An IMDb Qualifying Festival
As a dedicated documentary filmmaker, you have an important message: deliver it to the people that matter! Other festivals claim to "invite" distributors to a venue: "We Deliver Them to You Directly, Guaranteed."

DWBIFF is a festival dedicated to DOCUMENTARIES and DOCUDRAMAS ONLY (we are one of the few festivals with a separate category for Docudramas).

Documentaries Without Borders International Film Festival is not affiliated with Doctors Without Borders. Doctors Without Borders is a registered trademark of Bureau International De Médecins Sans Frontiéres.

-Guaranteed distributor review by Worldwide Motion Pictures Corporation (WWMPC.COM) for features; Adler & Associates for shorts and features; Cardinal XD and CCS Releasing for our select few "Best of Festival" winners in the 17 major categories, based on sufficient qualified entries. (Subcategories DO NOT qualify for distributor review or screening.)

We don't have any control or influence over Polaris Pictures or any of our associate distributors who decide to offer you a production deal or even answer your email. We merely open the door for the top winners.

There is no need to "hope" that a distributor will see your film at a festival venue. We guarantee our distribution associates will review the top winners.

- SCREENING OPTION: DWBFF, with WRPN.TV Entertainment Network may also offer a unique opportunity to show your film to a worldwide community of video fans from dozens of countries that filmmakers would not usually have access to.

-FREE Early bird entry of any rejected film into DWBIFF 's next competition upon completing the suggested corrections outlined in your rejection letter.

-Reduced rates for sub-category submissions (cinematography, editing, original score, research, etc.)
Winning an award in a subcategory does NOT qualify for screening and sending to our distributors.

-Unique documentary category distinctions: Environmental, Human Spirit, Social Issues, Wildlife, Docudrama shorts, Docudrama features, and many others.

-Rejected films also have the opportunity for feedback, which is the one element most festivals ignore.

Instead of paying submission fees and getting nothing in return, EVERYONE who submits to DWBIFF will receive one of two benefits: Either 1) your film is already competition caliber and gets accepted as an Official Selection, OR 2): you'll receive a letter outlining what is keeping it from being accepted. Make any necessary changes and resubmit for FREE.
While most festivals do not explain all the rejections, we strive to help filmmakers improve their festival acceptance rates and marketability.
DWBIFF is organized as a web-based competition rather than a traditional film festival; our resources are dedicated to helping you find a market, and we only rent theaters when distributors demand it to conduct further market research. New distribution company connections are actively petitioned.

Get your Platinum Award-winning scripts submitted to Polaris Pictures, a film finance company, for production consideration.
Polaris does not accept unsolicited submissions.

If your screenplay is rejected, we will tell you the reason(s), and you'll resubmit for free up to 30 days before the last deadline or the following season.

DWBIFF accepts unproduced and produced feature-length screenplays between 70 and 130 pages, unproduced and produced short scripts under 40 pages,

Finally, our founders are registered Committee Members for the Universal Film & Festival Organization (UFFO.ORG). The UFFO is a non-profit operating out of the U.K. to "promote the best business practices for film festivals." This guarantees that your film will benefit from a fair and thorough judging process.

DWBIFF , in cooperation with our distribution colleagues, is proud to offer a guaranteed distributor review to the Best of Festival winners in the 17 major categories.

*(If there is insufficient competition within any category, DWBIFF reserves the right to withdraw a "Best Of" presentation.)

Other award levels include:
"Best of Show"
"Award Of Outstanding Excellence"
"Award Of Excellence"
"Award Of Exceptional Merit"
"Award Of Merit"
"Kudos Endeavor Award"

Sub-category awards are available for cinematography, research, original concept, editing, viewer impact, and others. (Subcategories DO NOT qualify for distributor review or online screening.)

The DWBIFF is granted the right to use a promotional excerpt from any film submitted and accepted for competition at the Festival.
Only films submitted for judging in one of the 17 major categories are eligible for distributor review and online screening (films submitted for judging in the reduced-rate production value sub-categories are ineligible).
The DWBIFF has set up a system to ensure each film is looked at and rated independently. This way, the films don't have to compete with each other but are instead judged on their merits. They compete against themselves; each entry is judged on its merits and scored according to an inherent value system. We want to ensure that when it's your turn to be judged, the judges' attention is on you and not on all the other films on cue, so they don't make comparisons when they should be completely focused on YOU.
Screening on WRPN.TV is entirely optional.

Subscribing to our WRPN.tv mailing list is highly recommended to ensure you receive award notifications and additional discounts. We are not responsible for winners missing opportunities because they failed to receive or read emails.

The person or company that sends in the film guarantees they are allowed to do so and that they understand and agree to these rules and requirements.
The competition reserves the right to refuse entries, and there are no waivers.
Submissions other than English must be subtitled, dubbed, or include an English transcript.
DWBIFF reserves the right to withdraw a "Best of" presentation if there is insufficient competition within any category.
Filmmakers who enter only discounted sub-categories but no major categories are not eligible for the "Best of Show" award.

Judges score on a performance scale, and winning entries are recognized and awarded not only for the Best of Festival and Best Of Show but also for two Awards of Excellence levels, two Awards of Merit levels, a Kudos Endeavor Award, or no award.
Best of Show honors are granted to the top scoring entry/entries for each season; awards of excellence are presented to entries with exceptional artistic and technical achievements, and notable achievements are recognized at the Award of Merit and "Kudos" award levels.
The total number of entries for each competition deadline will determine the number of awards given at each level. Just as entering major categories does not ensure selection or awarding, entering sub-categories also does not guarantee selection or awarding.
Filmmakers who enter sub-categories only (without entering a major category) may be accepted if the judges feel the submitted sub-category is of merit, even if the film itself is of merit and could have been award-worthy. Conversely, films may also receive awards for sub-categories written by the judges, even if the filmmaker did not submit them.
The submitter agrees to protect DOCUMENTARIES WITHOUT BORDERS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, WRPN.TV, and ROMAN PICTURES from and against all claims, liabilities, losses, damages, and expenses (including, but not limited to, attorney's fees and court costs) that may be caused by any claim involving copyright, trademark, credits, publicity, screening, and loss of or damage to the screening videos entered.

Overall Rating
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Networking
  • DWBIFF is a very thorough & outstanding Film Festival. I was honored to win 2 awards (Biography & Research) for one of my films, Cal Jacox Special (Part 5C - Real Deal Track Journey Featuring Atlantic Coast) which was the highlight of my year!

    December 2023
  • José Francisco Tapajós

    Great honor to participate and be awarded on the festival, keep up the good work!

    December 2023
  • Borit Yannick

    Thank you for your winner price, I wish you all the best,

    December 2023
  • Ruth delaLande

    We're very excited to have won an award for our film The Lens of Memory. We were impressed by the broad-based judging system.
    Thankyou.

    October 2023
  • Sue Schroeder

    SO grategul for our film. "home" to be included in Documentaries Without Borders International Film Festival! The communication was great and regular. Thank you for this opportunity to extedn the reach of our film.

    October 2023