The following is an explanation of the Fine Cut Festival of Films rules and regulations (“Rules and Regulations”) governing the submission of a Film (as defined in Section II) to PBS SoCal for consideration for the 2025 Fine Cut Festival of Films (hereafter called “Fine Cut”). All information contained in this document shall supersede the contents of the FAQ document located at http://www.pbssocal.org/finecutrules.
By agreeing to the Terms and Conditions found on the Fine Cut profile located at https://filmfreeway.com/festival/FineCut, the person submitting the Film (hereafter called the “Applicant”) confirms that he or she has obtained consent from any and all owners, creators, writers, producers and/or other authorized representatives of the Film whose consent is required to submit the Film to PBS SoCal, and has read and understood the submission Rules and Regulations as set forth below:
CONTENTS:
I. GENERAL RULES FOR SUBMITTING TO FINE CUT FESTIVAL OF FILMS
II. FINE CUT PROGRAM CATEGORIES & ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS
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I. GENERAL RULES AND REGULATIONS FOR SUBMISSION OF A FILM TO FINE CUT FESTIVAL OF FILMS:
NOTE: The submission categories and program categories that are referenced and identified as capitalized terms in this Section I of these Rules and Regulations, and the eligibility requirements for each, shall be understood as having the definitions and descriptions assigned to them in Sections II and III of these Rules and Regulations below.
1) The total running time of Any Film submitted into Fine Cut for consideration must not to exceed 25 minutes (00:25:00) inclusive of any Film credits.
2) The trailer for each Film (“Trailer”) must be in a digital file and must not exceed a total running time of a thirty seconds (00:00:30).
3) Films and Trailers must be eligible for television broadcast locally in the Los Angeles region and nationally on Dish Network and DirectTV.
4) Each filmmaker of a Film and Trailer must grant to PBS SoCal a license to use and perform the Film in connection with the Fine Cut Festival of Film, in any and all media formats and through any and all media distribution now known or hereinafter devised; including but, not limited to broadcast, festivals, and all forms of “Over The Top” (i.e., distribution via the internet) services.
5) Films completed prior to January 1, 2023, are not eligible for consideration for Fine Cut.
6) Films that have been submitted for Fine Cut consideration in previous years are not eligible for submission for 2025 Fine Cut consideration.
7) It is the sole responsibility of the Applicant to secure authorization and permission from the copyright owner(s) of any and all copyrighted and/or trademarked content or materials included within the submitted Film. PBS SoCal expressly disavows any responsibility for, and will not be held responsible for, any unauthorized inclusion of any copyrighted and/or content or materials within or relating to the submitted Film and Trailer, including any content or materials that are or may become the basis for any Third-Party Claim(s) (as defined in Section I Paragraph 7 hereinbelow) for copyright and/or trademark infringement, trademark dilution, or unfair competition. PBS SoCal in its sole determination, reserves the right to disqualify any Film with any unauthorized inclusion of copyrighted content or materials. In the event that any claim, dispute, action or proceeding shall be brought or asserted by any person or entity that alleges that the Film and/or Trailer makes unauthorized or unlawful use of any copyrighted content or material, Applicant shall fully indemnify, defend, and hold harmless PBS SoCal, Fine Cut, and each of their representatives, affiliates, and sublicensees from any liability in connection therewith and from any fees and expenses, including but not limited to reasonable attorneys’ fees, that any of them may incur in connection therewith.
8) It is the sole responsibility of the Applicant to clear all content of the Film and Trailer from any and all actual or potential legal claims and issues, including, without limitation, claims based upon theories of libel, defamation, invasion of privacy, violation of rights of publicity, theft of trade secrets, breach of confidence, breach of confidential relationship, and breach of express or implied contract (“Third-Party Claim(s)”). PBS SoCal expressly disavows any responsibility for, and will not be held responsible for, any unauthorized inclusion of any content or materials within or relating to the submitted Film and/or Trailer that are or may be the basis for any Third-Party Claim based upon any of the foregoing legal theories or others. PBS SoCal in its sole determination reserves the right to disqualify any Film submission that is or may become the subject of any Third-Party Claim. In the event that any Third-Party Claim is asserted by any person or entity, Applicant shall fully indemnify, defend, and hold harmless PBS SoCal, Fine Cut, and each of their representatives, affiliates, and sublicensees from any liability in connection therewith and from any and all fees and expenses, including but not limited to reasonable attorneys’ fees, that each of any of them may incur in connection therewith.
9) Applicants submitting Films and Trailers that contain significant non-English spoken dialogue must provide on-screen English subtitles and not captions only provided through a streaming platform such as Vimeo. PBS SoCal in its sole determination reserves the right to disqualify any Film that contains significant non-English spoken dialogue that does not include accompanying on-screen English subtitles.
10) There is only one (1) method of entry into Fine Cut. All Films must be submitted to PBS SoCal via the Secure Online Screener function of Film Freeway, which is located at https://filmfreeway.com/festival/FineCut (“Website”). Entry must be made by Applicant only in the manner as set forth herein. All other methods of entry are considered void. PBS SoCal in its sole determination reserves the right to disqualify any Film entry that is not submitted using the Website. There is no fee charged to Applicants by PBS SoCal or Film Freeway for the submission of an application. However, Applicants may incur costs preparing their submissions for compliance with these rules.
11) In the event that the Applicant remits an updated version of the Film to PBS SoCal after having submitted a previous version of the Film to PBS SoCal during the same calendar year, PBS SoCal is under no obligation to view any or all of the updated version.
12) In order for any Film to be considered for entry into Fine Cut, the Applicant must visit the Website (i.e., https://filmfreeway.com/festival/FineCut) and follow the links and instructions to complete the required Fine Cut profile. For the purpose of clarity, an eligible Film entry submitted into Fine Cut must include a completed Fine Cut profile, Film, and Trailer. Any entry that does not include a Film, Trailer and Fine Cut profile will not be considered as entry into Fine Cut. PBS SoCal in its sole determination reserves the right to disqualify any entry that does not include a completed Fine Cut profile, Film, and Trailer.
13) Upon completion of the Fine Cut selection process, PBS SoCal will attempt to contact the Applicant using the contact information provided on the Fine Cut profile to notify the Applicant of the Film’s acceptance status. PBS SoCal disavows any responsibility for, and will not be held responsible for, any failure to contact the Applicant using the contact information provided on the Fine Cut profile. It is the sole responsibility of the Applicant to ensure that the contact information provided on the Fine Cut profile is correct throughout the entirety of the Submission Period (as defined below). Applicants can update their contact information through the Website. All prizewinners and awards will be published at pbssocal.org/finecut.
14) All information and tangible materials submitted to PBS SoCal will not be returned. No correspondence or any other form of communication will be acknowledged or entered into.
II. FINE CUT PROGRAM CATEGORIES & ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS:
Please be advised that the information listed below is subject to change at any time, as our Fine Cut program categories vary from year to year. Films accepted by PBS SoCal into Fine Cut will be selected for an award (described below), and such determination will be at the sole and absolute discretion of PBS SoCal.
All Films must meet the submission requirements and abide by all Rules and Regulations and be suitable for publication, which shall be determined by PBS SoCal in its sole discretion. Film submissions that violate or do not meet the requirements will be declined and/or disqualified.
Any Applicant that submits a Film and/or Trailer into Fine Cut must be the original author and copyright owner of the submitted Film and/or Trailer and that Applicant must have the sole authority and/or has obtained the legal authority from any necessary third party, to grant the permissions and rights granted herein, and no other permission from any other party must be required to grant such rights.
The submission period for Film Cut begins April 1, 2025 and ends June 6, 2025 (“Submission Period”). All Film submissions and Trailers must be received prior to the expiration of the Submission Period. PBS SoCal’s database clock shall be the official time keeping device for all entries submitted into Film Cut.
The filmmaker of the submitted Film must be enrolled or have been enrolled in a California college or university as of January 2023 to present.
Applicants must be eighteen (18) years of age or older as of the date of their Film submission into Fine Cut.
NOTE: Films created by a student group that is enrolled in a Southern California College or University class may NOT be submitted by a teacher on behalf of the student group. For the purpose of clarity, teachers are not eligible to submit a Film for entry into Fine Cut (“Teacher Restriction”). PBS SoCal in its sole determination reserves the right to disqualify any Film entry that violates the Teacher Restriction.
There is a limit of one (1) Film submission per Applicant.
ALL FILMS SUBMITTED INTO FINE CUT FOR CONSIDERATION MUST MEET ALL ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS AND ABIDE BY ALL FINE CUT RULES AND REGULATIONS
The following is a description of each program category, along with eligibility requirements for each:
FILM CATEGORIES
There are three (3) film categories for Fine Cut; animation, documentary, and scripted (each a “Category” collectively, “Categories”).
All Films selected by PBS SoCal as a Category finalist into Fine Cuts will be included as part of one (1) of six (6) one-hour broadcast episodes. All Films selected as a Category finalist in Fine Cut will be eligible for awards in the Competition. There are no premiere or prior screening restrictions for short films. All Films selected as a Category finalist will be part of the broadcast pending they comply with all PBS SoCal’s FCC guidelines.
The winning Film in each Category (i.e., Animation, Documentary and Scripted) may receive a prize package. Prize packages, if any, will be funded with PBS SoCal donor support and vary in cash value from year to year. Please contact PBS SoCal after May 1, 2025 for updated information regarding the estimated cash value of the prize package. .
JACK LARSON SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA STUDENT FILMMAKER AWARD
The prizewinner of the Jack Larson Southern California Student Filmmaker Award will be determined from the Films selected as finalist in each Category.
PBS SoCal does not limit the number of applications and, based on previous experience, anticipates between 250 and 450 applicants of which approximately 2/3rds will comply with the above rules and be eligible for a prize.
All prizewinners expressly consent to PBS SoCal’s use of their name for the purpose of promoting this contest and the Fine Cut Festival of Film.
