festival. However, shipping may be arranged on a case-by-case basis at the festival’s discretion.
17. Judges, sponsors, administrators, employees, and independent contractors who currently work with or have previously worked for the B!tchFest Film Festival and Screenplay Contest are not eligible to enter the festival, nor are their spouses or immediate family members.
18. All entrants understand, acknowledge, and agree that there is a diverse range of story concepts and ideas, and that similar or identical ideas may already exist or may be independently developed by B!tchFest Film Festival & Screenplay Contest or its affiliates. Entrants acknowledge and waive any and all claims related to alleged similarity, plagiarism, or misappropriation of ideas, concepts, characters, or storylines. B!tchFest Film Festival & Screenplay Contest is not now, nor in the future, responsible for any alleged borrowing or theft of ideas, copyrighted concepts, characters, or storylines from any submitted film or screenplay. Submissions are not confidential, as they are submitted for review by our festival director and judges; therefore, the festival assumes no obligation of confidentiality. The festival shall not be liable for any alleged or actual similarity between submitted works and any other content.
19. Entrants grant B!tchFest Film Festival & Screenplay Contest permission to use their name, likeness, submitted work title, logline, trailer, poster, graphics, and Grand Jury results for publicity and promotional purposes. Contest participation signifies entrants’ consent for B!tchFest Film Festival & Screenplay Contest, its agents, and sponsors to use their information for promotional purposes in any media, worldwide, without payment or consideration. All use of entrants’ information will be in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
20. B!tchFest Film Festival & Screenplay Contest employs a panel of esteemed judges consisting of industry professionals to evaluate submissions. Please understand that, due to industry demands and schedules, the composition of our judging panel may evolve throughout the contest and evaluation process. B!tchFest Film Festival & Screenplay Contest reserves the right to add, change, or remove any members of the judging panel at any time, while still ensuring that the contest’s high-quality evaluation standards are consistently maintained.
21. By entering this festival, you authorize us to use trusted third-party, online, and cloud-based services and databases for hosting, organizing, tracking, managing, reviewing, scoring, and/or transmitting your submission files. B!tchFest Film Festival and Screenplay Contest cannot be held liable or financially responsible for any security breaches involving third-party online and cloud-based services and databases used to manage this festival and its submissions, including but not limited to BitchFestLA.com, FilmFreeway services, and Stage 32 Global Contest Hub. By submitting to our festival, you authorize us to handle your film and/or screenplay using secure third-party software.
22. Winners, Runners-up, Finalists, Semifinalists, and any Official Selections are responsible for their own personal travel and accommodation expenses to attend the festival. Award Winners and Runners-up will receive two complimentary tickets to the festival, which must be claimed by the entrant in advance by following the instructions provided in their placement notification correspondence. All other cast and crew members must purchase tickets in order to attend.
23. If a film or screenplay category winner does not respond to their status notification with the requested materials and/or confirmation of participation by the specified response date, B!tchFest reserves the right to award the category to a runner-up or finalist in the winner’s place. We will still screen projects from submitters who are unable to attend the festival in person; however, screening materials must be delivered by the specified deadline in order to participate.
SCREENPLAY CONTEST RULES & GUIDELINES
1. All scripts must be submitted in English. If any portions of the script are in another language, English translations must be included within the script.
2. All entries must be submitted in PDF format, adhering to the industry standard format (Courier 12 pt font), and pages should be numbered. All writers must be credited on the title page with contact information provided. Submissions are accepted via electronic submission only.
3. Once a script has been entered into the competition, we will not accept substitutions or revised drafts. If you wish to submit a revised draft of your script, you must enter it as a new submission and pay all applicable submission fees.
4. All submitted material must be the original work of the writer(s) and the sole property of the applicant(s) at the time of submission. By submitting to the B!tchFest Film Festival & Screenplay Contest, the entrant(s) warrant that all writers have authorized the submission. Material written by writing teams must be submitted by one of the writers with the consent of the others. If a writing team is selected as a winner, awards and any prizes will be issued to the individual who submitted the project. Each team is responsible for dividing or sharing any prizes awarded as they deem appropriate. Writing teams will be invited to share credit and participate in the festival together through the primary point of contact listed on the submission.
5. Adaptations of books, plays, or other source material written by another author are not eligible. A script adapted from your own book, play, or other source material is eligible, provided that you have retained all film and television rights to the property or that the work is in the public domain.
6. By entering the B!tchFest Film Festival & Screenplay Contest, you represent that your entry is your original work and does not infringe upon the copyrights or other rights of any person, entity, or intellectual property. The entrant agrees to indemnify and hold harmless B!tchFest Film Festival & Screenplay Contest, its employees, organizers, judges, and affiliates from any and all claims arising from or related to infringement or the dissemination of submitted materials.
7. It is recommended that original material be registered with the WGA or the Library of Congress before submitting to any competition; however, registration is not required for submission.
8. All entrants acknowledge and agree that there is a diverse range of story concepts, ideas, plots, characters, themes, and formats. B!tchFest Film Festival & Screenplay Contest, along with its officers, employees, representatives, organizers, sponsors, judges, volunteers, and affiliates, is not now, nor in the future, responsible for any alleged borrowing or theft of ideas, copyrighted concepts, or storylines from any submitted script or film entry. Submission of materials to the competition is at the sole risk of the individual submitting such materials for scoring, analysis, judgment, or commentary. Entrants agree to indemnify and hold harmless B!tchFest Film Festival & Screenplay Contest and its officers, employees, independent contractors, readers, analysts, system administrators, directors, and affiliates from any and all claims, liabilities, damages, losses, and expenses arising from such submission in perpetuity.
9. B!tchFest Film Festival & Screenplay Contest will not share your screenplay with anyone other than the official judges of the competition and the festival director without prior permission. Winning screenplays will be shared with the panel moderator to prep for the panel discussion once participation in the panel is confirmed by the writer(s).
10. Please note: B!tchFest Film Festival & Screenplay Contest is no longer offering screenplay coverage, script analysis, feedback, or scorecard packages for entries due to high demand and time constraints within our judging panel. All judging, scoring, evaluation, analysis, and any written or verbal commentary on submitted material is subjective and based solely on the individual reader’s experience, preferences, and interpretation of standard industry criteria applied to the material under consideration. While judges are instructed to evaluate submissions according to the festival’s internal judging procedures, B!tchFest Film Festival & Screenplay Contest and its administrators cannot be held responsible for any errors, omissions, or differences in judgment, scoring, or evaluation.
11. Comments provided by judges, readers, administrators, or other B!tchFest employees are strictly based on personal opinion and do not represent the views of management. Management, festival directors, judges, readers, and administrators assume no responsibility for any academic, creative, professional, economic, or emotional impact or consequences arising from opinions provided or from a writer’s ranking in the festival.
12. A script that has been sold, is currently under option, is in production by a third party, or is otherwise encumbered by a third party as of the date of submission is not eligible for an award. However, if a script is optioned, sold, or produced after submission has been entered, it will remain eligible for the current year’s contest unless withdrawn by the entrant.
13. If a screenplay category winner is unable to attend the festival in person and participate in the Screenwriters Panel, B!tchFest reserves the right to contact the runner-up and/or other category finalists to participate on the panel in the winner’s place. However, the original winner will still retain their winner status and will be credited as such on our website.
14. B!tchFest, or any partner, employee, or agent associated with the contest, claims no ownership or option rights in any submitted screenplay or material. All rights and ownership remain with the original rights holder(s). Submission does not create any option agreement, partnership, fiduciary relationship, or obligation of compensation. The festival and/or its employees, staff, contractors, management, director, and affiliated sponsors may independently develop or receive similar material without any obligation or liability to the entrant.
FILM SUBMISSION RULES & GUIDELINES
1. All films must be submitted in English. If a film is in another language, it must include English subtitles or English dubbing.
2. B!tchFest places no restrictions on your work regarding premiere status, prior online availability, or previous festival screenings. You may submit and exhibit your work elsewhere without limitation.
3. Films must be submitted via a secure online screener, either as a password-protected Vimeo link included with your submission or uploaded directly to FilmFreeway. Online screeners must be streamable; we do not accept downloadable files (e.g., Dropbox, Google Drive, WeTransfer, etc.). We do not accept hard copy mailings of drives, DVDs or Blu-ray screeners. Additionally, we do not accept partial screeners, trailers, or links requiring any form of access other than a password-protected streaming link.
4. Works in progress are accepted at the time of entry; however, if the project is still a work in progress, this must be indicated upon submission. Additionally, an email notification must be sent to BFestivalLA@gmail.com once the final project is updated. B!tchFest Film Festival & Screenplay Contest is only responsible for considering the project as it exists at the time of review. We are under no obligation to revisit updated cuts once a screener has been viewed and judged.
5. Filmmakers are responsible for securing all necessary rights and clearances for their materials. The individual(s) or company submitting the film hereby warrants that they are authorized to submit the film for screening if selected. You must have all proper permissions, clearances, and rights required to submit your project and exhibit your film if chosen. By submitting to B!tchFest Film Festival & Screenplay Contest, you grant us consent and the right to screen your film before a live festival audience.
6. Films submitted must be the entrant’s original work and shall not violate any copyrights or rights of any third party. Contestants affirm that they have obtained all necessary rights, licenses, permissions, and clearances for all music, sound, images, and other copyrighted or third-party materials included in their film, and that the film may be legally screened at the festival if selected. By submitting a film to the B!tchFest Film Festival & Screenplay Contest, entrants authorize that their work is cleared for festival exhibition and assume full legal responsibility for all intellectual property contained therein. The submitter and all filmmakers associated with the project agree to indemnify and hold harmless the B!tchFest Film Festival & Screenplay Contest, its representatives, festival director, and affiliates, from any and all claims, liabilities, losses, damages, and expenses (including but not limited to attorney’s fees and court costs) arising out of or related to any claim involving copyright, trademark, credits, publicity, screening, or loss of or damage to submitted materials.
7. Each submission must be accompanied by a submission fee, paid in full, and a working screener in order to be considered. Please ensure that screener links and passwords remain active throughout the entire festival cycle. Once all required materials have been received, the submission will be marked “In Consideration” on FilmFreeway. It is the submitter’s responsibility to ensure that all submission requirements are met. If your submission is marked “Incomplete” and you are unsure why, please email BFestivalLA@gmail.com. Any submissions that remain incomplete by the final deadline will be disqualified without refund.
8. All category-winning films will be screened during the in-person festival in Los Angeles. All scheduling, screening venues, digital platforms, and time slots are at the sole discretion of the B!tchFest Film Festival & Screenplay Contest staff and are subject to change. While every effort will be made to adhere to the published schedule, we reserve the right to make changes at any time for any reason. B!tchFest reserves the right to disqualify any submission without refund, even after a film has been invited to screen and final programming has been announced. B!tchFest Film Festival & Screenplay Contest will not be held liable for any costs incurred as a result of changes to the festival schedule or venue.
9. Screening schedules will be published approximately three weeks after the announcement date, once all final screeners have been received and the festival schedule has been finalized and confirmed.
10. All film category winners will have the opportunity to screen their films, whether they attend the festival in person or not. Please note that, due to time constraints, not all runners-up, finalists, semifinalists, and official selections will be screened at the festival. As this is a one-day event designed to maximize exposure for both films and panels, time limitations apply to projects that place in a category but do not win. Our goal is to ensure the widest possible audience and industry engagement.
11. All works selected for festival screening must be delivered in the required final exhibition format by the specified deadline for inclusion in the festival. Screening format specifications will be provided by email to selected entrants upon notification. While our current venue does not require DCP delivery, venue requirements are subject to change at the festival’s discretion, and a DCP may be required in certain circumstances. Entrants selected for screening will be notified of all accepted formats in advance of the festival.
12. We aspire to provide the highest quality projection possible; however, B!tchFest Film Festival & Screenplay Contest is not held liable for any technical issues, playback failures, sound issues, inability to screen a film due to technical issues, or variations in projection quality during the festival. No fees will be refunded in any such case. B!tchFest is not responsible for any travel expenses incurred by entrants under any circumstances, including in the event of technical issues during the festival. The festival is also not responsible for any costs associated with producing or delivering exhibition materials, including shipping expenses for DCP delivery if required, nor for any loss of or damage to submitted screening materials.
13. B!tchFest Film Festival & Screenplay Contest does not pay screening fees for submitted films. By submitting your project, you acknowledge that B!tchFest will not provide compensation for the exhibition of your work if selected.
14. It is the entrant(s)’ responsibility to respond to placement notification emails with any requested information and/or materials necessary to participate, claim any awarded prizes, and receive trophy presentation at the festival. Failure to respond by the specified deadline will result in the entrant’s inability to participate. If a film or screenplay category winner does not respond to their status notification with the requested materials and/or confirmation of participation by the specified response date, B!tchFest reserves the right to award and/or screen a category runner-up or finalist in the winner’s place. We will still offer to screen projects from submitters who are unable to attend the festival in person; however, screening materials must be delivered in the correct format by the specified deadline in order to participate.
B!TCHFEST RELEASE & TERMS AGREEMENT
Before entering the B!tchFest Film Festival & Screenplay Contest (“Festival”), please carefully review all Rules, Guidelines, Terms, Conditions, Licensing, Release, and Indemnification Agreements. By submitting to the Festival, entrant(s) acknowledge and agree that they have read, understood, and are legally bound by all such terms and agreements in full. Failure to comply with any rules or requirements may result in disqualification and forfeiture of entry fees and/or eligibility for festival awards.
INDEMNIFICATION. Applicant(s) agree to indemnify and hold harmless the B!tchFest Film Festival & Screenplay Contest, BitchFestLA.com, and its directors, officers, employees, judges, readers, contractors, sponsors, affiliates, partners, volunteers, advertisers, and agents (collectively, the “Released Parties”) past and present, individually and collectively, from and against any and all claims, liabilities, losses, damages, costs, or expenses (including attorney’s fees and court costs) arising from or related to submitted materials, participation in the Festival, intellectual property infringement, defamation, invasion of privacy, rights of publicity, acceptance or use of any awards or prizes. Additionally, it is agreed upon to indemnify and hold harmless the “Released Parties” from any and all claims, or third party claims, based on stories, screenplays, characters, plots, themes, or films submitted to the B!tchFest Film Festival & Screenplay Contest including but not limited to damages and negligence, 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. Applicant(s) warrant that all submitted material is original and that they hold all necessary rights, licenses, permissions, and clearances for submission and exhibition. Applicant(s) understand that it is their sole responsibility to copyright and protect their own submitted material. The Festival assumes no responsibility for any similarity between submitted works and existing or independently developed material. Submission does not guarantee selection, screening, feedback, or award consideration. All judging is subjective, decisions are final and not subject to appeal. All entrants understand and agree that there is a diverse amount of story contexts, plots, themes, characters, and formats; in no way is B!tchFest Film Festival & Screenplay Contest, its officers, employees, independent contractors, representatives, festival directors, sponsors, judges and affiliates responsible, not now or in the future, of borrowing or stealing from an idea, copy written concept, plot, theme, character, or storyline from any submitted entry. B!tchFest Film Festival & Screenplay Contest employs a panel of esteemed judges, consisting of industry professionals, to evaluate the submissions. Please understand that due to industry demands and schedules, the composition of this judging panel may evolve, while still ensuring the contest’s high-quality evaluation standards are upheld consistently. By submitting, applicant(s) grant the Festival a perpetual, worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive license to use submitted materials, including names, likenesses, titles, loglines, trailers, clips, stills, laurels, and results for festival promotional and marketing purposes in any media without compensation, notification, or further approval. If selected, applicant(s) also grant permission for public exhibition of their work during Festival events. Any individual or corporation submitting a film hereby warrants that it is authorized to commit the film for screening, and understands and accepts these requirements and regulations. By entering this contest, you authorize us to use any trusted third-party platforms, online and cloud-based services and databases for hosting, managing, scoring, viewing, and/or transmitting your submission file(s). The Festival is not liable or financially responsible for data loss, technical issues, or security breaches with third-party, online and cloud-based services and databases used for managing this festival and its submissions, including but in no means limited to BitchfestLA.com, Stage 32 Global Contest Hub, and FilmFreeway services. Entrants participate at their own risk and are responsible for all travel, lodging, and incidental expenses. The Festival is not liable for technical failures, scheduling changes, venue changes, or cancellations, and no refunds will be issued under these circumstances. The festival reserves the right not award any category based on quality of submissions received. ENTRY TO THIS CONTEST IS VOID WHERE PROHIBITED OR RESTRICTED BY FEDERAL, STATE, OR LOCAL LAW. The Festival reserves the right to disqualify any entry at its sole discretion for rule violations, incomplete submissions, or false information. No ownership or option rights are claimed by the Festival; all rights remain with the original rights holders. By submitting to this Festival it is mutually agreed upon that entrant(s) have read, understand, agree to, and will abide by all the rules, terms, guidelines, and conditions for this festival, which are listed in this release form and publicly posted in detail on the Festival website.
