Welcome to the Necessary Filmmakers Festival. We believe filmmaking is not only solely a fun adventure, or way to tell a story, but also a necessary medium. So much goes into filmmaking, there are so many jobs on creating a film. Almost any profession has a place on a film set, or post production studio.

Our festival is here to encourage filmmaking. We have all the normal categories (features, shorts, docs and narrative) but we also include some of the newer platforms such as web series. We also have a category that is strictly for the first time filmmaker, encouraging new filmmakers to get their feet wet in this industry.

This 4 day festival will include industry panels and mixers, and of course the screening of your wonderful films. To encourage filmmakers there is a special category for first time filmmakers. This festival is the perfect platform to get you very first project on a big screen in front of an audience, of industry professionals, movie enthusiast, as well as your friends family and peers.

So if you have a project you would like us to screen please send it in. If this is your first attempt a filmmaking please don’t hesitate to send in your film. Now is the time to jump in the fire and get busy making movies!

Best First Time Filmmaker - one year membership to Necessary Community at Necessary Studios. https://necessarystudios.com/community/

Best Short: Documentary/Narrative - TBD

Best Web Series - TBD

Best Feature: Documentary/Narrative -TBD

Best Actor - Nec Branding Package (Headshots, Website, Audition or Introduction video)

Best Actress - Nec Branding Package (Headshots, Website, Audition or Introduction video)

Best Director - TBD

Best Editor - 1 year Subscription to Adobe Premiere Pro

Best Cinematographer - TBD

Prizes will continue to be announced and the festival approaches. Prizes are subject to change.

Rules & Terms
Please review the following carefully. By submitting your project, you acknowledge that you have read and agreed to all of the following rules and terms. All projects that have been submitted by our final deadline and that adhere to the following terms will be considered for inclusion in the 2019 Necessary Filmmaker Festival.
If you have any further questions, please visit our Website: http://www.necessaryfestival.com

SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS
Each submission must be accompanied by a submission fee paid in full and a working screener in order to be considered. Once we have all necessary materials, the submission will be marked “In Consideration”. It is the submitter’s responsibility to make sure that all requirements are met. If your film has not been listed “In Consideration” within 7 business days of submission, please contact us to find out what is needed to move your film into consideration.
Press kits and cover letters are not required but are appreciated. If you wish to submit either, please attach it digitally to your submission. We do not accept hard copies of anything.

SCREENERS
All projects must be submitted via secure online screener - either as a password protected Vimeo link attached to your submission, or uploaded directly to FilmFreeway. The submitter is responsible for ensuring that their screener link and password is active through at least September 15, 2019. In the event of a password or URL change after submitting, email us immediately. If we discover an error with the screener, we will attempt to email the submitter for an update. Failure to respond by the final submission deadline will result in disqualification without refund of submission fees. Online screeners must be available to stream, we do not accept any films that must be downloaded.
We DO NOT accept DVD or Blu-Ray screeners. In addition, we cannot accept screener links via email, they MUST be attached to your submission.

SUBTITLES
All foreign-language films must be submitted with English subtitles. If we discover a submission is missing subtitles, we will attempt to email the submitter for an update. Failure to provide working subtitles by the final submission deadline will result in disqualification without refund of submission fees.

WORKS IN PROGRESS
Works-in-progress are accepted with the following stipulations:
Incomplete projects must be clearly listed as such. Films should be marked as either a “Rough Cut” or “Work In Progress/WIP”. All incomplete materials or changes to be made should be clearly indicated (ex: temporary score, missing VFX, no color-correction) both in your cover letter and the film cut itself (ideally as a title card at the start of the film).
The entrant may update their screener up until the final deadline, as long as the link and password for the submission remains the same. However, NFF is only responsible for considering the project as it exists at the time of review. We are under no obligation to revisit updated cuts once a screener has been seen. Therefore, you should not submit your project if it is not complete enough to adequately represent the final product. Submitter must be prepared to screen film as is, if film is selected, and not updated by final deadline.
Updated cuts must be accessible via your FilmFreeway account. We cannot accept updated cuts via email.
No updated cuts will be accepted after the final submission deadline: June 17, 2019.
If selected, the final version of the film must be available by July 20, 2019.

SUBMISSION CATEGORIES
Please review all submission categories carefully before submitting your project. All entrants are required to pay the submission fee of their film’s appropriate category. If you believe you have submitted your film to the wrong category, contact us immediately. While we can typically facilitate a change in category, the entrant will be responsible for any changes in submission fees. We cannot offer partial refunds for categories with a smaller fee. If the new category has a higher fee, the entrant is responsible for paying the difference.
Submission to multiple categories is not encouraged. Please read category descriptions carefully to determine where your submission belongs. If the entrant wishes to submit to multiple categories, a separate submission fee must be paid for each category. NFF reserves the right to determine eligibility of a submission in each respective category. Refunds will not be offered for submission to an inappropriate category.

FIRST TIME FILMMAKER
The First time Filmmaker category is for any project that is the first effort of a director or producer. This category has a flat entry fee of $20. Submissions are only accepted on FilmFreeway, and require a password to submit. If your project applies, email filmmaker@necessaryfestival.com. Please allow up to 7 business days for a response.

If you submit to this category without meeting the necessary criteria, you will be disqualified from consideration for the festival and will not be issued a refund.
Please note, submitting in this category makes no difference to the chances of being accepted into the festival, as all films must stand alongside the other films in NFF’s programming. The First Time Filmmaker category is intended as a way to support newer filmmakers by offering a low-cost means of entry.

COMPLETION DATE
All projects must have been completed on or after October 1, 2017 to be considered for the 2019 Necessary Filmmaker Festival.

PREMIERE STATUS
We do not require a World Premiere in any category, but premiere status is taken into consideration when making final selections.
Films that have acquired US distribution of any kind prior to selection at NFF are not eligible for competition.
Feature films that have been (or will be) released online, on VOD, or DVD prior to the 2019 Necessary Filmmaker Festival are not eligible to screen.
There is no premiere requirement for short films, but a New York premiere is strongly preferred. Short films that are available online are programmed on a case by case basis, but we typically prioritize films that have not yet been released to the public.
Submitted Web series episodes are preferred to not have a release date prior to the Necessary Filmmakers Festival. The release of previous seasons or episodes are welcome and encouraged.
It is the submitter’s responsibility to notify NFF of any updates in premiere status as they occur.

DEADLINES
Please keep track of deadlines closely if you plan on submitting within a certain submission window. All deadlines are set for 11:59pm EDT.
Any submissions with an unpaid balance after a deadline will be required to pay the following deadline’s submission fee. Failure to pay the appropriate fee will result in disqualification without a refund.
You can find a full list of deadlines (and associated submission fees) at the following link: necessaryfestival.com/submit.

ACCEPTED FILMS
All works selected must be available by July 20, 2019 for inclusion in the festival.
Should your film be accepted in the 2019 Necessary Filmmaker Festival, you grant NFF the right to utilize an excerpt from any film submitted and accepted for exhibition at the Festival for promotional purposes.
All accepted films will screen at least once during the festival, with the possibility of an encore screening for select films/shorts blocks when appropriate. All scheduling is purely at the discretion of the NFF.
NFF will not return any physical copies of any materials or media, this includes flash drives, Blu ray, DVDs, press kits, etc. All media and materials should be sent digitally. Any physical media or materials we receive will be recycled or destroyed.
If you film is accepted in the Necessary Filmmakers Festival you must provide a high quality digital copy of your project.

SCREENING FEES
The Necessary Filmmaker Festival DOES NOT PAY SCREENING FEES for submitted films. By submitting your project, you acknowledge that NFF will not pay to present your work.

COPYRIGHT & LEGAL TERMS
By entering your film for consideration to the 2019 Necessary Filmmaker Festival, you authorize that your work is cleared for festival exhibition and accept full legal responsibility for the intellectual property therein. The submitter and all filmmakers associated with the project shall indemnify and hold harmless the Necessary Filmmaker Festival, and any representative or affiliates from and against any and all claims, liabilities, losses, damages, and expenses (including but not limited to attorney's fees and costs of the court) which may be incurred by reason of any claim involving copyright, trademark, credits, publicity, screening, and loss of or damage to the screening videos entered.

REFUNDS & DISQUALIFICATION
Once a project is listed “In Consideration” on FilmFreeway, we are unable to offer refunds for any reason, including (but not limited to):
Submission to the wrong category
Change in premiere status or distribution
Duplicate submissions
Failure to pay the full submission fee by the final deadline
Failure to provide a working screener by the final deadline
Project’s failure to comply with submission Rules & Terms
Rejection from the festival
Withdrawing your submission for any reason (including changes of heart)
NFF reserves the right to disqualify any submission without refund, even after a film has been invited or final programming has been announced, at the sole discretion of NFF staff.