FLAME FirstCut 2026

Eligibility:
1. Students can submit multiple films across various categories.

2. Submission of a VALID STUDENT ID IS MANDATORY at the time of film submission.

3. Category Time Limits:
• Fiction: 5 min to 20 minutes
• Non-Fiction: 5 min to 40 minutes
• Animation: 5 min 10 minutes
• Nano: 30 seconds to 2 minutes

4. Directors, cinematographers, editors, scriptwriters, and sound designers must be current undergraduate or master’s students or recent graduates (within the past year). Actors and other crew members do not need to be students. There’s no limit on the number of students from the same institution.

5. Production Guidelines:
• Films must be original, including all content like music, visuals, and scripts. Copyrighted material is not accepted.
• Projection-quality picture and sound are preferred.
• All films, including those in English, MUST have English subtitles.
• The film’s content must adhere to legal standards (no obscenity, defamation, copyright infringement, or incitement of communal disharmony). The jury will make final decisions on content.

6. Completion Dates:
Fiction, Non-Fiction, and Nano films must be completed on or after January 30, 2025.
Animation films must be completed on or after January 30, 2024.

7. Submission Guidelines:
• Submit via FirstCut’s FilmFest or FilmFreeway page. Submit on 1 platform only.
• Indian participants may use the Google form on the FirstCut website.
• Films must be submitted as downloadable links via Google Drive, Vimeo, or Hidden YouTube.