Sunrise Film Festival | Lowestoft

The boring, but important stuff (Terms & Conditions):

Please note that all submissions entered must have been made and produced or submitted to each submission category's requirements, and the total runtime must not exceed that displayed in the category.

For screening films that meet accessibility requirements, we prefer burned-in subtitles.

Student categories are locked to student submissions only. If you're a student having trouble submitting to one of these categories, please reach out to us via Instagram or email.

The same film may be entered into more than one of our categories, but each category requires an entry fee (multiple-category submissions for one film will not affect your chances of being screened or nominated).

Terms and Conditions
The Sunrise Film Festival is held in person in a coastal setting across several locations in Lowestoft, Suffolk, United Kingdom, each August.

Awards and Judging panel

Officially selected entries chosen by the screening committee will be screened as part of the 2026 film festival programme, and industry professionals will form our jury, to choose who our winners are from our shortlisted nominees for each category.

All final decisions on any winners is made by the jurors.

By submitting an entry/entries to Sunrise Film Festival, you agree to have read and accepted the following Terms and Conditions for participation as follows below.

Eligibility and Submission Procedure
Only films registered and submitted through FilmFreeway will be considered for selection; it is our only submission method. No Postal entries will be accepted, nor will digital transfers be sent via email.

For accessibility purposes, all films require English subtitles, preferably burned into the film at the time of transfer.

We do not have a premiere policy for Sunrise Film Festival.

We are unable to accept rough cuts or newer versions of previously submitted films once you have entered a category (although you may update your film file or embedded content already submitted via FilmFreeway). No refunds will be offered if you do not adhere to the rules outlined here.

*Proof of registered student status may be required for some categories and to receive the student submission fees.

Exclusions of an entry fee may be valid; for full details, visit https://sunrisefilmfestival.co.uk/submissions/

Entry fees are payable only through the FilmFreeway platform upon submission.

In the event of circumstances beyond the control of the festival organisers (such as natural disasters, viral/bacterial pandemics, etc.), every effort will be made to pause, postpone, or amend the festival so that it still goes ahead in some form. We will never cancel the festival unless we can rearrange it. In such circumstances, no refunds will be issued, as submission fees will be used to continue planning the festival at a different place or time.

We'd suggest that the content in motion pictures submitted to SFF is in line with the BBFC's 18 Age rating. You can find the full specifications on their website - https://www.bbfc.co.uk/rating/18.

Intellectual Property and Copyright
Films that are submitted to Sunrise Film Festival must be the entrant’s original work and must not infringe on anyone's legally binding copyright or any other rights of any third parties.

Contestants agree that they have obtained all required releases and copyright permissions regarding music, sound, images, and all other materials used in their film that are not solely owned by the entrant themselves or other royalty-free non-copyright material.

The permission of a parent or legal guardian is required if any person appearing in any motion picture is under the age of 16.

We reserve the right to require appropriate proof of ownership of usage rights of any material and to deny admission or withdraw work from the competition if for any reason the work appears to expose it to any actual or potential damage to the reputation, risk of legal proceedings or enforcement including, without limitation, the alleged breach of third-party intellectual property rights to Sunrise Film Festival.

All enquiries regarding copyright will be referred to the entrant.

Press and Publicity
By submitting a work to our Festival, you consent to Sunrise Film Festival using the whole of or any part of the work for publicity purposes, including and not limited to marketing on our website, posters, leaflets, social media, and for press and festival brochure purposes.

If your film is selected, we will require digital images and other press/publicity materials so your work and the festival can be promoted online and in print.

Digital press packs can be uploaded with submissions via FilmFreeway, and we strongly recommend you do this.

For the best publicity, we recommend you include at least the following:
• Your film (with embedded subtitles)
• A trailer (where possible, if you haven't got a post for your film, we recommend prioritising that over a trailer)
• A poster for your film (300dpi)
• A 100-word synopsis of your film
• At least 3 stills from the film (at least 800px wide and 300dpi)
• A director’s statement (max 500 words)
• At least 3 photos of the director/behind the scenes (at least 800px wide and 300dpi)
Please do not send hard copies as we are not able to store them (unless we specifically request them).

Selection of nominated films
The selection will be carried out by the Sunrise Film Festival judging/screening panel. No correspondence will be entered into regarding the selection process, and the decision of the festival judging panel is final.

We will aim to inform successful entrants at the earliest convenience. Due to the volume of entries, we are unable to offer individual feedback on work, but we will always ensure that all entries receive their final decision within a minimum time.

If your film is selected as a nominee, you will be contacted by Sunrise Film Festival with an invitation to our festival awards ceremony. All nominated films will be screened alongside shortlisted titles during the festival dates.

No film may be withdrawn from the festival programme after its participation has been publicised and you have been announced as a shortlisted title or Nominee, and refunds will not be given.

Successful submissions will be listed on the Sunrise Film Festival website, sunrisefilmfestival.co.uk, booking system, on our social platforms, and successful applicants will be notified by FilmFreeway and email.

Please make sure the contact information you provide on FilmFreeway is completely accurate when submitting your film, so we can reach you during the decision-making process.

Please note that if we are unable to contact you, your film will be removed from the festival line-up with immediate effect.

Acceptance
By submitting your film through FilmFreeway, you accept that, if selected, your work may be shown at the Sunrise Film Festival.

Festival Announcements
Invitations to participate and the official selection for the Film Festival award categories must remain confidential until the programme is publicly announced by Sunrise Film Festival.

The scheduling and screening times and the announcement of these are the sole responsibility of Sunrise Film Festival and may be subject to change at short notice. Failure to comply with this requirement will result in exclusion from the official selection.

Screenings and Scheduling
Screenings will always take place at the discretion of the festival, and we reserve the right to make changes to the advertised schedule at any time for any reason, and will not accept liability for any costs incurred as a result of such changes.

No film may be withdrawn from the Sunrise Film Festival programme by its submitter after its selection and participation have been confirmed, and the festival cannot cover the costs of any format transfers or subtitling.

Sunrise Film Festival reserves the right to make all decisions relating to the festival, including the official selection of films, awarding of prizes and scheduling.

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