Submission Requirements, Guidelines and Rules
Submit digitally through FilmFreeway exclusively. Any foreign language films must have english subtitles. No Premiere status required. We will accept films that have already screened or previously premiered. Once a film is OFFICIALLY SELECTED and the film program has become public, it cannot be withdrawn by the filmmaker. Notifications about selections are via e-mail only. Filmmakers may submit multiple films. If selected, you must include a jpeg file of your film’s poster. A trailer is also strongly encouraged. You must be the producer, director, writer, cinematographer, or composer of the film you are submitting. We encourage young filmmakers to submit. All ages are welcome, but minors must be accompanied by an adult. Please note that we DO NOT accept AI-generated projects. While we accept submission from filmmakers of any age, an adult representative must submit on behalf of the minor. Two FREE tickets will be given to selected films. All other tickets must be purchased. Award ceremony tickets are not included. We do not accept DCP's. We play high resolution movie files of your film. We recommend you upload an Apple ProRes 422 HQ 4K .mov file for best quality screening.
LEGAL.
1. DISCLAIMER: y submitting to Indie Stories Film Festival, you agree to release and hold harmless Indie Stories Film Festival, its owners, affiliates, staff, and partners from any and all claims, liabilities, or damages arising from your submission or participation. Indie Stories Film Festival is not responsible for loss, damage, or unauthorized use of submitted materials resulting from my entry. Entrants agree to defend and indemnify Indie Stories Film Festival, its owners, directors, officers, employees, contractors, consultants, volunteers, judges and agents against any and all claims, demands, actions, or lawsuits arising out of or related to the screening of the submitted film, performance of the music, or displaying of the art.
2. Right to Substitute. Indie Stories reserves the right, in its sole and absolute discretion, to substitute any prize, reward, or premium (each, a "Prize") with an alternative prize of equal or greater value, including, without limitation, a cash award, in the event that any advertised Prize (or any component thereof) becomes unavailable, impractical, or impossible to award for any reason, including but not limited to acts of God, force majeure, supply chain disruptions, or inventory shortages.
3. The submitter grants Indie Stories the right to utilize their film and accompanying film details submitted and accepted for exhibition, our website or affiliate websites, posters, or any festival related promotional purposes.
4. Indie Stories Film Festival has the right, in its sole and absolute discretion, to change the festival date or location, if deemed necessary or unavoidable, to ensure a successful festival. In such a case the festival will try its best to continue as normal, just at another venue and date TBD or operate online (partially or fully) if deemed necessary or unavoidable.
5. Selected and winning international films, as well as those from outside Los Angeles and the state, will not be screened unless the filmmaker is present. However, the film's poster and info will be showcased on our website and/or affiliated websites along with other films.
6. Winning international filmmakers, as well as those from outside Los Angeles and the state who cannot attend, must cover the shipping and handling fees if they would like to receive their awards. Awards must be claimed within 2 weeks of notification.
7. All submissions are evaluated through a screening process administered by our festival and/or qualified industry professionals engaged by our organization.Indie Stories Film Festival has sole discretion to determine the screening methodology, evaluation criteria, number of judging rounds, number of times a film is viewed, the number of screeners that review a film entry and advancement of submissions. The screening process may vary.Film screeners may evaluate only selected portions or elements of a submission. An evaluation does not necessarily involve a viewing of the entire film.Submissions that are considered for selection may receive additional and/or a full viewing evaluation. Not every submission will necessarily receive the same level or extent of evaluation.By submitting a film, entrants acknowledge and agree that our festival may use third-party industry professionals or evaluation services to assist with screening and that our festival retains discretion over the evaluation and selection process.Our festival reserves the right to modify or adjust the screening process when reasonably necessary.
8. By submitting your project to Indie Stories Film Festival, you agree to the following terms:Ownership & Authority: You represent and warrant that you are the sole author, creator or authorized owner/representative of the submitted project, and that all rights belong to you.Evaluation & Judging: You grant the festival and its designated judges, screeners, readers, and staff permission to read, view, evaluate, and score your entry for festival and competition purposes. You acknowledge that judging decisions are final. No Idea Theft / Originality Claims: You understand that judges, staff, and other submitters may independently develop or review concepts, themes, or plot points similar to those in your submitted project. You release and hold harmless Indie Stories Film Festival its owners, officers, employees, screeners and readers from any claims arising out of alleged similarities, idea theft, or copyright infringement.Non-Returnable Materials: All submission files are non-returnable, and submission fees are non-refundable once your submission enters the review process.Screenplay and Screenplay Competition, you agree to the following terms:Ownership & Authority: You represent and warrant that you are the sole author, creator or authorized owner/representative of the submitted project, and that all rights belong to you. Evaluation & Judging: You grant the festival and its designated judges, screeners, readers, and staff permission to read, view, evaluate, and score your entry for festival and competition purposes. You acknowledge that judging decisions are final.No Idea Theft / Originality Claims: You understand that judges, staff, and other submitters may independently develop or review concepts, themes, or plot points similar to those in your project. You release and hold harmless Big Apple Film Festival, LLC, its officers, employees, screeners and readers from any claims arising out of alleged similarities, idea theft, or copyright infringement.Non-Returnable Materials: All submission files are non-returnable, and submission fees are non-refundable once your submission enters the review process.
9. Indie Stories Film Festival reserves the right to withdraw any project from our festival program or entry pool at any time for any reason we deem necessary. reserves the right to withdraw any project from our festival program or entry pool at any time for any reason we deem necessary.
10 All information provided on this page may be subject to change. This includes, but is not limited to, event dates, event details, industry conferences, networking events, event format, guest speakers, jurors, awards, venue, and other relevant information.