Cinematiq and the team behind the Qudio streaming platform is proud to announce the inaugural Qudio International Short Film Festival! Our mission is to showcase the best short films from around the world. We champion truly independent film and we're committed to sharing quality original stories with our audience. Short films (under 40min) of all types are considered for screening, and all official selections are eligible for jury awards and cash prizes.

About Qudio:
Qudio is a platform specifically built for live virtual events like film festivals. Many online festivals are "on-demand" which means they just put your film up for audiences to view at their leisure. This approach completely removes the interaction and spontaneity of the film festival experience.

All of Qudio's screenings are held live, streaming directly to attendees' homes allowing for COVID-safe, physically distanced viewing. Our technology enabled platform allows films to be cast to Chromecast devices or viewers can use our native AppleTV app to ensure the highest quality presentation possible.

Awards include:
Best Overall Short Film - $1000 cash prize
Best Drama - $250 cash prize
Best Comedy - $250 cash prize
Best Sci-fi - $250 cash prize
Best Animation - $250 cash prize
Best Documentary - $250 cash prize
Audience Awards Winner- $500

SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

All films must be a minimum of one minute and no longer than 40 minutes, including credits and may cover any genre (programmer's note: films under 8 minutes in length have a much greater probability of being accepted). Rough cuts and work-in-progress prints are acceptable as long as the final (completed) film can be delivered prior to March 1st, 2018.

SCREENERS

All projects must be submitted via secure online screener via Vimeo or similar sites. 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.

The submitter is responsible for ensuring that their screener link and password is active through at least March 1st, 2021. 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.

Event screenings will be via our own streaming platform at Qudio.com. Final screening sources can be high resolution movie files such as ProRes, high-bandwidth h264 or other professional formats.

SUBTITLES

We are a US based festival. Foreign-language films must be submitted with English subtitles. If we discover a foreign-language submission is missing subtitles, we will attempt to email the submitter for an update. If the submitter fails to provide working subtitles by the final submission deadline, the project will be considered incomplete and will be disqualified without refund of submission fees.

COMPLETION DATE

In accordance with Seed&Spark’s “2020 Film Festival Survival Pledge” we are relaxing the completion date requirements for the 2021 submission cycle.

Therefore, any project that was completed on or after October 1, 2019 will be eligible for consideration at the Qudio International Short Film Festival's March 2021 event.

For more information on the pledge, please visit:
https://try.seedandspark.com/film-festival-pledge/

SCREENING FEES

The Qudio International Short Film Festival DOES NOT PAY SCREENING FEES for submitted films. By submitting your project, you acknowledge that QISFF will not pay to present your work.

All submission applications, disposable media and press kits submitted become property of Cinematiq LLC & the Qudio International Short Film Festival and will not be returned.

Upon acceptance, the Qudio International Short Film Festival is hereby granted the right to utilize and/or excerpt from any film submitted & accepted for exhibition at the Festival for promotional and marketing purposes. This will include the use of the filmmaker's name, likeness & publicity stills, film or video footage, title, logline and synopsis of materials, in pre & post-competition publicity & promotional efforts.

The individual or corporation submitting the film hereby warrants that it is authorized to commit the film for screening, and understands and accepts these requirements and regulations. The submitter shall indemnify and hold harmless the Qudio International Short Film Festival, Cinematiq LLC, their officers and employees 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
- Improper use of a discount code or waiver
- Rejection from the festival
- Withdrawing your submission for any reason (including changes of heart)

QISFF 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 Cinematiq's staff.

If you have any questions that are not answered here or in our Submission FAQ please email us at info@qudio.com. We are unable to address inquiries via phone.