The critically acclaimed Boulder International Film Festival (BIFF) has gained a reputation as one of the most influential and innovative film festivals in the U.S., and features work from new, emerging, and A-list filmmakers and 25,000 attendees. The Festival will be celebrating its 20th year February 29 - March 3, 2024.

The BIFF Program Advisory Board often includes voting members of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences® who assist with programming and attend the Festival annually. BIFF is one of only a handful of festivals (including Cannes) where Oscar-analyst Scott Feinberg from The Hollywood Reporter records his celebrated Awards Chatter podcast that features the most interesting and accomplished people in the industry. Other major industry reps who have attended the Festival include big-leaguers like DreamWorks, 20th Century Fox, A & E IndieFilms, IFC, Lionsgate, and worldwide film sales company Submarine Entertainment.

BIFF has been proud to honor some of the world’s most admired and award-winning talents, including actor F. Murray Abraham, Javier Bardem, Jesse Eisenberg, Emilio Estevez, James Franco, Shirley MacLaine, Martin Sheen, William H. Macy, Blythe Danner, Alan Arkin, Bruce Dern, Maria Bello, Peter Fonda, and director Oliver Stone, along with many special guests including Presidential Medal of Freedom honoree Congressman John Lewis, legendary musician David Crosby, and Robbie Robertson of “The Band”.

ABOUT BOULDER
“If happiness is a state of mind, Boulder is its capital”, Jim Axelrod, CBS News Sunday Morning

Located at the foot of the stunning Rocky Mountains, easy-going Boulder Colorado is a traditional magnet for the tech-savvy, music & film-loving outdoors-person who also likes to party. Along with a major University film school, we have hundreds of miles of running, skiing and hiking trails, world-class restaurants, hotels, galleries, shops and bars, all surrounded by a scenic 46,000-acre moat of Boulder Open Space. The population of Boulder County is 300,000 and Boulder is just 45 minutes from the Denver International Airport. Boulder was voted “Happiest Town in America” in a Gallup poll, “Smartest Town in the U.S” by Forbes Magazine, “Place you Dream of Living” by Backpacker Magazine, "The Worst-dressed City That Looks Best Naked", by GQ Magazine ,"The Foodiest Town in America" by Bon Appetit, and “#1: Best Place to Live” by Men’s Journal.

Submit to BIFF today, you'll love it here.

Films are eligible for the prestigious "Grand Jury", "Best of the Festival" and "People's Choice" awards.

GENERAL RULES

1. Only one title per entry.

2. Films must have been completed after May 1, 2022.

3. Feature length films should not be commercially available on DVD, Blu-Ray, on-demand service or other format intended for private viewing and will not air on television, via internet streaming service or other public broadcast in the United States prior to March 3 2024, with the exception of other film festival in-person/virtual screenings OR if given written approval to enter by BIFF Staff. Short films are exempted from this rule.

4. All films must be submitted online through FilmFreeway for consideration.

5. DCP is the exhibition format in 2 of our venues. DCP must be DCI compliant, keys must be open for window as specified by Festival. If we schedule your film in our non-DCP venue, we will require a Digital File Format (ProRes, MP4, Quicktime) for screening. Digital files must be provided as a backup for ALL exhibition copies, including DCP, unless other arrangements are made with the festival.

6. Either an .mp4 or .mov digital file is needed for virtual screenings (we are not able to use DCP or ProRes for virtual) and need to be uploaded by the filmmaker or distributor. We strive to make our offerings as accessible as possible, and request a closed caption file for virtual screenings, whenever possible.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS
I hereby represent and warrant that I am the owner or the authorized representative for the owner(s) of the film (the “Film”) being submitted pursuant to this submission agreement (the “Agreement”) for public exhibition and inclusion in the 2024 Boulder International Film Festival (the “Festival”) February 29 - March 3, 2024 and that I have all the necessary rights and authority to submit the Film to the Festival and to enter into and obligate the owner(s) of the Film to enter into this Agreement.

I represent and warrant that:

• I have obtained all necessary releases, licenses, authorization and permission from the owner(s) of any and all content and rights owned by third parties included in the Film, including without limitation all copyrights, trademarks, rights of privacy and publicity, and contract rights, and nothing in the Film shall infringe upon or violate the rights of any third party. The Colorado Film Society (“CFS”) disclaims any responsibility for, and will not be held responsible for, any unauthorized inclusion of any third-party content or materials within or relating to the submitted Film, including any content or materials that are or may become the basis for any third party claims.

• There is no legal action presently pending, threatened or reasonably anticipated in connection with the Film.

I acknowledge and agree that in the event of any disagreement or dispute in connection with this Agreement or submission of the Film to the Festival, the parties will first attempt to resolve such disputes through good-faith negotiation. In the event such dispute is not promptly resolved, the parties agree that any legal action shall be brought only in arbitration before a mutually agreed-upon arbitrator in Boulder or Denver, Colorado, and I hereby submit to venue and personal jurisdiction in connection with the same. The arbitrator shall have the power to award, and shall be required to award, to the substantially prevailing party in any such arbitration, its reasonable attorneys’ fees, costs and expenses incurred in connection with the arbitration.

In the event that the Film is selected by the Festival, I further grant the CFS the right to utilize the Film; the names, likenesses and biographical information of the producer(s), director(s), performer(s) and others associated with the Film; and images, stills, and excerpts from the Film for promotional and outreach purposes.

I agree that I will not enter into or permit any agreement or arrangement concerning the Film, including without limitation a distribution agreement, sales representation agreement, third party marketing agreement or similar, unless such agreement explicitly permits the rights granted in this Agreement, including without limitation the public exhibition of the film at the Festival.

I agree to indemnify and hold CFS, its directors, employees and agents, and the Festival harmless 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 type of claim whatsoever in connection with the Film or its submission, acceptance or exhibition at the Festival, including without limitation breach of any representation, warranty or obligation set forth in this Agreement.

I have read and accept the terms and conditions described on this Agreement and I understand that acceptance of the Film to the Festival shall be in the sole discretion of the CFS. If the film is selected for the Festival, I grant permission for public exhibition of the Film during the Festival from February 29-March 3, 2024 and I agree to comply with all rules and reasonable requests of the CFS in connection with the same, including without limitation providing the exhibition copy of the film requested in good condition (DCP, Digital Media File, or Professionally made Blu-ray), a digital version of the film for virtual screenings, and a backup version of the Film (Blu-ray, Digital Media File, DVD) at least two weeks prior to the Festival.

I understand that the CFS has the right to adjust the nature and/or the date of the festival due to COVID.

By entering through FilmFreeway, on behalf of myself and the owner(s) of the Film, I freely and voluntarily give and express full and complete acceptance of all of the terms and conditions set forth in this Agreement.

Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • This team was absolutely amazing. They took such great care of the filmmakers, and all of the events were so well done. I haven’t participated in a better festival yet, and Boulder is such an amazing town. I can’t wait to come back for another one!

    March 2024
  • Bruce Borowsky

    We had a great experience with the BIFF festival! Everyone - staff and volunteers - were all super-helpful and informative, and did everything they could to make sure we were enjoying ourselves. Highly recommend!

    March 2024
  • George Siougas

    This has been one of the best experiences at a festival for us. Shawna and her team were super-organised, amazing with communication, totally enthusiastic and just great people to be around period! We are so proud and honoured to have been a part of their 20th anniversary and we can’t wait to see them again soon! Thank you Boulder IFF!!

    March 2024
  • William Ward

    An amazing festival, great communication and hospitality (thanks Shawna!!). We were fortunate the festival hosted a Q&A with the subjects of our documentary and we were honoured to have been awarded the Jonny Copp Best Adventure Film. Highly Recommend.

    March 2023
  • Bradley Berman

    The Boulder International Film Festival is brilliant. We were delighted to share JACK HAS A PLAN with the Boulder community, which comes out in force to see indy films. We had two packed screenings with about 200 people each time. The founders of the festival, former filmmakers, elevate festival programming to a high art. There's a great selection of films and excellent Q&A moderators, with "talk back" sessions involving community organizations. The filmmaker parties were off the chain and the resort accommodations in downtown Boulder were unparalleled. Each filmmaker is assigned a community liaison, who ensures that you have an amazing experience, with tons of opportunities to interact with other filmmakers and local folks. I can't say enough great things about this festival. As good as it gets!

    March 2023