As a dedicated Documentary filmmaker, you have an important message: Deliver it to the people that matter! Other fests claim to “invite” distributors to a venue: We Deliver Them To You Directly, Guaranteed.

Docs Without Borders Film Festival (DWBFF) is a festival dedicated to DOCUMENTARIES and DOCU-DRAMAS ONLY (we are one of the few festivals with a separate category for Docu-dramas).

-Guaranteed distributor review by World Wide Motion Pictures Corporation (WWMPC.COM) for features, and Adler & Associates for shorts and features, AT NO EXTRA COST TO YOU, for our select few "Best Of Show’" and "Award of Outstanding Excellence" winners in the 13 Major categories, based on sufficient qualified entries. For this FREE service, DWBFF requires NO CONTRACTS to be signed.
-No need to "hope" that a distributor will see your film at a festival venue: We guarantee top winners will be reviewed by our distribution associates.
- ON-DEMAND VIDEO PLAY OPTION: DWBFF, in conjunction with WRPN.TV Entertainment Network, may also offer a unique opportunity to show your film to a world-wide community of video fans from dozens of countries that filmmakers would not normally have access to, in the form of an optional On-Demand video play opportunity. On-Demand will be available later this year for “Best Of Show,” “Outstanding Excellence,” “Excellence,” and even some “Exceptional Merit” winners, so don’t miss this chance to get in early and get the important message of your documentary seen by worldwide WRPN.TV subscribers.
-FREE Earlybird entry of any rejected film, into DWBFF’s next competition, upon completion of the suggested corrections outlined in your rejection letter.
-$10 discount for ALL STUDENT FILM ENTRIES IN THE 13 MAJOR CATEGORIES regardless of deadline status (proof required of student status at time of filming: no refunds if your ID is not legitimate).
-Reduced rates for sub-category submissions (cinematography, editing, original score, research, etc.)
-Unique Documentary Category distinctions: Environmental, Human Spirit, Social Issues, Wildlife, Docu-drama shorts, and Docu-drama features, and many others.
-Rejected films also have the opportunity for Feedback: The one element most festivals ignore.
Instead of paying submission fees and getting nothing in return, EVERYONE who submits to DWBFF will receive one of two benefits: Either 1): your film is already competition calibre, and gets accepted as an Official Selection, OR 2): you’ll receive a letter outlining exactly what is keeping it from being accepted. If you can make corrections, you resubmit for FREE.
While most festivals never give any explanation at all for a rejection, we strive to help filmmakers improve their festival acceptance rates and therefore, their marketability.
DWBFF is run as a web-based competition, instead of a traditional film festival: 100% of our effort and investment goes into finding a market for you, not into renting theatres unless it is dictated by the distributors to further test the market. New distribution company connections are actively petitioned.
Finally, you can rest assured that our (DWBFF's) co-founder is a registered Committee Member for the Universal Film & Festival Organization (UFFO.ORG). The UFFO is a non-profit operating out of the U.K., which exists for "Promoting best business practices for film festivals.” This guarantees that your film will benefit from a fair and thorough judging process.

Awards & Prizes

DWBFF, in cooperation with our distribution colleagues, is proud to offer guaranteed distributor review to the top winners in the 13 major categories at these award levels*:

"Best Of Show"
"Award of Outstanding Excellence"

*(Please note: If there is insufficient competition within any particular category, DOFIFF reserves the right to withdraw a "Best Of" presentation in that particular category.)

Other award levels include:
"Award Of Excellence"
"Award Of Exceptional Merit"
"Award Of Merit"
"Kudos Endeavor Award"

Sub-category awards are available for cinematography, research, original concept, editing, viewer impact, and many others.

Rules & Terms

DWBFF is hereby granted the right to utilize an excerpt from any film submitted and accepted for competition at the Festival for promotional purposes.
Only films submitted into one of the 13 Major categories are eligible for distributor review (films submitted for judging in reduced-rate, production value sub-categories only, will not be eligible).
In order to insure that each film is studied and rated on an individual basis, DWBFF has instituted a system to insure that entries do not compete against each other, but instead are recognized for their own individual merits. For all intents and purposes, they compete against themselves: each entry is judged on individual merits and scored on an inherent value system. We want to insure that the judges’ focus is on you when it is your turn to be evaluated, not on all the other films that are in cue: this insures that they will not have comparisons going on in their minds when they should be focusing entirely on YOU.
On-Demand video play on WRPN.TV is completely OPTIONAL.
Submitting your film to DWBFF automatically puts you on our mailing list, to receive emails from DWBFF and WRPN.TV, so that you will be informed of developments regarding the status of your film. This mailing list is private and will not be shared with any third parties. You may unsubscribe at any time at the risk of missing pertinent information regarding your film.
The individual or corporation submitting the film hereby warrants that it is authorized to commit the film for screening, and understands and accepts these requirements and regulations.
The Competition reserves the right to refuse entries, and there are no waivers.
DVD's will not be returned.
Submissions in other than English must be subtitled, dubbed or include an English transcript.
If there is insufficient competition within any particular category, DWBFF reserves the right to withdraw a "Best Of" presentation in that particular category.
Filmmakers who enter only discounted sub-categories, but no major categories, are not eligible for "Best Of Show" award level.

Judges score entries on a performance scale and winning entries are recognized and awarded not only for Best Of Show, but also for two Awards of Excellence levels, two Awards of Merit levels, a Kudos Endeavor Award, or no award.
Best of Show honors are granted to the top scoring entry/entries for each season; Awards of Excellence are granted to entries with truly exceptional artistic and technical achievements; and notable achievements are recognized at the Award of Merit and 'Kudos' award levels.
The number of awards granted at any given level will fluctuate based on the total number of entries received for each competition deadline. Just as entering major categories does not insure selection or award, entering sub-categories also does not insure selection or award; Filmmakers who enter sub-categories only (without entering a major category) may be rejected if the judges do not feel the submitted sub-category is of merit, even if the film itself is of merit and could have been award-worthy. Conversely, films may also receive awards for sub-categories written in by the judges even if the filmmaker did not submit for them.
The undersigned shall indemnify and hold harmless DOCS WITHOUT BORDERS FILM FESTIVAL, WRPN.TV, and ROMAN PICTURES 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.
Submitting filmmakers whom have in any way been associated with Roman Pictures, WRPN.TV, or any of the executive producers for the above mentioned organizations, will be disqualified due to conflict of interest, and any submission fees will be refunded. The filmmaker hereby asserts that no such association with executive producers for Roman Pictures or WRPN.TV exists or has existed in the past.

31 Reviews
Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Najib GHALLALE

    It was great. The Docs Without Borders Film Festival was an excellent opportunity for me to show my film to film professionals and in professional conditions. And, as promised me, the Docs Without Borders Film Festival allowed me, as Winner of the Top of show, to be chosen by a film distribution company and a television channel. I am very grateful to Docs for giving me this opportunity.

    May 2018
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    Response from festival:

    We are more than happy to provide free distribution opportunities to top filmmakers such as yourself, as we know how difficult it is for independent filmmakers to get recognition from distributors. YOU did the hard work and created a fantastic project, so we will take the opportunity here to say "THANK YOU" for submitting your work to us!

  • Susanna Taddei

    we were extremely happy to received a notification that we won "Best in Show" with our Documentary "RCTV: EL SILENCIO DE LA DIGNIDAD" - thank you so much. But ... the fact that now you trying to charge us an extra $30 for a "soft copy of the certificate that will be emailed so you can print it yourself on a certificate card available at most office supply stores" was an unpleasant surprise. This is our sixth award, but it the first time somebody tries to charge us for a one-page pdf file.

    April 2018
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    Response from festival:

    Congratulations on your "Best Of Show" award; as a First-time Filmmaker this is quite an honor and a grand display of your talent. We hope that our distributor contact information - only provided for top winners such as yourself free of charge (other festivals charge $100-$200 for this) - helps to publicize the cause of your foundations objective. We strive to provide as many opportunities on a 'free of charge' basis as possible (distribution, the free waivers to enter other festivals which you received, future on-demand play opportunities for your film on WRPN.TV so that you may earn an income from the display of your film, etc), but as a business, the one fee we assess (other than festival submission fee) is for certificates that we must send to a print house for execution. Regardless of the certificate being sent as a 'soft copy,' there are still expenses incurred for materials and handling where our festival is charged by an outside vendor. We must then scan the hard copy we receive from the vendor, so that it can be emailed to the filmmaker. While large festivals such as Sundance may provide free certificates, they also charge two to three times more for their festival submission fees, and there is little chance of being accepted there, much less winning an award. Thus the benefit of entering smaller festivals such as ours, where filmmakers have the chance to really be considered and receive contact with a distributor. We are sorry you are disappointed with the certificate options as a Best Of Show winner, but we must cover our handling and materials cost. Please let us know if you would like to discuss further or have a different solution to offer, we are always here to help. Again, congratulations!

  • The Weather Network Pelmorex Corp.

    Great festival! They were a pleasure to work with, and communication was exemplary.

    April 2018
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    Response from festival:

    Thank you so much, we are here to help, and we are happy that you had a great experience with us!

  • Drew Henriksen

    Couldn't go, but they were very gracious.

    April 2018
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    Response from festival:

    Thank you Drew, happy filmmaking!

  • Nico Mastorakis

    A joy to be a part of this festival, a joy to have won an award.
    Nico Mastorakis, director, "Mykonos, The Soul Of An Island."

    April 2018
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    Response from festival:

    Well Nico, it was a joy to see your wonderful film, thank you so much for submitting it to us!