It is the festival’s sincere hope that all submissions qualify for review. However, it is important that films submitted provide a standard of quality, portray good values and follow copyright protocols.
REQUIREMENTS FOR ALL SUBMISSIONS
For a submission to be accepted and judged by the festival it must be:
Made by someone 18 or younger
A match to the theme of this year's festival.
See website for details.
Age appropriate
G-rated: in that, all ages can understand and appreciate the film. For films in the nine and younger range, complex themes, concepts & dialogue are regretfully disqualified. This also includes sub-titles and other text-heavy visuals.
A complete story
The script must have a beginning-middle-end. It can NOT end with “To be continued…” and no movie trailers (ads for a movie).
VIDEO SPECIFICS:
For video submissions to be accepted they must follow these guidelines:
Good quality Video.
If it is challenging to view the video, due to poor lighting and/or general video quality, it may be rejected by the festival.
Good quality Audio
If it is a challenge to understand and hear the actors due to poor recording or badly mixed music the film may be rejected.
Original video (video you shot yourself)
If the film or parts of the film are not the intellectual property of the submitter that will be grounds to reject the film. This includes any unlicensed music or video clips from TV shows or commercial movies.
Original music or music you have permission from the artist to use.
Technical requirements for submitting a film:
Films must be less than 3 minutes in length, including opening and closing credits.
Submit only completed films with a complete story (no “to be continued”).
Films must be 1920 x 1080 in landscape NOT portrait aspect.
The film must be submitted in MOV or MP4 format.
SCRIPT SPECIFICS:
Judges are looking for writing that portrays an excellent creative idea with an excellent craft of storytelling. All scripts must have a beginning, middle, and end.
To submit a script, you do NOT have to include a video or poster. Those are unconnected submissions.
It is also understood that the younger scriptwriters (9 and below) may require assistance with technical aspects of writing and it is acceptable if some ‘help’ is provided to ensure these requirements are met.
Less than four pages (in script format) See point “Formatted as a script” in the resources section on our website.
A complete story
The script must have a beginning-middle-end. It can NOT end with “To be continued…”
Formatted as a script
It is understood that there are many variations of a proper script format. KIFF will accept any script that has the general look of a script. For samples and links see WRITERS’ TOOLS in the resources section on our website.
Original story (An idea you came up with),
The script cannot be based on other published works. This includes, but not limited to: TV shows, movies or books.
In PDF format (Adobe Acrobat),
Most word processing and script writing apps can ‘export’ or ‘save as’ PDF. If the software being used does not have that option, arrangements can be made to accept in another format.
POSTER SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS
Judges are looking for work that portrays an excellent creative idea with an excellent craft of storytelling.
It is also understood that the younger graphic designers (9 and under) may require assistance with technical aspects, and it is acceptable if some ‘help’ is provided to ensure these requirements are met.
To submit a poster, you do NOT have to include a video or script. Those are unconnected submissions.
To be accepted and judged by the festival, posters submitted must be:
Designed to fit 11” by 17” (Tabloid)
It is not required that a paper copy is submitted but, if the festival is to print the poster it would be appreciated that the design fit 11 by 17 inches at 300 dpi.
Portrays a story and/or theme
The poster will be assessed based on its overall aesthetic and ability to provide a sense of story, style or theme.
Original concept (Your own idea),
The Poster cannot be based on other published works. This includes, but not limited to: TV shows, movies or books.
In PDF format (Adobe Acrobat),
Most word processing apps and scanners can ‘export’ or ‘save as’ PDF. If the software being used does not have that option, arrangements can be made to accept in another format.
