THE CALL FOR ENTRIES FOR THE 2025 EDITION IS OPEN

-THE DEADLINES YOU SEE HERE ON THE RIGHT REFER TO THE PRESELECTION COMPETITION QUALIFYING FOR THE 2025 EDITION (FALL 2025). THE "EVENT DATE" HERE ON THE RIGHT IS THE SECOND NOTIFICATION DATE (COMMUNICATION OF THE OFFICIAL SELECTION).

-THERE ARE 4 PRESELECTION COMPETITIONS (EACH LASTING 3 MONTHS) WITH NO SCREENING EVENTS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR UNTIL THE ACTUAL LIVE EVENT IN FALL 2025:
1) JUNE 2024 TO AUGUST 2024
2) SEPTEMBER 2024 TO NOVEMBER 2024
3) DECEMBER 2024 TO FEBRUARY 2025
4) MARCH 2025 TO MAY 2025

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).

While the call for entries is already open for the 7th Dumbo Film Festival (taking place in DUMBO in fall 2025), the 6th Dumbo Film Festival (2024 DFF) live event will occur on October 23-27, 2024, after all the preselection competitions are closed and the whole lineup to screen is chosen.
Like every year, 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.
$5,000 credit towards grip&light equipment rental by Cinelease

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”)
265 Reviews
Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Kate Tiuri

    My team and I are so happy to be part of your festival and create cinema history together!

    September 2024
    Helpful
  • John Tedeschi

    Honored and grateful to have A Book by Their Cover pre-selected for your Film Festival. All the best to your wonderful participants and events.

    September 2024
    Helpful
  • Harun Kazaz

    Being part of your festival and having "Rising Wings" highlighted was an honor. Thank you for your dedication to promoting powerful documentaries. We are grateful for your support.

    August 2024
    Helpful
  • Szilárd Demján

    This is a great event. It is honor and pleasure that my film participated in this film festival.

    June 2024
    Helpful
  • Artan Maku

    The character suddenly learns the truth of the dream, which was without its true value, because society was involved.
    We aim to fly into this dream reality, and your festival provides this space.
    It's not just a "Cursed" dream, it's a testament to the power of storytelling to evoke emotion, challenge perceptions and inspire change.

    June 2024
    Helpful