Fine Cut Festival

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 2026 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 and Trailer (as those terms are defined below, and together, the “Project”) (hereafter called the “Applicant”) confirms that and the Applicant has read and understood the submission Rules and Regulations as set forth below:

CONTENTS:

I. GENERAL RULES FOR SUBMITTING TO FINE CUT

II. FINE CUT PROGRAM CATEGORIES & ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

III. SUBMISSIONS AGREEMENT

I. GENERAL RULES AND REGULATIONS FOR SUBMISSION OF A FILM TO FINE CUT:

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 Section II of these Rules and Regulations below.

1) The total running time of a submission (“Film”) 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) The Film must be capable of television broadcast locally in the Los Angeles region and nationally on Dish Network and DirecTV and the Trailer must be capable exhibition in any and all media.

4) The Applicant grants to PBS SoCal a license to use and perform the Project in connection with Fine Cut, 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, including the right to sublicense such rights for such purposes.

5) Films completed prior to January 1, 2024, 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 2026 Fine Cut consideration.

7) The Project must be wholly original to the Applicant and not created as a work-for-hire or within the scope of any employment or contractual obligation for any third-party which is not the Applicant. Applicant’s contribution to the Project must be free of any claims by employers, contributors, or third parties.

8) It is the sole responsibility of the Applicant to secure authorization and permission from the owner(s) of any and all copyrighted and/or trademarked content or other rights materials included within the Film. PBS SoCal expressly disavows any responsibility for, and will not be held responsible for, any unauthorized inclusion of any copyrighted and/or other rights materials, or any other content within or relating to the Project, including any content or materials that are or may become the basis for any Third-Party Claim(s) (as defined in Section I Paragraph 9 hereinbelow) for copyright and/or trademark infringement, trademark dilution, or unfair competition. PBS SoCal in its sole determination, reserves the right to disqualify any Project 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 which violates a third party’s rights, 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.

9) 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.

10) Applicants submitting Projects 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.

11) 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.

12) 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.

13) 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 Film Freeway profile. For the purpose of clarity, an eligible Film entry submitted into Fine Cut must include a completed Film Freeway profile, Film, and Trailer. Any entry that does not include a Film, Trailer and Film Freeway profile will not be considered as entry into Fine Cut. PBS SoCal in its sole determination reserves the right to disqualify any incomplete application.

14) PBS SoCal will attempt to contact the Applicant using the contact information provided on the Film Freeway 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 Film Freeway profile. It is the sole responsibility of the Applicant to ensure that the contact information provided on the Film Freeway 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.

15) All information and materials (whether digital or tangible) submitted to PBS SoCal will not be returned and may be destroyed. No correspondence or any other form of communication will be acknowledged.

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 which violate or do not meet the requirements will be declined and/or disqualified.

Any Applicant who 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 Fine Cut begins March 30, 2026 and ends June 3, 2026 (“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 Fine Cut.

The Applicant must be enrolled or have been enrolled in a California college or university as of January 2024.

Applicants must be eighteen (18) years of age or older as of the date of submission.

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 Applicant. For the purpose of clarity, teachers are not eligible to submit a student’s Film (“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 Cut 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 August 3, 2026 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 Fine Cut.

III. SUBMISSIONS AGREEMENT:

In accordance with PBS SoCal’s policy concerning submission of Project ideas and other material (“Submission”), Applicant agrees the Submission is submitted pursuant to the following terms and conditions:

1) PBS SoCal may review the Project or its features or components. If PBS SoCal upon its review selects the Project, and provided it is original, novel, valuable, and legally protectable, PBS SoCal agrees to provide the consideration set forth in the agreement to be executed between PBS SoCal and the selected Applicant. If PBS SoCal does not select the Project, Applicant understands that: (a) Applicant will not be entitled to any award, prize, or other consideration from PBS SoCal; (b) subject to Paragraph III.2 below, PBS SoCal will retain no right to use the Project or any of its features or components; and (c) PBS SoCal will have no obligation to Applicant in any respect whatsoever with regard to the submitted Project.
2) Applicant declares that all of the important features of the Project are disclosed in the Application and no other features have been disclosed to PBS SoCal by any other means. Applicant warrants that the Submission is original with and wholly owned by Applicant, that Applicant has full and unconditional right to disclose the Submission, that no one else has any right to it, and that Applicant has the right to enter into this Agreement. Applicant agrees to indemnify and hold PBS SoCal and its related, affiliated or parent company(s), designees, lawyers or assignees (“Indemnitees”) harmless from and against any and all claims, loss or liability (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) that may be asserted against PBS SoCal or any Indemnitee or incurred by same at any time in connection with the Project or any use thereof, and/or arising from any breach or alleged breach of any warranty, representation or covenant made by Applicant herein. Applicant believes the Project and its features to be unique and novel. However, Applicant recognizes that other persons, including PBS SoCal’s own employees, may have submitted to PBS SoCal or to others or made public, or may in the future originate and submit or make public, similar or identical material, features or components that PBS SoCal may have the right to use, and Applicant understands that Applicant will not be entitled to any consideration because of PBS SoCal’s use of materials similar or identical to the Project or the Submission.

3) Applicant acknowledges that PBS SoCal may disclose the Submission to its employees, and possibly others, to determine the Project’s value to PBS SoCal. Applicant acknowledges that no confidential relationship is entered into by reason of PBS SoCal’s consideration of the submitted Project or by reason of any oral discussions between PBS SoCal and Applicant.

4) Any controversy arising out of, or in connection with, any alleged wrongful use of the Submission or a dispute with reference to this agreement, or its validity or effect, will be determined by binding arbitration in the City of Los Angeles in accordance with the commercial rules of the American Arbitration Association; provided, however, that said arbitration will be held before a single arbitrator well-acquainted with the entertainment industry in Los Angeles. Applicant agrees that any arbitration proceeding that Applicant may choose to bring against PBS SoCal will be initiated within six (6) months after the date of PBS SoCal’s first use of any material that Applicant claims belongs to Applicant. Any award favorable to Applicant will be limited to a monetary award that will bear a reasonable relationship to monies normally paid by PBS SoCal to persons of comparable experience and stature in the entertainment industry for similar material or elements, and the fair market value therefor taking into consideration Applicant’s experience and stature in the entertainment industry, measured as of the date of the Submission. Each party waives any and all rights and benefits that it might otherwise have or be entitled to under the law to litigate any such dispute in court; it being the intention of the parties to arbitrate according to the provisions hereof, all such disputes. The arbitrator’s decision will be controlled by all the terms of this agreement.

5) Applicant has retained a copy of the Submission and releases PBS SoCal from any and all liability arising out of the use or non-use of the Project or the disclosure to any third party and the loss of or damage to the Submission. Applicant agrees that PBS SoCal does not assume any obligation to return the Submission to Applicant.

6) This agreement, including the Submission, constitutes our entire understanding. Any modification or waiver must be in writing, signed by both parties. The invalidity of any provisions shall not affect the remaining provisions. This agreement applies equally to any other material that Applicant may submit to PBS SoCal, unless agreed in writing to the contrary at the time of the submission.

7) No termination of this agreement and no acts with respect to the Project (such as PBS SoCal’s returning the Submission to Applicant) will be deemed to affect PBS SoCal’s rights under paragraphs 1, 2, 3 and 4 (including those as to consideration, agreement to arbitrate, and time for bringing any action) and all rights will survive any termination or acts.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

1) WHEN ARE THE SUBMISSION DEADLINES AND WHAT ARE THE FEES?

SUBMISSION OPENS:
March 30, 2026 NO ENTRY FEE

SUBMISSION DEADLINE:
June 3, 2026

These are the dates that Films and Trailers (as defined below) for the submitted Film and Trailer must be submitted on FilmFreeway.com. We encourage you to submit as early as possible!

The filmmaker of the submitted Film and Trailer must be enrolled or have been enrolled in a Southern California, College or University as of January 2024 to present.

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.

Each submitted Film must be also include a trailer for the submitted Film (“Trailer”), must be in a digital file, and must not exceed a total running time of a thirty seconds (00:00:30).

2) WHAT ARE THE FESTIVAL PROGRAM CATEGORIES AND ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR EACH?
There are three (3) film categories for Fine Cut; Animation, Documentary, and Scripted.
All Films selected as a category finalist into Fine Cut 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 determination they comply with all PBS SoCal and FCC guidelines, rules and regulations.

The winning Film in each Category (i.e., Animation, Documentary and Scripted) will receive a prize package to be determined.

Films that are selected to be in one of these three (3) program categories are eligible for Awards in their respective sections:
JACK LARSON SPOTLIGHT AWARD
All finalist Films in the Animation, Documentary and Scripted categories will compete against one another for the
Jack Larson Southern California Student Filmmaker Award.

3) WHAT IS YOUR PREFERRED FORMAT FOR SUBMISSION?
All Films and Trailers must be submitted via Film Freeway located at https://filmfreeway.com/festival/FineCut.

4) DO YOU ACCEPT SUBMISSIONS ON VHS OR ANY OTHER FORMAT?
No. All Films and Trailers must be submitted via the secure online screener system, Film Freeway located at https://filmfreeway.com/festival/FineCut.

5) WHY DON’T YOU ACCEPT SUBMISSIONS ON BLU-RAY?
Although we have accepted both Blu-Ray and HD-DVD formats in the past, it has proven to be more efficient to use to one standardized format for viewing submitted Films.

6) IF MY FILM and/or TRAILER INCLUDES NON-ENGLISH DIALOGUE, DO YOU REQUIRE ENGLISH SUBTITLES?
We require that all Films and Trailers that contain significant non-English dialogue include on-screen English subtitles, and not captions supplied by a video streaming service such as Vimeo. A translated list of dialogue on paper is not sufficient. If your Film is mostly in English and you intend to intentionally leave out subtitles for any non-English dialogue included in the Film and/or Trailer, you do not need to provide subtitles for those particular sections.

7) WHAT SHOULD I INCLUDE WITH MY SUBMISSION?
After you have completed the Film Freeway profile, submit a single copy of your Film and for promotional purposes only the Trailer. In an effort to cut down on waste, we ask that you do not send printed press or promotional materials to us.

8) HOW OLD CAN MY FILM BE AND STILL QUALIFY FOR SUBMISSION?
Any Film submitted for 2026 Festival consideration must have been completed in either 2024 or 2025. If your Film was completed prior to 2024, it is not eligible for submission. If your Film's production took place prior to 2024 but your final cut was not completed until 2024 or 2025, your Film is eligible.

9) MY FILM WAS NOT ACCEPTED IN THE PAST. CAN I RE-SUBMIT?
No, you may not re-submit.

10) CAN I SUBMIT A NEWER CUT OF MY FILM AFTER I'VE ALREADY SUBMITTED AN EARLIER VERSION?
In the event that the filmmaker 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. If you log into your Film Freeway account and your Film has not been marked as received, please contact us at finecut@pbssocal.org before you send another copy.

WE WILL ONLY VIEW THE FIRST CUT OF YOUR FILM THAT WE RECEIVE!

11) DO I REALLY HAVE TO REGISTER MY FILM ONLINE?
All submissions must be issued a unique tracking number in order to be recognized by our system. The only way to get a Tracking Number is to complete the online profile at Film Freeway, https://filmfreeway.com/festival/FineCut. Unregistered submissions will not be viewed. If you are having trouble with the online profile, please e-mail us at finecut@pmgsocal.org and we will be glad to help guide you through the process.

12) AM I REQUIRED TO OBTAIN RIGHTS CLEARANCE FOR MUSIC OR OTHER COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL INCLUDED IN MY FILM?
You must be the original author and copyright owner of the submitted Film and Trailer and have the sole authority and/or have obtained the legal authority from any 3rd party whose material or performance is incorporated in your submission, sufficient to grant the permissions and rights granted herein, and that no other permission, from any other party, is required to grant such rights. It is your sole responsibility to secure permission from the copyright, privacy, publicity, or trademark rights holder which right is incorporated in your submission, whether it is music, stock footage, or any other elements that could otherwise violate the rights of any third party. If you are accepted into the Festival you must sign a waiver stating that materials used in the Film and the accompanying Trailer do not violate any existing right of publicity, privacy right, copyright, trademark or other intellectual property right. Quite often, rights holders offer reduced rates for festival films, so you should contact them directly to avoid any possible third-party rights infringements.

13) DO I NEED TO MEET A MINIMUM AGE REQUIREMENT IN ORDER TO SUBMIT A FILM?
You must be 18 or older to submit a Film to Fine Cut.

14) HOW MANY FILMS MAY I SUBMIT?
You may submit only one (1) Film into Fine Cut. If you submit more than one (1) Film we will only look at the first Film submitted based on the timestamp of the Film submission.

15) WHAT IF MY CONTACT INFORMATION OR ANYTHING ELSE ABOUT MY SUBMISSION CHANGES AFTER I'VE COMPLETED THE FILM FREEWAY PROFILE?
You may log into your account at Film Freeway at any time to update or revise your profile. We will use the public contact information from your Film Freeway profile to contact you regarding problems with your film submission and to notify you of your acceptance status, so please ensure that this information is up-to-date.

16) WHEN WILL I FIND OUT IF MY FILM WAS SELECTED?
We will contact you via e-mail August 3, 2026, using the contact information provided in your Film Freeway profile. Please make sure that the e-mail address you provided on your Film Freeway profile is current, correct, and operational. If your e-mail address changes after you’ve completed your Film Freeway profile, please log into your account and update it. We will not be held responsible for any failed delivery of notification! If you haven’t heard from us by August 10th, please contact us at finecut@pmgsocal.org for an official notification.

17) IF MY FILM IS ACCEPTED, WHAT PROJECTION FORMATS DO YOU ACCEPT?
Media Based Material
XDcam Mpeg HD422 (50Mbps or 35Mbps), Frame rate 59.94i, Aspect 1920x1080, Audio 24bit 48kHz, 2ch stereo or 2ch dual mono, and Drop Frame timecode.
HDcam Frame rate 59.94i, Aspect 1920x1080, Audio 24bit 48kHz, 2ch stereo or 2ch dual mono, and Drop Frame timecode.
File Based Material
Our file based system uses the Avid Codec. (Final Cut Pro users should download the free Avid QuickTime Codecs from Avid.com)
Acceptable Avid Codecs are: Avid MPEG2 50mbit, Avid DNxHD145, Avid HD DV50.
Frame rate 59.94i, Aspect 1920x1080, Audio 24bit 48kHz, 2ch stereo or 2ch dual mono, NTSC, and Drop Frame timecode.
Avid Meridien 2:1 is acceptable only for anamorphic material.
Broadcast ready still images will be 1920x1080, 72dpi, RGB. Acceptable formats are PSD, TIFF, TARGA, and JPG.
File based delivery will be through Sony Ci Media Cloud.

18) YOU DON’T ACTUALLY WATCH ALL OF THESE SUBMISSIONS, RIGHT?
We depend on new talent and new filmmakers to uphold our mission as a Festival. If we didn’t watch the films submitted to us, we would miss out on so many new works of independent film. If your Film is received prior to the expiration of the submission period (i.e., June 3, 2026) and there are no playability issues, your Film will be treated exactly the same as all other Films submitted to us for consideration.

19) IF MY FILM IS NOT CHOSEN, MAY I SPEAK WITH A PROGRAMMER FOR NOTES OR FEEDBACK?
Unfortunately, no. With a multitude of Film submissions expected, it simply isn't possible for us to correspond with each applicant individually. Don't be discouraged if your Film isn't accepted—we view far more worthy films each year than we have room to play.

20) WHEN DOES THE 2026 FINE CUT FESTIVAL OF FILMS TAKE PLACE?
The event will take place prior to the series launch in September of 2026, with the exact date to be determined at a later date. We hope to see you there!