Please read all of the policies and rules below. Films that do not follow these rules will be disqualified, so please ask any questions before submitting.
GENERAL ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
Filmmakers must be at least 18 years old to enter.
All entries must be in English (or have English subtitles).
All film submissions must have been completed after December of 2014. All entries must be original works, no adaptations. (Unless adapted from the film-maker’s own original story/novel or a work that is the public domain.) Parody films are accepted for this genre.
Only a director or producer may submit a film or trailer. The director/producer with the submission of the film affirms that he/she has all the copyrights of audio, video, images and music of the film or rights to the story and he/she remains responsible before the law.
Entries are judged by a panel who make the decisions of Official Selections and Jury Prize winners. The judges decisions are final and may not be disputed.
All entries must be sent via FilmFreeway. (Please do not send DVDs, BluRays, or any downloadable files to us directly.)
PREVIOUSLY RELEASED FILMS
We understand that just because a film has been released on places like YouTube or Amazon doesn't mean that many people have seen it. All too often we've seen a great low-budget movie sit in self-released limbo, especially short films. So we accept released films as long as the film-maker still has the full rights to it. In fact, we'll help promote it.
SUBMISSION FEES
Submission fees must be in U.S. dollars. These fees are non-refundable, even in the case of disqualification or withdrawal of an entry.
Understand that the submission fee does not guarantee that your film will be selected to screen in the festival.
Multiple submissions are accepted, but each must be submitted with a separate fee. There are no discounts for multiple submissions.
FEE WAIVERS & DISCOUNTS
In the spirit of fairness to all, we do not offer waivers for the submission fees.
We are a FilmFreeway Gold Event and members of that program receive discounted fees.
JURY SCORE CARDS
All completed submissions will receive the score cards and any corresponding notes from the judges in July 2020. These are sent electronically, so please make sure that your email address on FilmFreeway is correct. Any submissions that are withdrawn before the end of the submission period will not be eligible to receive score cards.
NUDITY & VIOLENCE GUIDELINES
Films with excessive full-frontal nudity are not accepted. A little nudity is okay if it’s part of a gag or joke, but having characters walk around naked for no apparent reason is considered excessive – and yes, we’ve seen films like that. Absolutely no pornography.
Films may not include real violence toward humans or animals. We accept horror-comedies, but all the blood, gore, and violence must be done with special effects.
OTHER LEGAL STUFF
You agree to indemnify and hold us harmless from any claim made by you or any third party due to or arising out of project(s) you submit to this contest. You understand that there are thousands of writers and film-makers and the similarities in story, plot, characters, etc... of two or more films are certainly a possibility. The contest directors and judges will not knowingly share your submission with any third party.
IF SELECTED FOR THE FESTIVAL:
SCREENING - All filmmakers understand and accept that if their film is accepted for presentation and screening at the film/video festival, they grant full and unrestricted permission for Siren Productions Media LLC / Siren by the Sea Film Festival (SBTS) to screen the film/video at times of the festival’s choice. We do not offer screening fees to the film-makers.
ATTENDANCE - Film-makers who plan to attend the festival are asked to RSVP no later than July 4, 2020 so that promotional time may be scheduled for them. Film-makers who attend without giving SBTS advanced notice cannot be guaranteed stage time for promoting their work.
FREE VENDING AREA - A vendor area will be available free of charge for film-makers to sell their DVDs and merchandise related to their films. Film-makers who plan to use this area must RSVP no later than July 4, 2020 to reserve a space. Film-makers may only market films and related merchandise to films that they themselves have produced. (No pornography.) Film-makers are responsible for their own transactions with customers.
PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS - Selected film-makers may be asked to submit an additional digital screening copy of their film along with any promotional materials they have available such as film poster, trailer, still photos, film-maker biographies, etc... The Filmmaker grants SBTS the right to use any and all promotional materials in any manner they see fit for publicity purposes related to the festival. All requested materials must be received by the festival no later than July 1, 2020 to be included in the event.
Film-makers who are attending the festival are encouraged to bring flyers, lobby cards, or other hand-outs for promoting their film.
OTHER INFORMATION - We keep all entries as secure as possible prior to and during the festival. (Digital files are erased after the festival is concluded.) However, with the popularity of camera devices (cell phones), we cannot promise the security of content shown at the festival. The film-maker releases SBTS and its organizers from any and all liability whatsoever for theft, copyright violations, or piracy of the entry.
The Film-maker accepts and understands that the festival, in conjunction with Anne Oakley’s Saloon, will do everything possible to present the films in the best possible manner but the festival is not responsible for any and all malfunctions or technical difficulties during the presentation of any film at its festival screening.
Siren by the Sea Film Festival reserves the right to make changes in the screening date and times and to possibly not screen a film regardless of its being selected for screening.
