LifeArt Festival

LIFEART FESTIVAL- RULES & TERMS

1. Our Mission & Activities to Promote Artists
Celebrating over 10 years of empowering creators since our founding in 2016, our primary mission is to promote artists from all over the world. Because we exist to elevate your career—not to take ownership of your art—you always retain 100% of your intellectual property rights when you submit your work to the LifeArt Festival. To champion our creators, our festival network utilizes a variety of platforms and activities.

2. Submission & Fees
All submissions must be completed through FilmFreeway or any other official submission platform specified by the LifeArt Festival. A non-refundable submission fee, payable in the designated currency, is required for each individual entry. Fee waivers are generally not available, except where required by applicable law or in cases of proven technical error on the festival’s side. Multiple entries from the same filmmaker or artist are permitted; however, each entry must be submitted separately with its own distinct fee. A single project may be submitted to multiple categories, provided that the applicable fees for each category are paid in full. Submitting the same project to multiple categories does not guarantee selection in any category, and the festival may, at its sole discretion, reassign a project to a different category where appropriate.

3. Submission Format
Applicants must provide a secure, working online link to their film or media submission (e.g., Vimeo, YouTube, or a customized secure server). If the submission is password-protected, the password must be provided on the attached online submission form and must remain valid and unchanged through the conclusion of the festival cycle. The LifeArt Festival is not responsible for broken links, expired passwords, or technical errors on the applicant’s end. If, after reasonable attempts by our programming team, your link or file remains inaccessible, the submission may be deemed incomplete and subject to disqualification without refund.

4. Language & Subtitles
To ensure global accessibility and comprehensive evaluation by our international jury, all films, television episodes, web series, or virtual reality content containing dialogue in a language other than English must include clearly legible English subtitles. Subtitles must be professionally translated, synchronized, and preferably embedded (burned-in) to the video file. Un-subtitled foreign-language submissions will not be reviewed. Projects primarily in English do not require subtitles, though captions are encouraged for accessibility.

5. Notification & Communication
All submitting parties will be notified in writing of their project’s selection status by the official notification date. It is the sole responsibility of the applicant to ensure their contact information is accurate and to actively monitor their communication channels, including spam/junk folders. If officially selected, the applicant will receive an online Filmmaker Festival Pack detailing subsequent steps. The programming team will require specific deliverables within a strict timeframe, including but not limited to high-resolution digital stills, director biographies, electronic press kits (EPKs), and full production credits. Failure to provide the requested deliverables within the specified timeframe may limit the festival’s ability to screen or promote your project and, in some cases, may result in the project being withdrawn from the official program.

6. Screening & Exhibition Formats
Acceptable exhibition formats vary by venue and category. Reflecting the modern digital and AI landscape, exhibition formats typically include high-resolution digital files (e.g., .MP4, ProRes) and standard cinema DCPs. For projects involving VR, AR, or specific AI-driven interactive media, our technical team will coordinate the necessary file requirements with you. By entering your project, you agree to provide a compatible exhibition format and backup upon request. If your project is selected, you agree to provide a screening file that meets the technical specifications communicated by the festival within the requested deadline, along with a backup copy if reasonably requested.

7. Scheduling & Withdrawal
All screening times, venue locations, and exhibition dates are scheduled at the sole and absolute discretion of the LifeArt Festival. While we strive to adhere to published schedules, the festival reserves the right to modify, delay, or cancel events, screenings, or formats at any time due to logistical, technical, or force majeure circumstances. The festival is not responsible for any travel, accommodation, or other expenses you may incur in connection with schedule changes, delays, or cancellations. Furthermore, once a project is officially selected and publicly announced by the festival, withdrawals are strongly discouraged and may only be considered in exceptional circumstances, at the sole discretion of the festival.

8. Rights & Publicity
By submitting your project, you grant the LifeArt Festival a non-exclusive, limited license to screen your film as part of the festival program, including all official screenings and "Best Of" showcases. You also grant us the non-exclusive right to use your trailer, stills, press releases, and other publicity materials for promotional purposes directly related to the festival. This includes promoting the current and future festival editions, our mission, fundraising efforts, and cross-promotions on the platforms and websites of our official sponsors and third-party partners. As stated in our mission, you retain 100% of all rights to your intellectual property. The license granted to the festival under this Section is non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide, and limited to activities directly related to the LifeArt Festival, its editions, and its official channels. It does not authorize the commercial sale, commercial licensing, or standalone distribution of your full work. If you do not wish certain images or clips to be used in future promotional compilations after a given festival cycle, you may notify us in writing, and we will make reasonable efforts to honor that request for future promotional materials.

9. Legal Agreement & Indemnification
By submitting to the LifeArt Festival, you warrant that you are the sole and exclusive owner(s) of all legal rights and title to the submitted work and have the absolute authority to submit it to our festival. Filmmakers are solely responsible for securing all necessary rights and permissions for third-party materials included in their film, including but not limited to music, trademarks, logos, copyrights, and other intellectual property rights. To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, you agree to indemnify and hold harmless the LifeArt Festival, its affiliates, officers, employees, sponsors, and partners from and against any third-party claims, damages, liabilities, costs, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) arising out of or related to your submission, your breach of these Terms, or any alleged infringement of copyrights, trademarks, or other intellectual property or privacy rights contained in your project.

10. AI & Other New Media
The LifeArt Festival embraces innovation and accepts submissions created with the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) and other emerging media technologies. Applicants must clearly indicate in their submission form if AI tools were used in the creation or post-production of their project. By submitting AI-assisted work, you warrant that all content is original or properly licensed and does not infringe any third-party rights, and you accept full legal responsibility for all AI-generated elements. For these Terms, “AI-assisted” includes the use of generative AI to create or materially alter images, video, sound, music, voice, text, or scripts, including voice cloning and deepfakes. Projects substantially created or enhanced using AI tools may, at the festival’s sole discretion, be placed in dedicated AI categories, competitions, or showcases rather than traditional categories. If credible concerns arise that AI-generated or AI-assisted content may violate rights or applicable law, the festival may suspend or cancel the project’s participation while the matter is reviewed, without obligation to refund submission fees.

11. Festival Structure & Event Discretion
LifeArt is not a traditional film festival limited solely to conventional film screenings. Since 2016, we have operated as a global network celebrating the convergence of art, film, AI, and music. We showcase a diverse range of creative expressions, from captivating art exhibitions and live music to film premieres. Each festival cycle differs in format and location—with past and present host cities including Los Angeles, New York City, Miami, San Antonio, Mumbai, New Delhi, Rishikesh, Lucknow, Athens, and Santorini. By submitting your project, you acknowledge and agree that it is the sole discretion of the LifeArt Festival to determine the specific type of event, the host city, the venue, and the target audience for every individual showcase and screening, including whether an event is open to the general public, invitation-only, or exclusive to industry professionals. While each festival cycle is curated and may differ in format, location, and programming, our goal is to provide each selected project with a meaningful presentation appropriate to its category, which may include in-person screenings, gallery exhibitions, live events, industry showcases, or curated digital programming.

12. Acceptance of Regulations
By completing the submission application and rendering the required fee, the applicant acknowledges that they have read, comprehensively understood, and unconditionally accepted all the terms, conditions, and regulations set forth in this document. If any provision of these terms is deemed invalid or unenforceable by a court of competent jurisdiction, the remaining provisions shall continue in full force and effect. These Terms, together with any additional guidelines published on our official website or submission platforms, constitute the entire agreement between you and the LifeArt Festival with respect to your submission.

13. Judging & Decisions
The evaluation of art and media is inherently subjective. All awards, cash prizes, category selections, and programming choices are granted at the sole and absolute discretion of the LifeArt Festival programming team, executive committee, and appointed jury members. To preserve the independence and privacy of our jury and programming team, we do not provide scoring breakdowns, internal deliberation notes, or individualized feedback on submissions. All decisions are final, legally binding, and not subject to inquiry, appeal, or legal challenge.

14. IMDb Listings
While LifeArt is an officially recognized IMDb-qualifying event and will proudly submit the official list of award winners to the platform, we cannot guarantee that IMDb will approve, publish, or maintain any specific project, credit, or award listing. The final decision to approve or list any project or award rests entirely with IMDb, and LifeArt is not responsible for their internal review processes, approval timelines, or final listing decisions.

15. A Final Note of Encouragement & Good Luck
Art has the power to change the world, and sharing your creative vision takes immense courage. Whether your project is selected for this year's cycle or not, we deeply honor the time, passion, and dedication you poured into your work. The LifeArt Festival was founded by creators, for creators, and we are thrilled to be part of your artistic journey. We wish you the absolute best of luck with your submission, and we look forward to experiencing the worlds you have built. - Life is Art, and Art is Life.