The Mumbai International Film Festival, Popularly known as MIFF is one of the oldest and much sought after competitive festivals for documentary, Short Fiction and Animation films in South Asia. Held biennially since 1990, MIFF has grown in terms of participation of countries, quality of films screened, run up and side events. Organized by Films Division, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Government of India.

INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION
Best Documentary Film
(Top Award of the Festival | Any duration)
Golden Conch + INR 1,000,000
Best Short Fiction (up to 45 minutes) Silver Conch + INR 500,000
Best Animation Film Silver Conch + INR 500,000
Pramod Pati Special Jury Award Trophy + INR 100,000
NATIONAL COMPETITION
Best Documentary Film (above 60 minutes) Silver Conch + INR 500,000
Best Documentary Film (below 60 minutes) Silver conch + INR 500,000
Best Short Fiction (upto 45 minutes) Silver conch + INR 300,000
Best Animation Film Silver conch + INR 300,000
Dadasaheb Phalke Chitranagari Award for Best Debut Film Trophy + INR 100,000
IDPA Award for Best Student Film Trophy + INR 100,000
* Prize money of Golden Conch and Silver Conch awards to be shared equally between Director and Producer

TECHNICAL AWARDS (Common to International/National Categories)
Best Cinematography INR 300,000
Best Editing INR 300,000
Best Sound Design INR 300,000
LIFE TIME ACHIEVEMENT

V Shantaram Lifetime Achievement Award for contribution
to Documentary Movement in India
Trophy, Shawl, Citation + INR 1,000,000

17th MIFF - 2022 : Festival Regulations

1. Competition Sections
a) International Competition
b) National Competition

2. Non-Competition Sections
a) MIFF Prism
b) Retrospectives/Special Packages/Homage

2. Eligibility
International Competition - Films made in India or abroad between 01 September, 2019 and 31 December, 2021 are eligible.

National Competition – Films made in India by Indian citizen between 01 September, 2019 and 31 December, 2021 are eligible.

• One film can be entered in one competition section only, either in International or National.
• Film(s) entered / screened in earlier MIFF / shorter version(s) / revised or re-edited version of
film(s) will not be eligible.
• Animation feature films, film series, episodes made/commissioned for TV Channels/Cable TV/OTT & any other digital platform are not eligible for entry.
• Film can be entered by any organization / agency or by individual film Producer /Director who holds the copyright. There is no restriction on number of entries.

3. Awards: “Top Documentary of the Festival” in International Competition shall be honoured with Golden Conch and cash prize of INR 10 Lakh. Silver Conch and cash prizes of Rs.5 lakh shall be awarded to Best Short Fiction (upto 45 min.) and Best Animation Film in the International Competition. Besides, a Special Jury Award Pramod Pati Award for Most Innovative/Experimental Film carrying a trophy & cash prize of Rupees One Lakh shall be given in the international category.
In the National Competition, Silver Conch and cash prizes of Rs.5 lakh shall be awarded to Best Documentary (above 60 minutes) and Best Documentary (upto 60 minutes). Best Short Fiction (upto 45 min.) and Best Animation Film awards shall carry Silver Conch and cash prizes of Rs.3 lakh each. There shall also sponsored awards for Best Debut Film and Best Student Film carrying Trophy and cash prize of Rupees One Lakh each in the National Competition.
Apart from the above, 3 Technical Awards for Cinematography, Editing and Sound Design, each carrying Certificate & Cash Prize of Rs. 3 Lakh, common from National & International Competition, shall also be awarded in the 17th MIFF.
A Special Award for Best Short Film on “India @75” (upto 15 min.)(for Indian film maker only) shall also carry a trophy and Cash Prize of Rs. One Lakh in National Category

4. How to Apply?
a) Online Entry – Entry Form for 17th MIFF 2022 is available on www.miff.in. or filmfreeway.com. No entries will be accepted offline.

b) Procedure – Applicant has to fill up the required fields and upload bio-data, photographs, filmography etc.

c) Entry Fee – To be paid through online payment gateway (Entry fee is non-refundable)

International
i) Filmmakers from SAARC / BIMSTEC nations - USD 32 or equivalent
ii) Filmmakers from other countries – USD 53 or equivalent
iii) Indian filmmakers - USD 21.2

National - USD 14.2

d) Entrant is required to submit film in H.264/MP4 (under 2GB with 1920x1080 resolution) through Google Drive only and a soft copy containing Director’s photograph, bio-data, filmography, synopsis of the film, stills of the film, posters and pamphlets along-with promos/trailers, packed properly and freight pre-paid.

e) Film other than in English, should be sub-titled or dubbed in English.

f) Director's Debut Film: Entry for the film in “Director's Debut Film” Category should be submitted along-with a certificate by the applicant that the film is the debut film of Director, failing which the film will not be treated as Director's Debut Film. If the Director has made, at an earlier date, any other film-feature, short, documentary or animation film, (except a student film as a part of curriculum), he/she shall not be eligible for this award.

g) Student Film : Entry for the film in “Student Film” category should be submitted along-with a Certificate from the Institute/Film School concerned, failing which, the film will not be treated as Student’s film.

h) MIFF Prism (Non-Competition Section): Films which miss out on final selection but recommended by the Selection Committee for MIFF Prism shall be included in this section. (Entrant may please see the relevant column in the Entry Form)

5. Cut–off Date: 15th March 2022(for both International & National competitions)

6. Final Submission: All selected films in prescribed format should be received in the Festival Directorate by 30th April, 2022.

7. Format for final Screening :

• DCP 24fps / NTFS format / J2K (JPEG 2000) file without KDM &
Blue Ray Disc for backup
• In case of no DCP, two Blu Ray discs
No other format will be accepted final screening in competition section

8. Intimation :
a) Successful submission of entry shall be acknowledged via e-mail.
b) List of films selected in the Competition and MIFF Prism shall be published on MIFF Website.
c) Only entrants of films selected in Competition and MIFF Prism Section shall be informed about the selection.

9. Hospitality
Directors whose films are selected in the competition sections: …..
-Air fare along-with local hospitality for the entire festival period
Directors whose films are selected in the MIFF Prism (non-Competitive Section)
-Air fare along-with local hospitality for three days as per film screening schedule.

10. Selection Process :

a) Entries will be previewed by a duly constituted Pre-Selection Committee and the shortlisted films will be previewed by a Final Selection Committee which will select films for the competition sections.
b) Festival Directorate will have the right to make copies of Blue Ray/DVD for pre-selection / selection purpose.
c) The decision of the Selection Committees shall be final & binding on all.
d) Final screening in the festival is subject to exemption/approval by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting as the case may be.
e) Film once selected and submitted for the final screening, will not be allowed to be withdrawn under any circumstances.
f) Participation in the festival implies acceptance of Festival Regulations.

11. Jury :

a) A duly constituted International Jury and National Jury shall determine the winning films in respective categories. The decision of the Jury will be final and binding on all.
b) The Jury reserves the right to withhold an award in any category where no entry, in the Jury's view, meet the standards for award / recognition. It also reserves the right to recommend sharing of award(s) in any category and to recommend special Jury award/Certificate of Merit.

12. Rights of Festival Directorate

a) Festival Directorate reserves the right to accept or not to accept any film for screening in any category without assigning any reason(s) whatsoever.
b) Pre certification will not be applicable for entering films in the festival.
However, screening of films will be subject to exemption granted by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting.
c) Copy of the award winning films will be retained by the Festival Directorate for Festival Archive/non-commercial screening.
d) The Festival Directorate will have the right to screen Award Winning /MIFF Prism films in different places in India and on social media platforms on non-commercial basis for promotion/publicity of documentaries/MIFF.
e) Decisions of the Festival Directorate/Ministry of Information & Broadcasting regarding all matters not expressly provided for in these regulations or which require interpretation of the clauses mentioned above shall be final and binding on all.

13. Copyright:

a) It is the sole responsibility of the entrant to secure clearance from the copyright holders of any copyrighted material included in the film. MIFF will not be held responsible for the unauthorized inclusion of any copyrighted material within or relating to the submitted film. MIFF reserves the right to disqualify any film with any unauthorized inclusion of copyrighted material.

14. Shipment:
Cost of shipment (by any mode) of film in any digital media to the Festival Directorate will be borne by the entrant.

15. Insurance:
a) Insurance cost of film in transit from the country of origin to the Festival Directorate will be borne by the entrant.
b) The Festival Directorate undertakes to insure DCP against technical damage, fire, destruction, loss, theft during the period between their arrival at the Festival Directorate and dispatch.
c) Festival Directorate will not be responsible for normal wear and tear of the filmic materials.

16. General:
a) MIFF is under no obligation to provide comments or feedback regarding the film entered to the entrant or any other representative.
b) For promotion/publicity of MIFF, clippings from any film entered in the festival shall be shown on the National/International /Local television networks/Cinemas/social media platforms/ Internet, etc.
c) Clippings of selected films will be screened on the official website of the festival.
d) Entry Forms with incorrect/inadequate illegible/ambiguous particulars and not submitted along with the required entry fee/certificate/undertaking will not be considered.
e) Request for fee waiver shall not be entertained.

17. Disclaimer:
All disputes in respect of any matter relating to the MIFF shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the competent courts and fora in Mumbai.

ATTENTION: - All filmic materials and documents should be sent freight prepaid, addressed to:

THE DIRECTOR
MUMBAI INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL (MIFF)
Documentary | Short | Animation

FILMS DIVISION
Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Government of India
24, Dr. G. Deshmukh Marg, Mumbai – 400 026, INDIA
Tel. : +91 (22) 2351 3176, 2351 6931, 23551313

Festival enquiries- miffindia@gmail.com
Festival entries- miffentries@filmsdivision.org
Website: - www.miff.in

Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Bhavesh Rawal

    It was a wonderful experience and the people were very co-operative and cheerful. The selection of films was very well balanced and included all kinds of interesting Indian and international films and makers. Would love to be a part of this festival in the future too.

    February 2023
  • borun thokchom

    The best festival in India. We love it.

    July 2022
  • jeffrey wisniewski

    Great Festival that projects films! Very serious documentary films and fiction from all over the world. Good networking and distribution events.
    Some great animation films too. I was very happy to have my film SALOON included in this festival. Do not miss this one!!!

    June 2022
  • Pratima Joshi

    Great experience,prompt communication.
    Thank you jury for selecting my short film Chand Saaanse in national competition.Screening was houseful and audience was very much enjoying the film.Thanks for such audience.There was B2B enclave for directors which is also very useful

    June 2022
  • MIFF is now become my dream...

    June 2022