*Update*
This season, we have recieved a record amount of 3533 submissions from 122 countries and regions from across the globe, making this our most successful event ever. Due to the significant increase in submissions received, the original Notification date and event dates have been postponed. The current notification is set to be March 15th 2023, and the event date will be from April 19th, 2023 to April 28th, 2023. On April 28th award winning submissions will be announced, their respective filmmakers will be notified by the committee which we then will proceed with Award and prize transfers.. We apologize for any inconvenience this adjustment may cause. We will notify our contestants of any updates on submission status and preliminary results.

This year's festival is sure to be our biggest and best yet, with a stellar lineup of films from around the world. We've gathered an incredible selection of films from award-winning directors and emerging filmmakers. You'll have the opportunity to watch a variety of genres, including drama, comedy, horror, romance, and more! Plus, we'll be hosting special events throughout the festival to make it a truly unique experience. So don't miss out and join us for the Annual Film Festival – it's sure to be an unforgettable journey!

For this year we will be returning to an in-person viewing event, which will be hosted at the Meihodo Cultural Center in Kumamoto, Japan on the 28th of April. The screening admission is free of charge, and all participants of this festival and curious cinephiles are more than welcome to take part in the viewing event.

Thanks to everyone's support and participation, we have reached the maximum number of free submissions allowed by FilmFreeway. Therefore, as of December we will be charging $1.50 USD ($1.00 for Gold Members) per submission to comply with FilmFreeway's terms, all proceeds will go towards funding our award-winning creators to aid them in their up-and-coming projects.

This year MIYVMF includes three categories of short films:
Narrative films, Documentary Films, and Music Videos.

With a grand prize of $10,000 USD, this year we will be giving out a total of $37,000 USD worth of cash prizes and awards to the top contenders. In addition to the cash prizes given out to our finalists, top prize winners will be eligible to receive funding from the Meihodo Visual Media Foundation to produce a film project receiving up to $100,000 USD in technical support and funding, with opportunities to work with Academy award-winning producers and world-renowned figures within the film industry.

Top contenders will also have the option to showcase their films on our channel “Meihodo Corridor” an online viewing gallery that will be established on our main website, showcasing our top contending films to a broader audience among which are investors and industry figures within the Meihodo Network from across the globe including Academy Award winners who are seeking partnerships on upcoming projects. Besides providing investment opportunities, the Meihodo Corridor also serves to connect curated filmmakers from across the globe to provide technical support and networking opportunities.

Being the first film festival to incorporate the use of crypto technology, Cryptocurrencies and NFTs will remain a key component in this year’s MIYVMF. Trophies and Certificates will be minted as individual NFTs and presented to their respective winners, besides cash transfers, the option of cryptocurrency transfer will be available as well. We will also be providing the complimentary service of minting the winning film’s posters and stills into NFTs for our top contenders. This is a unique event that celebrates the power of digital art, the immersive worlds of metaverse technologies, and the creative potential of the blockchain-based non-fungible token (NFT). We are excited to explore the intersections of these cutting-edge technologies with film and video, both in terms of the content itself and the way it is shared, experienced, and monetized. This event will bring together industry professionals, creators, and innovators to share knowledge and collaborate on projects that push the boundaries of storytelling and digital art creation. We look forward to an exciting series of screenings, conversations, workshops, and more at Meihodo!

The 5th Meihodo International Youth Media Festival will be accepting submissions from October 1st, 2022, to December 31st, 2022, at 12:00 a.m. EST. Interested parties can find the film program by visiting the festival’s official website https://www.festival-meihodo.com/ and our exclusive submission portal on FilmFreeway:
https://filmfreeway.com/miyvmf

The three categories are Narrative films, Documentaries, and Music Videos.

For each of the categories, there will be:

Ten Nominations: each receives an award certificate
(qualified to compete for Golden, Silver, and Bronze prizes)

Meihodo Grand Prize: $10,000 and a certificate

One Gold Prize: $5,000, a certificate
Two Silver Prizes: $3,000 each receives a certificate
Three Bronze Prizes: $1,000, each receives a certificate

In addition to the cash prizes, chosen top contenders are eligible to receive up to $100,000 USD in funding from the Meihodo Foundation to co-produce future projects with Meihodo alumni members including academy award-winning producers and renowned figures within the film industry.

• Submitted films must not exceed the maximum runtime of 45 minutes (including credits).
• All Films must be submitted as online screeners via FilmFreeway (as described below).
• All non-English-language films will be required to provide content with English subtitles.
• All English-language films will be required to have closed captions in English, providing a transcription of spoken dialogue and a description of audio cues.
• Experimental and feature films that contain no Dialogue are required to have closed captions provided. Silent films require a closed caption stating that there is no audio.

For more details please check the Rules and Terms section below.

I. APPLICATION OF THESE TERMS & CONDITIONS

The following terms and conditions (the “Terms”) govern the submission of a film (the “Film”) to the Meihodo International Youth Visual Media Festival. (“MIYVMF”), through filmfreeway.com (“FilmFreeway”), for consideration for the 2022 MIYVMF (the “Festival”). To the extent that this document is inconsistent with any other document prepared by MIYVMF or anyone else, this document will take precedence. Any questions about these Terms should be directed to jh@meihodony.com

II. SUBMISSION AGREEMENT

1. By submitting a Film to MIYVMF consideration, the submitter (the “Applicant”) represents that they have (i) read, understood, and agreed to the Terms, and (ii) obtained consent from any and all owners, creators, writers, producers, and/or other authorized representatives or rights holders of the Film whose consent is required to submit the Film to MIYVMF (the “Film Owners”).
2. Submitted films must not exceed 45* minutes.
3. Filmmakers are responsible for sorting out the copyright on their own materials.
4. By submitting to us, you give us the right to screen your film for the entirety of the festival.
5. Nominations: These are all the films that have been nominated for an award in a category. Not all nominated films will be screened.
6. We may promote clips from your film on social media, based on the press kits you provide us with.
7. We retain the right to change the date and venue of the festival under special circumstances. All filmmakers will be informed about any changes through email and our online platforms.
8. We place no restrictions on your work in terms of premiere status or whether your work has been made available online.
9. We do not accept partial screeners, trailers, or screener links that require access other than password-protected links.
10. Any technical issues with the submitted films are 100% the responsibility of the filmmakers. If at the time of judging, your video file doesn’t work or doesn’t have English subtitles (if in a language other than English), it will be automatically rejected, without a refund. Please contact the festival team ASAP if there are any issues with the submission process, and a solution will be found.
11. If you have submitted your project in the previous year, please do not resubmit the same project to the current edition.
12 By submitting to us you agree to our terms and conditions and to receive marketing newsletters and discounts about film festivals in the form of emails. We will never sell your information to third parties.
13. Exhibition of winning films on our “Meihodo Corridor” will take place during and after the film festival for an indefinite amount of time, Films will only be showcased under the consent of the applicant, Exhibits may be taken down at the request of the applicant at any time.
14. Basic contact information such as a designated Email address, as well as a brief director bio, production region, etc. will be publicly displayed alongside the exhibited films on the Meihodo Corridor for introduction purposes. Changes to the provided information can be done by contacting the Meihodo committee.
15. Meihodo will solely be acting as a mediator between investors and filmmakers, providing a platform for networking. Interactions within the platform will be carried out at each engaging party’s discretion, Meihodo is not to be held liable for any consequences or disputes that may occur between involved parties.
16. During the transfer of prizes and awards, it is the submitting party applicant’s sole responsibility to provide us with the correct banking information and/or digital wallet ID depending on the chosen payment method. Failure to do so may result in transfer errors, MIYVMF is not responsible for reimbursement or recovery of the transferred fees and items.
17. We reserve the right to update our terms and conditions.
18. Acceptance of these regulations implies that you will abide by them in your dealings with the festival and that you are legally entitled to submit this film for consideration.

III. PROCESS FOR SUBMISSION

1. All Films submitted under these Terms must be submitted in accordance with the procedure outlined herein. MIYVMF may, but is not required to, disqualify, or reject any Film that is not submitted in this way.
2. To submit a Film for Festival consideration, an Applicant must: (a) complete the registration process at FilmFreeway and pay the required fee and provide to MIYVMF an online screener via FilmFreeway for review by MIYVMF programming staff. MIYVMF does not accept submissions in any other manner or format, including DVDs, content burned to Read/Write (RW) discs, Blu-ray discs, external online links, downloadable files, or trailers.
3. Applicants should test their online screeners thoroughly before submitting them, and ensure their online screener remains active on FilmFreeway until Feb 31, 2023. The Applicant has sole responsibility for ensuring that the submitted online screener plays in its entirety. If MIYVMF is unable to view the online screener, MIYVMF may attempt, but is under no obligation, to contact the Applicant to obtain a replacement online screener.
4. MIYVMF will not review multiple versions of a submitted Film. Only one version of the Film may be submitted. If multiple versions are submitted, MIYVMF cannot guarantee the newest version will be reviewed and may only view the version that was received first.
5. Screeners will not be returned.
6. MIYVMF is under no obligation to contact the Submitting Party should the Applicant not have adhered to the rules. Submission fees are non-refundable.

IV. SELECTION

1. MIYVMF will consider for inclusion in the Festival all eligible films that have been submitted by the above deadline and in accordance with these Terms. MIYVMF reserves the right to consider for inclusion in the Festival, and include in the Festival, films received at any time and through any means, channel, or process, including means, channels, or processes other than those outlined in these Terms. Nothing in these Terms or otherwise requires MIYVMF to select for Festival inclusion any of the Films submitted through the process outlined in these Terms.
2. All selection decisions are at the sole and absolute discretion of MIYVMF and are final and unreviewable. MIYVMF is not required to provide any feedback, comments, reasons, or any other information, regarding the selection or non-selection of any submitted Film or the process by which Films are or have been selected. MIYVMF is not responsible or liable for its selection decisions; for the contents of any internal comments or feedback regarding the Film that are or may be obtained from the Applicant or anyone else; for any communications by any representative of MIYVMF relating to the Film or the Festival selection process; for the manner in which the Film shall be, is, or was considered and reviewed; or for any failure on the part of the Festival to provide the Applicant or anyone else with information concerning MIYVMF’s consideration and/or review of the Film.
3. MIYVMF will notify by January 31st, 2023, all Applicants who have been selected to participate in the festival. MIYVMF will contact Applicants using the contact information provided in the FilmFreeway registration form. Applicants are responsible for providing correct and functional contact information. MIYVMF is not responsible for any failed attempts to contact Applicants using the contact information provided.
4. MIYVMF may consider active FilmFreeway submissions for auxiliary programming outside of Festival consideration, including, without limitation, other festivals and year-round programming conducted or organized by MIYVMF.

V. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY, LEGAL CLAIMS, AND INDEMNITIES

1. By submitting the film to MIYVMF, the Applicant and Film Owners (the “Submitting Parties”) hereby warrant and represent that: (i) the Film is wholly original and is not copied from and does not include any other work that is the subject of copyright or other protection, unless such work is in the public domain or the Submitting Parties have obtained any and all consents, releases, licenses, and other authorizations or waivers of any kind necessary for the inclusion or reproduction of any person, character, location, thing, trademark, sound recording, musical composition, or other work in the Film; (ii) the Film does not defame any person or violate the common law or statutory rights, including, without limitation, the rights of privacy and publicity or any other right of any person; (iii) the Film is not the subject of litigation or any dispute that may give rise to litigation; (iv) there are no agreements, nor will there be any agreements made subsequent to the date of this Film submission, that would or could have the effect of impairing the Submitting Parties’ ability to provide the Film as contemplated herein, or otherwise conflict with any provision of these Terms; and (v) the Submitting Parties have the full right, power, and authority to submit the Film to MIYVMF for Festival consideration, and to grant all of the rights granted hereunder and in the FilmFreeway registration form, including, without limitation, the right to screen the Film in Festival venues and/or digitally on MIYVMF’s online screening platform, and there is no prior obligation or impediment which would in any way impair or restrict the Submitting Parties from fully performing all obligations pursuant to the submission and these Terms.
2. The Submitting Parties agree to indemnify and hold harmless MIYVMF, its licensees, successors, and assigns, and its and their members, officers, directors, employees, agents, representatives, associates, volunteers, and affiliates (each, a “Releasee”), from any claim, suit, action, or other proceeding brought against a Releasee and from any losses, costs, or damages, including the Releasee’s full legal fees and costs, which it may have suffered or incurred or may suffer or incur, directly or indirectly based on, in connection with, or arising from the use and exhibition of the Film submitted by the Applicant, including, without limitation, the decision to exhibit or not exhibit the Film, which decision shall be in MIYVMF’s sole and absolute discretion, or the breach or alleged breach of any representation, warranty, or other agreement made by the Applicant in these Terms, or in the Applicant’s FilmFreeway registration form.
3. MIYVMF takes reasonable anti-piracy and security precautions. While in MIYVMF ‘s possession, all Films are securely stored and regularly inventoried. Access to Films is limited to MIYVMF staff who require access to screen and consider submissions. No duplication and loaning of Films are permitted.

VI. Other

1. MIYVMF reserves the right to rule, in its sole and absolute discretion, on cases and situations not foreseen by these Terms.

Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Kelvin Ke

    Great. This is an awesome one.

    May 2023
  • Matteo Occhipinti

    Pleased to be part of such a good and important Film Festival! Thanks for the nominee and for helping our short movie to reach a great number of people around the world.

    May 2023
  • Bishal Swargiary

    I am happy to be a part of this wonderful film festival. Good going.
    Cheers to cinema.

    May 2023
  • Meihodo Film Festival is one of the best festivals. What makes me happy is the music video I did "rasa madhura koot". It won 2nd in the Music Theme Video category. Thank you to those who are behind this festival.

    May 2023
  • Amanbek Azhymat

    The Meihodo International Youth Visual Media Festival is a great festival for a variety of projects that are shortlisted and shown at this festival. The team is quite close-knit and provides information to the contestants very quickly. Thanks to the festival for making me a part of its festival. And it's awesome.

    May 2023