These regulations govern the submission of all works for consideration for the festival and you (“you” or “submitter”) are required to read the following regulations carefully to confirm your understanding and acceptance of the same prior to submission of any films. Please note that the Animal Liberation Film Festival (ALFF) reserves the right to alter these regulations without notice and that these regulations are not confirmed to govern regulations for future festivals.
1. Submission Deadlines
Only films submitted to the correct category, accompanied by the correct fee and received by the allocated deadline will be considered. ALFF reserves the right to disqualify a submission, and to have any and all paid fees forfeited, should the submission not meet all of these requirements.
2. Definitions
Short Film
This category is reserved for any film whose runtime is 40 minutes and 29 seconds or less (including credits). If the film is submitted and the length is greater than this definition stipulates, ALFF will change the category and the Submitter will be required to pay the fee increase before the film is considered. Failure to do so will mean that the film will not be considered for the Festival and any and all fees paid prior will be forfeited.
Feature Film
This category is reserved for any film whose runtime is 40 minutes and 30 seconds or more (including credits). If the film is submitted and the length is less than this definition stipulates, ALFF will change the category; the film will still be considered for the Festival, but ALFF will not refund any portion of the fees paid.
Experimental
This sub-category of short film is reserved for films that have an absence of narrative and/or include abstraction within the structure and conventions of the physical medium itself. It is not for non-linear and/or unconventional fiction films.
3. Payment
The submission fee:
• must be made in USD, as collected by FilmFreeway.
• is payable by Visa, Mastercard, American Express, JCB, Discover, Diners Club, UnionPay or PayPal, and accepted via FilmFreeway only.
• cannot be waived (NO EXCEPTIONS).
• cannot be discounted, including for the submission of multiple films.
Please note:
• ALFF cannot provide refunds for submissions that do not meet eligibility criteria or are otherwise deemed to be disqualified under these regulations.
• Films submitted without payment WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED and the submission will be disqualified.
4. Preview Screener Formats
ALFF accepts online screeners only. Any submission sent via disc or any other physical format will not be considered for the Festival; should this be the only format in which the submitted film is delivered, the submission will be disqualified, and any and all fees paid will be forfeited.
Short and Feature Preview Screener Formats
Submitted films must be either uploaded directly to FilmFreeway or supplied as a password-protected Vimeo link or unlisted YouTube link entered directly into the FilmFreeway online application form. Please note that:
• ALFF does not accept screeners via email; you must upload it directly to FilmFreeway or a third-party site such as Vimeo or YouTube.
• If the password changes at any point between the date of submission and the Festival, the Submitter must inform ALFF via email immediately. Any film submitted with an incorrect or outdated password cannot be considered for the Festival; in such a case, the submission will be disqualified, and any and all fees paid will be forfeited.
• If the screener is supplied via a Vimeo link, please ensure that the privacy settings are updated such that embedding is allowed; this ensures that ALFF can view the film via FilmFreeway.
As with all other submissions, if the work is not received by the appropriate deadline, the submission will be disqualified, and any and all submission fees paid will be forfeited.
5. Eligibility requirements
To be eligible for consideration, all submissions must meet the following requirements:
• Films must have been completed after 1 January 2024.
• Films must not have been (or will not be) available commercially online and accessible from the state of Victoria, Australia, either for free or via on-demand services prior to 1 December 2025. Screenings as part of a digital or online festival are permitted if the festival is for a limited run, and access by Australian viewers is prohibited via geoblocking.
• Films where the original language is not English must provide subtitles in English.
Please note:
• ALFF reserves the right to program films that do not adhere to the above eligibility requirements.
• These regulations are specific to ALFF 2025 only and do not indicate eligibility for any future iterations of the festival.
6. Authorised Use and Inclusion of Materials
It is the sole responsibility of the Submitter to:
• secure permission from the rights holders of any and all copyrighted and/or trademarked content or materials included within the film
• clear all content within the film from any and all actual or potential legal claims and issues, including, without limitation, claims based on theories of libel, defamation, invasion of privacy, violation of rights of publicity, theft of trade secrets, breach of confidence, breach of confidential relationship, and breach of express or implied contract (“Third Party Claim/s”).
ALFF will not be held responsible for any unauthorised inclusion of:
• any copyrighted and/or trademarked content or materials within or relating to the submitted project, including any content or materials that are or may become the basis for any Third Party Claim/s for copyright infringement and/or trademark infringement, trademark dilution or unfair competition
• any content or materials within or relating to the submitted film that are or may be the basis for any Third Party Claim/s.
If any unauthorised inclusion of materials as set out above applies to a submitted film, ALFF reserves the right to forego consideration of that film, or to withdraw the film from confirmed programming – in which case any and all fees paid prior will be forfeited.
7. Work-In-Progress Submissions
IF A WORK-IN-PROGRESS (WIP) IS BEING SUBMITTED, PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING CAREFULLY.
ALFF does accept submissions of WIPs only if the following conditions have been met:
• The film must be at or beyond picture-lock stage.
• The submission is made during the FINAL submissions period ONLY. If a WIP is submitted during any other submissions period without any prior discussion with the submissions team, ALFF will disqualify the submission and submission fees will not be refunded. NO EXCEPTIONS.
ALFF does not have the capacity to review updated versions of a WIP as they become available. The Submitter accepts that the submitted WIP version is the ONLY VERSION that will be considered before a selection decision is made. If the film is selected based on the submitted WIP version, the Submitter will need to provide the final version for festival exhibition, so please be sure your WIP can be completed prior to December 2025.
Please think carefully about whether or not you should submit the film as a WIP. If you have any queries regarding WIPs, or if you have a WIP XR experience you want to submit, please email hello(at)ALFF.org.au.
8. Selection
Submission to ALFF is with the understanding that selection may be for any and all exhibition formats that constitute ALFF 2025.
All Submitters will be notified of an outcome by end of October 2025. Festival programmers select and invite all films presented at ALFF. If the Submitter’s contact details change during the submissions period, you must immediately inform ALFF via hello(at)ALFF.org.au.
If the film is selected to screen at ALFF 2025, it must be made available in one of the following formats, received by ALFF no later than close of business (5pm AEST) 14 November 2025:
Shorts and Features
• Content must be in DCP (Digital Cinema Package) format.
• Picture rate must be 24.
• The Submitter must provide a minimum of three (3) digital copies of stills from the film via email (minimum image specifications: 300dpi, JPGs or JPEGs only). Electronic Press Kits (EPKs), digital posters, director headshots and social media handles may also be supplied to ALFF, but are not mandatory. Please note: ALFF may supply these materials to third parties for the purpose of editorial coverage of ALFF. These materials may also be used for ALFF’s publicly available print publications and print products as well as online media (ALFF website/s, ALFF mobile application/s and ALFF social media channels), where they will remain available without any time or territorial restrictions. Please be aware that ALFF cannot make photographer attributions within our printed or online guides.
If selected, ALFF strongly encourages the Submitter to supply closed captions and/or audio description so that the film can be viewed by audiences with access requirements.
ALFF abides to:
• Not hold any more than four (4) screenings of any submitted film exhibiting at a physical location.
9. Correspondence
All correspondence from ALFF regarding FilmFreeway submissions will be sent via FilmFreeway, directly to the email address of the Submitter, or through third-party email campaign software. Please do not unsubscribe from ALFF communications, as you may miss key updates.
Although ALFF takes every precaution to ensure that messages are sent to the Submitter via email, ALFF disavows any responsibility for messages not delivered to the email address supplied. ALFF recommends that Submitters regularly log in to FilmFreeway to ensure that the submission has been completed (including, but not limited to, payments and screener uploads), that the supplied email address is correct and up-to-date, and that the film’s status has changed to ‘In Consideration’ within two weeks of submitting.
ALFF’s selection decisions are final and no correspondence will be entered into. ALFF does not provide critical analysis or feedback.
