The Hollywood Film Festival searches the globe to discover today's most inspiring films and tomorrow’s most exceptional emerging artists, inviting only the very best to come "Take a Bow" in Hollywood...the Entertainment Capital of the World.

We know that great stories change the world and we believe our world is in need of great change. We also know that a great Hollywood film is today's most powerful, influential, and effective storytelling medium with independent filmmakers representing the next generation of our collective global culture’s greatest storytellers.

That is why we work hard every day to make the Hollywood Film Festival (HFF) more than an industry event celebrating a annual filmmaking competition. With Hollywood being home to the greatest storytelling resources on earth we believe the Hollywood Film Festival is the perfect global platform for promoting today’s most inspiring films while empowering tomorrow’s most exceptional independent filmmakers, cultural content creators, and social impact storytellers with the resources of Entertainment Capital of the World.

Please join us in building a more inspiring and inclusive future legacy for Hollywood as we search the world for the Next Great Hollywood Filmmaker.

The Hollywood Grand Jury is seeking the Best-of-the-Best in cinematic filmmaking to compete for "Best Hollywood Film" as they come take a bow in Hollywood where they will be introduced to the global entertainment community.

All finalists for "Best Hollywood" Prizes will appear in a special Hollywood promotion announcement in Variety Magazine. Winning Films and their Directors will receive special invitations to Hollywood and will be further promoted at other leading international film festival and film market events including AFM, Berlin, Cannes, and Toronto.

Value of Goods/Services for each Hollywood Grand Jury Competition category are in excess of 10,000 U.S. Dollars.

ENTRIES

The selection committee would prefer that all entries/screeners be submitted as a Secure Online Screener, with second preference being Blu-Ray, followed by DVD NTSC. Blu-Rays and DVDs are not returned via mail.

Your entry should be labeled with the following information: Title, director and run time, contact phone and email. If you are submitting in a format other than Blu-ray or DVD NTSC, it should be indicated on the disc.

There is no limit to the amount of entries you may submit.

For DVD submissions, please mail to:
360 N Pacific Coast Highway
El Segundo, CA 90245

Select the category that seems most appropriate. If you wish to enter multiple categories, you must select your primary category and then send an email to Brad Parks (Brad@HollywoodFilmFestival.com) requesting consideration for additional future categories. There will be no additional fee for this if the festival grants permission.

A short synopsis of 2 to 4 lines is required for short submissions. A short synopsis in addition to a longer synopsis of approximately 125 words is required for the Documentary Feature and Narrative Feature categories. The synopsis will be used for the jury committee, the program book, and web site, if accepted. Each submission should also include at least one still production photo or slide, a press kit and bio and photo of the director. If available, include a poster in a file separate from the rest of your EPK. A trailer for your film is also strongly suggested.

Notification of acceptance will be emailed on September 1st. You will be notified for each submission.

Submissions are accepted via FilmFreeway.

Complete care is given to every entry. The festival, however, cannot be responsible for damage to, or loss of, material submitted. Additionally, the festival is held harmless from damage to, or loss of, print en route to the festival.

Filmmakers are encouraged to submit, for discounted fees, to the Hollywood Film Festival online by logging onto www.filmfreeway.com.

ELIGIBILITY

Works in progress, and industrial/instructional works are not eligible. Foreign language films must have English sub-titles.

The Hollywood Film Festival defines short films as having a running time of 40 minutes or less including credits.

ACCEPTANCES

All films submitted must be available for festival presentation in Blu-Ray or DCP.

The Hollywood Film Festival reserves the right to use clips from accepted entries, up to 3 minutes in length for publicity purposes. The festival reserves the right to show the submission for promotion and fund raising events up to three years past the date of the festival. The submitter may opt out of this clause by sending the festival a written request to opt out of this clause.

The Hollywood Film Festival does not pay licensing or screening fees for films submitted to the festival via FilmFreeway or otherwise. With your submission, you agree that no screening fee will be paid by the festival to screen your film.

The number of screenings, days and venue is at the sole discretion of the festival.

ADDITIONALLY

Films whose world premieres occurred more than two years before the opening day of the festival are not eligible.

It is the sole responsibility of the Applicant to secure authorization and permission from the copyright owner(s) of any and all copyrighted content or materials included within the submitted Film. The Hollywood Film Festival expressly disavows any responsibility for, and will not be held responsible for, any unauthorized inclusion of any copyrighted content or materials within or relating to the submitted Film, including any content or materials that are or may become the basis for any third party claims for copyright infringement. The Hollywood Film Festival reserves the right to disqualify, without refund of any or all submission fees previously collected from the Applicant, 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 makes unauthorized or unlawful use of any copyrighted content or material, Applicant shall fully indemnify and defend the Hollywood Film Festival from any liability in connection therewith and from any fees and expenses, including but not limited to attorneys’ fees, that any of them may incur in connection therewith.

It is the sole responsibility of the Applicant to clear all content of the Film 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)”). The Hollywood Film Festival 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 that are or may be the basis for any Third Party Claims based upon any of the foregoing legal theories or others. The Hollywood Film Festival reserves the right to disqualify, without refund of any or all submission fees previously collected from the Applicant, any Film that is or may become the subject of any Third Party Claims. In the event that any Third Party Claim(s) shall be asserted by any person or entity, Applicant shall fully indemnify and defend the Hollywood Film Festival from any liability in connection therewith and from any and all fees and expenses, including but not limited to attorneys’ fees, that each of any of them may incur in connection therewith.

It is the sole responsibility of the Applicant to secure authorization and permission from the owner(s) of any and all trademarked content or materials included within the submitted Film. The Hollywood Film Festival expressly disavows any responsibility for, and will not be held responsible for, any unauthorized inclusion of any trademarked content or materials within or relating to the submitted Film, including any content or materials that are or may become the basis for any third party claims for trademark infringement, trademark dilution or unfair competition. The Hollywood Film Festival reserves the right to disqualify, without refund of any or all submission fees previously collected from the Applicant, any Film with any unauthorized inclusion of trademarked 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 makes unauthorized or unlawful use of any trademarked content or material, Applicant shall fully indemnify and defend the Hollywood Film Festival from any liability in connection therewith and from any fees and expenses, including but not limited to attorneys’ fees, that any of them may incur in connection therewith.

RELEASE

I acknowledge that, if accepted to participate, I will agree to comply with the 2019 Hollywood Film Festival General Rules, Eligibility and Policies & Procedures as included with this application, and agree to be bound by and comply with all those documents. I understand that the Hollywood Film Festival is responsible for making final decisions with regard to the festival operations and I agree to abide by their decisions. I agree to provide the festival a print of my film(s) and I release the festival committee and any festival representative from any responsibility for the theft, damage or loss of the print en route to the festival or otherwise during the course of the festival’s possession of the film.

Note: Dates and guidelines subject to change without prior notice.

Overall Rating
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  • Nick Spark

    Can't say enough about how great this festival is. First of all it's at the ArcLight which is a tremendous venue right in the middle of Hollywood, and close to transportation and tourist attractions. Second, extremely well run and staffed, and they have a full time publicist helping get the word out. Third, they offer a great "red carpet" event attended by tons of media and paparazzi. Great opportunities to network and see films. If you attend be prepared to do your own p.r., as Los Angeles definitely has a lot of competing events so you will find recruiting an audience can be tricky. Don't forget to pack a tuxedo or nice dress for the "red carpet"!

    May 2016