SCRIPT TO SCREEN: Only short screenplays will be considered for awards, selections, and production. Please limit your submissions to 30 pages or less.
ENTRY FEES
Entry fees are in U.S. Dollars, are per film and are non-refundable. The Festival reserves the right to disqualify a submission, without refund of any kind, if eligibility requirements are not met including if eligibility status changes post-submission.
ELIGIBILITY
To be eligible for consideration Entrants must fully comply with these Entry Rules & Regulations, including all deadlines, film length, student status, entry material and other requirements.
Non-English language works must have English subtitles at the time submitted. Dialogue lists will not be accepted.
Note: If the Festival determines that a submission no longer meets all of the criteria listed in the applicable chart above, the submission will be designated ineligible.
HOW TO ENTER
Apply online at https://filmfreeway.com/festival/SanfordFilmFest
ALSO mail/provide all required entry materials (see below).
ENTRY MATERIALS*
All entries must include the following:
The entry fee(s) (or student ID/school letter photocopy), which is payable ONLY by credit card (American Express, Visa, MasterCard, TCB, or Discover). You must include a copy of your payment receipt if you have paid by credit card and are submitting physical media.
STREAMING:
A link to view a streaming HIGH DEFINITION version of the work. If the work is accepted, we require a download link, through Vimeo, YouTube, Google Docs, or Dropbox. (Please do not share a folder--provide a download link directly to the file.)
PHYSICAL COPIES (Only if you cannot provide an online screener):
DVD copies of the work must be postmarked by the deadline. If sending physical copies, please send TWO DVD copies of the work, formatted for Zone 0 or Zone 1 (North America) and labeled with the work’s title, running time, and director(s) name(s). Physical copies of must be in NTSC format. Check that each submitted DVD plays in its entirety on consumer DVD players. Please note we do not accept Blu-ray discs.
NOTE: For exhibition, we will need a high-definition compressed video file, either provided via email, SD card, USB drive, or Blu-ray sent to P.O. Box 467, Sanford, ME 04073.
Note: It is Entrant’s sole responsibility to ensure all ENTRY MATERIALS arrive at the shipping destination within the deadline window selected by Entrant. The Festival reserves the right to disqualify any submission, without refund of any kind, that does not arrive at the shipping destination within the deadline window selected by Entrant.
*Entry materials will not be returned by the Festival, unless arrangements are made before sending materials. SIFF is not responsible for shipping costs, or return shipping costs.
MULTIPLE ENTRIES
Each entered film must be submitted on its own; please do not send a compilation DVD composed of works for separate entries.
INVITED WORKS
The festival programmers and director retain the right to invite and disinvite works for screening. The festival director, board, and Judges retain the right to qualify, and disqualify works for awards consideration.
IF YOUR WORK IS SELECTED
You must fulfill the following requirements by the date(s) designated by the Festival:
You must execute a release agreement wherein you (i) accept responsibility for obtaining any and all clearances necessary to exhibit your film at the Sanford Independent Film Festival; (ii) warrant that you have the rights necessary to exhibit your film at the Sanford Independent Film Festival; and (iii) indemnify and hold harmless the Sanford Independent Film Festival, its affiliates, and subsidiaries and any of their respective directors, officers, employees, and representatives against any claim arising out of exhibition of your film at the Sanford Independent Film Festival.
(i) You must deliver to the email address(es) designated by the Festival a downloadable link to a high definition copy of the invited work
--OR--
You must deliver to the address(es) designated by the festival one exhibition copy of the invited work, on SD, USB, or DCP. SIFF is not responsible for shipping costs, or return shipping costs.
(ii) additional exhibition copies, links to high definition copies, or the right to make limited copies of the digital file IF requested by the Festival (to allow for multiple screenings at more than one venue). We recommend you ship physical media via courier to permit tracking of your entry once it leaves your hands.
All exhibition copies must be delivered via a high-definition compressed video file, either provided via email, SD card, USB drive, or Blu-ray sent to P.O. Box 467, Sanford, ME 04073. If neither a download link, nor USB key is viable, the festival may make arrangements with Entrant to transcode DVD media into our preferred exhibition format.
(iii) Upon notification of acceptance, festival organizers will seek promotional materials from accepted filmmakers.
FESTIVAL SECTIONS*
Works invited to participate in the Sanford Independent Film Festival will be shown in the section determined most appropriate by Festival programmers, in their sole discretion.
In Competition:
Feature Films, Short Films, Local Films, Horror Films, International Films, Music Videos, Student Films.
Special Screenings:
Special Screenings are by invite only, determined by Festival Programmers and may include but are not limited to: works previously exhibited at the Sanford Independent Film Festival; works with significant ties to members of the Sanford Independent Film Festival; works with significant or historic ties to the city of Sanford.
AWARDS
Unless otherwise agreed by the Festival in writing, awards will be given to the winning film director (as identified in the Entry form) on behalf of the film (except for Best Screenplay, Best Music, Best Actor, and Best Actress) and will be fulfilled as soon as possible, within approximately 10-12 weeks after the closing date of the Sanford Independent Film Festival. Awards may be shipped at the sole discretion of the festival, in which case award winners may be responsible for postage.
Award eligibility is subject to any restrictions or conditions imposed by applicable laws and regulations (international, federal, state or otherwise), and the award recipient is responsible for applicable postage, taxes, customs, tariffs, insurance and similar charges or costs (if any).
2020 Awards listed in the above Festival sections and Awards sections are subject to change.
SANFORD INDEPENDENT FILM FESTIVAL ENTRIES SHIPPING ADDRESS
All physical media submissions (SD, USB media and DVDs) must be sent prepaid (including any applicable customs fees) to:
ENTRIES: SANFORD INDEPENDENT FILM FESTIVAL
℅ Brian Boisvert
P.O. Box 467
Sanford, ME 04073
For further inquiries, or questions, please email: brian.boisvert@yahoo.com with subject: "SIFF Inquiry"
SANFORD INDEPENDENT FILM FESTIVAL: Script-to-Screen Contest
Sanford Independent Film Festival is seeking scripts for a Script-to-Screen contest. Scripts will be judged by a panel for creativity and storytelling first and foremost, but also with consideration to feasibility of shooting on a budget. The Sanford Independent Film Festival, in partnership with WSSR-TV and Sanford Films, will develop a winning short script for special screening at next year's Sanford Independent Film Festival.
Guidelines and Rules are as follows:
General
This contest is open to anyone who is not a judge, or a part of the WSSR-TV/Sanford Films production team. Our judges--in consultation with the production team--will select the most compelling screenplay that the production team can film.
A writer may enter more than one screenplay provided they enter each screenplay separately, and pay a separate submission fee for each entry.
Finalists will be notified by email on or before August 14, 2020. A winning screenplay will be announced at the Awards Ceremony of the 2020 Sanford Independent Film Festival.
Screenplays
Screenplays must be in English, typed, and in industry-accepted screenplay format. Sample screenplays, screenplay templates, and screenplay writing freeware are available online. All genres accepted. Final decisions are entirely the judges discretion.
Production
Length: Screenplays must be no longer than thirty 8.5" x 11" pages, in proper screenplay format, with no smaller than a 12 font.
Feasibility: The winning screenplay will be filmed in or around Sanford, Maine. The story may take place anywhere, as long as it can be filmed locally in a reasonable amount of time. Please consider simplicity--a tight story with few characters and locations is more feasible than a sci-fi epic loaded with characters and special effects.
Entry Fee
Please see submission fees pulldown menu.
CONSIDERATIONS FOR ALL ENTRANTS:
By entering the Script-to-Screen Contest, entrants affirm that the submitted script is their own work, and that the entrants have not previously sold, assigned or licensed any rights to the script. Entrants understand their submitted work will be distributed and viewed by multiple judges and production personnel. Electronic scripts will not be returned or destroyed. Entrants agree to indemnify and hold harmless the Sanford Independent Film Festival, its affiliates, and subsidiaries and any of their respective directors, officers, employees, and representatives against any claim arising out of evaluating or producing the entrant's screenplay.
FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS FOR THE WINNING SCRIPT:
The Entrant agrees that, if entrant's script is produced into a film, the resulting film may vary in form or content from the submitted script, owing to the collaborative nature of filmmaking, artistic choices by the director, and to production needs and limitations. Entrant understands that the director and production team will consult with the writer at least once during development, and once during pre-production. The production team will have final editorial control over the resulting film. Finally, Entrant agrees to grant the Sanford Independent Film Festival, WSSR-TV, and Sanford Films a perpetual, non-exclusive license to exhibit this film in connection with the Sanford Independent Film Festival and all related promotions thereof (including, but not limited to, local television broadcasts, other film festivals, online video viewing and distribution). This license is in consideration of the expense and effort provided by WSSR-TV and Sanford Films to produce said film. Any potential monetary earnings and/or cash prizes would be shared 50/50 between entrant and production team.
