Rules & Terms
Film Festival Submission Rules and Terms of Agreement
Birmingham Film & Television Festival (BFTF)
The film festival works to highlight excellence in filmmaking. It is legally established and is managed by film industry professionals.
SUBMISSIONS
1. Submissions for the Birmingham Film & Television Festival (BFTF) is open to feature films, shorts films, animations, and screenplays of any genre.
2. All films must be presented in their original language with English subtitle. Screenplays must be submitted in English language.
3. Films must have been completed within 4 years of current edition of festival. Premiere status is not required.
4. The submitter must have all relevant copyright permissions for all materials included in the submitted work.
5. Films submitted for consideration in the previous BFTF editions are eligible for re-submission only if there are significant rework done to the films.
6. Short film entries must not exceed a running time of 30 minutes.
7. Student films and videos must present proper documentations from their academic institution, example: academic ID of the director/producer or a letter of recommendation from an academic adviser or institution. Any films submitted as student film without proper identification will be disqualified in the category.
8. Student films must be submitted no later than one year after graduation.
9. All submitted films and/or videos must pay the necessary entry fee. Student entries are eligible for discounted fees.
10. Entry fees are non-refundable in case of any submission withdrawal.
11. All submission deadlines and important dates regarding festival screenings, award ceremonies and its venues are announced on the SFTF official Facebook page.
12. Any changes to the rules will be at BFTFโs discretion.
HOW TO SUBMIT
1. All entries must be submitted online via FilmFreeway.
2. Complete the submission form.
3. The films must be uploaded to the submission portal as required or send BFTF a link to your film or video preview upon submission.
4. Requested in the online entry form are available press kits which includes a synopsis in English, the directorโs statement and biography, a full list of cast and crew and additional publicity materials such as trailers, film posters and stills.
5. Payment of entry fee.
SELECTION PROCESS
1. All submissions are screened and evaluated by the BFTF Selection Committee.
2. Criteria for judging is based on creativity of visual images, production quality without prejudice to the cost of production, originality of storytelling and entertainment value.
3. Selections will be in stages namely Preliminary, Semifinalist and Finalist. This is to ensure that submissions are correctly verified of their eligibility and judged only in their respected categories.
4. Submission status notifications received by participants should be considered as final unless stated otherwise.
AWARDS
1. Winners for each categories will receive an official BFTF laurel.
2. The winners of the main award prizes will be chosen by a Jury of film industry professionals especially selected by BFTF Executive committee for this edition.
3. Other additional award prizes may be given during the ceremony.
SCREENING
1. All official selections are included in the festival programme for exhibition.
2. BFTF reserves the right to chose other shortlisted films to be screened in the film festival.
3. All films and videos for screening during the festival will be announced via BFTF official social media platforms.
4. The filmmakers and/or production companies must provide BFTF a copy of their films for screening at least 30 working days prior to festival. This is to make sure the festival have enough time to check for any technical concerns that may occur and resolve them prior to the screening.
TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS FOR EXHIBITION
1. All films must be of standard cinema aspect ratio and resolution (Square Pixels 1.0)
2. All film screening formats must be subtitled in English.
3. Provide BFTF with an HD quality digital copy of the film in Quicktime (Pro Res 422) if applicable.
OTHER AGREEMENTS
1. BFTF does not download or make your full preview screener available publicly online.
2. The BFTF is hereby granted the rights to utilise an excerpt from any film submitted for promotional purposes of the festival. The individual or production studio submitting the film hereby warrants that it is authorised to commit the film for screening, and understands and accepts these requirements, rules and regulations.
3. In the event of any film being withdrawn from the festival screening for reasons beyond the festivalโs control, for example copyrights impingements, BFTF must not be held liable and the filmmakers or production company agree to accept such liabilities if any.
4. The filmmakers and/or the production company allow BFTF to use their filmโs Press Kit for promotional purposes.
5. The submission of any films to the festival means that the filmmakers and/or the production company agree without any reservation to all the rules and regulations of BFTF.
6. The Festival operates within and under the laws of the European Union.
7. The Festival is not responsible for IMDb acceptance or refusal or any other operations.
