Due to a number of reasons, Sunday 25th is going to be last session of the Geelong Independent Film Festival. It has been an honour to bring films from Australia and all over the world to my hometown of Geelong but I will be wrapping this up on Sunday. I want to thank all the film makers who have submitted their films, won our awards and been on our screens.

Thank you.

Awards & Prizes

Selected films will be judged by a select panel of local film makers. Judging will take place on the night of the festival and their decisions are final. There are five award categories at GIFF:

Best Short Film
Best Lead Actor
Best Lead Actress
Best Director
Best Cinematography
Best Score

All films entered at GIFF are automatically in the running for these categories at no extra cost. Successful entries must provide names of Lead Actor and/or Lead Actress. The festival will not make guesses as to whom is to be considered the Lead in your film.

Award winners will be notified and they will be awarded the Winner Laurel as well as a certificate celebrating their win.

Rules & Terms

Geelong Independent Film Festival only accepts short films up to 15 minutes in length and no longer.

Films must be in English or have English subtitles if in another language.

Films must have been made in or after 2021.

Film makers must have full copyright and/or copyright permissions over all materials in their project.

By submitting your film, you authorise us to screen your film before a live audience.

Films can be of any genre. However, offensive, abusive and/or racist material will not be considered and automatically disqualified at the Festival's discretion.

A maximum of 10 films will be accepted for any one night of the festival and this selection will be solely at the Festivals discretion.

Submission to the Geelong Independent Film Festival does not guarantee entry. Successful entries will be notified in good time via filmfreeway.com.

An independent judging panel will judge the films on the night of the festival. The decision of the judges is final and absolute.

Submissions must be electronic only via FilmFreeway submissions. No physical materials will be accepted. If your project is accepted, we will request permission to download the project file via FilmFreeway.com.

We require all film files to be HD. No 4K sized files please.

Submission fees are non-refundable.

We may promote the festival with clips you provide us within your press kit.

We reserve the right to alter the date of the festival should unavoidable circumstances dictate.

We do not require any special premiere status.

By submitting, you agree with our terms and conditions. Your personal information will never be sold to third parties.

We reserve the right to alter our terms and conditions.
4 Reviews
Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
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Networking
  • Casey Golden

    Great experience with Mark and GIFF in general. Communication throughout the whole process was excellent and we were very happy to receive our award

    November 2024
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  • Darren Hawkins

    It's a shame this festival (only on this site for a few years, but it went for longer) has had to take a hiatus . I understand the need for Mark (Festival Director) to take a break and re-energise and I wish him all the best and sincerely hope that one day, we see this festival back .

    It's festivals like this, the communication especially that Mark took to make sure that film makers such as myself were kept in the loop, informed and were made to feel valued that we need more of in this industry .

    Was this festival Cannes or Tribecca ? I think anyone would understand that Geelong isn't either of those, BUT it doesn't make it any less important or diminish what festivals like Geelong mean to us film makers .

    My personal interaction with Mark, all of it positive and an example f what more festivals and the festival directors should be .

    Hopefully we will see Geelong return or even a new festival with Mark at the helm, as I will recommend anyone with a film project to submit.

    Cheers!

    November 2024
    Helpful
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    Response from festival:

    Thank you so much for your kind words, Darren. It means a lot and it was great to work on this festival. One of the main things I need to focus on if this festival is to go forward is a new venue. There are options to explore when Time permits.

    I've tried to keep my communication constant and sometimes that has been difficult, I will admit. Life gets pushy sometimes as I'm sure many can attest.

    Never say never!

  • Lisa Bishop

    A very beautiful trophy received with gratitude thanks! Excellent communication and good online presence. Cheers, Lisa and Tom.

    January 2024
    Helpful
  • Sacha Hulsebosch

    Great festival with awesome festival director ! Very grateful our short movie Simon Says won 2 awards, for Best Director and Best Actress. Terrific!!!

    January 2024
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