Rules & Terms
JAGRAN FILM FESTIVAL 2026 starts in Delhi on 20th August, 2026 (Delhi and 12 editions) and ends in Mumbai on 1st November, 2026 will have the following competitive sections:
• Indian Showcase - Competition for Indian Feature Films produced in all Indian languages/ dialects
• Stars on the horizon- Competition for Indian Debut Directors
• Short is Sweet - International Competition for Short Films
• Short is Sweet - Indian Competition for Short Films
• World Panorama - Competitive section for Best International feature films
• Web Series, OTT Original Films (OTT) Award – Jagran Film Festival
Recognizing the rapid evolution of storytelling and the growing impact of OTT platforms, Jagran Film Festival introduces the Best Web Series (OTT) Award to celebrate compelling, original, and culturally relevant digital content.
ELIGIBILITY-Feature Films
Minimum Duration 72 mins
Films made between 15th September 2025 to 30th June 2026 are eligible for participation in the festival across 13 cities except Mumbai & for Mumbai, the films made between 1st July 2026 to 10th September 2026
Web series released between 16th September 2025 and 30th June 2026
For Mumbai screenings:
Web series released between 1st July 2026 and 10th September 2026
Eligibility Criteria: The web series must be originally created and released on an OTT platform. Must be available in any language, with English subtitles
• Only one season per series can be submitted
• All episodes of the submitted season must be available for public viewing
The submitted season must: Have a minimum total runtime of 180 minutes
Include at least 3 episodes, each episode must be 25 minutes or longer
Ineligible Content: The following will not be considered:
• Content originally released in theatres or television before OTT release
• Dubbed, remade, re-edited, or derivative versions of existing content Trailers, promos, reality shows, or non-narrative compilations
TERMS & CONDITIONS
1. INDIAN SHOWCASE ( INDIAN LANGUAGES) – is a competitive section for feature films produced and certified in India.
• Films entered in the Competition Section must fulfill the following conditions:
. Films must be Feature Films / Short Films/Advertising Films/ International Feature
. They must have been completed between 16th September 2025 to 30th June 2026
are eligible for participation in the festival across 13 cities except Mumbai and For Mumbai, the films made between 1st July 2026 to 10th September 2026.
. Eligibility period will be determined by the Censorship certificate by CBFC India. For films produced outside India, a certification by relevant Film Board of the country or attestation by the relevant Embassy in India would suffice.
All films produced in India should have certification by Central Board of Film Certification or either should have completed the production as per the festival's eligibility period.
For international films, Jagran Secretariat will obtain Censorship Exemption from Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India, New Delhi. In the case of co-productions, at least one of the producers/production companies must have the right to sanction the participation of the film in the competition section of the Festival and the authority to receive an award, if any, is won.
Entrants must agree that if their film/films win any of the Jagran Film Festival
Awards, all screenings thereafter will acknowledge the Award(s) on the film itself.
• Entries will be subject to preview by a committee constituted by the Directorate of
Jagran Film Festival. A film which is not accepted for the Competition Section may be
screened in the Jagran Film Festival with the consent of the entrant in different sections of the festival.
• The films should be submitted only on MP4/MOV formats with English subtitles via Filmfreeway or Downloadable Links.
Only digital DCPs along with English subtitles to be submitted for festival screenings.
• The Jury for the Competition Feature and Non Feature will consist of a Chairman and not less than two and not more than four other members.
• The decisions of the Jury shall be taken by a simple majority of the members present and voting. The Jury shall have the authority to determine its own procedures for the assessment of entries. Representatives of the Directorate of Jagran Film Festival may attend the Jury deliberations; however, they shall not participate in the decision-making process or have any voting rights.
• No person in any way connected with the production or commercial exploitation of a competitive entry will be a member of the jury. All Members of the jury will refrain
from releasing any articles or reviews to the press concerning the films submitted
for their judgment, until after the jury's decisions have been formally announced at
the closing function.
2. NOTICE OF PARTICIPATION
• Entrants would be notified of the selection/rejection of the film by 30th July 2026 for Delhi and 12 cities. For Mumbai, applicants would be notified by 6th October 2026 by the Directorate of the Jagran Film Festival.
3. ENTERING FILMS IN THE FESTIVAL
• Film Producers, Distributors their duly authorized representatives or duly authorized government organizations / agencies of the participating countries may
enter their films for the International Competition for feature films, Thematic,
Indian Classic, Indian – Competitive, Animated, Films by Debut Directors, Short Films in the Entry Form.
• The Directorate of Jagran Film Festival may also invite films if it considers them of interest.
4. PRINT MATERIAL
Shortlisted films Print (screening material) in the form of online DCP for the screening must reach the Festival office through Qubewire on or before 2 August, 2026 for all cities except for Mumbai Screening for which the last date is 05th October, 2026 (A separate call for entry will be opened on 1st July 2026 for Mumbai screening).
Final screening material must comply with technical standards specified by SMPTE for screening at International Film Festivals.
The title(s) of the film(s) sent, shipping details including the dates of dispatch and the air consignment number must be e-mailed to the Directorate of Jagran Film Festival.
DCPs should ideally be submitted online through Qubewire and in rare case through air freight/couriered directly to the Directorate of Jagran Film Festival at the address given in these regulations.
5. FREIGHT AND OTHER CHARGES
• The DCP should be sent “freight pre-paid” i.e. at senders cost.
• The Directorate of Jagran Film Festival will not bear freight or any other charges for
unsolicited films, Videos, DCPs sent to it, if these are not selected for screening in the Festival.
• Publicity material/Press Kit and backup file must be sent digitally through FilmFreeway or Online Drive etc. on or before the content delivery date that is 30th July 2026 for Delhi & 30th September for Mumbai.
6. SUBTITLING
• Films will normally be screened in their original language/version. Films in all languages must have subtitles in English. Films that arrive without subtitles, or with
subtitles other than in English, where such subtitles are enquired, may not be considered for preview and also will also NOT BE SCREENED in the FESTIVAL.
7. SCREENING
• All films screenings at Jagran Film Festival would either be certified by Central Board of Film Certification, India or have obtained exemption under Section 9 of
Cinematograph Act, 1952. In case of International Films Jagran Film Festival will get
the approvals for exemption of certification from the Ministry of Broadcasting.
Their should not be any preview watermark or any other watermark on the screening material of film provided for festival screening, failing which the film will not be screened.
• The accepted films may be shown in some of the other 13 cities (specified in Point1), by the Directorate of Jagran Film Festival.
• The Festival proposes a maximum of three screenings per film, in line with FIAPF regulations for non-competitive and competitive specialised festivals. Any additional screenings, if required, will be communicated to the submitter in advance.
9. The Directorate of Jagran Film Festival reserves the right to exclude films which are not in conformity with aims of the Festival, or which could offend the national
feelings, sensibilities of communities and susceptibilities of any participating
country or are likely to promote racial discrimination.
10. GENERAL
• Classroom, Preview Marks and Demo films are not eligible for participation in any section.
• Films not presenting sufficient technical qualities for good public screening can be refused after checking digital DCPs by the Print Checking Unit of the Directorate of
Jagran Film Festival.
• The participants must ensure that they have the right to participate in Jagran Film Festival of India with regard to parties connected with the production / distribution
of the participating film and / or other right holders/licenses.
• Participation in the Festival implies acceptance of these Regulations.
• The Directorate of Jagran Film Festival will decide all matters not expressly provided
for in these regulations but in conformity with the provisions of the International
Regulations for film festivals and decision of The Directorate of Jagran Film Festival shall be final and binding on all parties.
Applicants are requested to read the complete submission guidelines carefully before applying. The Directorate of Jagran Film Festival shall not be held responsible for any loss of content, submission material, or participation. All entries will be shortlisted for screening and/or competition by a Preview Panel, and the final selection of award winners will be made by the Jury in Mumbai.
DCP Specifications & Submission:
For encrypted DCPs, it is mandatory to provide valid Key Delivery Messages (KDMs) for playback. The KDMs must be issued for all server certificates to be used during the festival and remain valid for the entire duration of the festival.
All DCPs will undergo a Quality Check (QC) by the technical team prior to public screening. In the case of encrypted DCPs, separate KDMs must also be provided to facilitate the QC process.
DCP Information & Technical Specifications
Applicants are required to fill and submit the attached DCP Information Sheet along with their screening material.
Technical Specifications:
a. Encoding: JPEG2000 (J2K) Interop/SMPTE DCP
b. Image Resolution: Up to 4096 × 2160
c. Frame Rate: 24 fps (2D) and 48 fps (3D)
d. Audio: Mono / Stereo / 5.1 / 7.1 channels
e. Subtitles: CineCanvas (XML/PNG) or burned-in subtitles (mandatory for films with non-English audio)
f. It is recommended to submit an unencrypted digital DCP via Qubewire
For any technical queries, please contact:
jagranfftechnical@gmail.com
12. CORRESPONDENCE AND SHIPPING ADDRESS
Note: By submitting a film, the applicant is deemed to have read, understood, and agreed to abide by all the Terms & Conditions of the Jagran Film Festival 2026.
All correspondence, publicity materials, hard drive DCPs, and film prints should be addressed to:
Jagran Film Festival
Jagran Prakashan Limited
50, Okhla Industrial Estate, Phase III
New Delhi – 110020
Email:
Submission/Festival Queries: programming.jff@gmail.com
Technical Queries: jagranfftechnical@gmail.com
Tel: +91 11 3082 0300
WhatsApp: +91 92116 65766
13. Disqualification
Any act of interference, undue influence, or concealment directed at members of the Jury or festival personnel shall result in immediate disqualification of the entry, without prior notice.
IF YOUR FILM/SERIES HAS BEEN SUBMITTED TO THE PREVIOUS EDITIONS, IT WILL BE NOT ELIGIBLE FOR THE CURRENT EDITION.
Disclaimer:
All rules and guidelines are subject to change at the discretion of the Festival Directorate.
