South Asian Film Festival of America

RULES & TERMS

***The 2023 edition of SAFFA will be digital! Please note all films will be screened on a protected platform online and you will be able to guide audience size and location for your film screening(s)***

2023 South Asian Film Festival of America Festival Rules and Regulations:

SAAFA is delighted to announce that for 2023, all Films & Media selected for the Festival will be In-Competition.

Please note it is not a requirement to have South Asian countries and content represented in certain categories. Please read below to gauge your eligibility.

By submitting your Films & Media on FilmFreeway, you accept that this document has been read and understood. If you have any questions, please contact us at programming@saffa.com

Film Submission Categories:
1. Short Film (Film runtime should not exceed 20 minutes)
2. Web Series (Web Series should have a minimum of 5 episodes)
3. Music Video (Video runtime should not exceed 10 minutes)
4. Feature Film (Film runtime should be a minimum of 60 minutes)

Eligibility Criteria For ALL Films & Media:
All Films and Media being submitted to SAFFA must meet the criteria below along with their Category requirements, listed above.

1. For the 2023 Festival, SAFFA will not accept films that were completed prior to January 1st, 2019.

2. All Films & Media must present South Asian content, topics, themes, or have South Asian heritage within the team (Producer, Director, Screenwriter, Composer, Actor).

3. Countries classifying as "South Asian" include Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Iran and Tibet.

4. Films & Media that contain non-English spoken dialogue must provide on-screen English subtitles.

5. The official SAFFA Film format is a soft format

6. If you are submitting Films/Media that was previously declined by SAFFA, then it will only be reconsidered by programming if considerable changes have been made to the film since its last submission attempt. Resubmission of the same film will not be approved and all fees are non-refundable.

Film Submission Process:
Please follow the details below in order to submit your Film:

1. All Films & Media submissions must be submitted via FilmFreeway, a safe and secure platform to upload and stream your film. When submitting, you must provide a link with a download option. It is the sole responsibility of the Film’s applicant to provide ALL information asked during the registration process via FilmFreeway. Link included below.

2. The submission will only be considered complete once all included fields are completed. If there are any issues with your application, SAFFA will notify you by email.

3. An application will only be considered eligible for SAFFA once a complete submission kit has been submitted. Along with the above requirements, a complete submission kit must include the following:
a. Synopsis, language, length, year, country of origin, screening format, cast & crew credits, filmmaker picture and biography
b. Online media screener of the Films & Media

On selection the following will be required (but not limited to):
a. Posters & postcards for display
b. Press Kit with film stills, reviews
c. Online Trailer of the Film (up to 1 minute)

4. The applicant is responsible for all required mailing costs and will provide an ideal print in the requested Film format.

5. Due to the high volume of emails and submissions, SAFFA will not accept any requests for fee waivers.

6. Submissions must include a valid Student ID to qualify for a Student Fee.

7. All submitted work is FINAL and updates can not be made once your submission is complete. Please ensure the work that you submit is work that you want to have screened to the SAFFA Programming team and the Festival audience.

8. If your submission is selected, please have any of the following submission formats ready to send to us for the screening...
- HD Digital files (all formats accepted)
- DVD
- Blu-Ray
- DCP

SAFFA Festival REGULATIONS:

1. SAFFA reserves the right to disqualify any submission that does not meet the stated requirements.

2. SAFFA does not provide comments or feedback regarding the submitted Film to the Applicant or any other representative of the submitted Film.

3. Upon selection into the Festival, withdrawal of the film is not permissible.

4. SAFFA holds the right to determine the eligibility of any new or previously submitted film. In the event the film is deemed ineligible, SAFFA is under no obligation to refund
any or all submission fees previously collected from the applicant.

5. It is the sole responsibility of the Applicant to secure clearance from the copyright holders of any copyrighted materials included within the submitted Film. SAFFA or SAFFA sponsors will not be held responsible for the unauthorized inclusion of any copyrighted materials within or relating to the submitted Film.

6. It is the Applicant’s responsibility to read and understand the Legal Terms & Conditions below, which are in place to protect both the Festival and the Filmmaker. By submitting your film on FilmFreeway, you are stating that you have read the Legal Terms & Conditions which follow.

LEGAL TERMS & CONDITIONS
I, the authorized representative of the project being submitted (the "Film"), acknowledge and agree as follows in connection with the Film's submittal for consideration for the SAFFA Festival (the “Festival”):

1. I represent that I am 18 years of age or older, or that, if I am younger than the legal age to enter into contracts in my state/country, I have provided the Festival with a written consent from my parent or legal guardian.

2. I hereby represent and warrant to the Festival that: (a) I am duly authorized, on my own behalf and on behalf of all other persons or entities who have any ownership rights or interests (including, without limitation, intellectual property rights) in or relating to the Film (the “Film’s Owners”), to exhibit this Film at the Festival, (b) exhibition of the Film at the Festival will not violate any law or any right or consent of any person or entity; and (c) the Film is not subject to any litigation, arbitration, or other adversarial claim or proceeding, nor is the Film the subject of any threat of litigation, arbitration, or other adverse claim or proceeding.

3. I further represent and warrant, on behalf of myself and the Film’s Owners, that the exhibition of the Film at the Festival will not violate or infringe any copyright, patent, privacy right, publicity right, trademark, service mark or any other personal or property right of any person or entity, and that the Film does not constitute or include a defamation of any person or entity. I have paid and will pay in full all license fees, clearance fees, and other obligations, of any kind, arising from or associated with the exhibition of the Film at or in connection with the Festival.

4. In the event that the Film is accepted by the Festival, I acknowledge, on behalf of myself and the Film’s Owners, that the Festival's exhibition or presentation of the Film does not and will not create any confidential or fiduciary relationship between the Festival on the one hand and myself and/or the Film’s Owners on the other. I further acknowledge, on behalf of myself and the Film’s Owners, that I and we understand that neither I nor any of the Film’s Owners will receive any compensation for such exploitation. I acknowledge that no obligation of any kind is assumed by, or may be implied against SAFFA in the event of, by virtue of, or as a result of the Festival’s selection of the Film. I and the Film’s Owners understand and acknowledge that the selection of the Film by the Festival does not and will not in any way constitute an express or implied endorsement or approval by SAFFA, of the content of the Film or any opinion expressed therein.

5. I agree, on behalf of myself and each of the Film’s Owners, to indemnify and hold harmless the Festival and SAFFA together with each of their parents, subsidiaries, affiliates, parents, officers, directors, employees, attorneys, creative advisors, agents and representatives (collectively, “SAFFA Related Parties”) from and against any and all claims, losses, liabilities, damages, fees and expenses (including, but not limited to, reasonable attorney's fees and other costs) that may be asserted by any person or entity or may be incurred by the Festival or any SAFFA Related Parties at any time in connection with the Film or the Festival’s use thereof, and/or arising from any breach or alleged breach of any representation made by me to SAFFA including, without limitation, any express or implied representation in these Terms and Conditions.

6. In the event that the Film is accepted by the Festival, I hereby grant, on behalf of myself and each of the Film’s Owners, each of the following rights to the Festival and their related entities without reservations, conditions or qualifications: (a) the right to use footage, stills and/or titles, and information from or relating to the Film for promotional purposes; and (b) the right to issue and authorize publicity concerning the filmmakers and the Film and to use all associated names, likenesses and biographical information. I also agree to provide contact information for the director and producer(s) of the Film and to grant the Festival the right to provide this information to film industry organizations sponsoring Festival events at its discretion.

7. I further agree, on behalf of myself and each of the Film’s Owners, that any claim, dispute or controversy arising out of, in connection with, or otherwise related to the Film, the Festival, or these Terms and Conditions (including the breach, termination, enforcement, interpretation or validity thereof), as well as the determination of the scope or applicability of this agreement to arbitrate, will be governed by the internal, substantive laws of the State of Illinois and will be submitted to exclusive, binding arbitration before an arbitration forum in Chicago, Illinois. In agreeing to this exclusive arbitration provision, I hereby waive and relinquish, on behalf of myself and each of the Film’s Owners, any right or entitlement that I or the Film’s Owners might otherwise have had to bring or litigate any claim or claims encompassed by this paragraph in federal or state court against the Festival, or any SAFFA Related Party, and any right to a trial by jury with respect to such claim or claims.

8. I hereby acknowledge that I have read and understood the rules and regulations for submitting a film to the Festival and that the information contained shall supersede any information obtained elsewhere, including, but not limited to, information contained in any rules and regulations documents from prior years.

9. It is the sole responsibility of the Applicant to secure authorization and permission from the copyright owner(s) of any and all copyrighted content or materials included within the submitted Film. The Institute expressly disavows any responsibility for, and will not be held responsible for, any unauthorized inclusion of any copyrighted content or materials within or relating to the submitted Film, including any content or materials that are or may become the basis for any third party claims for copyright infringement. The Institute reserves the right to disqualify, without refund of any or all submission fees previously collected from the Applicant, any Film with any unauthorized inclusion of copyrighted content or materials. In the event that any claim, dispute, action or proceeding shall be brought or asserted by any person or entity that alleges that the Film makes unauthorized or unlawful use of any copyrighted content or material, Applicant shall fully indemnify and defend the Institute, the Festival, and each of their representatives and affiliates from any liability in connection therewith and from any fees and expenses, including but not limited to attorney's’ fees, that any of them may incur in connection therewith.

10. It is the sole responsibility of the Applicant to clear all content of the Film from any and all actual or potential legal claims and issues, including, without limitation, claims based upon theories of libel, defamation, invasion of privacy, violation of rights of publicity, theft of trade secrets, breach of confidence, breach of confidential relationship, and breach of express or implied contract (“Third Party Claim(s)”). The Institute expressly disavows any responsibility for, and will not be held responsible for, any unauthorized inclusion of any content or materials within or relating to the submitted Film that are or may be the basis for any Third Party Claims based upon any of the foregoing legal theories or others. The Institute reserves the right to disqualify, without refund of any or all submission fees previously collected from the Applicant, any Film that is or may become the subject of any Third Party Claims. In the event that any Third Party Claim(s) shall be asserted by any person or entity, Applicant shall fully indemnify and defend the Institute, the Festival, and each of their representatives and affiliates from any liability in connection therewith and from any and all fees and expenses, including but not limited to attorney's’ fees, that each of any of them may incur in connection therewith.

By submitting my Film to SAFFA, I freely and voluntarily give and express my full and complete acceptance of all of the terms and provisions set forth in these Terms and Conditions. I acknowledge that no oral representations, inducements, promises or assurances, not set forth in these Terms and Conditions, have been made to the Film’s owners or me by the Festival, or any other Related Parties.