Kingston International Film Festival (KIFF)

SUMMARY OF KIFF RULES AND TERMS & CONDITIONS

KIFF RULES
1. Submission Deadlines
Submissions will be accepted from 1 August 2023 with a final deadline of 23 February 2023.
o Early Bird deadline until 1 October 2023;
o Regular deadline until 26 November 2023;
o Late deadline until 7 January 2024; and
o Extended deadline until 23 February 2024.
Please note that submission fees will vary dependant on the deadline by which you submit.
2. Submission Format
o Films must be submitted via online screener ONLY.
o Resolution: 1920x1080
o Format: H.264/MP4
3. Submission Categories
KIFF will feature eight categories:
o Under 18 Short Film;
o Student Short Film;
o Short Film;
o First Feature Film;
o Feature Film;
o Documentary;
o The Eadweard Muybridge Prize
o Short Screenplay UK only.
4. Submission Eligibility
o All films must have been completed (including postproduction) after 1 January 2020.
o There is no premiere policy for any of the films.
We invite submissions from any country across the globe.
o Films must be submitted in English, or with English subtitles.
o FilmFreeway allows digital press packs to be uploaded with submissions, and we recommend you include at least the following with your film:
i. A trailer maximum length 1 minute
ii. A poster (at least 800px wide and 300dpi)
iii. A synopsis of your film (max 100 words)
iv. 5 stills from the film (at least 800px wide and 300dpi)
v. A director’s statement (max 500 words)
vi. 3 photos of the director/crew/behind the scenes (at least 800px wide and 300dpi)
vii. The more (digital) information you include with your submission, the more we can promote your film once accepted into the festival
5. Submission Fee
All submissions for KIFF are to be paid through the FilmFreeway platform. The submission fee is non-refundable. KIFF takes no responsibility for incomplete, defaced, damaged or incorrectly submitted entries.
6. Notification
We endeavour to complete all selection procedures by 24 March 2024 (“Official Selection”) and inform all submitting parties, in writing, if their film has been successful or not.
7. Festival Screenings
Selected films must provide a digital copy within two weeks of receiving the selection confirmation. If the film is not in English, it must be subtitled in English. Films that are not sent to us within this timeframe cannot be screened at the festival.
8. Promotion
Selected films must acknowledge that KIFF reserves the right to promote the films on KIFF website and social media using images, video and audio that you provide.
9. Student Fee
In order to submit a film at the discounted ‘student’ price, the submitter must provide valid Student Identification either via FilmFreeway or by email at: submissions@kiffest.uk. KIFF reserves the right to disqualify any Student Films that fail to provide Student Identification.
10. We do not guarantee that films will be selected for Kingston International Film Festival, however we will notify all submitters, whether selected or not, by 24 March 2024.
11. Please ensure you read the full Rules and Terms & Conditions below, as failure to comply with any of the rules will result in disqualification.
12. Submitting your film to KIFF implies your full acceptance of these Rules and Terms & Conditions and KIFF has the right of final decision and is under no obligation to provide reasons for its decision.

Good luck!

KIFF TERMS & CONDITIONS

By submitting a film or screenplay to the festival, you agree to the following:
1. Any entry will be bound by the Kingston International Film Festival Rules and Terms & Conditions (“R&Ts”).
2. The Festival is run by Kingston International Film Festival, which will be referred in the R&Ts as “KIFF”.
3. All entrants must specify the year in which their film or screenplay was completed (this includes postproduction).
4. All films and screenplays can be of any genre.
5. The timings for the length of films must include titles and credits.
6. Under 18 Short Films:
i. The writer, director, producer, and director of photography (“DOP”) must all be under 18 years of age when the film was completed.
ii. Films must be a maximum of 20 minutes.
iii. Entrants into this category who are under the age of 18 are required to include a signed letter of consent from their parent or guardian to submit their film to KIFF.
iv. Entrants over the age of 18 must provide proof of their age such as Passport, ID or other documentation.
v. Zero budget filmmaking is encouraged. Films with financial support or sponsorship must provide a detailed budget with their submission.
vi. If using music, please ensure you have the rights to use it. If you are not creating your own music, we advise using royalty free music.
vii. Every actor and participant in the film must have full understanding of the purpose of the film and have given their full consent for it to be shown in the festival and for promotional purposes. Films should include a full list of credits, listing the title, and all contributors.
viii. KIFF reserves the right to request proof of any of the above.
7. Student short films:
i. The writer, director, producer, and DOP must all have been students when the film was completed.
ii. We define a “student” as those who are in full or part-time education at any age, or those who graduated no more than one year prior to the date of submission. Proof of student enrolment will be required at the submissions stage. Valid forms of student identification include: a dated student card, a copy of a student finance bill, or a letter from the university or institution.
iii. Films must be a maximum of 20 minutes.
8. The Eadweard Muybridge Prize
i. This is for local filmmakers only.
ii. Entrants must be or have been living in the Kingston-upon Thames post code area, i.e. have a KT postcode, since 1 January 2020.
iii. Proof of residency must be included with your submission. Such as utility bill, driving licence or letter from the bank or other institution.
iv. The film can be of any length and genre.
9. Films in the main Categories
i. Short films.
ii. Feature films minimum 70 mins.
iii. Documentaries minimum 30mins.
10. Script to Screen Award
i. All entrants must be prepared to have their script shot in the UK.
ii. All screenplays must not exceed 15 pages excluding the title page.
iii. All screenplays should be complete stories and not extracts of a longer piece.
iv. We allow international submissions, but all screenplays must be written in English. Translations will be accepted.
v. The screenwriter(s) themselves must submit their screenplays, and not agents on their behalf.
vi. All screenplays must be un-produced and must not enter development until July 2024. All rights must be held by the screenwriter(s) who are submitting to the competition and not by a third party. If during the course of the competition a screenplay enters production or development, KIFF must be notified, and the screenplay will no longer be eligible for the competition.
vii. All readers of the screenplays will be prohibited from copying or otherwise exploiting the scripts for any reason other than in connection with the competition itself; copyright remains with the screenwriters.
viii. All screenplays must be original work. Adaptations or screenplays based on other works (such as books or plays) will only be accepted if all rights are owned by the writer of the screenplay or if the underlying work is in the public domain and is no longer protected by copyright. Screenplays based on true stories or events may be submitted provided the writer has written permission from any living persons represented in the screenplay.
ix. We will choose 6 finalists who will be announced a month prior to the festival and the winner will be revealed at the award ceremony on the 25th of June.
x. The films will be shot in the UK, at KIFF's choice of location.
xi. In submitting a script to the short film competition, applicants agree to and confirm that, in the event that their script is selected as the winner, they will automatically assign all rights in their script over to KIFF, so that KIFF have the rights to produce the winning script. As such, they will enter into a script assignment agreement at KIFF's request.
11. Films will only be accepted via our online portal at FilmFreeway. This is the only method of submission.
12. Submissions will be accepted from 1 August 2023 with a final deadline of 29 February 2023. Early Bird deadline until 1 October 2023; Regular deadline until 26 November 2023; Late deadline until 7 January 2024; and Extended deadline until 11 February 2024.
13. All categories are open to UK residents as well as international filmmakers. With the exception of the Short Screenplay Award and The Eadweard Muybridge Prize.
14. Students must send a proof of their student ID when submitting to the discounted category. Student Identification either via FilmFreeway or by email at: submissions@kiffest.uk. KIFF reserves the right to disqualify any Student Films that fail to provide Student Identification.
15. We would encourage filmmakers to include their pronouns in their bio or alongside their submission. e.g. Name: Elle Haywood (She/Her).
16. Your entry form must include your name, address, telephone number and email so that we can contact you.
17. Submissions don’t require premiere status. However, if your film is screened at another festival or organisation you must notify KIFF.
18. We do not cover licensing or screening fees for selected projects, as films are in competition and have been submitted to us.
19. All submissions are watched in their entirety and given the full attention of our team of programmers. The date of submission has no reflection on our selection decisions.
20. Each film requires a submission fee. Entrants may submit more than one film.
21. Due to the submission platform being run by a third party (filmfreeway.com) we cannot provide any refunds.
22. KIFF reserves the right to offer Waiver Codes for Discounted/Free/Late Submissions to their partners as well as individual filmmakers.
23. KIFF reserves the right to extend submission deadlines.
24. KIFF reserves the right to upgrade prizes to goods and services if the value exceeds that of the original cash prize. Such goods and services cannot be exchanged for their cash value.
25. Submissions must not contain any copyrighted material, including music, still images or video images without the written permission of the owner. We encourage the use of original or royalty free music.
26. KIFF is not able to cover the costs of any format transfers or subtitling.
27. All entrants must agree to participate in promotional and public activities if their film reaches the shortlist stage.
28. The filmmaker grants KIFF the non-exclusive license and right to use all or part of their film only for promotional purposes, and to exhibit the film during the festival (online and offline events) and after, as well as on various social media platforms.
29. Shortlisted films will be notified in writing and their name, as well as the filmmaker’s name will be published on the KIFF website and on social media.
30. The KIFF competition does not accept submissions from Kingston International Film Festival committee members, their immediate family, or sponsors of the event.
31. KIFF reserves the right to change any dates regarding submission deadlines or the festival event.
32. All screenings during the festival period will take place at the discretion of KIFF. KIFF reserves the right to make changes to the advertised schedule at any time for any reason and will not accept liability for any costs incurred as a result of such changes.
33. We propose to have a diverse Selection Panel drawn from the wider industry, a separate Programming Committee and an Awards Jury comprised of industry professionals.
34. Entrants under the age of 18 must obtain parental or guardian consent to submit to KIFF.
35. KIFF reserves the right to amend these R&T’s at any time.
36. KIFF has the right to disqualify any entrant if there are reasonable grounds to believe they have breached any of the rules stated in the R&T’s.
37. Should the KIFF organisers decide to cancel the festival without reason prior to 24 May 2022 (“Official Selection”), every effort will be made to reimburse those who have paid to submit their film. Should the festival be cancelled without reason after the announcement of the Official Selection, only those filmmakers who have been selected to be a part of the festival will be reimbursed.
38. In the event of circumstances being beyond the control of KIFF (such as natural disaster, government restrictions, viral/bacterial pandemic, etc) then every effort will be made to amend if necessary or postpone to allow the festival to go ahead. If this is not feasible then we will aim to proceed with an online festival. In such circumstances, no refunds will be issued.
39. Submitting your film to KIFF implies your full acceptance of the KIFF R&T’s and KIFF has the right of final decision and is under no obligation to provide reasons for its decision.

SELECTION CRITERIA AND JUDGING PROCEDURE
​
1.Our Pre-Selection panel is made up from a diverse range of people involved in the entertainment industry whose ages range from 17 to 90.​
2.A minimum of 2 people from the panel will watch/read and review each film/screenplay submitted and then mark them according to our criteria (see below). Should there be any significant parity in the marking a third person will then review and mark the film/screenplay.
3.The Programming Committee will then define a cut off mark. All films above this mark will then be reviewed by the committee and marked again, they will then use these marks to aid discussions in curating the programme and arriving at our official selection.
4.From their marking and discussions, the committee will agree on a minimum of 6 semi-finalists from each category to be put forward to our Independent Awards Jury, whose names will be published on our website.
5.Two judges are allotted to each category. They will again mark the films and confer with each other to decide on the eventual winner.
6.No submission will be assigned to a panellist/, committee member or Judge if the submitting filmmaker is known to them personally.
7.No film that includes a creative or production credit for a member of the Exit 6 festival team can be entered into an awards category
​8.All our Judges and Selection Committee will be working to the following criteria:

Films:
Performances/Acting
Direction
Story
Writing
Cinematography
Originality/Creativity
Production Value
Editing - Picture & Sound
Music & Score

Screenplays:
Originality/Creativity
Format/Writing Craft
Dialogue
Concept
Structure
Story
Pacing/Tone
Character Development