The North Bellarine Film Festival (NBFF) is held annually in mid-November. Beginning in 2024, the festival will be at the Parks Hall in Portarlington, Victoria, about a 90-minute drive from Melbourne.

Filmmakers are invited to submit films in the following categories:

SHORT FILMS
-Genre: any
-Time limit: 20 minutes
-Submission fee: US$10/US$8 for Gold members

EMERGING FILMMAKER AWARD- sponsored by the Portarlington Film Society
-Genre: any
-Time limit: 15 minutes
-Age: no older than 25 years of age
-Residency: current or former resident of Victoria (Australia)
-Submission fee: US$5/US$4 for Gold members

EMERGING DOCUMENTARY FILMMAKER AWARD- sponsored by the Geelong Waterfront Film Foundation
-Genre: documentary
-Time limit: 15 minutes
-Age: no older than 25 years of age
-Residency: current or former resident of Victoria (Australia)
-Submission fee: US$5/US$4 for Gold members

Finalists in both award categories are automatically eligible for the People's Choice Award which is decided by audience ballot at the award ceremony held on the second night of the festival. The People's Choice Award is sponsored by the St Leonards Film Society.

All selected films and award finalists receive a laurel confirming that they are an official selection of the North Bellarine Film Festival or an award finalist.

Please refer to the 'Rules and Terms' for more information on making submissions.

Emerging Filmmaker Award: $AU 500 and a trophy.

Emerging Documentary Filmmaker Award: $AU 500 and a trophy

People's Choice Award: $250 and a trophy.

Laurels will be provided to selected films.

EMERGING FILMMAKER AND DOCUMENTARY FILMMAKER AWARDS

The North Bellarine Film Festival presents two awards to emerging filmmakers:
- Emerging Filmmaker Award; and the
- Emerging Documentary Filmmaker Award

Filmmakers must be aged 25 years or under at the time that they submit their film.

The filmmaker must reside or have resided in the State of Victoria (Australia) and will be required to verify their age and residency.

The film must have been completed no more than two years before submitting it for an award.

Entries must be no longer than 15 minutes including the opening and credits.

Entry fee: US$5/$4 FilmFreeway Gold Members per film.

Deadline: Submissions must be received no later than 31 August 2023.

All genres of film are eligible for the Emerging Filmmaker Award.

All finalists for the Emerging Filmmaker and the Emerging Documentary Filmmaker awards will be considered for the People’s Choice Award. Filmmakers cannot submit films for consideration for the People’s Choice Award.

SHORT FILMS

Short films must not exceed 20 minutes in length including the opening and credits.

Entry fee: US$10/$8 FilmFreeway Gold Members

Deadline: Submissions must be received no later than 31 August 2023.

All genres of film are eligible.
GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS (APPLIES TO ALL CATEGORIES)

Entries must be submitted by the specified deadline. Late entries will not be accepted.

Submissions must comply with all entry requirements specified in this document. By submitting your film to the festival, you agree to these rules and terms.

Submissions must be made through FilmFreeway.

Watermarks are not permitted.

Only the director or producer of a film may submit it to the festival. The person making the submission must have sole and exclusive right, absolute authority and have all clearances including but not limited to all creative, copyright, branding, design, legal, image and sound related aspects of the film, to submit the film to the North Bellarine Film Festival.

The film must not infringe Australian copyright or defamation law.

Entrant’s email addresses will be added to the festival’s contacts database. This database is not shared with third parties and entrants may remove their contact details any time by following the instructions on emails that they receive or by contacting the festival committee at info@northbellarinefilmfestival.org.

No compensation, additional fees, or any other payment outside of this arrangement unless specifically agreed to will be paid if a film is selected for screening.

The submitter assigns all rights for the North Bellarine Film Festival to screen the film and for the film’s trailer and poster to be used for promotional activities of the festival including, but not limited to, social, print and broadcast media. Any use of this material by the North Bellarine Film Festival will be exclusively for the purposes of promoting the festival.

Laurels will be provided for selected films on request.

Entrants may withdraw their submission through FilmFreeway at any time.

Submissions cannot be changed. Changes to the film will require that the submission be withdrawn and re-entered.

The entry must not have been released theatrically or commercially or aired on commercial television or by streaming in Australia prior to its submission.

Entries must be in English or have English subtitles at the time they are submitted. Subtitles must be burned in.

Entrants agree to supply at the request of the North Bellarine Film Festival any supporting documents relating to their entry including but not limited to proof of copyright for music or other materials used in its production, actor’s release forms and or proof of age or place of residence.

Film ownership remains with the filmmaker. The North Bellarine Film Festival, however, reserves the rights to screen submitted films to an audience at any time during the festival. The person making the submission will have no say, influence or otherwise in the decision of the screening of the film with regards to the screening date and time, venue, or method and formatting of screening activities.

Films rated or likely to be rated X 18+ or RC will not be accepted. The North Bellarine Film Festival reserves the right to make its own assessment of unrated films.

The North Bellarine Film Festival will not accept material which can be understood as rough cuts, music videoclips, TVCs, corporate or trainings, pornographic, home video, and or a work in progress.

Entries will be selected/judged by a panel established by the North Bellarine Film Festival. All decisions by the panel and the North Bellarine Film Festival are final and cannot be appealed. No feedback will be provided on individual submissions.

The North Bellarine Film Festival reserves the right not to grant the award or screen any films or to remove a film for consideration for the award for any reason.

Entrants agree to indemnify the North Bellarine Film Festival and hold it harmless from any damages, liabilities, losses, costs, expenses, obligations or claims arising out of a breach of their agreements, obligations, presentations and warranties under these rules. By submitting a film to the festival, you agree to waive all legal action, including third party claim, against the festival, its organisers, venue, associates, stakeholders and affiliates.

The person submitting the film will hold the North Bellarine Film Festival harmless for any negative public reviews of the film in relation to those associated with the festival or otherwise associated as mentioned above.

Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Such a privilege to have our film BIRDS selected for this festival. I only wish I could have made it down there this time.

    November 2023
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    Response from festival:

    Hi Antony,
    Thank you for your comments about the festival. 'Birds' is an original and very enjoyable work and the audience loved it. We'll start taking submissions in early April for 2024 so stay in touch! Bill

  • This is a terrific festival in a lovely part of the world. The screening venue is outstanding with a warm and supportive audience across the weekend. Highly recommended. (And thanks again for selecting our film Karl Heinz to screen on opening night!).

    November 2023
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    Response from festival:

    Hi Andrew, it was a pleasure to meet you at the festival and to include your film 'Karl Heinz' in our opening night program. I'm looking forward to seeing your future work and hope to catch up with you again at our next festival in November 2024.

  • William Cattell

    Communication was excellent, and when I got there the organisers could not have been more welcoming and friendly. It was a classy show and the films presented were selected for a discerning audience. Thanks Bill, Jessie, and all the staff.

    November 2022
  • Bill, Jessie and everyone involved have been super welcoming and engaging. The passion of the festival is abundantly clear. The support for young filmmakers is fantastic; it's really a terrific event and I couldn't be happier to be a part of it this year

    November 2022
  • Zak Marrinan

    Bill was a lovely host and the committee put on a great selection of local and international films. Thank you again for selecting Animal Work to be part of this grassroots festival.

    March 2022
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    Response from festival:

    Hi Zak, it was great meeting you and thank you for letting us include 'Animal Work' in our program. Animal Work is a terrific film and we hope to see more of your work in the future.