CU International Film Festival

RULES:

By submitting your project, you acknowledge that you have read and agreed to all of the following rules and terms. All projects that have been submitted by our final deadline and that adhere to the following terms will be considered for inclusion in the CU International Film Festival.

It is the submitter’s responsibility to make sure that all requirements are met.

SUBMISSION AND SCREENERS

All projects must be submitted via secure online screener - either as a password protected Vimeo link attached to your submission, or uploaded directly to FilmFreeway. The submitter is responsible for ensuring that their screener link and password is active through at least January 1, 2025. In the event of a password or URL change after submitting, email us immediately. Failure to provide a valid link will result in exclusion from consideration without refund. Online screeners must be available to stream, we do not accept any films that must be downloaded.

We DO NOT accept DVD or Blu-Ray screeners. In addition, we cannot accept screener links via email, they MUST be attached to your submission.

All foreign-language films must be submitted with English subtitles. If we discover a submission is missing subtitles, we may attempt to email the submitter for an update. Failure to provide working subtitles by the final submission deadline will result in disqualification without refund of submission fees.

Please review all submission categories carefully before submitting your project. All entrants are required to pay the submission fee of their film’s appropriate category.

To submit to the High School Student competition you need to be currently in High School when the film is submitted. Students must present a valid Student ID in order to prove your eligibility. If your school does not provide an ID, please submit a document that proves your highschool enrolment at the time the film was made.

To submit to the College Student competition you need to be currently in college when the film is submitted. Students must present a valid college Student ID in order to prove your eligibility. If your school does not provide an ID, please submit a document that proves your enrollment.

SUBMISSION FEES

In an effort to be inclusive and accessible, if you are unable to pay the submission fees, please reach out to info@cuiff.org regarding a waiver code. We will send you an application to complete, and if accepted, you will be able to submit your film free of charge.

FILM REQUIREMENTS

All films will be judged based on our mission and the three E’s: Entertain, Educate, and Elevate. All films must be under 30 MINUTES to be considered for judging, and CU International Film Festival can consider any film to be disqualified if the festival considers the content inappropriate.

Films must not exceed a PG 13 range for level of content. Please share when submitting your film any trigger warnings for violence, language, nudity, and any other content that may be disturbing for younger viewers. We recognize that these aspects of narrative storytelling are sometimes necessary but believe it is the duty of the filmmaker to communicate this prior to our viewing so we can make sure our team has full transparency.

Our Judges and Jurors will make their own choices based on the judging criteria, and their decisions are final.

COMPLETION DATE / PREMIERE STATUS

The film must have been completed in the last six years.

The film may have premiered elsewhere, and a premiere is in no way required. Premiere status may be taken into consideration when making final selections.

DEADLINES

Any submissions with an unpaid balance after a deadline will be required to pay the following deadline’s submission fee. Failure to pay the appropriate fee will result in disqualification without a refund.

ACCEPTED FILMS

Should your film be accepted in the CU International Film Festival, you grant CUIFF the right to utilize the name of the film, an excerpt from the film, film poster, or any other material related to the film for promotional purposes indefinitely.

The CU International Film Festival DOES NOT PAY SCREENING FEES for submitted films. By submitting your project, you acknowledge that CUIFF will not pay to present your work.

COPYRIGHT & LEGAL TERMS

By entering your film for consideration to CU International Film Festival, you authorize that your work is cleared for festival exhibition and accept full legal responsibility for the intellectual property therein. The submitter and all filmmakers associated with the project shall indemnify and hold harmless the CU International Film Festival and any representative or affiliates 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 entered.

REFUNDS & DISQUALIFICATION

Once a project is listed “In Consideration” on FilmFreeway, we are unable to offer refunds for any reason, including (but not limited to):
Submission to the wrong category
Change in premiere status or distribution
Duplicate submissions
Failure to pay the full submission fee by the final deadline
Failure to provide a working screener by the final deadline
Project’s failure to comply with submission Rules & Terms
Rejection from the festival
Withdrawing your submission for any reason (including changes of heart)

CU International Film Festival reserves the right to disqualify any submission without refund, even after a film has been invited or final programming has been announced, at the sole discretion of CUIFF.

CU International Film Festival does not and shall not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion (creed), gender, gender expression, age, national origin (ancestry), ethnicity, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or military status, in any of its activities or operations.