New Jersey Film Awards

By submitting your film to the New Jersey Film Awards the individual or corporation submitting the film hereby warrants that it understands and accepts these requirements, rules and regulations:

- We accept short and feature films that are fiction, non-fiction, experimental, animated, music videos, and web series/TV pilots.
- We do not accept pornography.
- Films completed on or after Jan 1, 2015 are eligible for consideration.
- We accept feature and short screenplays.
- You may have multiple entries and submit to multiple categories.
- Each entry and submission category must have its own submission fee.
- Entry fees are non-refundable.
- All international films must include English subtitles.
- Screenplays must be in English.
- Entrants confirm and warrant required legal authority to submit the entry to the festival and to use all music, images, and content in the entry.

All films and screenplays submitted are reviewed by the New Jersey Film Awards screening committee via private screening. If a film is selected to receive an award, the festival will contact the entrant by email.

The New Jersey Film Movie Awards is hereby granted the right to utilize an excerpt from any film submitted and accepted for exhibition on our site for promotional purposes. The individual or corporation submitting the film hereby warrants that it is authorized to commit the film for review, and understands and accepts these requirements and regulations. The Competition reserves the right to refuse entries. The undersigned shall indemnify and hold harmless New Jersey Film Awards from and against any and all claims, liabilities, losses, damages, and expenses (including but not limited to attorney’s fees, and costs of the court) which may be incurred by reason of any claim involving copyright, trademark, credits, publicity, screening, and loss of or damage to the screening videos entered. Entries will not be returned.

*We reserve the right to change the award categories at any time depending on the films submitted during a given month. We also reserve the right to change the category of a film submission or enter a film into additional categories if our screening committee deems it appropriate.

**Please include the actor, actress, or crew member names associated with each category submission in your cover letter. This helps ensure that all information published on our website and social media channels is accurate. Please note that once social media posts and awards videos are published, they cannot be edited.

***Projects in which generative AI serves as the primary creative medium—including the creation of substantial portions of the story, visuals, animation, performances, or audio—must be submitted to the Best AI Short category. These submissions will be evaluated alongside comparable AI-assisted work using appropriate judging criteria. Limited use of AI as a supporting production or post-production tool, such as voice enhancement, isolated artwork, editing assistance, or similar technical functions, does not automatically require submission to the Best AI Short category. The New Jersey Film Awards reserves the right to determine eligibility based on the extent and significance of AI's contribution to the finished project.