Rules & Terms
o All entries must be original, student-created films incorporating substantial animation components
o Past winners in prior iterations of the IAF are not eligible to win again
o There is no fee to submit
o All the works for the competition need to have been produced after January 1, 2021.
o By submitting your work, you certify that you hold necessary rights for the presentation of this film at IAF
o There is no limit to the amount of films that a filmmaker/director may submit
o Films may be of any length, but any submitted work of over 10 minutes in length may be presented in excerpted form
o In order to be admitted, the materials must be in English or presented with English subtitles (embedded)
1. If selected you will be required to additionally submit a .srt document with your dialogue list in English
o Films must be submitted via FilmFreeway
o Once a film has been submitted for participation it cannot be withdrawn
o IAF does not pay screening fees of any kind whatsoever
o The deadline for registration and submission of materials is January 31, 2024
Submission Deadlines & Entry Fees:
o Submissions Open: Tuesday, August 1, 2023
o Submission Deadline: Wednesday, January 31, 2024
o Official Selections and a list of all submissions that were chosen to be screened will be announced: Friday, March 8, 2024
o Event Dates: Saturday, March 16th, 2024
Technical Guidelines:
1. We strongly recommend that you triple check your audio levels and that your audio is NOT limited to one channel (i.e., right or left).
2. Any film that includes main dialogue that is not in English must be submitted with English subtitles packaged into the submitted video file. Standalone .srt files are not accepted.
3. If your film has subtitles please make sure they are "Title Safe". For a detailed explanation of "Title Safe" please click here.
4. When uploading your submission, you must use the following file naming conventions:
• FirstNameLastName_FilmTitle.format
o Examples:
JaneDoe_MyFilm.mov
JohnDoe_MyMovie.mp4
We will only except the file formats listed below:
• .MP4
• .MOV
Do not submit films in 4K. Please submit your film in 1080 HD resolution. Any film files that are larger than 2GBs will not be accepted.
Do not submit using a YouTube link as they cannot be downloaded. Any submissions with a YouTube link will not be considered for selection or screening.
Films that are accepted into the festival will be screened in 16:9 aspect ratio. If your film is submitted in a different ratio, your film will be letterboxed to display on the 16:9 screen.
Content Guidelines:
• All music, images, titles, footage and other copyrighted material used in your submission MUST be properly licensed. You must have permission and/or the proper rights to all content submitted
• There are various resources that offer royalty free music and images. We strongly encourage you to use original music
• Note that all submissions must be appropriate for a family-friendly forum in which minors and the general public will be viewers
Eligibility Guidelines:
• Each film must fit into one of the categories below, based on the age(s) of the content creator(s) as of January 1, 2023, as relevant:
o High School
o Lower Division (Freshmen and Sophomore)
o Upper Division (Junior and Senior)
Each film must be created substantially by an individual who fits into one of the above categories, but they may be assisted by someone older (so long as that person is not credited as director, co-director, or the like)
• Additionally, each film may be submitted under these special topics:
o Contemporary Social Media Issues
o Climate Change
• There will be submissions awarded the People’s Choice and Dean’s Choice awards
• Note that a submission may win up to two prizes based on the above categories
• IAF is an international film festival and thus accept films from anywhere in the world as long as you met the age criteria referenced above as of January 1, 2024
• Any submission that does not meet these guidelines will NOT be considered for judging and will NOT be selected to screen at the IAF
• The IAF team reserves the right to reject any submission if it is considered inappropriate for a family-friendly forum in which minors and the general public will be viewers
Prizes:
• For each category referenced above, the winning film will be awarded a US$100 Amazon gift card, and will be featured on an IAF webpage and COC’s ISP webpage
o Note that as a US public entity, the festival organizers are obligated to conform to sanctions-related rules and protocols. Please see this link for active sanctions programs, including countries to which payments may not be sent: https://home.treasury.gov/policy-issues/financial-sanctions/sanctions-programs-and-country-information
