NATURE FESTIVAL - FILM celebrates everything we love about South Australian’s incredible natural environment by sharing inspiring films. The Nature Film Festival aims to create a platform for nature-loving emerging filmmakers and filmmaking enthusiast to share their story of nature and associated issues or stories with the community.

Environmental films are a means of showcasing the happenings of the natural world. It allows the storyteller to articulate their interpretation of nature and share their point of view to educate and inspire others to live more sustainably.

Nature Festival runs from the 6 to 16 October 2022. The Film Competition is organized by the City of Adelaide in collaboration with Green Adelaide. The Screening of the finalist of the Film Competition and awards night will be held on the 14 October 2022 at the Mercury Cinema.

NATURE FESTIVAL - FILM is the first nature-based Film Festival in South Australia and is part of one of the most important environmental festivals in Australia, the Nature Festival. Besides the film competition, the program includes conversation with local filmmakers, Q&A, screening of international documentaries and other free events in and around the City of Adelaide.

Entries are FREE and the deadline for all submission to participate to the Film Competition is 1st September 2022. (Extended to 8 September).

Awards & Prizes

Short films submitted to the Nature Film Festival are judged by a panel of qualified jury, which will assign official prizes and awards.
Finalist films will be selected from entries and screened on Friday 14 October 2022 at the Mercury Cinema.
Award winners will be announced on the closing night of the 14 October 2022.
Selection of Competition finalists is at the at the sole discretion of the judging panel.

Awards & Prizes
Best Short Film (5 to 20mins) - $1000 voucher for Photo & Video equipment from local shop
Best Short-Short Film (up to 5mins) - $1000 voucher for Photo & video equipment from local shop
Special Award ‘Our connection with Nature’ (Best film that describe our relationship with Australian's nature) - $800 voucher for outdoor equipment from local shop
People Choice - $250 Adelaide Central Market voucher

Rules & Terms

Film ENTRIES must be submitted online via FilmFreeway.com.

The Festival’s competitions accepts only films (such as short films, documentaries, animations and and experimental films) that are inspired by Australian’s nature and relevant environmental issues in Australia.

Entries are FREE, everyone (excluding people working for NATURE FESTIVAL - FILM) can enter the competition as long as the film is relevant for Australian's nature, environment and/or sustainability in Australia.
The deadline for all submission to participate to the Film Competition is 1st September 2022 5.00 pm ACST (Extended to 8 September).

Films submitted must be no longer than 20 minutes, inclusive of credits and that relate to the theme of Nature, Environmental Issues and/or Sustainability in Australia).

Format: Digital HD – 1080 x 1920, 1280 x 720 or 4K.

The film must be suitable for a 'G-rated' audience
We accept all films regardless of date filmed, completed, and distributed as long they are relevant for a South Australian audience. Films that have been screened at other festivals or on the Internet are still eligible to be entered into the competition. Our mission is to curate the best and most interesting films which both celebrate our unique nature and explore themes and issues relevant to Australian’s nature and environment.

We celebrate diverse voices and stories. Films from students or young filmmakers are encouraged. The film must be socially inclusive and void of anything of a racist, sexist, religious, inflammatory or political nature. Films filmed with a smartphone are eligible for entry. Non-English productions must be subtitled in English.

The filmmakers selected as finalist to the competitions will be informed within the 30th September 2022 and they will be invited to participate to the Screening and Awards Night on Friday 14 October, 2022 at the Mercury Cinema.
Multiple entries are permitted, but each entry must be made separately via FilmFreeway.

In your submission, please include 'how has your relationship with Australian's nature influenced your film'. A synopsis for each film submitted is also required (100 words maximum) along with at least one still image. The festival organisers reserve the right to edit these synopses.

Application for entry to the Festival constitutes unconditional agreement to all the regulations here-in. NATURE FESTIVAL - FILM reserves the right to make decisions on matters not specified within the regulation.
If NATURE FESTIVAL - FILM is unable to run a live, in-person event due to COVID-related issues, you permit us to run your film in an online film festival format.
The Competition and the Nature Film Festival are in no way sponsored, endorsed, administered by, or associated with Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. As an entrant you completely release Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Entry into the Competition is deemed acceptance of these Terms and Conditions. Terms and Conditions are subject to change without notice.

By submitting your film you undertake and guarantee to submit only those films for which you (or the named child(ren), if you are signing this as a parent or guardian), own the copyrights and rights of use, and which do not infringe upon any third-party rights whatsoever. You bear sole responsibility for any infringement of copyrights or other rights of third parties (e.g. music, film excerpts from other productions) and undertake to indemnify and hold the organiser free from any liability regarding claim/ claims of third parties in this context. You understand that any film(s) containing racist, sexist, religiously derogatory or inflammatory content will be excluded from the Competition.

You consent to the submitted (film) material being publicly screened and used in connection with the Nature Film Festival. Nature Film Festival is expressly entitled to use material from the submitted film for the purposes of promotion and marketing of the Festival. Finalist films will be published in the Nature Festival Website.
You understand that you will retain ownership and Intellectual Property of the submitted film.