THE CALL FOR ENTRIES FOR THE 2024 EDITION IS OPEN

-THE DEADLINES YOU SEE HERE ON THE RIGHT REFER TO THE CURRENT PRESELECTION COMPETITION QUALIFYING FOR THE 2024 EDITION (OCTOBER 2024)

-THERE ARE 4 PRESELECTION COMPETITIONS (EACH LASTING 3 MONTHS) THROUGHOUT THE YEAR UNTIL THE LIVE EVENT IN OCTOBER 2024:
1) JUNE 2023 TO AUGUST 2023
2) SEPTEMBER 2023 TO NOVEMBER 2023
3) DECEMBER 2023 TO FEBRUARY 2024
4) MARCH 2024 TO MAY 2024

Ok, now you can read further!

The Dumbo Film Festival (DFF) is a live screening event occurring in DUMBO, Brooklyn every year.
Before the live event, a number of annual official selections for each category is chosen during preselection competitions (no screenings) throughout the year.
On FilmFreeway you can find information about the current preselection competition (deadlines and fees).

The 6th Dumbo Film Festival (2024 DFF) live event will occur after all the preselection competitions are closed and the whole lineup to screen is chosen in October, 2024.
All the officially selected films will be screened in Brooklyn, New York during the annual live screening event, and a final ceremony will be held to award projects that have been judged the very best over the past year.

This structure allows the festival to collect funds for the organization of the annual live event. As a nonprofit 501(c)(3) Corporation, the Dumbo Film Festival is totally independent and the budget to allocate on every year's live event is built out of the submission fees and donations.

This structure is also meant to give everyone a chance throughout the year and highlight both affirmed and emergent filmmakers by launching promising artists into the world film stage.

Main missions of the nonprofit Dumbo Film Festival Inc. are:

• highlighting the young and artistic heart of Dumbo district by making it an appealing destination for both emergent and affirmed filmmakers to share their talent and sensitivity;

• becoming a den for cinema lovers by organizing competitions, screenings, galas and related activities;

• building a bridge among the many different cultures that can be experienced under the wing of independent cinema (thus contributing to raising tolerance and familiarity towards different ways of life, traditions and new points of view).

By the end of the Seventies, a prosperous renewal has brought the district of Dumbo to a new life, and it is now considered to be one of New York’s most glamorous districts and a thriving destination for artists to meet and share their thoughts.
On this background of revival within the New York panorama, the Dumbo Film Festival aims to establish itself among the most important independent festivals in the world.
Producers and directors from around the world can meet each other here, encounter new ideas, and begin working toward prestigious goals.

Many of our award-winning films are official selections or winners from Cannes, Berlinale, Raindance, Sundance, Tribeca, the Goya Awards, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA), the American Academy Awards (Oscar®), and so on. Many have been distributed on major televisions and international platforms such as HBO, Netflix, Amazon, PBS, BBC.

The DFF awards six categories:
-Feature Narrative
-Short Narrative
-Feature Documentary
-Short Documentary
-Animation
-Experimental.

The official selections which will be screened in Brooklyn will compete to win the Best in Category award and the Grand Bridge award.
Feel free to visit our official website dumbofilmfestival.com for further details about the trophies, past editions and winners.

Awards & Prizes

GRAND BRIDGE AWARD
This Award is for the Best film of the year.
Eligibility: chosen among all the annual official selections.
Jury: This award is assigned by the Board of Directors of the Festival.

BEST IN CATEGORY AWARD
Assigned to the best film in each category:

1. Narrative Feature – Prize: Trophy
2. Documentary Feature – Prize: Trophy
3. Short Narrative – Prize: Trophy
4. Short Documentary – Prize: Trophy
5. Experimental – Prize: Trophy
6. Animation – Prize: Trophy

Jury: This award is assigned by the panels of Judges.

The films that are selected during the preselection competitions will access the annual exhibition. Each of the nominees will have the opportunity to win two awards: the Best in Category Award and the GRAND BRIDGE AWARD.

Rules & Terms

Terms & Conditions
This competition is open to either U.S. and International projects, as long as your project will comply with Dumbo Film Festival’s Terms and Conditions. You can check the following for further information.

CATEGORIES
In order to be accepted, your submission must fall in one of the following categories:

1) Short Narrative – Duration/Running Time: No more than 60 minutes
2) Feature Narrative – Duration/Running Time: No less than 60 minutes
3) Short Documentary – Duration/Running Time: No more than 50 minutes
4) Feature Documentary – Duration/Running Time: No less than 50 minutes
5) Experimental – Duration/Running Time: No limitations
6) Animation – Duration/Running Time: No limitations

Submission to the wrong category will result in disqualification.
Please have care to choose the correct category for your entry project. You will not be notified in case of mistake.

RELEASE DATE
In order to be accepted in the 2024 Dumbo Film Festival, your project will have to be released (premiere) after January 1, 2022.

SUBTITLES
For your submission to be accepted, your foreign-language project must be equipped with English subtitles. In the event subtitles are missing, you will be notified by email and asked to update your work. If your updated submission will fail to be provided by the final deadline, your work will be disqualified with no refunds of the submission fees (See “REFUNDS” herein).

PRIOR SCREENINGS:
Dumbo Film Festival requests partial exclusivity in screening your film: your work must not have been broadcast on any TV network or be publicly available online before the event date. Nonetheless, private, industry, press screenings, as well as previous screenings at other film festivals are allowed.
The “New York Premiere” status is recommended, but not mandatory.

COPYRIGHT & LEGAL TERMS
By submitting your project at the 2024 Dumbo Film Festival, the submitter and filmmakers associated with the entry project warrant as follows:
-You authorize your project to be exhibited at the Dumbo Film Festival;
-You accept to hold full legal responsibility for the intellectual property herein;
-Your project does not infringe any trademark, agreement, copyright, artistic, personal, civil, privacy, moral right of any person, firm, corporation or association;
-In the event of any claim involving copyright, trademark, credits, publicity, screening, and loss of or damage to the screening videos entered, you accept to indemnify and hold harmless the Dumbo Film Festival from and against any resulting claims, liabilities, losses, damages, and expenses (including but not limited to attorney's fees and costs of the court).

REFUNDS
You will not be eligible to any refund of submission fees for any reason (either in case of withdrawal and disqualification – see “DISQUALIFICATION” herein), once your film is in “In Consideration” status on the platform FilmFreeway.

DISQUALIFICATION
Any failure to comply with one or more of the Dumbo Film Festival’s Terms and Conditions related to will result in disqualification:
-Submissions: included and not limited to wrong category submissions (see “CATEGORIES”), failure to pay submission fees by the deadline, double submissions (excepted for updated subtitled versions – see “SUBTITLES”);
-Release Dates (herein “RELEASE DATES”)
-Subtitles (herein “SUBTITLES”)
-Prior Screenings (herein “PRIOR SCREENINGS”)
-Copyright and Legal Terms (herein “COPYRIGHT & LEGAL TERMS”)
248 Reviews
Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Sandi Bachom

    Can't tell you how honored and thrilled I am by first film, "True Believers at the Insurrection' has been selected to screen at the Dumbo Film Festival. Not only is it a hometown screening but it's such an awesome festival supporting independent filmmakers. I know you have thousands of films to choose from, grateful, mine was one.

    March 2023
    Helpful
  • catherine mouttet

    I am so thrilled to be a semi-finalist and have my short film recognized by the Dumbo Film Festival. To be considered and supported by such a well-curated and exciting platform really has been an incredible part of the journey of producing the work.

    March 2023
    Helpful
  • Marcus Hamm

    What an incredible honor to have reached Semi-Finalist status for such a prestigious festival. So many incredible works were submitted and we congratulate all who made it to the finals for screening. We hope to return with our next one!

    March 2023
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  • Kent Bernhard

    Though “Let’s Start Over” was disappointed that we didn’t make the final selection for the Dumbo Film Festival, we were so humbled to be selected as semi-finalists. This is a top notch festival, and can’t wait to see how the event turn out in October. Very good crew, very well organized.

    March 2023
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  • Judith Simonds

    The festival contacted us via FilmFreeway to inform us that they were interested in our movie. They offered us a discounted fee. I took the bait and submitted. I then received a message informing me that our movie was a semifinalist. That was a first, I've never gotten that kind of (film festival) notification before. And finally, a week later, I was notified that our movie wasn't selected. The Dumbo Film Festival must think we're really dumb. I fell for this foolishly and I'm out some money and wasted time. Fool me once Dumbo! I'm sure you made some money off of this bait and switch tactic. Good luck to all of the film makers, but beware....

    March 2023
    Helpful