These regulations govern the submission of all works for consideration for the festival, and you (“you” or “submitter”) are required to read the following regulations carefully to confirm your understanding and acceptance of them prior to submitting any films. Please note that CCFF 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. CCFF reserves the right to disqualify a submission and forfeit any and all paid fees if it does not meet all of these requirements.
2. Payment
The submission fee:
• must be made in AUD, as collected by FilmFreeway
• is payable by Visa, Mastercard, American Express, JCB, Discover, Diners Club, UnionPay or PayPal, and accepted via FilmFreeway only
Please note:
• CCFF cannot provide refunds for submissions that do not meet eligibility criteria or are otherwise deemed disqualified under these regulations.
• Films submitted without payment WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED, and the submission will be disqualified.
3. Preview Screener Formats
Screeners in physical format are not accepted; CCFF accepts online screeners only. Submissions sent via disc or any other physical format will not be considered for the Festival; if this is 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 uploaded directly to FilmFreeway via their Secure Online Screener system or supplied as a password-protected Vimeo link or unlisted YouTube link entered directly into the FilmFreeway online application form.
Some important notes:
• CCFF does not accept screeners via email; you must upload directly to FilmFreeway or a third-party site such as Vimeo or YouTube.
• If the password changes at any point between the submission and the Festival, the Submitter must inform CCFF via email ASAP. Any film submitted with an incorrect or outdated password cannot be considered for the Festival; in such a case, the submission will be disqualified, and any fees paid will be forfeited.
• If the screener is supplied via a Vimeo link, please ensure that the privacy settings are updated so that embedding is allowed; this ensures that CCFF can view the film via FilmFreeway. You can do this by logging in to your Vimeo account, navigating to Settings > Privacy > Where Can This Video Be Embedded? and selecting ‘Anywhere’.
4. 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 be in their original language; if the original language is not English, subtitles in English must be provided.
Please note:
• CCFF reserves the right to program films that do not adhere to the above eligibility requirements.
• These regulations are specific to CCFF 2025 and do not indicate eligibility for CCFF 2025 and beyond.
5. Authorised Use and Inclusion of Materials
It is the sole responsibility of the Submitter to:
• secure permission from the rights holders of any copyrighted and/or trademarked content or materials included within the film
• clear all content within the film from any 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”).
CCFF 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 is 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, CCFF reserves the right to forego consideration of that film or to withdraw the film from confirmed programming – in which case any fees paid prior will be forfeited.
6. Works-In-Progress and ‘Rough Cuts’
IF A WORK-IN-PROGRESS (WIP) IS SUBMITTED, PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING CAREFULLY.
We prefer films to be submitted to the festival in their completed form, however if there are still some small final changes that have to be made (e.g colour grading, final VFXs or sound design) please list these items on a card at the beginning of the film. WIP films are only accepted before the regular deadline (June 1st).
CCFF does accept submissions of WIPs only if the following conditions have been met:
• The film must be at least at the picture-lock stage.
• The submission is made during the STATED submission period ONLY. If a WIP is submitted during any other submission period without prior discussion with the submissions team, CCFF will disqualify the submission, and submission fees will not be refunded. NO EXCEPTIONS.
• The Submitter accepts that the rough cut is the ONLY VERSION that can be submitted. CCFF will not accept further cuts of the film as they are completed. Please think very carefully about whether or not you should submit the film as a WIP (see Point 8 below).
If you have any queries regarding WIPs you want to submit, please email submissions@centralcoastfilmfestival.com
7. Prior Submissions
If a film has previously been submitted to CCFF, it is not eligible for submission to the 2025 Festival. This also applies to WIPs that have previously been submitted, even with significant changes.
8. Selection
• Submission to CCFF is with the understanding that selection may be for any exhibition formats that constitute CCFF 2025, including in-cinema screenings, digital exhibitions or both.
• All Submitters will be notified of an outcome in October 2025. Festival programmers select and invite all films presented at CCFF. If the Submitter’s contact details change during submission, you must inform CCFF via submissions@centralcoastfilmfestival.com
• If the film is selected to screen at CCFF 2025, it must be made available in one of the following formats, received by CCFF no later than close of business (5 pm AEST) on 15 October 2025.
• In the case that a movie is sold to a rights holder for our territory after submission of the title, the conditions under which the movie is accepted to the festival will have to be respected by the new rights holder. The festival has the right to present the film under the conditions agreed upon here.
• Festival will not pay screening fees for films selected into the competition
Shorts and Features
• Films selected for the festival must supply a DCP (DCI Compliant) (Can be created with https://dcpomatic.com/)
• If a DCP can’t be supplied, CCFF can create one at the cost of $100 AUD to the submitter of the film
• Other video format compliant with CCFF’s digital platform requirements
• If the film is selected for both in-cinema and digital exhibition at CCFF 2025, it must be made available in materials appropriate for both settings.
• If the film is selected to screen at CCFF 2025, CCFF strongly encourages the Submitter to supply closed captions and/or audio descriptions so that audiences with access requirements can view the film.
• If the film is selected to screen at CCFF 2025, the Submitter must provide a minimum of three (3) digital copies of stills from the film via email or WeTransfer (minimum image specifications: 300dpi, JPGs or JPEGs only). Electronic Press Kits (EPKs), digital posters, director headshots and social media handles may also be supplied to CCFF but are not mandatory. Please note: CCFF may supply these materials to third parties for editorial coverage of CCFF. These materials may also be used for CCFF’s publicly available print publications, print products, and online media (CCFF website/s, CCFF mobile application/s and CCFF social media channels), where they will remain available without any time or territorial restrictions. CCFF cannot make photographer attributions within our printed or online guides.
•CCFF’s selection decisions are final, and no correspondence will be entered into. CCFF does not provide critical analysis or feedback.
9. Correspondence
All correspondence from CCFF regarding FilmFreeway submissions will be sent via FilmFreeway directly to the submitter's email address or through third-party email campaign software. Please do not unsubscribe from CCFF communications, as you may miss key updates.
Although CCFF takes every precaution to ensure that messages are sent to the Submitter via email, CCFF disavows any responsibility for messages not delivered to the email address supplied. CCFF recommends that Submitters regularly log in to FilmFreeway to ensure that the submission has been completed (including, but not limited to, payments and screener uploads), that the supplied email address is correct and up-to-date, and that the film’s status has changed to ‘In Consideration’ within two weeks of submitting.
If you have any questions, please contact: submissions@centralcoastfilmfestival.com
