Terms and Conditions
By submitting your film for consideration to the 50th Cleveland International Film Festival (“CIFF50” or “Festival”) in accordance with the procedures outlined below, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and voluntarily agreed to abide by these Filmmaker Terms and Conditions.
Festival Details
The Cleveland Film Society, an Ohio nonprofit organization d/b/a The Cleveland International Film Festival (“CIFF”), will hold CIFF50 from April 9-18, 2026 (in person).
CIFF values the health and safety of all Festival participants, audience members, staff, and volunteers and takes their well-being seriously. To protect audience, filmmaker, staff, and volunteer health and safety and comply with any applicable orders or guidelines issued by federal, state, or local authorities, CIFF reserves the right to cancel CIFF50; institute rules governing in-person participation at CIFF50, such as theater- or event-capacity limits and face-covering requirements; or revise the dates, location, and in-person format of CIFF50 at any time, including, but not limited to, after having accepted films for screening during the Festival. CIFF reserves the right to hold CIFF50 as an entirely online event if CIFF, in its sole discretion, determines that circumstances so require. CIFF is committed to communicating any changes to the CIFF50 program to applicants, participants, and audience members in a timely manner via its website and/or direct communication with filmmakers.
Submissions
All filmmakers or other film-rights holders who submit films for consideration for CIFF50 (“Applicants”) must do so using FilmFreeway. CIFF is not responsible for any claims brought by Applicants if films are pirated from FilmFreeway's platform. As FilmFreeway users, all Applicants therefore agree to be bound by the FilmFreeway Terms of Service for Filmmakers, Screenwriters, and Non-Festivals (https://filmfreeway.com/page/terms-of-service). If any provisions of these Filmmaker Terms and Conditions conflict with the FilmFreeway Terms of Service, then these Filmmaker Terms and Conditions will control.
All films submitted to FilmFreeway must be in the form of an online-screener or Vimeo link. If a link is password protected, then the password must be valid through April 18, 2026, otherwise your submission will be considered INVALID and will be DISQUALIFIED with no entry-fee refund. For further guidance on the process of submitting your film for CIFF50 consideration, please visit CIFF’s Call for Entries FAQs.
Once your film has been submitted via the CIFF50 FilmFreeway portal, it is your responsibility to check your FilmFreeway account to ensure that your submission meets CIFF’s requirements; that you have provided all necessary information to CIFF; and that your film has been accepted by CIFF for consideration. Within one week after your submission date, CIFF will send you an email confirming that it has received your submission and, if applicable, requesting any further information needed from you.
Eligibility
Films whose productions were completed after June 1, 2024, are eligible for submission to CIFF50.
In order to be eligible for participation in CIFF50, films must NOT have been exhibited in person within the Greater Cleveland area, as CIFF requires a Cleveland premiere at the least. Films that have been previously screened online in an official ticketed-festival capacity are eligible for CIFF50 submission, as long as they have not been made available to audiences in the Greater Cleveland area.
All films under 45 minutes in length are considered short films. Films between 45 and 150 minutes can be submitted to either of our feature categories. Films over 150 minutes will not be accepted.
Please do not submit any works in progress or any industrial or instructional films.
Fees
Submission fees for CIFF50 increase over time. Early submissions are therefore encouraged. For further details, please see the Dates & Deadlines and Categories & Fees sections on CIFF’s FilmFreeway page.
CIFF is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Fees collected through the Call for Entries process assist in our operations, so please do not request a waiver, unless you meet one of the following requirements.
If you are an Applicant who is also a CIFF Alum, meaning that CIFF has screened one of your feature or short films in a previous festival, then CIFF will waive your submission fee for one film per person that meets the CIFF50 requirements outlined herein.
To request an alumni fee waiver, please contact submissions@clevelandfilm.org.
Refunds
CIFF will not honor any requests for submission-fee refunds. Refunds will not be issued to any Applicant for any submission, regardless of selection for CIFF50, for any reason, including changes to CIFF50’s dates, venues, or format that CIFF may announce at any time.
Selection and Exhibition
Applicants whose works have been selected for inclusion in CIFF50 (“Participants”) will be announced by CIFF no later than February 20, 2026. Written feedback from our screening team will be provided post-festival for all films that pay to submit in full. If you would like to see your comments, you must email reviews@clevelandfilm.org between May 1 - June 1, 2026. No comments will be provided for those requested before May 1, 2026, after June 1, 2026 or for any films that submit with a waiver or discount.
All films (feature and short) must be available for theatrical exhibition as a DCP. For all films that will be participating in the potential online component of the festival, films must also be available as a .mp4 or other CIFF-approved digital file. 35MM, BLU-RAY, AND DVD ARE NOT ACCEPTABLE FORMATS FOR CIFF50 EXHIBITION.
Participants must upload all exhibition files electronically to CIFF’s secure-storage platforms, CineSend (in-person format) and Eventive (online format) . CIFF will not accept any exhibition files for CIFF50 that are submitted on a hard drive. CIFF is not responsible for any claims brought by Participants if films are pirated from CineSend and/or Eventive's platform. If you are a Participant and you upload your exhibition files to CineSend and/or Eventive, then you are a user of CineSend and/or Eventive and agree to be bound by the CineSend and/or Eventive Terms and Conditions ("CineSend Terms and Conditions", “Eventive Terms and Conditions”). If any provisions of these Filmmaker Terms and Conditions conflict with the CineSend and/or Eventive Terms and Conditions, then these Filmmaker Terms and Conditions will control.
Warranties and License
All Applicants and Participants warrant that they own the copyright to the film that they have submitted for CIFF50 consideration. Applicants and Participants further warrant that they have secured all necessary rights and clearances to exhibit their film during CIFF50; are authorized to accept these Filmmaker Terms and Conditions; and are authorized to grant CIFF a license to exhibit the film during the Festival. Participants hereby grant CIFF a non-exclusive license to exhibit their film during CIFF50.
Indemnity
All Applicants and Participants agree, to the extent permissible by applicable law, to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless CIFF and its directors, officers, employees, affiliates, licensees, and agents from and against any and all claims, losses, liabilities, demands, legal costs (including court costs and reasonable experts’ and attorneys’ fees), judgments, and other expenses that arise at any point in time, before, during, or after CIFF50, out of or on account of the Applicants’ or Participants’ involvement in CIFF50 and/or CIFF’s selection process for the same.
Choice of Law
These Filmmaker Terms and Conditions will be governed by the laws of the State of Ohio, without regard to its conflicts-of-laws principles, except those necessary to enforce the choice of applicable law; may be enforced only in a state or federal court sitting within Cleveland, Ohio, with respect to which court CIFF and the Applicants and Participants agree to personal jurisdiction and venue, further waiving any right to challenge venue; and is binding upon, and inures to the benefit of, CIFF’s and the Applicants’ and Participants’ successors, assigns, heirs, and personal representatives.
Severability
If any provision of these Filmmaker Terms and Conditions is determined to be invalid, illegal, or unenforceable, then that provision will not affect the enforceability of any other provision of these Filmmaker Terms and Conditions. Rather, the invalid, illegal, or unenforceable provision shall be deemed severed from these Filmmaker Terms and Conditions, which will be enforced as if they did not contain the invalid, illegal, or unenforceable provision.
