1. Entries are limited to one submission per applicant. The applicant must be the director.
2. Films must be submitted by midnight on Wednesday July 31st 2024. These should be sent via FilmFreeway or Vimeo, YT links or wetransfer.
3. Films must be no longer than 20 minutes, including all titles and credits.
4. They must be in English or subtitled in English (if there is any dialogue at all) but can originate from anywhere in the world, save in the category of Best UK Short, which have to have been made in the UK.
5. They must be suitable for screening to a 12A audience. Any films which do not meet the criteria for a 12A or below will not be selected. The film can have any subject matter or genre, providing it would be suitable for screening to a 12A audience.
6. Any films which might be housed in more than one category will be judged in the category it was submitted in, and no more.
7. The student category is for under 25s OR for those at a recognised Film School (details of which must be supplied in the application). If any of the film makers are over 25, then submission should be in the main category of Best Short Film. Cast may be of any age.
7. Our organising team will select films from all submitted films to create a final shortlist. Films that are shortlisted but do not make the finals may be screened on the other days as part of the festival, or throughout the following year, but filmmakers will be contacted to arrange this.
8. All films from the long list may be used in promotional material for the event. Unless otherwise informed, the organisers will assume permission is given to display these online and at other events in the Hailsham Pavilion. Filmmakers should specify in an email to the festival if they do not wish their film to be used for promotion or other screenings.
9. The finalists will be screened on Nov 16th at the Pavilion.
10. The winner of the main prizes of £250 and 'of status' awards in different categories, will be decided by a small panel of professional film makers, chaired by Academy Award winning film editor, Chris Dickens. Awards will be announced and presented on that day.
For cash prizes, unless we are informed otherwise, cash awards will be made to the Director of the film. The Director will be responsible for deciding how, if at all, the cash prize is distributed to stakeholders in the film. To receive a cash award, the filmmaker must have a means of receiving funds by electronic transfer. Filmmakers will be responsible for any taxation due on funds received.
11. Please make sure that you include contact details and any notes that you may like us to be aware of. We will be interested in how these films originated and were made, and by whom. If your film is a finalist, the director must either attend in person to receive the award or send in a self-shot film with an acceptance speech which can be used for the ceremony. Acceptance speeches not in English must have subtitles attached. Notification of this will be given in the two weeks prior to the ceremony, and the director must send this in at least 3 days before the ceremony. This does not necessarily mean that your film has won, just that it may win, and we will screen the acceptance speech should you be unable to attend the event. If the acceptance speech is not given, you may be disqualified from winning.
12. SIFF will not be responsible for any custom duties or charges on physical submission or in sending award statues. Please be sure to include "temporary import/cultural exchange" and "no commercial value" on any paperwork.
13. Materials will not be returned but will be deleted on request after the event, with the exceptions of the winning entries. All rights will remain with the filmmaker.
14. The festival handles submitted physical screening files with the utmost of care but cannot accept any responsibility for loss or damage. The festival will only return any physically submitted screening files if postage and packaging is covered by the entrant. Permission for the festival to use images and excerpts of each submitted film, not to exceed 1 minute for promotional purposes is considered granted upon acceptance into the physical screenings at the festival - including trailers/clips on the festival's media channels. If you would rather opt out from this, please contact the festival organisers within 5 working days of your notification of acceptance into the festival. For selected films. SIFF reserves the right to complete any information not supplied by the filmmaker from whatever source available and/or re-write material to fit our marketing requirement.
15. Owing to limitation of time available, we can only guarantee that finalists will be screened. We endeavour to screen semi-finalists when possible. Official selection means that your film is selected for consideration to go forward to the quarter-final round, not that it will be automatically screened. By submitting your film to the festival you agree that if your film is selected for inclusion in our screenings, we have permission to screen it in a cinema during the dates of the events listed. If you do not want your film included for any reason you must inform us within 5 working days of the final submission deadline. Films can only be withdrawn after this number of days with agreement from the festival organisers as we invest in print materials and trailers for the festival, which cannot be changed in the immediate run up to the event. Submission of films and participation in The SIFF implies understanding and acceptance of the above regulations and requirements for this submission.
15. The organisers reserve the right to change any of the above at any point, but competitors will be notified in advance. If in doubt about any of the above, please contact Gareth at [email protected] before submitting your material.
Dates & Deadlines
Opening Date - April 2, 2024
Earlybird Deadline - April 30 - £5.00 fee.
Regular Deadline - May 30 2024 - £10.00 fee
Late Deadline - June 30 2024 - £20.00 fee
Extended Deadline - July 30 2024 - £25.00 fee
Notification Date - September 6, 2024
Event Date - November 14-16, 2023
Judging period
August 1st - August 31st - First round from all submitted to Official Selection.
September 1st-September 30th - Second round from Official Selection to Quarter-finalists.
October 1st- October 15th - Third round from Quarter-finalists to Semi-finalists.
October 16th-October 31st - Fourth round from Semi-finalists to Finalists.
November 1st - November 14th - Judges assess finalists.
First 100 entries £0.00 fee with code 'READTHERULES24'.
