The competition closes at 11:59pm (PDT) on August 5th, 2026. Before entering, please read the Rules and Terms in their entirety.
By submitting a film through FilmFreeway to Banff Centre the individual or entity submitting the film (the “Entrant”) hereby grants Banff Centre the right and license to use the film as outlined in these Rules and Terms and further agrees to comply with these Rules and Terms:
1. Completed films need to be uploaded at the time of entry. We do not accept rough cuts, trailers, or unfinished projects. Once submitted, films cannot be replaced with new versions. If you wish to apply for a late entry past the submission deadline, refer to the late entry application process in the section below and do not submit your project to the competition in the meantime.
2. Films completed in the years 2024, 2025, and 2026 are eligible for competition.
3. If English is not the original language of the film, it MUST be entered into competition with English subtitles. Auto-generated subtitles are not sufficient. Please familiarize yourself with industry standards for subtitling, as this directly affects the selection committee’s viewing experience.
4. Any film submitted must fit the criteria of one or more of the subject-based categories. Banff Centre reserves the right to determine the most appropriate category for any film entered.
5. The same film may only be entered once in the Mountain Film Competition. A new edit of a film submitted in a previous year may be considered if there is a minimum 30% variance in length and all other eligibility criteria are met. If feedback on your project has been provided by Banff Centre, it is not eligible for re-submission at any length.
6. All entries will be viewed prior to the Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival by a pre-selection committee chaired by the Director, Mountain Culture. Finalists chosen by this committee will be screened by an international jury and viewed by the public at the Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival.
7. Screening links or files must not contain platform-inserted advertising (such as YouTube pre-roll or mid-roll ads). This requirement applies only to automated ads generated by hosting platforms, not to brand or sponsor content that is part of the film itself.
8. Films that include current Banff Centre staff as significant contributors to the film (as producers or directors) are not eligible for consideration and should not be submitted.
9. All finalists will allow Banff Centre to screen the film live during the Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival, at multiple locations, from October 31 through November 8, 2026, and to stream online in Canada and the United States of America following the Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival from November 11 through 22, 2026.
10. Film finalists agree to enter into a licensing agreement with Banff Centre regarding film screening and online streaming.
11. The Entrant acknowledges and agrees that all matters will be decided by Banff Centre and/or the jury at its sole discretion.
LATE ENTRY INTO THE COMPETITION
We usually cannot accept late film entries into competition due to the timing of our programming . However, if the final version of your film will be completed by August 26, 2026, you may apply for a late entry, and we will consider your application. To request details and an application form, please email banffmountainfilms@banffcentre.ca. Enquiries made after August 5, 2026, will not be considered.
In the meantime, do not enter unfinished films, rough cuts, or trailers into competition.
SCREENER SUBMISSION GUIDANCE
To ensure a smooth viewing experience for the programming committee, we recommend using one of the following platforms for your screener;
• Vimeo with password protection (preferred)
• FilmFreeway file upload
• Unlisted YouTube with all monetization turned off
While premiere status is not required, programming priority may be given to films that have limited prior public exposure.
FINALIST MASTERS
If your film is selected as a finalist to screen at the festival, you will be required to provide a high-resolution master via Signiant Media Shuttle. We accept finalist masters as either Avid DNxHD or Apple ProRes 422 codecs at 1920x1080p in a .mov or .mxf wrapper and our preference is to use the 10bit codecs (example: ProRes 422 (HQ) or Avid DNxHD HQX). We do not accept 4K files or DCP content. We request finalists to submit their master film with the frame rate that it was edited in, to a maximum of 30 frames per second. Audio should be uncompressed PCM, .wav or .aif at 24bit, 48kHz. All films require a full stereo audio mix. If your film is not in English, the master MUST have burned-in English subtitles. Finalists will be contacted by the festival with instructions on how to upload.
Note: Banff Centre will have the option to conform the content to broadcast-quality standardization or, alternatively, to charge a fee (in consultation with entrant) for Banff Centre in-house corrections in the event of substandard submission.
ACCESSIBILITY
If applicable, thoroughly check subtitles for quality (translation and typos) and readability. We recommend a sans-serif font using white text with a thick black outline or on a black background and make sure the font size is accessible.
If selected as a finalist, we will ask for a SDH caption file (SRT), which are subtitles for the d/Deaf and hard of hearing. While not required, we strongly encourage you to include accessibility pieces as standard for your post-production and have them ready to provide festivals.
PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS
If your film is selected as a finalist, you will be asked to provide a variety of formats and sizes of images and promotional materials from the film to be reproduced, published and/or exhibited for promotional purposes as they pertain to the Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival and the associated Mountain Film Competition at the Banff Centre. Details of requirements will be sent to film finalists.
INDEMNITY
The Entrant agrees to indemnify Banff Centre and its successors, assigns, licensees, and officers, directors, members, agents and employees and hold them harmless from and against any and all claims, liability, losses, damages, costs, expenses (including reasonable legal fees) and penalties arising out of, resulting from, based upon or incurred because of a breach by the Entrant of any statement, representation or warranty made by the Entrant in this entry form.
GRANT OF RIGHTS AND WAIVER
By entering the film competition, the Entrant represents and warrants that:
(a) The Entrant owns all right title and interest, including the copyright and all intellectual property rights, in and to the film being submitted to the Banff Mountain Film Competition or, if applicable, has received all necessary rights, licenses and permissions from the owner of the film to submit the film to the Banff Mountain Film Competition.
(b) All music licenses including, without limitation, all synchronization, mechanical and master use licenses, as applicable, have been obtained and all required payments to all artists and to any applicable performing rights organization (such as SOCAN and BMI) have been made that are required for the public performance of the music incorporated in the film.
(c) No material in the film being submitted by the Entrant to the Banff Mountain Film Competition is libelous or is slanderous or defamatory or violates any right of privacy or publicity of any person, and the full use of the rights in such film will not violate any rights, including copyright or moral rights, of any person, firm or corporation.
(d) By entering the Mountain Film Competition, the entrant acknowledges and agrees to all entry Rules and Terms.
