WE ARE NOW OPEN FOR SUBMISSIONS.

THE AWARD WINNERS FOR FEBRUARY HAVE BEEN ANNOUNCED BY EMAIL, ON OUR WEBSITE AND OUR SOCIAL MEDIA SITES.

OFFICIAL SELECTIONS FOR FEBRUARY 2025 HAVE BEEN ANNOUNCED BY EMAIL AND ON OUR WEBSITE.

* CHECK OUT ALL OF OUR AWARD WINNERS & THEIR FEATURED PAGES ON OUR WEBSITE.

Welcome to the Touchstone Independent Film Festival, an international celebration of independent short films from all over the world. We are officially recognized by IMDb and winners will be listed there. Our festival is dedicated to showcasing the best and most innovative work of independent filmmakers, and we are proud to offer a platform for these talented artists to share their unique stories with a global audience.

We welcome filmmakers from every corner of the globe to submit their work to our festival. We offer awards in various categories recognizing the outstanding achievements of filmmakers in areas such as storytelling, cinematography, editing, and sound design.

Our festival is committed to promoting the work of aspiring filmmakers through our social media presence and live, public screenings. We believe that independent filmmaking is a vital part of our cultural landscape, and we are honored to provide a platform for these voices to be heard. We believe that your talent and creativity would be a valuable addition to our Festival.

== THE MONTHLY FESTIVAL PROCESS ==

All submissions are watched in their entirety by our team.

Judges score the quality and creativity of entries on a performance scale and against a high standard of merit. Films are awarded points for several criteria according to the category they have been submitted to by each judge. Points are then added up to establish category ranking. Some categories can have no winners if there are no submissions meeting the established standard of merit.

On the Notification Date, films meeting the established standard of merit will be part of the Official Selection for the month and will receive an email notification with the Officially selected laurel. Non-selected films will be notified via FilmFreeway at the same time.

The Award Winners of each category and Honorable Mentions chosen from the Official Selections will be announced on the Event Date.

The event date in FilmFreeway designates the day of the announcement of the award winners of each monthly round.

The Annual Showcase Event will have a different timeline that is announced through our website and social media outlets. All submitters are always kept in the loop and in advance to be able to do the preparations to attend the events.

== ANNUAL SHOWCASE EVENT ==

The annual cycle consists of 10 monthly competitions. The award winners of these qualify for the Annual Showcase Event. From the pool of selected Award Winners, a subset of projects will be selected by the programmers of Touchstone Independent Film Festival to be publicly screened in Cocoa Beach, Florida in December of 2024 and will be notified 30 days prior to the event.

Awards & Prizes

All Official Selections, Honorable Mentions and the Award Winner in each category will receive an Official Selection laurel from Touchstone Independent Film Festival.

The Award Winner in each category will receive a featured page spotlighting the film with a trailer, stills and a synopsis. If a trailer has been provided, it will be wrapped for our presentation of the film or video. If no trailer has been provided, we will create a trailer with our watermark for this promotional effort. The filmmaker is free to download this watermarked trailer for their use. The full-quality trailer without our wrapper or watermark is available for purchase if desired.

Additionally, The Award Winner in each category may submit a VIP Spotlight Video. Trailers and VIP Spotlight Videos will be hosted and formally presented on our YouTube channel and must meet the YouTube community guidelines.

A VIP Spotlight Video is your opportunity to promote your film as only you can or to thank everyone involved in the making of your film. The video may be up to five minutes in length and will be published and promoted on our website and social media networks.

Rules & Terms

By entering (submitting to) any Touchstone Independent Film Festival competition you are acknowledging that you have read, understood and agreed to follow our Rules and Terms for festival submission and to abide by our Terms and Conditions of service.

-All film category submissions are accepted with a maximum length of 100 minutes.

-If the film is not in English, it must have English subtitles

-Every submission can add additional judging categories (via multiple submissions). The name(s) to be credited should be included in the cover letter.

- Films that are submitted must be the entrant’s original work and shall not infringe on any copyrights or any other rights of any third Parties.The filmmaker/submitter agrees that they have obtained all required copyright permissions regarding music, sound & images, etc presented in their film.

- No film may be withdrawn from the festival program after its official selection.

-By entering (submitting to) any Touchstone Film Festival competition entrants release and hold Touchstone Independent Film Festival, its Board of Directors, Officers, Staff and Volunteers harmless from and against all claims, demands, costs, damages, expenses (including legal fees), proceedings and losses resulting from the screening of the film at the Festival or from claims by any third parties.

- Decisions of the management of the festival will be final and binding to the submitters regarding judgment, selection, screenings, awards, laurels, venue, dates, schedule, or any other activity related to the event. Filmmakers/submitters certify and undertake to abide by the decision of the festival management.

-Touchstone Independent Film Festival reserves the right to refuse service to anyone.

-Festival dates are subject to change. All screening times and venues may be subject to delay or change

-Films submitted for competition may be deleted from our website after the competition ends at any time we choose without notice.

-Failure to comply with Touchstone Independent Film Festival guidelines, rules, regulations, or eligibility may be cause for disqualification and result in having your film pulled from screening or competition.

-By entering (submitting to) any Touchstone Independent Film Festival competition you are granting Touchstone Independent Film Festival the permission to use screen grabs, press materials, and stills from your movie on our advertisements, press materials, social media sites and website

-By entering (submitting to) any Touchstone Independent Film Festival competition you are granting the right for Touchstone Independent Film Festival to screen your film trailer, VIP Spotlight Video or intro/interview video publicly on our social media sites and websites.

-By entering (submitting to) any Touchstone Independent Film Festival competition you are granting the right for Touchstone Independent Film Festival to screen your film one time at our annual showcasing event.

-By entering (submitting to) any Touchstone Independent Film Festival competition you acknowledge that you are not entitled to any refund or damage claims of any kind if your film is unable to screen due to technical or operational difficulties or if your film needs to be rescheduled or delayed for any reason.

-The festival does not offer screening fees for its films

-Touchstone Independent Film Festival is not responsible for films that are missing, damaged, unreadable, lost in transit, or stolen.

-All fees are non-refundable.

== SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS ==

- Completed entry on FilmFreeway

- Projects must be fully entered on FilmFreeway, including film stills, production pictures, downloadable poster, and trailer or teaser

- If you aren’t uploading your screener via FilmFreeway, it may be submitted online via a link to a streaming copy (i.e.Vimeo of YouTube).Please note any necessary password and update us if it changes.

-If officially selected you must allow screeners to be downloaded and available for playback by judges and programmers for the duration of the festivals submission season.

-Submissions must be uploaded and submitted no later than the deadline date to qualify for the respective submission fees.

-Every submission can add additional judging categories (via multiple submissions). The name(s) to be credited should be included in the cover letter.

== SUBMISSION FEE ==

All submissions for Touchstone Independent Film Festival are to be paid through FilmFreeway platform.- Submission fee paid/Entry fees are non-refundable

== ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS ==

-In addition to your entry, please include a brief synopsis,trailer,movie poster/ publicity stills high-resolution(72dpi minimum).

- Shorts must be no more than 120 minutes in length, credits included,

- All non-English-language films must have English subtitles.

-We consider films regardless of their premiere status. Even if your film has already premiered at another festival, whether it screened at a physical venue or online, it’s still eligible for consideration.

-We consider films regardless of their completion date. You can submit any film no matter when it was made.

-Only completed films will be considered

Touchstone Independent Film Festival does not accept the following

-Extremist or propaganda content from religious or political organizations

-Political films

-Films with a poor production standard (bad sound, lack of subtitles/captions for non----
English films, video resolution less than 720p HD)

-Films without English Subtitles(if in another language)

- Films must be non-watermarked

== SUBMISSION AGREEMENT ==

By entering your film or video for consideration, you attest that you are legally authorized to submit the work to Touchstone Independent Film Festival and that all necessary releases, licenses and records have been obtained with respect thereto. You shall indemnify and hold Touchstone Independent Film Festival harmless 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 rescheduling or cancellation, and loss of or damage to the screening videos entered. Touchstone Independent Film Festival reserves the right to remove a work from festival consideration and/or programming for any reason or for no reason and shall not be liable for any refund or claims of any kind arising out of such removal. If your work is accepted, you expressly grant Touchstone Independent Film Festival the non-exclusive right and license to exhibit and utilize your film/video as described in these festival rules.
By submitting your film to our festival you agree that your piece of work (trailer, stills, poster, etc) can be uploaded/embedded on our website. The filmmaker/institution that is submitting the film must own the rights to do so and is responsible for the content they are providing. By submitting, the filmmaker allows Touchstone Independent Film Festival to create a page for their film without infringing copyright of any kind.
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  • Pavlo Karusenko

    Winning the Best AI Short at the Touchstone Independent Film Festival in March 2025 was an amazing experience! This festival truly stands out for its commitment to innovation and independent storytelling. The organizers are passionate, professional, and genuinely supportive of filmmakers. I’m especially thrilled that Touchstone actively recognizes AI-driven films, which makes it an inspiring platform for emerging technologies in cinema. Touchstone was one of the first festivals to acknowledge my work, and this victory was a motivating start to my journey. Highly recommended!

    March 2025
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    Response from festival:

    Hi Pavlo, thank you for the amazing feedback! We’re delighted that you enjoyed the festival and are proud to have showcased 'Test Strike.' It was a pleasure to have you with us, and your kind words about our team and event means a lot. Looking forward to your next great projects in the future! All the best!!

  • Carolyn Gair

    Touchstone Independent is a gem of a festival, especially for small film makers like myself. Encouraging, rewarding, Touchstone made me feel valued with every communication. I am proud my stopmotion film The CheeseMan Auditions won BEST STOPMOTION!

    March 2025
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    Response from festival:

    Carolyn, we look forward to reviewing each of your films. Your attention to detail and technique are never a disappointment. Than you for giving us this opportunity again!

  • Natalie Maximova

    Thank you, Touchstone Independent Film Festival team, for selecting my film and honoring it with an award. It was truly a pleasure, and I appreciate the recognition. The communication was outstanding throughout the entire process. Wishing the festival continued success!

    March 2025
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    Response from festival:

    Natalie, your film "Waiting For Oblivion" is very creative and unique in how the "world" might be seen. We wish you much success in your efforts.

  • Barbara Fritz

    Thank you, Touchstone Independent Film Festival. It is a great honor that our film, Dark Skies All Around, has been awarded in the Best AI and Best Editing category. Your recognition is one of the most important for our team. The communication and contact are outstanding, whenever we turn to you with a question.

    February 2025
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    Response from festival:

    Congratulations to you and all of your team, Barbara. We thank you for the opportunities you have given us to watch as the team's skills and passion coalesce and draw continuous admiration. "Dark Skies All Around" is a must-see for everybody.

  • S.N. Watts

    Thank you, Touchstone Film Festival team, for selecting and awarding my short film Face the Music. I am truly grateful for the opportunity and I sincerely appreciate the platform you've provided to showcase my film.

    February 2025
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    Response from festival:

    Shannon, your film is well done and moving and should be seen by more. We hope to be part of seeing that it is. Thank you!