Terms and Conditions
By submitting your film for consideration to the 47th Cleveland International Film Festival (“CIFF47” or “Festival”) in accordance with the procedures outlined below, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and voluntarily agreed to abide by these Filmmaker Terms and Conditions.
Festival Details
The Cleveland Film Society, an Ohio nonprofit organization d/b/a The Cleveland International Film Festival (“CIFF”), will hold CIFF47 from March 22–April 1, 2023 (in person).
CIFF values the health and safety of all Festival participants, audience members, staff, and volunteers and takes their well-being seriously, especially in view of the ongoing COVID-19 global pandemic. To protect audience, filmmaker, staff, and volunteer health and safety and comply with any applicable orders or guidelines issued by federal, state, or local authorities, CIFF reserves the right to cancel CIFF47; institute rules governing in-person participation at CIFF47, such as theater- or event-capacity limits and face-covering requirements; or revise the dates, location, and in-person format of CIFF47 at any time, including, but not limited to, after having accepted films for screening during the Festival. CIFF reserves the right to hold CIFF47 as an entirely online event if CIFF, in its sole discretion, determines that circumstances so require. CIFF is committed to communicating any changes to the CIFF47 program to applicants, participants, and audience members in a timely manner via its website and/or direct communication with filmmakers.
Submissions
All filmmakers or other film-rights holders who submit films for consideration for CIFF47 (“Applicants”) must do so using FilmFreeway. As FilmFreeway users, all Applicants therefore agree to be bound by the FilmFreeway Terms of Service for Filmmakers, Screenwriters, and Non-Festivals (https://filmfreeway.com/page/terms-of-service). If any provisions of these Filmmaker Terms and Conditions conflict with the FilmFreeway Terms of Service, then these Filmmaker Terms and Conditions will control.
All films submitted to FilmFreeway must be in the form of an online-screener or Vimeo link. If a link is password protected, then the password must be valid through April 2, 2023, otherwise your submission will be considered INVALID and will be DISQUALIFIED with no entry-fee refund. For further guidance on the process of submitting your film for CIFF47 consideration, please visit CIFF’s Call for Entries FAQs.
Once your film has been submitted via the CIFF47 FilmFreeway portal, it is your responsibility to check your FilmFreeway account to ensure that your submission meets CIFF’s requirements; that you have provided all necessary information to CIFF; and that your film has been accepted by CIFF for consideration. Within one week after your submission date, CIFF will send you an email confirming that it has received your submission and, if applicable, requesting any further information needed from you.
Eligibility
Films whose productions were completed after June 1, 2021, are eligible for submission to CIFF47.
There are no premiere restrictions for CIFF47 submissions. Films that have been previously screened online in an official ticketed-festival capacity are eligible for CIFF47 submission.
All films under 45 minutes in length are considered short films.
Please do not submit any works in progress or any industrial or instructional films.
At this time, CIFF regrets that it has no plans to include New Media presentations in CIFF47, due to CIFF’s concerns that it will be unable to implement reasonable measures to protect participants’ health and safety in interactive environments. CIFF therefore will not consider any New Media submissions for CIFF47, including Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, Video Games, or Interactive Media. Should this policy change, CIFF will update its FilmFreeway page and permit New Media submissions to remain free of charge in accordance with CIFF’s past practice. CIFF encourages any New Media creators who are interested in submitting work for CIFF47 to check CIFF’s FilmFreeway page regularly for any updates.
Fees
Submission fees for CIFF47 increase over time. Early submissions are therefore encouraged. For further details, please see the Dates & Deadlines and Categories & Fees sections on CIFF’s FilmFreeway page.
CIFF is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Fees collected through the Call for Entries process assist in our operations, so please do not request a waiver, unless you meet one of the following requirements.
If you are an Applicant who is also a CIFF Alum, meaning that CIFF has screened one of your feature or short films in a previous festival, then CIFF will waive your submission fee for any film meeting the CIFF47 requirements outlined herein.
To request an alumni fee waiver, please contact submissions@clevelandfilm.org.
Refunds
CIFF will not honor any requests for submission-fee refunds. Refunds will not be issued to any Applicant for any submission, regardless of selection for CIFF47, for any reason, including changes to CIFF47’s dates, venues, or format that CIFF may announce at any time.
Selection and Exhibition
Applicants whose works have been selected for inclusion in CIFF747(“Participants”) will be announced by CIFF no later than February 24, 2023. Written feedback from our screening team will be provided post-festival for all films that pay to submit in full. If you would like to see your comments, you must email reviews@clevelandfilm.org between May 1 - June 1, 2023. No comments will be provided past June 1, 2023 or for any films that submit with a waiver or discount.
All films (feature and short) must be available for theatrical exhibition as a DCP. For all films that will be participating in the possible online component of the festival, films must also be available as a .mp4 or other CIFF-approved digital file. 35MM, BLU-RAY, AND DVD ARE NOT ACCEPTABLE FORMATS FOR CIFF47 EXHIBITION.
Participants must upload all exhibition files electronically to CIFF’s secure-storage platform. CIFF will not accept any exhibition files for CIFF47 that are submitted on a hard drive.
Warranties and License
All Applicants and Participants warrant that they own the copyright to the film that they have submitted for CIFF47 consideration. Applicants and Participants further warrant that they have secured all necessary rights and clearances to exhibit their film during CIFF47; are authorized to accept these Filmmaker Terms and Conditions; and are authorized to grant CIFF a license to exhibit the film during the Festival. Participants hereby grant CIFF a non-exclusive license to exhibit their film during CIFF47.
Indemnity
All Applicants and Participants agree, to the extent permissible by applicable law, to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless CIFF and its directors, officers, employees, affiliates, licensees, and agents from and against any and all claims, losses, liabilities, demands, legal costs (including court costs and reasonable experts’ and attorneys’ fees), judgments, and other expenses that arise at any point in time, before, during, or after CIFF47, out of or on account of the Applicants’ or Participants’ involvement in CIFF47 and/or CIFF’s selection process for the same.
Choice of Law
These Filmmaker Terms and Conditions will be governed by the laws of the State of Ohio, without regard to its conflicts-of-laws principles, except those necessary to enforce the choice of applicable law; may be enforced only in a state or federal court sitting within Cleveland, Ohio, with respect to which court CIFF and the Applicants and Participants agree to personal jurisdiction and venue, further waiving any right to challenge venue; and is binding upon, and inures to the benefit of, CIFF’s and the Applicants’ and Participants’ successors, assigns, heirs, and personal representatives.
Severability
If any provision of these Filmmaker Terms and Conditions is determined to be invalid, illegal, or unenforceable, then that provision will not affect the enforceability of any other provision of these Filmmaker Terms and Conditions. Rather, the invalid, illegal, or unenforceable provision shall be deemed severed from these Filmmaker Terms and Conditions, which will be enforced as if they did not contain the invalid, illegal, or unenforceable provision.
