Welcome to Lonely Seal, the home of "stories aching to be told." Our 2023 festival is on October 4-8 in Arlington, MA (Boston).

Our roots are growing more robust in 2024, as in addition to the October 10-13 Arlington dates, we produce events in New York, Southern California, Atlanta, and Paris, France. We are also scheduling events at The Regent Theatre in Arlington, MA (Boston), throughout 2024, including helping to curate mid-week music-based gems.

We program fantastic features, shorts, documentaries, music-related and International content, LBGTQIA, and films on disabilities. We also champion women and Indigenous filmmakers and love great dramas, horrors, comedies, animation, and cause-based cinema.

Screenwriters, Playwrights, and Composers are also parts of our family, so if you have a story "aching to be told," we want to experience it.

Our events include screenings, panel discussions, live music, stage readings, screenwriting seminars, mixers, workshops, and career strategy sessions.

We are a multiple-time "Top 100 Festival" on FilmFreeway. We have 146 Five-Star Reviews from our first five festivals, with our sixth edition coming up on October 4-8, 2023. Our 146 Five-Star Reviews from creators like you, already plant us in the top 1% of festivals with the most Five-Star Reviews in the world.

We are also a sister company to Hourglass24.com, a new crowdfunding platform that laser-targets 24-hour crowdfunding campaigns, so let us know if we can help there.

Everyone here at Lonely Seal aims to help you blossom and continue to thrive in your career, so check out our reviews and send us your best stuff! Thank you for stopping by.

Awards & Prizes

Prizes & Key Dates

We look forward to experiencing your awesomeness!

GRAND PRIZE AWARD

Grand Prize – A showcase for cinema buyers at Cannes, one year of development advice, and one year of strategic financing and distribution advice. The Grand Prize includes a prominent placement on Hourglass24, our new crowdfunding platform.

* Our Grand Prize may be awarded to ANY FILMED PROJECT in our festival. 

FILM & DOCUMENTARY AWARDS:

Best Feature - Showcase for cinema buyers at Cannes, strategic advice, and prominent placement for one project on Hourglass24.

Best Short Film - Showcase for cinema buyers at Cannes, strategic advice, and prominent placement for one project on Hourglass24.

Best Documentary Feature - Showcase for cinema buyers at Cannes, strategic advice, and prominent placement for one project on Hourglass24.

Best Documentary Feature - Showcase for cinema buyers at Cannes, strategic advice, and prominent placement for one project on Hourglass24.

Best LBGTQIA Film (Feature or Short ) - Showcase for cinema buyers at Cannes, strategic advice, and prominent placement for one project on Hourglass24.

Best Indigenous Film (Feature or Short) - Showcase for cinema buyers at Cannes, strategic advice, and prominent placement for one project on Hourglass24.

Best Film Accessible Film - Stories About Disabilities - (Feature or Short) - Showcase for cinema buyers at Cannes, strategic advice, and prominent placement for one project on Hourglass24.

Best International Film (Feature or Short) - Showcase for cinema buyers at Cannes, strategic advice, and prominent placement for one project on Hourglass24.

SCREENPLAY AWARDS

Grand Prize Screenplay Winner - A showcase for cinema buyers at Cannes, one year of development advice, and one year of strategic financing and distribution advice. Prominent placement for one project on Hourglass24.

Best Feature Film Screenplay - Showcase for cinema buyers at Cannes, strategic advice, and prominent placement for one project on Hourglass24.

Best Short Screenplay - Showcase for cinema buyers at Cannes, strategic advice, and prominent placement for one project on Hourglass24.

Best Teleplay - Showcase for cinema buyers at Cannes, strategic advice, and prominent placement for one project on Hourglass24.

MUSIC AWARDS

Best Music Video - Showcase for cinema buyers at Cannes, strategic advice, and prominent placement for one project on Hourglass24.

Best Song -  Showcase for cinema buyers at Cannes, strategic advice, and prominent placement for one project on Hourglass24.

Best Composition - Showcase for cinema buyers at Cannes, strategic advice, and prominent placement for one project on Hourglass24.

KEY DATES

Submissions open on July 28, 2023.
The early bird submission deadline is November 30, 2023.
The regular submission deadline is April 30, 2024.
The late submission deadline is May 31, 2024.
The extended deadline is June 21, 2024.

All selections for our Arlington, MA (Boston) festival will be notified by June 30, 2024.

Our festival is from October 10-13, 2024, at the Regent Theatre in Arlington, MA, and our festival dates for New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta, and Paris will be posted here soon.

Winners will be announced on Sunday, October 13, 2024, at our awards ceremony.

Good Luck!

Rules & Terms

FILM FESTIVAL RULES & REGULATIONS

-- Competition is open to U.S. and International entries.

-- Entries must not have been publicly shown before 2023. 

- For our Arlington, MA (Boston) Festival, preference is given to Boston Premieres.

-- Entries must be submitted online through FilmFreeway.

-- You may submit multiple entries but must fill out a separate entry form and pay an entry fee for each.

LIABILITY
Every possible care will be taken with entries while in our possession; however, we cannot accept responsibility for loss, damage, or additional charges incurred en route or due to normal wear and tear or due to equipment failure. Additionally, Lonely Seal International Film and Screenplay Festival are held harmless from any and all claims, liabilities, losses, damages, and expenses which may be incurred by reason of any claim involving copyright, trademark, credits, publicity, or screening of any film.

THE FOLLOWING MUST ACCOMPANY YOUR ENTRY

-- Entry fee (must be paid online).

--3-Line Synopsis. 

--Feature Films: Please include no more than a 250-word synopsis (may be used for Festival Program and website).

--Accepted entries must submit at least one web-ready still at 72dpi and 560x315 pixels.

SCREENWRITING CONTEST RULES & REGULATIONS

All entries are eligible to win the top prizes.

Employees (and their immediate families) of The Lonely Seal International Film and Screenplay Festival and any of their respective parents, affiliates, subsidiaries, and advertising and promotion agencies or festival sponsors are not eligible to win.

There is no limit on the number of screenplays you can submit; however, each screenplay must be submitted separately and accompanied by its own completed submission form.

Feature Film Screenplays must be between 70-120 pages in English, and submitted in proper script format.

By submitting the material, the applicant hereby agrees to indemnify, hold harmless, and defend the festival & its employees from any liability, claims, and damages in connection with the submission and from any fees and expenses, including but not limited to reasonable attorneys' fees, that any of them may incur in connection therewith.

I/We understand that failure to adhere to the competition rules and regulations will result in disqualification and forfeiture of the entry fee.

I/We agree to hold the Lonely Seal International Film, Music, and Screenplay Festival harmless from and defend them against all claims, demands, losses, damages, judgments, liabilities, and expenses (including attorney’s fees) arising out of or in connection with any and all claims of third parties, whether or not groundless, based on any music video, advertisement, film or media submitted to the Festival.

146 Reviews
Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Sai Karan Talwar

    I am very grateful that my feature script 'Colorado Caliber' was selected to be in the 2022 edition. Thank you for your support and I look forward to sharing more projects in the future!

    January 2023
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  • Javier Prato

    This festival was like no other, it really felt like being part of a family. All the films were truly of the highest caliber.

    November 2022
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  • Luca Mannea

    Incredible Film Festival, so proud to have gotten an Official Selection with my short script "Poor Little Boy". Unfortunately I couldn't be in Boston because I don't live in the US, I would've really loved to, the experience would've been awesome! Highly recommended, guys :)

    November 2022
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  • Joseph Graves

    The best festival experience I have had, and this includes having won a number of awards at over a dozen other festivals as well as interactions with and selections by many others. Living in China, timely communications are sometimes difficult and Hammad was diligent and thorough and most generous in connecting with me by phone in China and keeping me updated about festival events and my film's status. I very much regret that pandemic-related circumstances prevented me from attending the festival in person. I highly recommend this festival to any and all who wish their film work to be taken seriously and their projects to be handled with care and respect. A great experience for me, and a truly great film festival.

    October 2022
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  • Voices of Women

    Excellent service and advice, an extremely positive experience all round for us to be honoured to be involved.

    October 2022
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