IFI

While we do not want to limit creativity, we believe it is possible to produce films that inspire, inform, and teach; and yet do not have nudity, sexual content, excessive profanity, or glorified violence unless such is necessary to portray the realities of war, persecution, or the reality of a story. We seek films that showcase a good understanding of the craft, have a well formulated script, and have an important, unique, or creative message.

Instructional films, documentaries, short shorts, shorts, features, and all types of films are accepted; however, films that exceed a runtime of 55 minutes will not be evaluated although they are still eligible to be selected for IFI membership. The shorter and tighter your film is, the better chance it will have of being selected. Good films cut the fat and deliver a tight punch all the way through.

General Rules:

Due to costs of the film evaluation service we provide and due also to the fact that our prices are already reasonable, especially for students, seniors and veterans, we do not give waivers for any reason. PLEASE DO NOT SEND WAIVER REQUESTS.

STUDENTS: A digital image of your Driver’s license or student IDs are required and you must be 18 or under to submit as a student. You will find the student rates and submission options under each film category. Make sure you upload your student ID or Driver's License with your photo on it along with your other required images, such as movie poster, stills, etc. when you submit the film as a student or we cannot accept your film as a student and will not provide a refund. If you do not have either of the required items or wish not to upload a digital image of them, then you must submit your film at the regular non-student rate.

Film schools who wish to submit student films can get the student rate for each film and might receive further discounts and incentives if they become a paid sponsor of the event. Film school or camp directors are encouraged to contact us about sponsorship opportunities at 727-798-1101.

We believe that you are never too young or old to pursue your dreams, therefore, special rates are given to seniors over 70 and youth under 18.

SENIORS: If you are over 70 and wish to have your film recognized as a senior film, then you can submit any film under the Seniors category. ID proof is required.

VETERANS: All veterans who served in the US Military can submit their film under the Veterans category. (If you are a Veteran from another country, please contact 727-798-1101 and leave a message with your name, email, and country of service. In most cases, you will be eligible to submit your film in the Veterans category as well). A digital image of your Military ID must be uploaded along with your other required images, such as movie poster, stills, etc.

Films must not contain nudity or sexual content for any reason.

Films should not include excessive profanity or violence unless being used in a war picture or to portray reality. Films that seem to needlessly use excessive profanity or glorify violence will not be accepted.

IFI exists for the filmmaker. We do everything we can to promote those films and filmmakers who get selected; however, we encourage filmmakers to do their best as well to promote their film through IFI and to network with fellowship members in order to help promote their film and learn about other projects. The filmmakers represented on IFI are all very talented and its a great opportunity for those selected into the fellowship. So take advantage of it.

As mentioned under Event Description, all submitted films under 55 minutes will be evaluated by our team of professionals. You will be emailed a detailed evaluation that you can use to improve your film.

Films can be submitted by clicking the "Submit Now" button at the top of this page.

We strongly recommend not making your film available to the public on vimeo, youtube, or other free sites unless and until you receive our evaluation. Two reasons: 1) We will provide tips and ideas that you might choose to use to improve your film. 2) If your film is chosen by IFI, we will publish your film to our website. Therefore, we would prefer a film chosen by IFI as an "Official Selectee" not be made available for free to the public, although that is still your choice.

You must submit directly from our website, which will take you to the FilmFreeway submission page. THERE ARE NO WAIVERS, DISCOUNTS BEYOND WHAT WAS PREVIOUSLY MENTIONED, OR COUPONS PROVIDED UNLESS YOUR WORK HAS BEEN PREVIOUSLY SELECTED BY IFI. IN WHICH CASE, YOU WILL RECEIVE A SPECIAL EMAIL WITH AN OFFICIAL IFI SELECTEE LAUREL. ALL EMAILS REQUESTING WAIVERS, DISCOUNTS, OR COUPONS AND/OR SHARING LINKS TO THEIR FILM WILL BE IGNORED. SUCH EMAILS ARE CONSIDERED UNLAWFUL SPAM AND MAY BE REPORTED TO AUTHORITIES. All submitters must pay the required fees and will be notified at our discretion of our decision. All paid/qualified films under 55 minutes will receive our detailed evaluation attached to an email with tips and tools to improve the film. These evaluations are sent out on the Notification date along with our decision. Our official decision is commonly on the last page of the attached film evaluation, but IF YOU ARE SELECTED, you will also get a follow up congratulatory email with laurel, discount code and club invite information, and a congratulatory letter.

If we choose your film as an IFI Selectee, we will request a download of your film if one is not already made available. We will also download images you submit to us through FilmFreeway in order to promote your film online. On extremely rare occasions, if we have difficulties downloading your content, we may also request that you send a usb flash drive in the mail with the film in mp4 along with a trailer and photos of the director, cast, and/or production stills. When submitting online, we highly recommend submitting a png or jpeg of your movie poster along with your film since the first thing viewers will see online is your movie poster. If you do not have one, then please upload an impactful still from your film. A brief plot summary of the film is also required. Additional information about the film, the writer, producer, or director are also recommended when you submit your film along with png images of the same. The more you provide, the more tools we have to promote your film. Please do not physically send photos, posters, or other items in the mail unless requested. Again, the only time we may request a Flash Drive in the mail is in rare cases when we cannot download your film and material online. In about every case, you can submit the required and recommended items along with your film online.

By submitting your film, you agree to allow Independent Film Institute, aka IFI, and the website (independentfilminstitute.com) to use digital images, written summaries of your film, bios, and other information and materials, including your film trailer and full film, to promote your work on their website and where deemed necessary by IFI in order to promote you and to further their mission. You agree to hold harmless IFI aka Independent Film Institute and its founder and employees from copyright violations, liabilities, and any other issues that may arise from using your film, images, and information you provide during submission. IFI agrees to use the film, trailer, images, and/or any other material you provide to promote your film and will never publicly speak, post, or share anything negative about you; the submitter; your film, and/or anyone or anything using your name, crew members, film name, etc. Similarly, you agree that you nor any crew member of your film nor member of your company nor anyone associated will speak, post, or share anything negative about Independent Film Institute, IFI, the website associated with it, nor any members or associates of Independent Film Institute, IFI, and/or their website, nor any members or associates of the same.

MORE ABOUT FILM EVALUATIONS

We try to be as honest as we can. Therefore, on occasion some comments on the evaluations can seem a bit harsh, especially if you are not used to professional criticism. Good filmmakers must not only learn to accept criticism, but learn to love it because its the only way to improve.

Nothing our staff does is meant to discourage you, but to motivate you and to provide some tools to improve your craft. We regularly receive thank you emails and kind words about our evaluations and detailed feedback even from filmmakers who are not selected. Some of those comments are posted toward the top of our festival page for you to read. We welcome those positive comments. However, due to the large volume of films we receive and because of our mission, many films will not be selected. If your film is not selected, you will still get an evaluation that can provide you with some areas that need improvement. Again, this is a service that we provide as a courtesy to you. It takes time and money and our staff does their absolute best to be honest and objective. So please respect our decision and be appreciative of our work because it is a hard task that few provide. (Negative replies or comments about IFI or our staff are unprofessional, and we do not reply to or reward rude behavior.) Luckily, we do not run into that problem and filmmakers have been extremely appreciative of our work through the years. We thank you for choosing IFI and giving us the opportunity to review your work and to help you on your journey. It is a privilege we greatly appreciate and take seriously.

We want you to be part of our fellowship. If you have a film, please submit it now so we can take a look and consider making it an Official Selectee of IFI.

IFI SCRIPT CONSULTATION AND COLLABORATIVE SERVICE

Nothing is as important as a powerful well-written screenplay. IFI offers consultation and collaborative services to help you dynamically improve your work. We offer consultations for those who have a completed script and just want professional detailed notes and verbal advice. For those who need more help, we can collaborate with you to write or rewrite a portion or all of your script, tighten dialogue and scenes, create vibrant real characters, create tension and drama, add necessary scenes or just as important, suggest scenes or portions to delete, and provide you with new motivation and direction to finish your screenplay. You can submit your script and get more information by clicking the green "Submit Now" button.