deadCenter Film Festival

Please read the following carefully. By submitting your project, you are agreeing that you have read and acknowledged the following rules and terms. All films that adhere to the following terms and are submitted by the final deadline will be considered for the 2025 deadCenter Film Festival.

SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS
Each film must be submitted with a working screener and be paid in full to be considered. Once a film is received with a screener the status will be changed to “In Consideration.”

Submissions must be received by our submission deadlines to be eligible for award competition within the submitted categories.

FEE WAIVERS
deadCenter Film Festival is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit and therefore we are unable to offer fee waivers.

SCREENING PROCESS
All deadCenter submissions will be reviewed by at least three members of our screening committee before making their way to our programmers. No decisions will be made until the end of our screening cycle in late April 2025.

SUBMISSION CATEGORIES
Please read the submission categories carefully to determine where your submission belongs. If you feel you’ve entered incorrectly, please contact us at programming@deadcenterfilm.org. Films will be considered for awards based on categories entered. dCFF reserves the right to determine the eligibility of submissions in each category.

OKLAHOMA SUBMISSIONS
Oklahoma Features and Oklahoma Shorts exists as their own categories at dCFF. To enter as either and Oklahoma Feature or Oklahoma Short, you must meet BOTH of the following criteria:

-Project was partially shot in Oklahoma.
-Above the Line Contribution currently resides in Oklahoma.

INDIGENOUS SUBMISSIONS
Films submitted in the Indigenous categories will not be considered for awards in the Oklahoma categories. Indigenous filmmakers that wish to have their film considered in the Oklahoma categories, are required to also submit in the appropriate Oklahoma categories. Upon an acceptance of a film, acceptance will indicate the category and associated awards.

PREMIERE STATUS
While deadCenter does not require specific premiere status to be selected, Premiere Status does make a film submission eligible for competition status. Eligible Premiere Status includes the following: World, North American, United States and Oklahoma.

Premiere Status is preferred, but due to pre-existing distribution relationships, selection and award eligibility is negotiable for Music Videos, Series/Episodic, High School Shorts.

For Award consideration, films must have a Premiere Status and have not screened publicly in the state of Oklahoma before the 2024 deadCenter Film Festival. Private screenings are acceptable as long as they are not open to or advertised to the public, and are by invitation only. Please contact us about community screenings prior to a premiere with our festival.

OTHER REQUIREMENTS
Films that have been previously screened publicly in theaters in the United States, aired on U.S. television, or are publicly available online for viewing (VOD, Video On Demand) in their entirety as part of a distribution plan, including AVOD (ad-supported) prior to or during the festival dates are NOT eligible to screen.

Exceptions to this rule are Music Videos, Series / Episodics, High School Films, and Virtual Reality.

THIS DOES NOT INCLUDE SCREENINGS AT NON-OKLAHOMA FILM FESTIVALS (virtual or physical) PRIOR TO deadCenter festival dates.

COMPLETION DATE
Any project that was completed on or after January 1, 2024 will be eligible for consideration at the 2025 deadCenter Film Festival.

* Academy Award® qualification has its own specifications for completion dates; see their rules of eligibility for more: https://www.oscars.org/oscars/rules-eligibility

SCREENING FEES
deadCenter Film Festival does not pay screening fees for submitted films. By submitting your project, you acknowledge that deadCenter Film Festival will not pay a screening fee to present your work.

EXHIBITION FORMATS
All films must be available for the festival exhibition on DCP. Please be aware that DCP creation will incur its own expenses, timelines and file conventions.

LANGUAGE
Films produced in languages other than English must have English subtitles. Films with no subtitles will not be considered without adjustment. No refunds will be given to films submitted and not considered due to lack of english subtitling.

CLOSED CAPTIONING
deadCenter requires all films to be screened with closed captioning at the festival. If accepted, please have the appropriate closed captioning files available to accompany your film deliverables.

HIGH SCHOOL SHORTS
Students MUST provide proof of student status (copy of student ID) at the time of production. A photo of the ID is to be uploaded with production stills to FilmFreeway. Films submitted within the High School category without ID will not be considered.

WORKS IN PROGRESS
Works-in-progress are accepted and should be noted as such. All incomplete materials or changes should be clearly marked in a cover letter and preferably in the film cut. The submitter may update until the final submission deadline as long as the link and password remain the same.

* dCFF is only responsible for considering the project as it exists at the time of review. We are under no obligation to revisit updated cuts once a screener has been seen. Therefore, you should not submit your project if it is not complete enough to adequately represent the final product. The festival reserves the right to reject films that do not meet completion by the Late Deadline.

MARKETING
Upon acceptance, your entry authorizes deadCenter Film Festival to use video and audio clips of your film for marketing and promotional purposes on television, online, in advertising, news and/or other media. Short films may be included on a compilation program screened as part of our statewide education and promotion program around Oklahoma.

ADDITIONAL TERMS OF ENTRY
Entry confirms and warrants required legal authority to submit the entry into the festival and to use ALL music, images, and content in the entry. This means that when you submit your film, you are guaranteeing that you have the permission to submit. And, by submitting, you guarantee that all of the music and image rights have been secured.

LOSS AND DAMAGES
The deadCenter Film Festival will take all possible care in the handling of entries. The Festival cannot be responsible for damage or loss to films or files while in our possession or in transit.

THE FINE PRINT
By submitting this film, the filmmaker understands that they are agreeing to the following:

The filmmaker owns or controls the copyright in and to, and am duly authorized to submit the film to the deadCenter Film Festival and to the best of the filmmaker's knowledge, all statements of this document are true.

The submitted film contains no material which could result in tort claims, royalty claims, claims for breach of contract, or claims of any sort whatsoever.

The filmmaker fully indemnifies and holds deadCenter Film Festival and its partners harmless from: a) damage to or loss of the film elements, materials, print and/or videotapes en route to or from deadCenter Film Festival or during the course of festival possession of the entry elements and/or materials; and b) from any claims which may arise in connection with the submitted film.

If a claim arises in connection with the submitted film, the filmmaker will bear all the costs of defense incurred by deadCenter Film Festival and pay any award of damages that may ensue.

The filmmaker also agree to reimburse deadCenter Film Festival for any attorney fees incurred in connection with the defense of such a claim.

The filmmaker understands that deadCenter Film Festival reserves the right to place the submitted film in the appropriate competition category.

By submitting said film, the filmmaker is indicating that they understand, comply with and agree to these Terms of Entry and the eligibility requirements.