SYS’s Six-Figure Film Festival and Screenplay Contest

Film Festival:

Please read all rules and terms carefully. You agree to these in full by submitting your film or script to our festival.

The individual(s) or company submitting the film hereby warrants that it is authorized to commit the film for screening, and understands and accepts these requirements and regulations.

You MUST have all proper permissions, clearances, rights, etc. to send in your project and you must allow us to exhibit your film if it's chosen.

Whoever submits a project shall indemnify and hold harmless the SYS's Six-Figure Film Festival and Screenplay Contest and its judges and associates from and against any and all claims, liabilities, damages, losses, 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, credits, publicity, trademark, screening, and loss of or damage to any projects and/or materials submitted to our festival.

All films must have been produced for less than one million U.S. dollars.

All films must be submitted in English or with English subtitles (if in a different language).

All films must have been made in or after 2019.

Short films must not exceed 30 minutes.

Filmmakers are responsible for sorting out the copyright on their own materials.

By submitting to us, you give us consent and the right to screen your film in front of a live audience.

We may promote clips from your film on social media, based on the press kits you provide us with. But we will NOT pull clips from your film without your permission.

We place no restrictions on your work in terms of premiere status or whether your work has been made available online.

We do not accept partial screeners, trailers, or screener links that require access other than password protected links.

Any technical issues with the submitted films are 100% the responsibility of the filmmakers. If, at the time of judging, your video file doesn’t work or doesn’t have English subtitles (if in a language other than English), it will be automatically rejected, without a refund. Please contact the festival team ASAP if there are any issues with the submission process, and a solution will be found.

We cannot provide refunds.

By submitting to us you agree to our terms and conditions and to receiving marketing newsletters and discounts about film festivals in the form of emails. We will never sell your information to third parties.

We retain the right to change the date and venue of the festival under special circumstances. If it's illegal in L.A. county to screen movies in-person, we will have to change the date/time. But if it's legal to screen films, we'll be screening films without excuses. All filmmakers will be informed about any changes through email and our online platforms.

We reserve the right to update our terms and conditions.

Screenplay Contest:

Writer(s)
-This contest is void where prohibited.
-All writers must be at least 18 years old to be eligible.
-Writer(s) must wholly own the screenplay and intellectual property that they submit.
-Entrants may be required to submit further information to assist in verifying eligibility.
-All submissions must be made by the writer or co-writer of the screenplay being submitted.
-Submissions written by more than one person must be submitted with the consent of all other writers. And all writers should be credited on the title page.
-If a writing team’s screenplay is picked as a winner, prizes will be given to the one writer who made the submission. The submitting writer is responsible for dividing or sharing the prize money with his or her writing partners.

Material
-All material must be submitted in industry standard screenplay format.
-The title page should contain the title of the screenplay and names of all writers. It’s okay but not mandatory if it also contains the writer’s contact information.
-All screenplays must be written in English, however anyone from anywhere may enter the contest if they meet all the other eligibility requirements.
-Only screenplays that are 120 pages or less are eligible.
-All material must be submitted electronically as a PDF.
-Substitutions of either corrected pages or new drafts of the entered material will NOT be allowed. Please proofread your material and make sure you are submitting the correct draft at the time of submission.

Submitting
-The script assessments from the two professional first round readers may be purchased for a small additional fee, but it must be purchased at the time of entry. No other feedback will be provided.
-All submissions must be received on or before the deadline dates by Midnight PST.
-The submission fee payment must be made in full at the time of submission.
-Entry fees are NOT refundable for any reason.
-Any submission may be deemed ineligible for any reason at the sole discretion of SYS.
-Quarter-Finalists may be required to sign and return within ten (10) business days of receipt a notarized Affidavit of Eligibility and a Release and Indemnification and proof of valid passport and any other documents that SYS or any other partner may require before receiving prize payment. Failure to respond to the initial notification within fifteen (15) business days will result in disqualification.
-We reserve the right to amend any part of these rules at any time. So please check back often.