Welcome to the Waterford International Film Festival 2024!

🎬 November 22nd - 29th 🎬OPEN FOR SUBMISSIONS

Join us for our 18th Annual celebration, blending In-Person & Online Screenings.

About the Festival:

We are a proud supporter of Independent Film, Supporting National and International Filmmakers, Screenwriters & Photographers in our Annual Competitions.

At WIFF, we provide a platform for filmmakers worldwide. With in-person & online screenings, we connect talent to diverse audiences.

Celebrating Creativity:
From short films to animations, our festival showcases diverse stories and perspectives. We celebrate emerging and established talent.

Networking Opportunities:
Each year we aim to provide artists with in-person opportunities to network with other filmmakers and to engage with members of the audience with social meet-ups and events.

Submit Your Project:
Review our rules & terms before submitting. The festival holds Film, Script & Photography Competitions. All selected films are considered for awards.

Physical & Online Screenings:
Your film may be selected for both physical and online screenings. Our online screenings are secure and are only accessible to paid registered viewers.

Kindly be aware that fee waivers will not be granted to submitters. The Festival relies significantly on these fees to cover operational costs

3 Waterford Crystal Awards with Certicates will be presented on the last day of the festival for the following:

Best Short Film
Runner-Up Award for Best Short Film
Best Short Screenplay

Film- Finalists:
These are all the films that are finalists for an award in the submitted category. Not all FINALIST films will be screened in a venue but will be presented as part of our online screenings and the festival programme.

All submissions will be notified by email or on the FilmFreeway System

Film - Official Selection:
These are all the FINALIST films selected for a physical screening, which will be notified via email or on the FilmFreeway System.

Certificates and Laurels will also be presented for the following categories:
Best Student Film or Debut Film
Best International Short Film
Best Music Video
Best Animation
(NEW)Best Short Documentary
(NEW) Best Trailer ( Winner announced before the festival)
(NEW) Best Movie Poster- (Winner announced before the festival)

Nominated Trailers & Posters will receive laurels. The overall winner will receive laurels and will be presented on our social media platforms

Several Special Mention Awards will be presented with a certificate and Laurels.
All selected films will receive Laurels.

Other prizes for Best Short Screenplay and the Runner-Up include a 4-month InkTip Pro Membership.

SEMI-FINALISTS in the Script Competition will be presented with Laurels

FINALISTS in the Script & Photography Competition will also be presented with a certificate & Laurels

Photography Competition Awards for Best Cinematic Image.

The winner will be awarded a web build of a portfolio website that includes 1-year of hosting fees. Valued at €1000 ( Not a Cash Prize)

For example check out our 2023 award winner’s website that we built: https://www.viktoriiaziborova.com/

Exhibit Opportunity: While we can not guarantee an exhibit, we will make every effort with our venue hosts to provide space during next year’s festival for this year’s winning photographer to have a small exhibit of their work during the festival weekend in 2025.
The Winner, Runner-up & Finalists will also be presented with a certificate and Laurels

Film Distribution Opportunities (ONLY WITH THE FILMMAKERS PERMISSION)

Monetize with Filmocracy & Hoopla,
Winning filmmakers will be offered to have their films submitted for consideration for distribution with our partners at Filmocracy/Hoopla. Winners will have the opportunity to be showcased on Hoopla, although Hoopla reserves the right to reject a film if it does not fit their guidelines. It will be up to the filmmaker if they wish to have their film put forward for consideration and any deals with Hoopla will be non-exclusive. Full details will be provided to the winner post-event.

Hoopla: Reaches over 7 million customers and is accessible through libraries across the United States. Your film will have the potential to captivate a diverse range of viewers, expanding your reach and impact. Hoopla reserves the right to reject your film at their discretion.

Filmocracy- Media Partner
Filmocracy is an innovative film and media festival, bringing together the best of traditional festival events while integrating unique digital programs to create a memorable and productive experience. Cofounded by Jon Fitzgerald former director of multiple prestigious festivals such as Slamdance, AFI, and Santa Barbara.
Their gamified platform rewards users to rate films, meaning that if your film is popular, it's bound to gain attention.

Film Competition

The festival comprises three competitions: Film, Scripts & Photography. Each competition has specific rules outlined below. An entry form and entry fee must accompany each project. Filmmakers can enter all categories that suit their project.

All Films entered will be considered for Best Short Film but feel free to enter as many categories as you feel suits your project.

IMPORTANT: The Festival is a Hybrid event, and your film may get selected for online and/or physical screenings in our venue. The online screenings will be a pay-walled secure online screening.

SHORT FILMS
By entering your film to the 2024 Waterford International Film Festival, you agree to the rules outlined below, and that your film may be presented in a venue and/or online.

Film- Finalists:
These are all the films that are finalists for an award in the submitted category. Not all FINALIST films will be screened in a venue but will be presented as part of our online screenings and the festival programme.

All submissions will be notified by email or on the FilmFreeway System

Film - Official Selection:
These are all the FINALIST films selected for a physical screening, which will be notified via email or on the FilmFreeway System.

If you received a FINALIST email, but no Official Selection email, it means your film will not be screened at a venue but will be a part of our online screenings and is still a contender for an award.

Please note: There are no refunds on withdrawals on submitted projects. Due to the large amount of submissions received, WIFF cannot enter into any discussion regarding films that are not selected for the 2024 edition of the festival. The festival is unable to send personal emails regarding films that are not selected, and notification regarding the status of selection will be made via FilmFreeway notification or by email.

Physical Screenings will be held in a venue in Waterford City.
Online Screenings will be hosted by our media partners at Filmocracy.com
Only registered viewers will have access to the online screenings. The site will be password-protected. Films will also only be available during the festival week.
No refunds will be issued if you do not wish to have your film presented online.

All films will be reviewed by the festival team/judges, and their decisions are final & confidential.

Student Filmmakers must provide a valid student ID in their application form.

Selection/Scheduling of all films screened at WIFF is entirely at the discretion of the Festival Team.

The festival reserves the right to amend these rules at any time.

Details on Venue and ONLINE screening formats are below.

All selected films, whether they are presented in a venue and/or online, will be considered for awards and will receive laurels.

Please provide a high-quality still image of your film and a brief summary. Feel free to write us a cover letter on the form to tell us more about your project.

Please let us know in the cover letter or on the form if it's a debut film from the director, writer, or producer.

The Waterford International Film Festival will accept entries of all film genres less than 20 minutes (Not including closing credits). Filmmakers worldwide can submit their work. Non-English language films must have English subtitles.

Films produced from January 2022 onward will be considered.

We do not screen web/new media (e.g., marketing presentations). Please contact director@waterfordfilmfestival.net if you wish to have a paid video ad screened during the festival.

SELECTION AND FORMATS
All entries will be viewed by the selection committee. The Festival will make no cuts or changes. Festival selections will be announced on or before the 8th of October 2024. All entrants will be notified by email or on the FilmFreeway System of our final decisions.

Please CHECK your email regularly during the Notification period. If your film is selected for a venue screening, we will need access to download a 1080p HD copy of your film.

Venue Screenings: We will be screening off a laptop and projector. We will need access to a 1080p HD mp4 file of your film.

ONLINE SCREENINGS
If your film is selected for an online screening, the submitter will need to provide a 720p HD or 1080p HD mp4 file. The submitter can provide the files by giving the festival access to download on FilmFreeway.com or send a downloadable link from wetransfer.com or Dropbox.
We ask you to please keep the files under 2.5 GB. Whether your film is selected for a Venue Screening or ONLINE Screening, Please check that the video files are working correctly.

THE FESTIVAL DOES NOT PAY SCREENING FEES.

Please note that NO FEE WAIVERS will be given to the submitter. The Festival heavily relies on fees, which go towards our operational costs.

Filmmakers are responsible for securing all copyright clearances and music rights and waive rights to claim royalties from the Waterford International Film Festival and our partners/sponsors for screening selected films.
The Waterford International Film Festival has a small team, and due to time restraints and the large number of submissions received, we are unfortunately not in a position to provide feedback.

Please make sure to fill out your form and include a logline/ short story summary and the main credits (Producer, Director, Writer) If your short film is selected, we will need this information for the event programs, website, etc.

Once a film is selected, it cannot be retracted unless there is a suitable reason. Please email us directly, but no refunds will be given.

If your film is selected for an online screening, we would prefer if there were no Geo-blocking restrictions for the selected films, but we will try and accommodate, if possible.

Entry into the festival constitutes permission to exhibit your work at the 2024 Waterford Film Festival, including the presentation of films in a physical venue and or on a virtual format/video-on-demand platform.

The Waterford International Film Festival is also hereby granted the right to utilize an excerpt from any film submitted and accepted for exhibition at the Festival for promotional purposes. In relation to any of the online presentations, our online platform will have security.

However, the festival cannot 100% guarantee possible illegal downloads, and the submitter shall indemnify and hold harmless The Waterford International Film Festival and all of our sponsors/associates of such possible actions.

By entering your film for consideration for the 2024 Waterford International Film Festival, you authorize that your work is cleared for festival exhibition and accept full legal responsibility for the intellectual property therein. The application shall indemnify and hold harmless The Waterford International Film Festival, employees, and all of our sponsors/associates of said entities from and against any claims, liabilities, losses, damages, and expenses (including but not limited to attorney's fees and costs of the court) which may be incurred because of any claim involving copyright, trademark, credits, publicity, screening, and loss of or damage to the screening of films entered. By submitting your film on filmfreeway.com, you are agreeing to all of these rules.

SCREENPLAY COMPETITION

By submitting the online form on our site or with filmfreeway.com you are agreeing to these rules.

The Waterford Film Festival Short Screenplay Competition is open to people from any nationality and any country.

Submission fees must be paid. Entries that do not include a fee will not be considered.

This competition will have 2 Rounds( please see the awards section for info).
Semi-finalists will be selected and presented with Official Laurels.

From these semi-finalists, up to 20 finalists will be selected. Please see our awards section for a breakdown of prizes.

The overall winners will be selected from the finalist's list and announced on the last day of the festival.

Round 1: Semi-finalists will be notified on or before the official notification date.
Round 2: Finalists will be notified on or before October 28th.

Screenplays must be written in English. The screenplay must not be less than three pages and not exceed fifteen pages. The cover is not included.

All genres will be considered. Screenplays must be submitted on official platforms either on

The Waterford International Film Festival site or on FilmFreeway and Only send PDF OR WORD FILES.

Please do not email scripts unless requested by a member of our team.

If your screenplay is selected to be a semi-finalist or finalist, you give the Festival
permission to use your name and image in Festival promotions, press, etc.

All submissions will be judged by the Waterford International Film Festival Committees appointed by the Festival Director. Their reports and decisions are final and confidential.

Writers can submit as many screenplays as they wish but they must fill in a
separate entry form and pay separate fees for each screenplay.

The Waterford Film Festival reserves the right to amend these rules at any time.
All entrants will be notified of the status of their submissions by email.

Writers retain all rights to their screenplay.

A production company can submit a script but must have the writer's approval. Writers can email their approval to the festival director at waterfordfilmfestival@gmail.com

The application shall indemnify and hold harmless. The Waterford International Film Festival and employees of said entities against any and all claims which may be incurred by reason of any claim involving copyright, trademark, etc.

PHOTOGRAPHY COMPETITION

Each image entry must be accompanied by an entry form and the entry fee.

You can submit on www.filmfreeway.com/waterfordfilmfestival or at www.waterfordfilmfestival.net.

Submission will not be considered without a fee and the completed form.

Applicants can submit up to 3 images per submission if they wish. However, if applicants want to submit more than 3 images they must fill out a separate form and pay a separate fee.

Your image entry must represent film or filmmaking or a shot that is cinematic in nature.

All submissions will be judged by Waterford International Film Festival Committees appointed by the Festival Director. Their reports and decisions are final and confidential.

COPYRIGHT: Photographers/Videographers are responsible for securing all copyright clearances that may be associated with their image/photo including but not limited to: actors/models releases, locations/permissions, etc. The Festival or our Venue Partners is not responsible for any copyright claim on images.

Due to time restraints, we can not provide feedback.

Once an image(s) is submitted for consideration it cannot be retracted.

The application shall indemnify (compensate for harm/loss) and hold The Waterford International Film Festival and our partners, and employees of said entities from and against any and all claims, liabilities, losses, damages, and expenses (including but not limited to attorney's fees and costs of the court) which may be incurred by reason of any claim involving copyright, trademark, credits, publicity and loss of or damage to the images entered (this includes images used for exhibit purposes).

Artists retain all rights to their photos/images but for awarded pictures (including finalists) copyright holders grant the Waterford International Film Festival unlimited non-exclusive use of high-resolution pictures for activities in all media. This includes social media, online, and print in relation to the contest, festival, and exhibition without any remuneration being due.

All artists will be notified by October 8th if they have been selected as a finalist and are free to announce this as they so, please.

The photographer(s) must be the author(s) of the pictures submitted in his/her/their name.

Pictures must meet the following specifications:
Upload images with the original pixel size (unless cropped).
Pictures must be uploaded in JPEG format with high-quality compression.
Pictures with captions/taglines must be written in English.

Entries must be submitted via www.waterfordfilmfestival.net or www.filmfreeway.com/waterfordfilmfestival.

Entries sent in other ways will not be accepted.

For possible exhibition: The winners will need to provide frames for all of their photos/images for the exhibit. i.e framed and ready to be displayed. A member of the Festival team will be in touch with the winner to arrange transport/delivery of these materials.

Image selections will be announced on or before the 8th of October 2024. All entrants will be notified by email.

The Waterford International Film Festival reserves the right to amend these rules at any time.

Pictures taken at restricted events (that is, events where only photographers commissioned by those organizing the event - for example governments, political parties, or corporations have access) are not accepted.

Adjustments of colour or conversion to grayscale are permitted.

The copyright holders represent and warrant that submission of the pictures does not breach any law and further that no third party can hold any claims or any objections regarding the rights granted to the Waterford International Film Festival and our partners specified.

The entry rules and any dispute, proceedings or claim of whatever nature arising out of or in any way relating to the entry rules (including any non-contractual disputes or claims) shall be governed by Irish law.

By entering your image(s) for consideration for the Best Cinematic Image, you authorize that your work is cleared for festival exhibition at The Waterford Film Festival and accept full legal responsibility for the intellectual property therein.

Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Ana Maria Ferri

    Cinco estrellas en todo! Gracias por un festival tan bonito y por seleccionar nuestro corto.

    January 2024
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    Response from festival:

    Thank you Ana Maria for your review and we wish you all the best for the future.

  • Rachel Fowler

    Wonderful festival, warm welcome, lovely parties. Terrific town too! Had a wonderful time for those 48 hrs I was in Waterford, thank you so much!!!! Highly recommend!!!

    December 2023
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    Response from festival:

    Thank you Rachel for your kind words and we are delighted to hear you enjoyed the events. Hope to see you here again and best of luck with everything!

  • Amy-Joyce Hastings

    I was only able to attend in person for the final day but really enjoyed my first WIFF experience. They offer a great selection of films online as well as a warm and friendly welcome in Waterford. I was thrilled to win Best Short Screenplay and the event at the Waterford Crystal HQ and trophy were simply beautiful. Thanks for a great festival. I will certainly be back.

    December 2023
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    Response from festival:

    Thank you Amy-Joyce for your kind words. Congrats again on your win and we look forward to seeing you and hopefully your film in the future. Best of luck with it!

  • Terrific festival. Top communication from the festival team.

    December 2023
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    Response from festival:

    Thank you Colm for your review and best of luck for the future.

  • Declan Davis

    I had a great time! Thank you for having the event

    December 2023
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    Response from festival:

    Thank you Declan, happy to hear you had a good time! We wish you the best of luck for the future!