Picturehouse Create Short Film Showcase Competition Terms and Conditions (the 'Terms')
1. Acceptance of These Terms
By submitting your application and Film to the Picturehouse Create Short Film Showcase Competition ('Competition'), you will be deemed to have accepted, and to have agreed to be bound by, these Terms. All instructions, rules and conditions on any advertising or promotional materials relating to the application process and the Competition form part of these Terms, provided that in the event of any conflict or inconsistency, these Terms shall prevail.
2. Participants
To enter the Competition, you must:
Be aged 18 years or over.
Be resident in the UK or Ireland.
Registered passholders for Picturehouse Create 2026 can submit their films for free, subject to the following terms:
The passholder will be provided with a personal waiver code via email
This waiver code can only be used to submit with the same email address used to purchase the Picturehouse Create pass
Any misuse or sharing of this code may result in disqualification from the competition
Pass must already be purchased at the time of entry. Submission fees will not be refunded in the case of a pass being purchased later.
Non-passholders can submit their films for a submission fee of £25.
The Competition is not open to any employees of Picturehouse Cinemas Limited who have been involved in organizing or pre-screening for the festival, or any other persons directly involved in organizing or pre-screening for the festival.
You may be required to take part in publicity, and by submitting your Film and taking part in the Competition you hereby agree to take part in any such publicity.
3. How to Apply
To apply to be part of the Competition, you will need to submit your film to the Picturehouse Create FilmFreeway page (‘FilmFreeway’). Only entries submitted using FilmFreeway will be considered. Your entry and the Film must comply with the following requirements:
a) Picturehouse Create welcomes all types of short films across drama, comedy, animation, documentary and artists' films of all production techniques, forms and budgets. We will accept student films and music videos. However, we will not accept any promotional or commercial videos.
b) Films must be complete at the time of submitting; we will not accept rough cuts or work-in-progress submissions. The Films must also have been completed no earlier than 1 January 2022
c) Films can be any length between 1 minute (00:01:00) and 20 minutes (00:20:00), including any credits. Any Films with a run time of less than 1 minute or more than 20 minutes will be disqualified.
d) Films can be in any language. If the original language of any dialogue or text featured in the Film is not English, the submitted Film must be subtitled in English, unless this is a variance with the filmmaker's intention. All details provided on the Entry Form must be written in English.
e) The premiere status of your Film is not a key factor in your submission. However, we may ask you to provide a note of festivals at which it has screened.
f) Films should not be available online for streaming in the UK prior to 18 April 2026.
g) Films can be submitted by anyone who worked on the film with an onscreen credit, provided they have all necessary rights as detailed in section (h) below.
h) You must have all necessary rights, licences and permissions from the relevant rights owner (including in relation to any copyrighted music and/or images used within the film) to
submit the Film into the Competition and
to grant to Picturehouse all rights necessary for the screening of the Film at the Picturehouse Create festival, including public screenings at Picturehouse Central and for use for Picturehouse's marketing and publicity purposes as described in these Terms.
You must produce proof of necessary consents, licenses and permissions to Picturehouse on request.
i) We accept short films via FilmFreeway ONLY. Speculative submissions sent via email or file links and downloads sent any other way will NOT be watched and will not be entered into the Competition.
Picturehouse reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to eliminate or disqualify entries that it regards as being in breach of these Terms or the spirit of the Competition.
Picturehouse accepts no liability for any technical issues of any kind that may prevent anyone from submitting their application to the Competition.
You may only enter the Competition once. Multiple entries of the same Film will be disqualified. Where Picturehouse discovers or has reasonable grounds to suspect that any entrant has used any software or automated process either to answer questions, enter the Competition, or to make bulk entries, Picturehouse may exclude such entries and disqualify the entrant from the Competition.
4. Closing Date
The deadline for entering the Competition is 16 March 2026 (GMT 23.59) (the 'Closing Date'). Submissions received after this time will not be considered.
5. Prize
The prize includes:
For each Shortlisted Film:
a) Screening of the Shortlisted Film at Picturehouse Central on 18 April 2026 as part of the Picturehouse Create Short Film Showcase ('Short Film Screening').
b) Two tickets for the Competition entrant to issue to their guests to attend the Short Film Screening
For each of the Judge's Choice and the Audience Choice:
Prizes a) and b) above, and;
i) A prize certificate
ii) One year's West End Picturehouse Membership for the Competition entrant
The full prize package for the 2026 Competition is to be confirmed. Last year’s Judge’s Choice winner received $10,000 in-kind colour and sound post-production services generously provided by Company 3. Previous awards are indicative of the exciting opportunities Picturehouse aims to offer, but do not guarantee that the same or equivalent prizes will be available in 2026.
Travel and accommodation expenses are not included and will be the sole responsibility of the entrants and their guests.
Extra tickets to the Short Film Screening will be available for purchase, subject to availability.
Prizes are non-transferable, and there will be no cash alternatives for any non-cash elements of the prizes. Picturehouse reserves the right to substitute prizes of equal or greater value at any time in its sole discretion.
Prizes are awarded at Picturehouse's discretion, and no prizes will be awarded in the case of improper actions by or on behalf of any entrant. Where entries are being judged on creative or artistic merit, or other subjective criteria, the Picturehouse Create selection committee and the Competition judges (acting reasonably) reserve the right not to select any Film(s as Shortlisted Films or the Judge's Choice Film, to remove or amend selection criteria and the structure and operation of the Competition if entries are not of the requisite standard.
6. The Selection Process
The Films for the Short Film Screening will be shortlisted from all valid submissions ('Shortlisted Films'). Films will be shortlisted by the Picturehouse Create selection committee. As Picturehouse will curate the Short Film Screening, the number of Films to be chosen as Shortlisted Films will be determined by the Picturehouse Create selection committee during the selection process, at their discretion, taking into account run times of Films, content and various other factors relevant to creating the program for the event.
Entrants of Shortlisted Films will be notified by email no later than 27 March 2026. Unsuccessful entrants will not be notified and feedback will not be given.
At the Short Film Screening two winning Films will be chosen from the Shortlisted Films:
1. One Film will chosen as Judges' Choice by an Industry Jury
2. One Film will be chosen as Audience Choice based on a balloted vote by the Picturehouse Central Audience
The selection of Winning Films is open to subjective interpretation. For the Judge's Choice award an independent industry jury will be appointed. In all matters, the decision of the jury(s) or selection committee shall be final and no correspondence or discussion shall be entered into.
Prior to the Short Film Screening, entrants of Shortlisted Films will be required to sign a confirmation form to grant Picturehouse, and their respective group companies, affiliates and agents the right to screen the relevant Film at the Short Film Screening.
If your Film is selected as a Shortlisted Film, but Picturehouse is unable to contact you, or if your Film/entry is subsequently disqualified from the Competition, we reserve the right to select an alternative Shortlisted Film, selected in accordance with these terms and conditions. Picturehouse's and/or the industry jury's' decision regarding choice of Shortlisted Films and Judges' Choice will be final and no correspondence will be entered into.
The surname and county of the entrants of Shortlisted Films and Winning Films will be disclosed to anyone who writes within one month after the date of the Short Film Screening and encloses a stamped addressed envelope, to Picturehouse following the instructions in the 'How to contact us' section below.
7. Intellectual Property Rights and Use of Entries
The names of entrants of the Shortlisted Films and assets from the Shortlisted Films (such as a text synopsis, clip, trailer or still) may be used by Picturehouse for marketing and promotional purposes including in any media such as on the Picturehouse website and its social media pages, in exhibitions, print, and digital media for the purposes of publicising or promoting Picturehouse Create or other Picturehouse offerings for a period unlimited in time and without further consent or payment.
Picturehouse does not claim any rights of ownership in your Film. As such, you or the relevant rights owner retains ownership of your Film and all rights therein and, although Picturehouse will be able to use entries for the Short Film Screening and publicity purposes as set out in these Terms, you will also have the right to use your Film.
Picturehouse does not guarantee to use any Film. Picturehouse may also, in appropriate circumstances, and at its sole discretion, reject, remove or not view Films that it considers may be legally or otherwise problematic.
You may not submit a Film on behalf of anyone else or in anyone else's name.
You warrant that your Film and all information which you submit or distribute in relation to your Competition entry, and Picturehouse's use in accordance with these Terms, will not infringe the intellectual property, privacy, or any other rights of any third party, and will not contain anything which is libellous, defamatory, obscene, indecent, harassing or threatening. In addition, you warrant that you have permission to use or feature any people, content or other material contained within your Film or submission. You agree to indemnify Picturehouse against any claims or damages, including reasonable attorney's fees incurred as a result of any third party claims arising from any breach of your warranty in this section 7.
8. Data Protection
All personal data which you provide to us in connection with your application and otherwise collected by us in connection with the Competition will be treated in line with Picturehouse Cinemas' Privacy Policy: www.picturehouses.com/privacy, and will only be used and shared for the purposes of as described in these Terms.
In particular:
Picturehouse is the data controller responsible for your personal information obtained in connection with your application and participation in the Competition and Short Film Screening, unless we advise otherwise.
Picturehouse will process, and permit the processing of, your personal data submitted by you or collected by us or on our behalf for the purposes of the Competition, your application to participate in the Competition and Competition marketing and for related record-keeping purposes. Please note that such materials, if published, may be visible to anyone who visits our websites, uses our apps, engages with our social media or receives our communications (including our e-newsletters), whether within or outside the United Kingdom.
It is in Picturehouse's legitimate interest to use and process your personal information in connection with your application to be part of and to participate in the Competition.
You have certain rights in relation to your personal data, including: to obtain copies of it; to have it corrected or deleted; to limit the way in which it is used; to object to its use; to transfer it; not to be subject to decisions based on automated processing (including profiling); and to complain to the regulator, the UK Information Commissioner's Office. You can find details about how to do this on their website at ico.org.uk/concerns or by calling their helpline on 0303 123 1113. Please note that many of these rights are not absolute and the extent to which they apply may vary depending on the circumstances and any exemptions that may apply
To exercise any of your data subject rights, please contact Picturehouse by one of the following methods found here: www.picturehouses.com/contact-us. The entrant may also contact our Data Protection Officer by email: dpo@cineworld.co.uk
9. Promoter and Promoter's Right
The promoter of the Competition is Picturehouse Cinemas Limited. Registered office: 8th Floor, Vantage London, Great West Road, Brentford, TW8 9AG. Picturehouse Cinemas reserves the right to (i) amend these Terms at any time and without notice, and (ii) terminate or suspend the submission process and Competition at any time due to circumstances beyond its control.
10. Exclusion
Anything not specified in these Terms as being included in the application process and / or Competition is excluded.
11. Limitation of Liability
Proof of submission of your entry will not be accepted as proof of delivery. Picturehouse shall bear no responsibility for any error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operation or transmission, communications line failure, theft, destruction, alteration of or unauthorised access to Films or related entries, or Films or entries lost, damaged or delayed as a result of server functions, technical issues, virus, bugs or other causes outside Picturehouse's control, or otherwise.
Entrants should note that Picturehouse does not accept responsibility for the safekeeping or return of any Films or submitted information or assets, including those consisting of artistic or other material.
You agree to the fullest extent allowed by applicable law to release and forever discharge Picturehouse Cinemas Limited and its affiliate companies, assigns and employees, and any entity or person connected with the Competition from and against any and all claims, demands, losses and liabilities of any nature whatsoever which may now or hereafter arise, including but not limited to any loss of enjoyment, costs, delays or other harm or loss of any nature whatsoever caused by, contributed to, or arising out of or in connection with the Competition entry process, Short Film Screening, the Prize and/or the Competition.
12. Jurisdiction
These Terms (and any related disputes) are subject to interpretation under the laws of England and Wales, and to the jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.
13. How to contact us
You can contact us in relation to the Competition by writing to: Picturehouse Create, Picturehouse Cinemas Limited, 7th Floor, St Vincent House, 30 Orange St, London WC2H 7HH or by emailing dan.green@picturehouses.co.uk with 'the Picturehouse Create Short Film Competition' in the subject header.
Last updated 16 January 2025
