Southern States Indie FanFilmFest

"A festival made by indie filmmakers, for indie filmmakers!! Amazing organizers and an impressive film line-up! I had a great time and met some extremely talented filmmakers." - Katey Perkins, filmmaker

"5 stars and all thumbs up! There was something special about this festival; a sense of professionalism, comradeship and fun and something else…warmth and light and an embracing spirit." - Bob Belinoff

* A LIVE EVENT, an international festival, IMDb qualifying, and a "Top 100 Reviewed" in 2019 and 2020! (We did not open for 2021 due to the pandemic)

Southern States Indie FanFilmFest is held on the beautiful Gulf Coast in Biloxi, Mississippi, a historic coastal town with an international airport (GPT) minutes away or FLY INTO NEW ORLEANS (MSY) and party for the weekend!

From Austin to Charlotte and Miami to Baton Rouge, SSIFFF is an International film festival that also celebrates the creative talent and diversity of the American Southern States. We are dedicated to REAL INDIE FILMMAKERS. And although FILMS WILL BE ACCEPTED FROM AROUND THE WORLD, additional categories are open for submissions from the eleven Southern States: Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North and South Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, and Arkansas.

SSIFFF celebrates the diversity of Americans along our beautiful southern coast - the longstanding Spanish traditions of Texas and Florida, French Creole and Cajun cultures of the former vast Louisiana territory, and the continually evolving cultures of southern blacks and whites. As gloriously diverse as any region on earth, in addition to our general call for submissions we are issuing a call for films with innovative, progressive and balanced stories from and concerning women, peoples of Latin, African, Asian and Middle Eastern descent, Native Americans, LGBTQ community, and seniors.

SSIFFF's RED CARPET AWARDS CEREMONY is a three hour event and a night to remember - film clips, photo ops, and awards throughout the evening. You won't want to miss it!

OUR PROMISE - to diligently endeavor to empower INDEPENDENT filmmakers and celebrate film creativity and DIVERSITY in the Southern States and around the world!

ALL SUBMISSIONS are eligible to be nominated for genre, role and crew categories as determined appropriate by judges, for example Comedy or Horror, Actor or Actress, and Director or Cinematography.

BEST OF FEST - given to the overall winner chosen by our judges from all submitted films.

ATMAN AWARD FOR DIVERSITY IN FILM - we will honor one film for illustrating the unity of diverse beings. Atman, the innermost spiritual essence, signifies the one life force shared by all living creatures.

BEST SOUTHERN STATES FILM - chosen from qualifying films in all Southern States categories.

INTERNATIONAL FILMS - Any films completed outside the US. Foreign language films must be subtitled in English.

STUDENT FILMMAKER - anyone 18 and under, or a college student (verified by student ID) please submit at student rates for automatic eligibility for student awards.

AWARDS are diverse, and can be given in many categories, such as genre - Comedy, Foreign Language, or Southern States; craft - Cinematography, Director, etc., as well as Actor, Actress, Student and First Time Director.

MUSIC CATEGORIES and TRAILERS - only films that specifically submit to one or more of the Soundtrack, Song, Music Video, or Trailer categories will be judged for those awards. Selected Trailers and Music Videos will be screened.

SCRIPTS selected with representation at the festival will have opportunity to participate in script reading panel and/or pitch session. Attending scriptwriters nominated for awards will have top priority.

All entries and submissions to Southern States Indie FanFilmFest can be made through FilmFreeway. See categories for specific lengths. Films not in English must be subtitled in English.

If you meet requirements for a Southern States submission category, your film will be judged in the more narrow category while still eligible for top festival awards.

The judging panel reserves the right to remove a category or to add additional categories as they deem appropriate.

If your film is nominated ONLY in Soundtrack or Film Song categories, it will not be screened but will be represented at the Awards event.

By submitting your film you have read and agreed to all Southern States Indie FanFilmFest submission rules and these terms and conditions. If you have any questions, please contact us via the email link.
1. SCREENING FEES - Indie FanFilmFest, LLC does not pay screening fees. By submitting your film via FilmFreeway you acknowledge that the festival will not pay to present your work.
2. SUBMISSION - All works must be submitted via FilmFreeway as an online screener. FilmFreeway allows you to upload the film or provide a link for a host site such as Vimeo or Youtube.
3. ONLINE SCREENERS must have working links and passwords throughout the submission process. It is your responsibility to notify us if any changes are made.
4. COMPLETION DATE - Entries must have been completed during 2020, 2022, or 2022 UNLESS PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED (which includes the film festival circuit).
5. PREMIERE REQUIREMENTS - currently there are no premiere requirements, however feature length films that are viewable by the general public online will be disqualified. We do not discriminate against shorts or mid-length films that are available to the public online, but many festivals do, so it is suggested that public release be delayed until you have completed your film festival run. Simply password protect the online viewer to guard against this issue.
6. WORKS IN PROGRESS are accepted but PLEASE READ: While you may submit the final edit up until the Final deadline, your original submission should be a fair representation of your final piece as our judges will be making their initial decisions based on it. When your final edit is complete, simply send us an email letting us know and detail where the changes were made (time signatures). If the film is substantially changed please re-submit the following year.
7. All works selected must be available and downloadable (by us) by November 30, 2022 for inclusion in the festival, and award nomination clips needed for the Red Carpet Awards Event no later than Dec. 10, 2022 - NO EXCEPTIONS.
8. REFUNDS - SSIFFF does not issue refunds for submissions received.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS
By entering your film for consideration for the Southern States Indie FanFilmFest, you authorize that your work is cleared for festival exhibition and accept full legal responsibility for the intellectual property therein, including soundtrack. Entry into the festival constitutes permission to exhibit your work at the festival. Indie FanFilmFest International, LLC is also hereby granted the right to utilize an excerpt from any film submitted and accepted for exhibition at the Festival for promotional purposes only. The undersigned shall indemnify and hold harmless Indie FanFilmFest International, LLC, Southern States Indie FanFilmFest, and all of their agents 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. Southern States Indie FanFilmFest may opt to withdraw your work from the festival at any time for any reason. Southern States Indie FanFilmFest DOES NOT PAY SCREENING FEES. By submitting your film via FilmFreeway you acknowledge that the festival will not pay to present your work. Southern States Indie FanFilmFest reserves the right to disqualify any submission without refund of submission fees. Southern States Indie FanFilmFest does not issue refunds.
Entering your film for consideration in Southern States Indie FanFilmFest is, hereby, your digital signature of agreement to these Rules & Terms.

Overall Rating

Quality

Value

Communication

Hospitality

Networking

Julie Whitis-Church

Great festival. Would definitely submit again!

July 2021

Helpful

Response from festival:

Thanks so much Julie!
Agatino Zurria

Even in the worst of times, they made sure the submitters had all the info about our film's selection and winning.

January 2021

Helpful

Response from festival:

Thanks Agatino! And congrats again on your wonderful film! Peace, Mike
Hal Goodtree

SSIFF rose to the occasion in 2020, pulling off a quality festival during a pandemic. On behalf of "Shaw Rising," we are very grateful for their efforts to build community and honor the accomplishments of filmmakers in the South. Thank you, SSIFF!

January 2021

Helpful

Response from festival:

It was an honor to host your film, Hal! Peace and blessings to you, Mike
Allisyn Snyder

Highly recommend Southern States Indie FanFilmFest! Incredible people both running and attending the festival. Great networking opportunity to meet fellow passionate filmmakers!

March 2020

Helpful

Response from festival:

Thanks Allisyn!
Jake Brown

Mike and everyone else put on such a wonderful film festival. Thorough communication; a plethora of good films; a great experience, overall. Happy to have had our film Chapter 9 a part of it.

February 2020

Helpful

Response from festival:

Thanks Jake. Enjoyed having you there.