Penistone Film Festival

Rules and Terms

Eligibility

Penistone Film Festival is open to filmmakers worldwide.

Submissions may be made by individual filmmakers, creative collectives, schools, colleges, universities, youth groups or production teams.

The person submitting the film must have the authority to enter it and must have secured all necessary permissions for the film’s content, including music, performances, images, footage and other copyrighted material.

By submitting, the entrant confirms that the film is their original work, or that they have permission from the rights holder to submit it.

Running Time

All films must be 18 minutes or less, including titles and credits.

The 18-minute limit reflects the approximate running time of a single reel of 35mm film during the early years of cinema.

The Wizard Keen Minecraft Challenge category has a separate maximum running time of 60 seconds, including titles and credits.

Films exceeding the stated running time for their selected category may be disqualified.

Visual Storytelling and Dialogue

Penistone Film Festival is dedicated to dialogue-free and minimal-dialogue visual storytelling.

Films should communicate their story primarily through imagery, movement, expression, performance, camera work, editing, music and sound.

Brief spoken words or short moments of dialogue may be accepted where they are incidental and do not carry or explain the story.

Films that rely primarily on conversations, narration, interviews or spoken exposition are unlikely to be eligible for competition.

A film should remain understandable through its visual storytelling, even where occasional dialogue is included.

Language and Subtitles

Any spoken dialogue that is not in English must be accompanied by accurate English subtitles.

English subtitles should also be provided where dialogue may otherwise be difficult for an audience to understand.

Submission Format

All entries must be submitted through FilmFreeway using a working online screener.

Any passwords required to view the film must remain valid throughout the selection and judging period.

Films should be complete and ready for exhibition at the time of submission. Rough cuts, unfinished edits and incomplete sound mixes should not be submitted unless agreed with the festival in advance.

If selected, filmmakers may be asked to provide a high-quality exhibition file by a stated deadline. Failure to supply a suitable screening copy may result in the film being withdrawn from the programme.

Content and Audience Suitability

The festival aims to provide an inclusive and welcoming experience for filmmakers, families and audiences of different ages.

We particularly encourage films suitable for a PG audience.

Films containing excessive violence, explicit sexual content, gratuitous material, discriminatory content or material intended primarily to offend may not be accepted.

The festival reserves the right to decline any submission that it considers unsuitable for its programme, audience or values.

Student Filmmaker Entries

The Student Filmmaker Award is a dedicated free-entry category for eligible students.

Eligible entrants may use the waiver code RubyB when submitting directly to the Student Filmmaker category.

Entrants may be asked to provide evidence of current student status, such as a valid student identification card, confirmation from a school, college or university, or other appropriate documentation.

Free-entry opportunities are also available to eligible filmmakers living, studying or attending a recognised filmmaking group within 20 miles of Penistone.

The waiver code must only be used by filmmakers who meet the stated eligibility requirements. The festival reserves the right to remove or request payment for entries submitted using a waiver code without valid eligibility.

Wizard Keen Minecraft Challenge

Wizard Keen Minecraft Challenge: 60-Second Film Award is open to films created entirely within Minecraft.

Entries must be no longer than 60 seconds, including titles and credits.

The film should use Minecraft characters, environments, builds, movement, camera work, editing, music and sound effects to tell its story.

Films should be dialogue-free wherever possible. Occasional spoken words may be included, but dialogue, narration or spoken explanation must not drive the story.

Entry to this category is free for filmmakers aged 25 and under. Entrants may be asked to provide reasonable confirmation of age.

Filmmakers aged 26 and over may enter the category by paying the stated submission fee.

Categories

Entrants should select the category that most closely reflects their film.

A film may be entered into more than one category where it meets the relevant criteria, although a separate entry fee may apply to each category selected.

The festival reserves the right to move a film into a more suitable category or consider it for an additional award where appropriate.

Submitting to a particular category does not guarantee that the film will be nominated or screened within that category.

Selection and Notification

All eligible submissions will be reviewed by the festival’s programming team.

Official selections will be notified through FilmFreeway and may also be announced through the festival’s website, press activity and social media channels.

Only officially selected films will be screened as part of the festival programme.

Submission does not guarantee selection, nomination, screening or an award.

The festival is unable to provide individual feedback on every submission.

Judging

Eligible films will be assessed according to creativity, originality, technical execution and the strength of their visual storytelling.

Individual award categories may also have additional judging considerations relevant to their subject, such as music, movement, stunt performance, sport, comedy or creative use of Minecraft.

The decisions of the programming team and judging panel are final.

The festival is not required to provide scores, judging notes or detailed explanations of its decisions.

Screening Permission

By submitting a film, the entrant grants Penistone Film Festival permission to screen the film during the festival and at directly related festival events.

Copyright and ownership remain with the filmmaker or rights holder.

The entrant confirms that the festival will not be held responsible for disputes relating to copyright, music licensing, performer consent or any other permissions that should have been secured before submission.

Promotion and Publicity

By submitting, the entrant gives Penistone Film Festival permission to use the film’s title, synopsis, trailer, poster, production information, filmmaker biography, supplied photographs, still images and short excerpts for festival publicity, press, programme materials, social media and promotional activity.

Promotional use does not transfer ownership of the film to the festival.

Attendance

Filmmakers are not required to attend the festival for their work to be selected or considered for an award.

Selected filmmakers are warmly encouraged to join us for screenings, events, networking and the awards celebrations in our historic South Yorkshire town, home to the Penistone Paramount Cinema.

Travel, accommodation and other attendance costs are not normally covered by the festival unless confirmed separately in writing.

Entry Fees and Waivers

Submission fees are non-refundable, including where a film is not selected, is withdrawn by the entrant or is found to be ineligible.

Fee waivers and discount codes are limited to the groups and categories for which they were created.

Student and local eligibility codes may not be shared publicly or used for unrelated categories.

The Wizard Keen Minecraft Challenge category is free for eligible filmmakers aged 25 and under, with a small submission fee applying to entrants aged 26 and over.

The festival reserves the right to disqualify an entry or request the correct fee where a waiver or discount code has been used incorrectly.

Withdrawal and Changes

Entrants should contact the festival as soon as possible if they wish to withdraw a film.

Entry fees will not be refunded following withdrawal.

Once a film has been selected and publicly announced, withdrawal may affect the festival programme and should only take place in exceptional circumstances.

The festival must be informed of any significant change to the film, its title, running time, rights ownership or availability after submission.

Acceptance of the Rules

By submitting to Penistone Film Festival, the entrant confirms that they have read, understood and accepted these Rules and Terms.

The festival reserves the right to make reasonable changes where required for legal, operational, safeguarding or programming reasons.