The Festival
The 5th edition of YathaKatha Film & Literature Festival will take place between 07 to 10 October 2026, In Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.
General Rules
- Please read these Rules & Terms carefully before you submit your project. By submitting your project into competition in the YathaKatha Film & Literature Festival, you expressly acknowledge and agree that you shall be bound by the terms of these rules & regulations.
- Submitting your work to the YathaKatha Film & Literature Festival is not a guarantee of selection. All the official selection, nominees and the winners will be listed on our website permanently. All the winning projects will receive a trophy, award or certificate.
- Please note that we do not offer application fee waivers. We treat every submitter equally.
- We accept all genres in any language, only with English subtitles. Projects in English language with English subtitles are appreciable for a possible screening during the Annual Public Event that will take place in Mumbai, India every year.
- After a project has been selected as a nomination, the submitter will be notified via FilmFreeway or via email. It means that you are now eligible for the awards and you can use our Official Laurels on your poster.
- Entry fees are non-refundable. Multiple entries are allowed for each submitter and each entry may be submitted to multiple categories with separate submission fees.
- A Submitter’s submission fee will not be reimbursed if they decide to withdraw their submission. All entry fees are non-refundable.
- The festival reserves the right to refuse entries. The Jury can remove the project from the competition at any time without any explanation.
- Festival will host films screenings, award ceremony, talks, panel discussions, open forums, workshops, and interactive experiences.
- Jury’s decision will be final and acceptable to all the participants.
Submission Eligibility
Any participant from any country or region can submit their work in these categories. All submissions must have been completed after 1 January 2020. The date of production is determined by the copyright /Censor certificate printed on the film. Work-in-progress films are not accepted. We do accept already released films too.
What to Submit
- Film Link (FilmFreeway, you tube link, vimeo link, we transfer, hard drive, pen drive, dcp)
- Brief Synopsis of film
- Film posters in high resolution (minimum 300 DPI)
- Film trailer
- Lead cast/crew details
- Director’s bio
- Director’s pic in high resolution
- Cover Letter
- Press Kit
Submission Format
Films must be submitted via online screener but we do accept films sent over by hard drive, pen drive, DCPs. We do not accept rough cuts of submitted films, only one final version of the film will be reviewed by programmers. All the films submitted in the Festival will be in the Original Language with English subtitles. Without subtitles, submissions will be disqualified from the selection criteria.
Premiere Status
Submitted films may have screened at other festivals or theatres or Online etc. Though we do premiere as well. If you are submitting an unreleased film, we may premiere it if it gets selected. All the nominated films will be screened at the festival during the event. We do not screen web series keeping in mind their length. So only trailers of the web series will be screened.
Other Guidelines
- Submissions are reviewed and selected on the basis of quality of narrative, production value, nature of production, presentation and innovation.
- Multiple entries from the same participant are accepted, but each film must be accompanied by a separate details and entry fee.
- By submitting your project, at YathaKatha Film & Literature Festival take note that: You allow us to use the parts of your project (including film/trailer/teaser/film poster/stills) for promotional purpose.
- Please select the right category while submitting to avoid disqualification.
- We may promote some/all of the projects by uploading their trailers/ teasers/ posters/production stills on our website and on our social media.
- The Official Selection status doesn’t mean that your project will be screened at the festival. It means that your project has been appreciated by our judges of panel and you can use the festival logo on your poster.
- We do not accept - Amateur videos / Extremist or propaganda content from religious or political organizations / Projects involving politics / Films promoting political agenda / Pornography / Films with a poor production standard (bad sound, lack of subtitles for non-English films, poor resolution) etc.
- The YathaKatha Film & Literature Festival is hereby granted the rights to utilize an excerpt from any Project submitted for promotional purposes of the Film Festival. The individual or corporation submitting the project hereby warrants that it is authorized to commit the project for possible screening (private and/or public), and understands and accepts these requirements, rules and regulations.
- You agree to indemnify and hold harmless the YathaKatha Film & Literature Festival, 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, and loss of or damage to the screening videos entered.
- All submitter understand and accept that if their project is accepted for presentation and screening at the film festival, they grant full and unrestricted permission for YathaKatha Film & Literature Festival to screen the film/video at times of the festival.
- YathaKatha Film & Literature Festival reserves the complete right to make changes in the program dates and times and to possibly not screen the video, despite its being selected for screening.
- Only nominated films will be screened at the festival.
- For films produced outside India, a certification by relevant Film Board of the country or attestation by the relevant Embassy in India would suffice. For International films, YathaKatha Film & Literature Festival will get Censorship Exemption from Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India, New Delhi.
- Preview material and promotional will not be returned.
- Only selected films will be intimated by email. No letters of non-acceptance will be sent. All lists of nominated films will be available on the website.
- Entry will be cancelled if film has violated copyright issues. Festival will not be responsible for any such films.
- Organizers will not pay air-freight or any other travel charges to any participant. Also the organizers cannot reimburse any freight or other charges in foreign currency & INR too. Expenses will be taken care by participants only, which is related to their film.
- If selected for the festival the entrant must undertake to provide publicity clippings, posters, banners and other promotional material for the use of the festival.
- Submission of an entry gives the festival permission to have accepted work exhibited, photographed, locally telecast, and reproduced either in part or whole, for educational or festival purposes. Filmmakers can request in writing that their material not be used for such purposes after the festival.
- Submission materials should be sent by ordinary mail, Registered Post with Acknowledgement Due or courier. All postage costs and duties are to be borne by the sender. Festival organizer is not responsible for loss or damage of the submissions materials.
- The members of the Jury shall select the best film in each category. In case, the panel does not find any film to have the required levels of artistic merit; it may decide not to grant awards in one or more categories. In all instances, the panel's decisions are final and no appeal in this regard shall be entertained.
- Before submission, please do check back on the Submission Guidelines. Participation in the Festival implies acceptance of these Regulations.
- No film may be withdrawn from the festival program after its selection.
- For Online submission of entries please visit the FilmFreeway link given below https://filmfreeway.com/YathaKathaInternationalFilmandLiteratureFestival
- For any further information kindly visit our website www.yathakatha.com
- All submission materials must be sent fully prepaid by the sender by Registered Post with Acknowledgement Due or courier to:
Company Details:
YathaKatha Private Limited
Unit No – 322-323, Bldg No. 2, New Sonal Link Industrial Estate,
Link Road, Kanchpada,
Malad (West), Mumbai 400064, Maharashtra, India
Mob. No. 9082050680 / 7738415329
Email - yathakathafestival@gmail.com
Website - www.yathakatha.com
