T.O. Webfest

Rules & Terms

HOW TO SUBMIT:

1) Ensure that you meet all the eligibility criteria, including having a release date between January 1, 2025, and July 1, 2026.

2) Submit through your genre category.

3) You can submit up to 2 episodes, but the jury will only be required to watch one full episode.

4) Submit all required information and pay the required fee(s) in accordance with the relevant submission window.

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ADDITIONAL TERMS & CONDITIONS

All submitted SERIES and PODCAST content must satisfy the following requirements:

- Content may contain violence, coarse language, and/or sexual scenes, but disclaimers must be included if such elements are included.

-The content must be submitted by a creator/producer aged 18 or older who owns the project rights.

-At the time of submission, the series must be accessible online or subject to online distribution by June 1, 2026.

-If your content is unfinished or pending distribution, you may submit password-protected unreleased content or works-in-progress for consideration. You can add a password to protect your video uploads on your FilmFreeway project page. If selected, you must have a screening file available by June 1, 2025, or you will be disqualified.

-Content that is not English language must include English subtitles. Any series with dialogue or visual references that are not spoken or written in English must include English subtitles.

All SHORT FILM PILOTS must satisfy the following requirements:

-Be completed after September 1, 2024
-Be under 20 mins in length
-Be intended to serve as a pilot or proof of concept for a short-form digital series. All short films intended as stand-alone pieces of art or intended for any other purpose than to pitch a short-form series based on the short film are INELIGIBLE.
-Must NOT have already been made into a series. This category is for SHORT FILMS that creators are using to actively pitch a series concept. It is NOT for pilots, trailers, or other videos related to series that have already been made. If you have a completed series you would like to submit for consideration, please submit it under one of our short-form SERIES categories.
-If you have any questions about this particular category, please email communications@webseriescanada.org

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INELIGIBLE CONTENT:

The following content formats are not eligible for screening during T.O. Webfest and will be rejected regardless of their adherence to any other requirements:

- Commercials
- Corporate videos promoting a product or service
- Pornography
- Product reviews
- Music videos
- Short Films

RULES:

1. All submitters must submit their content to T.O. Webfest through FilmFreeway.

2. All submitters must submit to at least 1 Genre category.

3. Multiple projects may be submitted for consideration provided that an additional submission fee is paid for each entry.

4. All submission fees are non-refundable.

5. Submitting does not guarantee your series as an Official Selection of T.O. Webfest 2026.

6. The Festival prefers that the submitter is the creator/producer of the project. However, in order to submit content on the behalf of its creator/producer, the contact information of the primary creator/producer must be provided in order to document them as the festival’s main point of contact.

7. The submitter must have obtained legal copyright to publicly screen their submitted content and all intellectual property contained therein including, but not limited to, music, lyrics, written work, photos, video content, artwork, and media excerpts.

8. The creator/producer of each Official Selection will receive a discount code to attend the 2026 T.O. Webfest and industry conference.

9. By submitting you agree that T.O. Webfest may display all or part of the submitted content live in a theatre or online or by mobile app from September 1, 2026 to October 1, 2026, to festival audiences.

10. By submitting you agree that T.O. Webfest may display all or part of the submitted press kit content online, mobile or on social media for the lifetime of the post as well as on the T.O. Webfest website.

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JUDGING PROCESS:

-T.O. Webfest and WebSeries Canada maintain that the collective members of the Festival Jury reflect an international selection of esteemed industry professionals of diverse cultural backgrounds.

-T.O. Webfest and WebSeries Canada reserve the right to appoint all members of the Festival Jury.

-The Jury's scores determine all nominees and winners.

-Primary Award nominees and winners are determined by the T.O. Webfest Festival Team.

-If the Festival Jury or T.O. Webfest determines that an incorrect category may have been chosen for a submission, the submitter will be contacted regarding reclassification.

-All decisions regarding Official Selections and award nominees and winners are final decisions and non-disputable.

-The identities of the Festival Jury members will be posted on the T.O. Webfest website after submissions close with the exception of any that choose to remain anonymous.

-Staff members of T.O. Webfest or members of the Board of Directors of WebSeries Canada are permitted to submit their web series, but they may not participate in any jury categories in which their submissions are entered.

AI POLICY:

-TOWF does NOT accept submissions that have been made in whole or in part through the use of generative AI.

OTHER:

-Use of a discount code by any individual other than the person(s) to whom the code was originally provided will be grounds for disqualification without refund of the submission fee. Please only use codes that you have been personally provided.

If you have any general questions or require further assistance, please email communications@webseriescanada.org