Zoom International Student Film Festival has proudly been hosted by Earl Haig Secondary School students and the students of Claude Watson Film Arts in Toronto for 28 years. Since its launch in 1996, the festival has provided students with opportunities to showcase their work on an international scale. The festival will take place live on Thursday, April 25th @ 7PM (Toronto, Canada time). Shortlisted films will also premiere on YouTube, alongside a live presentation in which film and television industry professionals will award the winners. You can view the 25th, 26th and 27th Zoom International Student Film Festival full reels of "shortlisted" films at YouTube Film Arts @ Earl Haig.

The Zoom International Student Film Festival recognizes excellence in filmmaking at the high school level. Submissions to the following genres will be accepted:

Drama
Comedy
SciFi
Suspense
Animation
Experimental
Music Video
Documentary

Awards and accolades will be given to the standout filmmakers at the discretion of the judging panel, made up of five industry professionals. The following categories will be awarded:

Best Animation
Best Cinematography
Best Director
Best Editing
Best Picture
Most Promising Junior Filmmaker
Most Promising Senior Filmmaker
Best Screenplay
Best Sound Editing
Best International Film
Audience Choice

RULES & ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS:

The Zoom International Student Film Festival organizers may, in their sole discretion, disqualify entries deemed unsuitable due to coarse language, excessive and/or gratuitous violence, any work deemed as hateful and/or racist, inappropriate situations that do not adhere to a 14A or lower rating in Canada.

The Zoom International Student Film Festival organizers reserves the rights to disqualify any entry that fails to comply with the following requirements:

i. Films must not exceed 5 minutes in running-time.

ii. All filmmakers that have participated in the creation of the entry (excluding cast members and/or teacher advisors) must be enrolled as a secondary school student at the time of submission.

iii. All students must be between the ages of 14-18 years at the time of submission.

iv. Films submitted must have been produced during the years 2023 and/or 2024.

v. Each film must be submitted with a FilmFreeway submission info form.

vi. Filmmakers must retain all rights to ownership of their work. This includes rights to music and images, and rights to include all persons, places and organizations included or depicted in the entry. The Zoom International Student Film Festival organizers will not accept responsibility for any copyright infringement, falsified information, contract or legal issues incurred by the filmmaker(s) or their submission. The responsibility of obtaining copyright and protecting any proprietary interests in the material belongs solely to the filmmaker(s).

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:

i. Fully understand and adhere to the "Rules and Eligibility Requirements."
ii. Entries will only be accepted when submitted through FilmFreeway.
iii. Submission materials will not be returned.
iv. Submitted entry must be formatted as a downloadable MP4 file format.
v. All submissions must be received by Monday, April 1st, 2024 by 11:59 PM (Toronto, Canada time).
vi. Entrants will be notified by email of acceptance by Monday, April 1st, 2024 by 11:59 PM.
vii.Entrants may not withdraw their entry from the festival after the film has been submitted. The festival organizers reserve the rights to withdraw admitted entries from the festival lineup with no notification.

Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Henry Hagens

    Submitting to and attending this festival was an incredible experience. It has a great community around it, and the event is very well organised. I would highly recommend it to any student.

    May 2023
  • Andrew Weir

    Great Student Festival!!! I would certainly recommend to all!

    May 2023
    Logo
    Response from festival:

    It was great showcasing your film Andrew! Good luck on your filmmaking adventures!

  • Alvin Dévito Nugroho

    One of the greatest festival for student!

    April 2023
    Logo
    Response from festival:

    Thank-you for your kind words. We work extremely hard to provide a free platform for students to showcase their films for free! Congratulations on your big win!

  • The communication was excellent and quick. Even though I was not able to attend, I was still informed of the results the very next day, and my film “Mourning Rose” ended up winning Best Editing.

    April 2023
    Logo
    Response from festival:

    Congratulations Dylan! It was a real pleasure showcasing your film at this year's Zoom International Student Film Festival. We wish you the best of luck on your filmmaking journey!

  • It was an amazing festival and a fun experience! 10/10

    June 2022