The festival runs 3 competitions. Film, Scripts & Photography. Each competition has a different set of rules, which are outlined below.
Each Project must be accompanied by an entry form and entry Fee.
IMPORTANT: This year's Festival will be a blend of Venue & Online Presentations.
Please read all Rules & Terms before submitting.
SHORT FILMS
By entering your film to the 2023 Waterford International Film Festival you are agreeing to the rules outlined below and that your film could be presented in a venue and/or online.
Physical Screenings will be held in a venue in Waterford City.
Online Screenings will be subscriber-based/password protected.
No refunds will be issued if you do not wish to have your film presented online.
All films will be reviewed by the festival team/judges and their decisions are final & confidential.
Student Filmmakers must provide a valid student ID in their application form.
Selection/ Scheduling of all films screened at WIFF is entirely at the discretion of the Festival Team.
The festival reserves the right to amend these rules at any time.
Details on Venue and ONLINE screening formats are below.
1. All selected films whether they are presented in a venue and/or online will be considered for awards and will receive laurels.
2. Please provide a high-quality still image of your film, and a short summary, and feel free
to write us a cover letter or on the form to tell us more about your project.
3. Please submit to one category per film but you can let us know in the cover letter or on the form if it's a debut film from the director, writer or producer.
4. The Waterford International Film Festival will accept entries of all film genres less than 20 minutes (Not including closing credits)
Filmmakers worldwide can submit their work. Non-English language films must have English subtitles.
5. Films produced from January 2021 onward will be considered.
6. We do not screen web/new media. (For example marketing presentations).
Please contact director@waterfordfilmfestival.net if you wish to have a paid video ad screened during the festival.
SELECTION AND FORMATS
7. All entries will be viewed by the selection committee. The Festival will make no cuts or changes.
Festival selections will be announced on or before the 2nd of October 2023
All entrants will be notified by email of our final decisions.
Please CHECK your email regularly during the Notification period. If your film is selected for a venue screening we will need access to to download a 1080p HD copy of your film
Venue Screenings: We will be screening off a laptop and projector. We will need access to a 1080p HD mp4 file of your film.
ONLINE SCREENINGS
If your film is selected for an online screening the submitter will need to provide a 720p HD or 1080p HD mp4 file.
The submitter can provide the files by giving the festival access to download on FilmFreeway.com or send a downloadable link from wetransfer.com or dropbox. We ask you to please keep the files under 2.5 GB.
Whether your film is selected for a Venue Screening or ONLINE Screening, Please check that the video files are working correctly.
8. THE FESTIVAL DOES NOT PAY SCREENING FEES
9. Please note that No Fee Waivers will be given to the submitter. The Festival heavily relies on fees which go towards our operational costs.
10. COPYRIGHT: Filmmakers are responsible for securing all copyright clearances and music rights and waive rights to claim royalties from Waterford International Film Festival and our partners/sponsors for screening selected films.
11. The Waterford International Film festival has a small team and due to time restraints and the large number of submissions received, we are unfortunately not in a position to provide feedback.
12. Please make sure to fully fill out your form and include a logline/ short story summary and the main credits (Producer, Director, Writer), etc. If your short film is selected we will need this information for the event programs, website, etc.
13. Once a film is selected it cannot be retracted unless there is a suitable reason. Please email us directly but no refunds will be given.
14. If your film is selected for an online screening we would prefer if there were
no Geo-blocking restrictions for the selected films but we will try and accommodate, if possible.
15. Entry into the festival constitutes permission to exhibit your work at the 2023 Waterford Film Festival including the presentation of films in a physical venue and or on a virtual format/ video on-demand platform.
16. The Waterford International Film Festival is also hereby granted the right to utilise an excerpt from any film submitted and accepted for exhibition at the Festival for promotional purposes.
In relation to any of the online presentations, our online platform will have security.
However, the festival can not 100% guarantee possible illegal downloads and the submitter shall indemnify and hold harmless The Waterford International Film Festival and all of our sponsors/associates of such possible actions.
By entering your film for consideration for the 2023 Waterford International Film Festival, you authorise that your work is cleared for festival exhibition and accepts full legal responsibility for the intellectual property therein.
The application shall indemnify and hold harmless The Waterford International Film Festival, employees, and all of our sponsors/associates of said entities 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 of films entered.
By submitting your film on filmfreeway.com you are agreeing to all of these rules.
SCREENPLAY COMPETITION
By submitting the online form below or on filmfreeway.com you are agreeing to these rules.
The Waterford Film Festival Short Screenplay Competition is open to people from any nationality and from any country.
Submission fees must be paid. Entries that do not include a fee will not be considered.
This competition will have 2 Rounds( please see the awards section for info).
Up to 70 semi-finalists will be selected and presented with Official Laurels.
From these semi-finalists, up to 20 finalists will be selected. Please see our awards section for a breakdown of prizes. The overall winners will be selected from the finalist's list and announced on the last day of the festival.
Round 1: Semi-Finalists will be notified on or before the official notification date.
Round 2: Finalists will be notified on or before October 25th.
Screenplays must be written in English. The screenplay must not be less than three pages and not exceed fifteen pages. The cover is not included.
All genres will be considered. Screenplays must be submitted on official platforms either on
The Waterford International Film Festival site or on Filmfreeway and Only send PDF OR WORD FILES.
Please do not email scripts unless requested by a member of our team.
If your screenplay is selected to be a semi-finalist or finalist, you give the Festival
permission to use your name and image in Festival promotions, press, etc.
All submissions will be judged by the Waterford International Film Festival Committees appointed by the Festival Director. Their reports and decisions are final and confidential.
Writers can submit as many screenplays as they wish but they must fill in a
separate entry form and pay separate fees for each screenplay.
The Waterford Film Festival reserves the right to amend these rules at any time.
All entrants will be notified of the status of their submissions by email.
Writers retain all rights to their screenplay.
A production company can submit a script but must have the writer's approval. Writers can email their approval to the festival director at waterfordfilmfestival@gmail.com
The Waterford Film Festival will only consider UN-produced scripts but the work can have a development deal/option in place.
Scripts must not be released as a finished film during the festival week in November.
The application shall indemnify and hold harmless. The Waterford International Film Festival and employees of said entities against any and all claims which may be incurred by reason of any claim involving copyright, trademark, etc.
PHOTOGRAPHY COMPETITION
Each image entry must be accompanied by an entry form and the entry fee.
You can submit on www.filmfreeway.com/waterfordfilmfestival or at www.waterfordfilmfestival.net.
Submission will not be considered without a fee and the completed form.
Applicants can submit up to 3 images per submission if they wish. However, if applicants want to submit more than 3 images they must fill out a separate form and pay a separate fee.
Your image entry must represent film or filmmaking or a shot that is cinematic in nature.
All submissions will be judged by Waterford International Film Festival Committees appointed by the Festival Director. Their reports and decisions are final and confidential.
COPYRIGHT: Photographers/Videographers are responsible for securing all copyright clearances that may be associated with their image/photo that includes but not limited to: actors/models releases, locations/permissions, etc. The Festival or our Venue Partners is not responsible for any copyright claim on images.
Due to time restraints, we can not provide feedback.
Once an image(s) is submitted for consideration it cannot be retracted.
The application shall indemnify (compensate for harm/loss) and hold The Waterford International Film Festival and our partners, and employees of said entities 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 and loss of or damage to the images entered (this includes images used for exhibit purposes).
Artists retain all rights to their photos/images but for awarded pictures (including finalists) copyright holders grant the Waterford International Film Festival unlimited non-exclusive use of high-resolution pictures for activities in all media. This includes social media, online, and print in relation to the contest, festival, and exhibition without any remuneration being due.
All artists will be notified by October 2nd if they have been selected as a finalist and are free to announce this as they so, please.
The photographer(s) must be the author(s) of the pictures submitted in his/her/their name.
We will use winning images, plus four other images for the exhibition. Pictures must meet the following specifications:
Upload images with the original pixel size (unless cropped).
Pictures must be uploaded in JPEG format with high-quality compression.
Pictures with captions/taglines must be written in English.
Entries must be submitted via www.waterfordfilmfestival.net or www.filmfreeway.com/waterfordfilmfestival.
Entries sent in other ways will not be accepted.
The overall winners will need to provide frames for all of their photos/images for the exhibit. i.e framed and ready to be displayed. A member of the Festival team will be in touch with the winner to arrange transport/delivery of these materials.
Image selections will be announced on or before the 2nd of October 2023. All entrants will be notified by email.
The Waterford International Film Festival reserves the right to amend these rules at any time.
Pictures taken at restricted events (that is, events where only photographers commissioned by those organizing the event - for example governments, political parties, or corporations have access) are not accepted.
Adjustments of colour or conversion to grayscale are permitted.
The copyright holders represent and warrant that submission of the pictures does not breach any law and further that no third party can hold any claims or any objections regarding the rights granted to the Waterford International Film Festival and our partners specified.
The entry rules and any dispute, proceedings or claim of whatever nature arising out of or in any way relating to the entry rules (including any non-contractual disputes or claims) shall be governed by Irish law.
By entering your image(s) for consideration for the Best Cinematic Image, you authorize that your work is cleared for festival exhibition at The Waterford Film Festival and accept full legal responsibility for the intellectual property therein.
