The Summer in the South Film Festival welcomes filmmakers and their amazing films as we say goodbye to summer over Labor Day weekend - in the heart of the South - Atlanta, GA. We have an entire day packed with independent film screenings, Q&As with the filmmakers, stand-up comedy, live panels with professionals in the film industry, and networking.

Script writers, in addition to submitting your script to the festival we also provide optional script coverage. Script coverage with our festival includes the price of your submission fee. Your work will be analyzed by a Cinema Life filmmaker who’s produced award-winning films, has extensive writing experience, and also understands the indie way of filmmaking.

Best Drama Film
Best Horror Film 
Best Comedy Film
Best Dark Comedy Film
Best Science Fiction Film
Best Animated Short Film
Best Music Video
Best International Film 
Best Georgia Film
Best Director
Best Cinematography
Best Editor
Best Drama Screenplay- Feature
Best Drama Screenplay-Short
Best Comedy Screenplay- Feature
Best Comedy Screenplay- Short
Best Horror Screenplay- Feature
Best Horror Screenplay- Short
Best Thriller Screenplay- Feature
Best Thriller Screenplay- Short
Best Action Screenplay- Feature
Best Action Screenplay- Short
Best Sci-Fi Screenplay- Feature
Best Sci-Fi Screenplay- Short
Best International Screenplay
Best Georgia Screenplay

PLEASE READ CAREFULLY

• Please fully fill out your submission profile to avoid hold-ups in the judging process.

**** Submission fees are non refundable.****

• If you submit a Film in process and it gets selected, please notice we expect it to be completed within two weeks after the Notification Date. Otherwise, it will be disqualified. No exceptions. It is every submitter's responsibility to read the Rules and Terms of each Festival before submitting.

• All films must be UNDER 30 minutes.

• If your film is selected you are not to submit any other updated, altered version of your film. If you send a film that is different from or longer than what was initially selected by the festival judging team, your film may be disqualified to the discretion of the festival director.

• If your film is selected, you are expected to provide a link to download your film so that we can project it at the festival. Only Google Drive and Dropbox are accepted. You can also make your film downloadable on FilmFreeway or Vimeo.

• All films must be under 4GB and 1080HD Max in either MP4 or MOV format.

• We do not accept DCP files.

• We do not screen 720p or SD Files.

• We do not stream from YouTube or Vimeo at the event.

• The Summer in the South Film Festival is hereby granted the right to utilize an excerpt from any film submitted and accepted for exhibition at the Festival and for promotional purposes on our website, newsletter, and social media platforms. 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 undersigned shall indemnify and hold harmless The Summer in the South Film Festival 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.

• The Summer in the South Film Festival DOES NOT offer refunds on submissions.

• We reserve the right to deny entry or disqualify any project, at the discretion of festival leadership, for any reason.

Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • L.K. Byron

    The Summer in the South Film Festival brought together creative and down to earth, filmmakers, writers, and actors. Caroline, Mara, and the Cinema Life team, kept me up to date with all the festivities and scheduled appearances! Having my short screenplay “A MOVING DAY,” recognized as a finalist then advance to an award winner was quite an honor. SITSFF was worth the entry and brings an exciting end to the summer!

    September 2023
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    Response from festival:

    Thank you so much for your wonderful review, Lamont! It makes us so happy to know you had a great experience from the very beginning. It was a very well-deserved award :)

  • Lucas Hicks

    Summer in the south is always a go to for us. Caroline runs a top notch festival that is always fun and has incredible films. Highly worth the submission fee! Make sure to go as well. The beer is awesome!

    September 2023
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    Response from festival:

    Thank you, Lucas! It's always a pleasure for us to have you!

  • Neal Reddy

    What a great festival here in Atlanta. Communication was awesome. Great audiences. Most importantly... an awesome selection of films. Felt honored to be showing with them. You can tell the people running it love film and love giving up and comers a chance. It's also next to a brewery for all those who like to have easy access to beer. ;-)

    September 2023
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    Response from festival:

    Thank you, Neal! We certainly love what we do and we're happy your film "Barely Breathing" was part of our programing :)

  • Uli Meyer

    Terrific Festival! Great communication, highly recommended,

    September 2023
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    Response from festival:

    Thank you, Uli!

  • I could not attend this year but the communication between myself and the SISFF team was impeccable! My film was selected and won for "Best Action/Sci-Fi Film". I definitely will try to participate next year!

    September 2023
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    Response from festival:

    We absolutely loved "The Next Stop"! Wonderful film. That award is very well-deserved! We hope to see you then :)