The SEA International Film Festival is a monthly and yearly event that aims to showcase talents of filmmakers and artists all over the world, set in the beauty of South East Asia. A region so rich in culture and history, it stood the test of time serving as backdrop of works by distinguished directors such as Kurosawa, Miike, Ichikawa, Spielberg, Itami, Tarantino amongst others. That makes it the perfect landscape for new artists to exhibit their craft.

Awards & Prizes

All nominees (monthly selections) will receive a digital certificate.

• Monthly winners will receive a digital certificate, ready to print and an official Seaiff short comment review (free to use). Monthly winners will be pre-selected for the Yearly winner.
Jury will establish it, in case of merit.

• Best Film of the Year & Best Short Film of the Year winners will receive a free SEA International Film Festival certificate, official SEAiff short comment review (free to use), and PUBLIC SCREENING at the final ceremony in 2024 in Manila. A formal Invitation for the 2025 SEA International Film Festival Red Carpet shall be sent weeks before the event date.

• Best Feature Documentary of the Year & Best Short Doc of the year will receive digital certificate, ready to print and an official SEAiff short comment review (free to use), PUBLIC SCREENING at final ceremony 2024 in Manila. A formal Invitation for the 2025 SEA International Film Festival Red Carpet shall be sent weeks before the event date.

• Best Music Video of The Year year will receive digital certificate, ready to print and an official short comment review (free to use), PUBLIC SCREENING at final ceremony 2024 in Manila. A formal Invitation for the 2025 SEA International Film Festival Red Carpet shall be sent weeks before the event date.

Rules & Terms

The monthly winners per category shall be awarded at the end of each month.

All the monthly winners from the 10-month run of the SEAiff Film Festival [regardless of the category] will compete for the yearly selection and be narrowed down into the TOP 20 best feature films eligible to be awarded as GRAND WINNER in JULY 26, 2025. Of this TOP 20, they will further be narrowed down to the BEST OF THE YEAR, granting them the screening of their film during the event.

*FEATURE FILM MAIN CATEGORIES
Best Narrative Feature
Best Drama
Best Thriller
Best Comedy / Dark Comedy
Best Horror
Best Fantasy /Sci-Fi
Best Animation Feature
Best Experimental Film
Best LGBTQ+ Film
Best Italian Film
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There will be 5 monthly nominations for each individual SHORT FILM MAIN CATEGORY**. The monthly winners per category shall be awarded at the end of each month.
All the monthly winners from the 10-month run of the SEAiff [regardless of the category] will be narrowed down into the TOP 20 best short films eligible to be awarded as GRAND WINNER in JULY 26, 2024. A formal Invitation for the 2025 SEA International Film Festival Red Carpet shall be sent weeks before the event date.

**SHORT FILM MAIN CATEGORIES
Best Short Narrative Feature
Best Short Drama
Best Short Thriller
Best Short Comedy / Dark Comedy
Best Short Horror
Best Short Fantasy /Sci-Fi
Best Short Animation Feature
One Minute Masterpiece (0.20-1.10)
Best Short Experimental Film
Best Short LGBTQ+ Film
Best Short Italian Film
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There will be 5 monthly nominations for the CATEGORY FEATURE DOCUMENTARY***. The monthly winner shall be awarded at the end of each month.
All the monthly winners from the 10-month run of the SEAiff Festival [category: Feature Documentary] will be narrowed down into the TOP 20 best Feature Documentaries eligible to be awarded as GRAND WINNER in JULY 28TH 2024.

***CATEGORY FEATURE DOCUMENTARY
Best Feature Documentary (30-120 min.)
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There will be 5 monthly nominations for the CATEGORY SHORT DOCUMENTARY****. The monthly winner shall be awarded at the end of each month.
All the monthly winners from the 10-month run of the SEAiff [category: Short Documentary] will be narrowed down into the TOP 20 best Short Documentaries eligible to be awarded as GRAND WINNER in JULY 28TH 2024.

****CATEGORY SHORT DOCUMENTARY
Best Short Documentary (10-30 min.)
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There will be 5 monthly nominations for each individual SPECIAL CATEGORY*****. The monthly winners per category shall be awarded at the end of each month.
All the monthly winners from the 10-month run of the SEAiff [regardless of the category] will be narrowed down into the TOP 20 [Best Music Video top 20… Best Poster top 20…. Best Student Film top 20… Best Trailer top 20… Best Screenplay top 20…] eligible to be awarded as GRAND WINNER in JULY 28TH 2024.

*****SPECIAL CATEGORIES
SEAiff Screenplay Award
Best Music Video
Best Film Trailer
Best Movie Poster
Best Student Film
Best Italian Student Film
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There will be 5 monthly nominations for each individual FEATURE FILM SUB CATEGORY******. The monthly winners per category shall be awarded at the end of each month.
All the monthly winners from the 10-month run of the Seaiff [regardless of the category] will be narrowed down into the TOP 20 [of each FEATURE FILM SUB category] eligible to be awarded as GRAND WINNER in JULY 28TH 2024.

******FEATURE FILM SUB CATEGORIES
Best Producer
Best Cinematography
Best Director
Best Actress
Best Actor
Best Acting Ensemble
Best Editing
Best Set Design
Best Sound Design
Best Score mixing
Best Original Score
Best Screenwriting
Best Costume Design
Best Makeup and Hairstyling
Best Visual effects
Best Supporting Actor
Best Supporting Actress
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There will be 5 monthly nominations for each individual SHORT FILM SUB CATEGORY*******. The monthly winners per category shall be awarded at the end of each month.
All the monthly winners from the 10-month run of the SEAiff [regardless of the category] will be narrowed down into the TOP 20 [of each SHORT FILM SUB category] eligible to be awarded as GRAND WINNER in JULY 28TH 2024.

*******SHORT FILM SUB CATEGORIES
Best Short Film Producer
Best Short Film Cinematography
Best Short Film Director
Best Short Film Actress
Best Short Film Actor
Best Short Film Acting Ensemble
Best Short Film Editing
Best Short Film Set Design
Best Short Film Sound Design
Best Short Film Score mixing
Best Short Film Original Score
Best Short Film Screenwriting
Best Short Film Costume Design
Best Short Film Makeup and Hairstyling
Best Short Film Visual effects
Best Short Film Supporting Actor
Best Short Film Supporting Actress
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Films entered in multiple categories may win multiple awards.
There is no limit on Submissions as long as there will be no violation of parameters on category submission or any form of fraud.

We strongly encourage you to 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 follows the SEAiff™ terms will be considered for inclusion in the 2024 Edition.
By submitting, you agree that you own all copyrights and intellectual properties to your work.
If you have any further questions, please visit our FAQ page: https://venetoiff.com/south-east-academy-international-film-festival/




SEAiff TECHNICAL INFORMATIONS

Evaluation of the submitted material
The decision of the jury committee will be final.
Duration of the Projects
Feature Films from 45 to 180 minutes are eligible.
Feature Documentaries from 45 to 180 minutes are eligible.
Short Films from 1 to 45 minutes are eligible.
Short Documentaries from 1 to 45 minutes are eligible.
One Minute Masterpiece category from 20 seconds to 1.10 minute are eligible.
Music Videos from 1 to 10 minutes are eligible.
Video
SEAiff accept ANY Video Format.
The suggested Video specs [not obligatory] will be:
ProRes 444/or ProRes 422 (HQ) - please avoid ProRes 422 LT unless it’s all you have. ProRes 422 (Proxy) is unlikely to be good enough to project.
Avid DNxHD, either as MXF files or in a QuickTime container.
MPEG2 Program or Transport Steams at a minimum of 20Mbps.
H.264 4:2:2 encoded, Blu-ray
Frame Size/Display Aspect Ratio/Frame Rate/Scanning Method:
1280 × 720 16x9 23.976 Progressive
1280 × 720 16x9 50.00 Progressive
1280 × 720 16x9 59.94 Progressive
1440 × 1080 16x9 23.976 Progressive
1440 × 1080 16x9 25.00 Interlaced*
1440 × 1080 16x9 29.97 Interlaced
1920 × 1080 16x9 29.97 Interlaced
1920 × 1080 16x9 25.00 Interlaced*
1920 × 1080 16x9 23.976 Progressive


Audio
Stereo or 5.1 surround
5.1 :
• -L: Left front channel
• -R: Right front channel
• -C: Center front channel
• -Ls: Left surround channel
• -Rs: Right surround channel
• -LFE: Low frequency channel (Subwoofer, LFE)
Output format will be DTS-HD Master Audio when venues allow, Dolby Digital as fall back.


General Exclusions
SEAiff does not accept the following:
1. Extremist or propaganda content from religious or political organizations
2. Political films
3. Films which are made before 2019
4. Films with a poor production standard (bad sound, lack of subtitles/captions for non-English films, video resolution less than 720p HD)

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 as “In Consideration”. It is the submitter’s responsibility to make sure that all submission requirements are met. If your submission is marked “Incomplete” and you’re unsure why, please email seainternationalfilmfest@gmail.com

Any submissions that are incomplete by our final deadline will be contacted by our Staff when possible and if not corrected disqualified without refund of submission fees. Reasons a submission will be considered incomplete include (but are not limited to) the following:
- Screener is missing
- Screener has been deleted or password has been changed
- Screener is missing subtitles (if in a foreign language), audio, image, or any feature that prevents us from properly judging it


Screeners Submission
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.
We do accept any films that must be downloaded (ex: via Dropbox or Google Drive)
The submitter is responsible for ensuring that their screener link and password are active throughout the entire submissions cycle (SEAiff™suggest the applicats to make sure of this last element).
In the event of a password or URL change after submitting, email the SEAiff™ immediately. If we discover an error with the screener before our final deadline, 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.
SUBTITLES
All foreign-language films are welcomed. Any foreign-language Film 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.
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 the SEAiff™ immediately. While we can typically facilitate a change in category submission, 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 fee difference.
Submission to multiple categories is allowed. If the entrant wishes to submit to multiple categories, a separate submission fee must be paid for each category. We accept a variety of genres and film themes in every category, including but not limited to comedy, drama, horror, sci-fi, animation, food films, religious films, historical accurate films, avant-garde films, sperimental films, etc.. If you have questions about any of our submission categories, please email: seainternationalfilmfest@gmail.com
Seaiff™ will not pre-screen or evaluate films prior to submission for the purpose of recommending a category for submission.

ASIAN FILMS
A discounted submission fee is available for submissions that were shot in ASIA and come from a director with ASIAN roots
Projects that meet both qualifications can submit at a discount of 30%. To obtain the discount code, applicants will need to email the specs to seainternationalfilmfest@gmail.com Please allow up to 7 business days for a response, particularly when approaching a submission deadline.

SOUTH EAST ASIA FILMS
A discounted submission fee is available for submissions that were shot in ASIA and come from a director with South Asian Roots
Projects that meet both qualifications can submit at a discount of 50%. To obtain the discount code, applicants will need to email the specs to seainternationalfilmfest@gmail.com
Please allow up to 7 business days for a response, particularly when approaching a submission deadline.

Please note, submitting with the ASIN Film code or SOUTH EAST ASIAN Film code makes no difference to the chances of being accepted into the festival, as all local films must stand alongside the other films in SEAiff™ programming. This code is intended as a way to support our local filmmaking community by offering a low-cost means of entry (and also makes it easier for us to identify local films within the thousands of submissions we receive each year).


COMPLETION DATE
Any project that was completed on or after February 25, 2019 will be eligible for consideration at the 2024 SEA International Film Festival.

Works in progress
Works-in-progress are not accepted at the SEAiff:
The SEAiff suggest the applicants to consider submitting on the succeeding months upon completion.
.
Deadlines
Please keep track of deadlines closely if you plan on submitting within a certain submission window. All deadlines are set for 11:59pm GMT+1. Roma (GMT+1) of every 25th of the current month.
Upon acceptance into the 2024 SEA International Film Frestival, you grant SEAiff the right to utilize an excerpt from your film for promotional purposes.
Code Of Conduct
Please be advised that the SEAiff Film Festival has instituted a code of conduct by which all attendees of the festival are expected to follow. Those who fail to follow the terms of this code of conduct will face possible dismissal from the festival. Possible grounds for dismissal may include, but are not limited to, the following: gross misconduct or insubordination, theft of property or misuse of agency materials, abuse or mistreatment of clients, guests, staff or other volunteers, failure to abide by agency policies and procedures, any form of harassment or assault. To view the full code of conduct, please visit: https://venetoiff.com/south-east-academy-international-film-festival)

Award Exclusions
SEAiff has the right to not award the prizes in case of extreme low submissions from third parts.
SEAiff has the right to change the prizes during the annual competition run in case of extreme low participation, Pandemic, War.
If you have any questions that are not answered here or in our Submission FAQ please email us at seainternationalfilmfest@gmail.it We are unable to address inquiries via phone.

10 Reviews
Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Yogi Putera Pamungkas Rukman

    It is a profound honor to have my first documentary, Bedhog Riverbank Kitchen, recognized by the Southeast Academy International Film Festival. SEAiff is a fantastic platform that truly values the craft of filmmaking. The nominations for Directing, Producing, and Cinematography mean a great deal coming from a festival set in a region with such a rich cinematic history. Thank you to the committee for supporting new artists.

    December 2025
    Helpful
  • Aniruddha Das

    Attending The SEA International Film Festival in Manila was an absolute pleasure. The festival was impeccably organized, with a seamless blend of professionalism and warm hospitality. The team curated a strong and diverse selection of films, creating an inspiring space for filmmakers from around the world to share their work and engage in meaningful dialogue.

    We were honored that Made in Paradise received the Documentary of the Year award, and the experience was made even more memorable by the camaraderie with fellow filmmakers and the opportunity to watch an array of remarkable films together.

    From the quality of screenings to the thoughtful scheduling and engaging interactions, SEAiff set a high benchmark for independent film festivals. It is a festival that genuinely values cinema, community, and storytelling—and we look forward to returning in the future.

    August 2025
    Helpful
  • yan leibang

    The film festival is fantastic!

    August 2025
    Helpful
  • Charlie Vitug

    This is my second year joining SEAiff. I wanted to write a review for it this year specifcially because of their growth since the first time.

    For the 2025 SEAiff Annual Awards, they got to have their first on-site awarding and screening at Sine Pop (Quezon City, Philippines). While the theater is quite small, around 45 pax. capacity, the festival organizers showed good communication and hospitality. The catering was great. A small venue is fine because it was their first on-site event and it was a reputable indie cinema anyway. Winners received both framed certificates and glass plaques, with very generous production benefits that were announced during the event.

    This year's installment of the festival made me very optimistic about their near future. People flew in from all around Asia, it wasn't just us Filipinos in attendance. All the films that screened were so powerful and unique – which I don't just say about every film. I look forward to the growth of this festival in the coming years and hope they only get bigger, as they proved to have so much potential despite just being on their second year.

    July 2025
    Helpful
  • Light Streams

    FIRST AND LAST PARTICIPATION! There are 100 categories to submit for. You are gonna get 100 official selection certificates if you submit for all of them, but only 4 or 5 categories out of that 100 qualify for the annual winner. So like 95 categories only qualify for the monthly winners. Nobody sends you a monthly winner certificate doesn’t matter what and how many categories you win. You have to check their social media to find out that you are a monthly winner - no monthly winner certificate and no email to let you know.
    If you send an email to SEAiff - you don’t get any reply. Festival value = 1⭐️.

    July 2025
    Helpful