A GENTLE REMINDER TO PLEASE READ OUR “RULES & TERMS” BEFORE SUBMITTING:
RULES & TERMS:
Please read everything in its entirety to ensure your submissions are qualified.
WHAT IS TRT?
TRT is Total Run Time including end credits. If our TRT requirement is 15 minutes and you submit a film/video that's 15 minutes and 3 seconds (with credits), the film is over the TRT limit and may be disqualified. Please be sure you do not go over the TRT in your submitted category.
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:
1. We've added International Categories for anyone living outside of the United States. U.S. residents, please use the other categories when submitting your films.
2. You may submit one project to as many categories as you wish. However, you must pay the entry fee for each category you submit to.
3. Films that have been previously selected, honored, or honorably mentioned, may not be submitted again and are subject to disqualification.
4. Films that were previously submitted but DID NOT PLACE, may be submitted again.
TIME LIMIT:
All films/videos must be a MINIMUM of 3 minutes. All film/video projects under 3 minutes or over the TRT limit for the specified category may be automatically disqualified. Please note categories do not all have the same TRT or requirements.
1. INTERNATIONAL SHORT FORM - 20 MINUTES OR LESS (For filmmakers outside the U.S. - all formats and genres)
2. INTERNATIONAL EXTENDED/FEATURE LENGTH - MUST BE OVER 20 MIN CANNOT EXCEED 2 HRS (For filmmakers outside the U.S. - all formats and genres)
3. DOMESTIC SHORT FORM - 20 MINUTES OR LESS (ALL GENRES/CATEGORIES – U.S. FILMMAKERS ONLY)
4. DOMESTIC EXTENDED/FEATURE LENGTH - MUST BE OVER 20 MIN CANNOT EXCEED 2 HRS (ALL GENRES/CATEGORIES – U.S. FILMMAKERS ONLY)
SUBTITLES & LANGUAGES:
All Non-English language films must be subtitled in English.
ENTRY FEES:
All entry fees are USD and are non-refundable.
ACCEPTANCE AGREEMENTS:
If your project is selected to be included in SURF CITY FESTIVAL, you must agree to provide the film in all requested formats and provide specified materials to SURF CITY FESTIVAL within 5 days in order to be included. Films not made available within this time, might be excluded from final programming.
ACCEPTABLE SUBMISSION FORMATS:
We accept uploaded film/videos via FilmFreeway, Vimeo, or YouTube. Any other format and the project will be labeled as "Incomplete." After 2 or more days of being "Incomplete" the project may be disqualified. If submitting a password-protected project, please be sure the password is correct. Projects with incorrect passwords may be disqualified.
FORMATS & SELECTIONS:
At this time we do not accept DCP formats. This may change prior to the festival. In the meantime, if selected for screening, you must allow us to download an MP4 file or submit a digital file of your project (MP4 preferred) and/or photographs to showcase, per instructions you will receive from showcase coordinators.
AUTHORIZATIONS:
By submitting a project (film/photography/script) to SURF CITY FESTIVAL, the applicant confirms and warrants that s/he is entitled to submit the project to SURF CITY FESTIVAL and has authorization and consent from the owners of copyright and related rights, any trademarked content and/or other subject matter of intellectual property on the content included within the submission. SURF CITY FESTIVAL and all its affiliates, will not and cannot be held liable for any infringements.
Furthermore, by submitting to SURF CITY FESTIVAL the applicant guarantees that all rights are cleared, declares to be the owner of the rights in the work submitted and that s/he is authorized to grant rights of usage and/or to transfer it to third parties.
SURF CITY FESTIVAL, its representatives, authorized persons and/or employees shall not be held responsible for any unauthorized inclusion of any content that might be the basis for third parties’ claims.
The applicant shall protect and fully indemnify SURF CITY FESTIVAL, all of its representatives, affiliates, authorized persons and/or employees against all claims, losses, damages, liabilities, and expenses arising out of or in connection with claims by third parties in relation to the submission. SURF CITY FESTIVAL may also disqualify or reject any submission that is subject to third parties’ claims.
SURF CITY FESTIVAL reserves the right to disqualify and exclude any film, photo or screenplay at its sole discretion.
Please be advised, WE DO NOT PAY TO SHOWCASE, FEATURE OR SCREEN FILMS OR PHOTOGRAPHS. If you have a distribution deal, by submitting to this showcase, you give us permission to display, broadcast, share, and feature copyright protected content on our website and/or other online/streaming formats or live screenings free of charge and without any claims of copyright or trademark infringement.
