Yala International Independent Film Festival (YIIFF) is the initiative of Nepal Independent Films, a nonprofitable organization that represents independent filmmakers in Nepal. This festival is based in the historic and artistically rich city of Lalitpur/Patan (also known by its ancient name, Yala). Lalitpur is an ancient city in the Kathmandu valley that is famous for festivals and feasts. The whole city is an open museum and the history of art, drama, music, poetry, songs, dances and storytelling is a part of the glorious history of “Yala”. Festivals are celebrated throughout the year in Lalitpur but it doesn’t have a local film festival yet. YIIFF is the first local film festival of Lalitpur. The ultimate way to celebrate all forms of arts under a single roof is through the celebration of films and film festival like YIIFF does just that, apart from other multifold objectives.

YIIFF aims to give a voice to unheard independent voices from around the globe. The visionaries of YIIFF strongly believe that screening films in an environment full of ancient temples and culture will be a unique proposition and an inspiration to all the participants. At a time when the local film industry is still recuperating from the effects of the decade-long civil war, this festival seeks to provide independent Nepalese filmmakers with a platform to showcase their films. In addition to giving a voice to under-represented local filmmakers, the festival seeks to provide visual advocacy for the betterment of society by giving priority to films that depict an underlying message of change that targets social issues such as gender-based violence, and discrimination, child labor, human trafficking, environmental advocacy, and corruption.YIIFF will showcase intellectually stimulating and well-researched films grounded in stories related to the aforementioned topics. In keeping with the credo of “think globally, act locally” and being mindful of the fact that we live in a world where international cooperation and cross-cultural interactions are the need of the hour to combat worldwide issues, YIIFF seeks to showcase independent films from the international arena that offer a unique flavor and a meaningful insight into the native culture. The organizers of YIIFF also hope that an important by-product of this festival will be the creation of fertile ground for the conception of international co-production ventures. On a philosophical level, the goal of YIIFF is to become a venue for filmmakers from around the world to engage in artistic discussions and interactions and become the standard bearer of artistic self-expression and independent cinema.

Awards & Prizes

Awards and Cash Prizes-
Best Narrative Feature $300
Best Short $150
Best Documentary $150
Audience choice award $100

Awards-
Best Director Feature
Best Director Short
Best Screenplay
Best Cinematography
Best Editor
Best Actor
Best Actress

Rules & Terms

GENERAL RULES
Official Rules and Regulations for the Yala International Independent Film Festival (YIIFF) 2023
ELIGIBILITY
1. Productions produced after January 2020 are eligible.
2. Entries must be postmarked by the deadline date.
3. Entrant confirms and warrants the required legal authority to submit the entry into the Festival and to use all music, images, and content in the entry.
4. Entrant will allow usage of the film for festival screening regardless of any distribution deals made.
5. Entrant will allow usage of clips from the entry and all related publicity material submitted for promotional use on television, radio, print, web, and at live Festival events.
6. Upon notification of acceptance, trailers may be sent via email links to YouTube. This is great marketing for getting an audience excited about your film.
7. All Decisions by judges, programmers, and organizers will be final and no refund of the entry fee will be permitted.
8. Filmmakers will pay all transportation costs of shipping exhibition BluRays / DVDs to the festival.
9. Screening DVDs must be labeled with the work’s title, running time, director(s) name(s), contact number, Production company (if), email, and Tracking number.
10. DVD SCREENERS, EXHIBITION BLU-RAY and Flash Drives WILL NOT BE RETURNED.

SUBMISSION FORMAT
1. Films must be submitted via a secure online screener.
2. Submission Eligibility
-All submissions must have been completed by Jan 30, 2024.
3. Premiere Status
- NEPAL Premiere status is preferred.

4. Selection of Films
YALA International Independent Film Festival will complete the selection process by Jan 30, 2024, and will contact all submitting parties by email with the programming status at that time.
5. Festival will invite the accepted film’s director/Producer/Artist/film crew to attend the festival. The Festival will provide food and accommodation during the screening.
6. The accepted film must be received in Blu-ray, Mpeg, MOV, or AVI format by 15/02/2024 to be played at Yala International Independent Film Festival, 10 June- 12 June 2024.
7. The festival aspires to provide the best quality projection possible but will not be held liable for any failure in the technical quality of the projection, nor will fees be refunded in any such case.

ADDITIONAL SUBMISSION RULES
1. Works in progress will automatically be disqualified.
2. NO press materials will be accepted until films have been announced.
3. If your film is accepted, you will receive a notification email from the festival. Your acceptance will be conditional on meeting promotional/press kit, informational, and film print submission deadlines.

TRAVELLING YIIFF
The term “TRAVELLING YIIFF” refers to a program where YIIFF travels inside Nepal screening movies, free of cost for educational and awareness purposes for the general public. This program intends to make the general public aware of cinema culture in and around the globe encouraging young Independent voices and stories.
NOTE: This is optional for the makers, only if they (filmmakers) wanted to participate in this program.
If agreed follow the following link: http://www.yiiff.org

ACCEPTANCE OF RULES:
Submitting a signed entry form constitutes full acceptance of the YIIFF rules outlined herein and on the entry form. YIIFF reserves the right to decide on all questions not specifically addressed.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT:

NISHA SHRESTHA
Festival Director
Yala International Independent film festival (YIIFF)
PO Box 8975, EPC no. 707
Kathmandu, Nepal
Phone: 977-1-5542787/00-9779813630786\ 00-9779841359787
festivaldirector@yiiff.org

SUBMISSION DEADLINE:
ENTRIES MUST BE RECEIVED NO LATER THAN June 30, 2021.
For further queries: nepalindiefilms@yiiff.org\nepalindiefilms@gmail.com