Submission Regulations

PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING REGULATIONS CAREFULLY

MELBOURNE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL (“MIFF”)

SUBMISSION REGULATIONS FOR THE 66^TH ANNUAL MELBOURNE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL (“FESTIVAL”)

3 TO 20 AUGUST 2017

THESE REGULATIONS GOVERN THE SUBMISSION OF ALL FILMS FOR CONSIDERATION FOR THE FESTIVAL AND YOU ARE REQUIRED TO PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING REGULATIONS CAREFULLY TO CONFIRM YOUR UNDERSTANDING AND ACCEPTANCE OF THE SAME PRIOR TO SUBMISSION OF ANY FILMS.

Submission Deadlines 

Only submissions accompanied by the correct fee, and received by the allocated deadline will be considered. Please note we do not offer fee waivers.

*Please read the following regulations carefully with regards to WIPs

Definition of Short and Feature

Short Film: 40 minutes or less

Feature Film: 41 minutes or more

Payment

• Payments must be made in Australian currency.
• Submission fee is payable by Mastercard or Visa only. We do not accept payments via PayPal
• Films submitted without payment WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED and the submission will be deleted
• The submission fee cannot be waived. NO EXCEPTIONS

Submission of your film constitutes agreement with the regulations set forth here.

BY ACCEPTING THESE REGULATIONS, YOU UNDERSTAND THE SUBMISSION FEE CANNOT BE REFUNDED.

Preview Screener formats

WITHOUTABOX SUBMISSIONS: please upload your online screener to the Withoutabox website.

MIFF SUBMISSIONS:

Secure Online Screener link via Vimeo or YouTube. Passwords/links must not expire before August 2017.

Links must be emailed to submissions@miff.com.au.* Please include the following information:

Film Title

Director’s Name

Short film (including category) or Feature Film

Your film must be received by MIFF by the dates listed above. If your film is not received by the appropriate deadline, your submission will be deleted and the submission fee will not be refunded.

Eligibility requirements

To be eligible for consideration, all films must meet the following requirements:

• Films must have been completed after 1 January 2016.
• Films must not have been/will not be screened commercially in the state of Victoria, Australia, in any form prior to August 21, 2017. This includes Television and Internet broadcasting - The only exceptions to this requirement are for private cast and crew and film school graduation screenings
• Films must be in their original language, with English subtitles if the original language is not English.

NB: The Festival reserves the right to program films completed prior to 1 January 2016 or that have screened in Victoria prior to the 2016 Festival.

IF YOU ARE SUBMITTING A WORK IN PROGRESS PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING CAREFULLY.

Works-in-progress & 'rough cuts'

MIFF does accept submission of Works in Progress (WIPs) only if the following conditions have been met:

• The film must be at least at picture lock stage
• The submission is made during the late submissions period ONLY. If a WIP is submitted during Early or Regular submissions period without any prior discussion with the submissions team MIFF will disregard the submission and submission fees will not be refunded. NO EXCEPTIONS
• You accept that the rough cut is the ONLY VERSION you can submit. We will not accept further cuts of the film as you complete them. Please think very carefully about whether or not you should submit the film as a WIP (see below)

Prior Submissions 

If a film has previously been submitted to Melbourne International Film Festival it is not eligible for submission to MIFF 2017.  This also applies to WIPs that have previously been submitted, even with significant changes.

If you have any queries regarding WIPs please email submissions@miff.com.au

Selection

1. All applicants will be notified of an outcome by end of June 2017. Festival programmers select and invite all films presented at MIFF.

If your contact details change during the submissions period please inform MIFF at submissions@miff.com.au so we can update our records.

2. If the film is selected to screen at MIFF2017 it must be made available in one of the following formats:

– 35mm

– 16mm

– DCP (DCI Compliant)

If you are unable to supply the film on one the above formats, MIFF may be able to create a DCI Compliant DCP for you at an additional cost.

3. Exhibition materials of officially selected films will be insured by MIFF and all incoming freight charges will be covered by the festival.

4. MIFF abides not to hold any more than four (4) screenings of any submitted film.

5. MIFF’s selection decisions are final and no correspondence will be entered into. We do not provide critical analysis or feedback.

Insurance

• MIFF will only insure prints/DCPs of Films invited to the Festival and for which any invitation has been formally accepted, for the duration of the Film’s stay in Australia and during transit to the Festival.
• Please note that MIFF will not pay any rental or screening fees for submitted films. If you are using a third-party distribution or sales agency to send your Film to MIFF, you are responsible for any fees they charge and MIFF shall have no liability in respect of such fees.agency to send your Film to MIFF, you are responsible for any fees they charge and MIFF shall have no liability in respect of such fees.

SHORT FILM COMPETITION REGULATIONS

MIFF is an Academy Awards®, BAFTA, and AACTA Awards accredited festival. 

MIFF Shorts Awards Eligibility:

All films completed after January 1 2016, less than 40 minutes long (including credits), not available in entirety for download or viewing online, including DVD release, theatrically exhibited (excluding graduation and cast and crew screenings) or broadcast on Australian television (cable or free-to-air), and have the Victorian premiere screening at MIFF, are eligible for competition.

The Short Film team will select films from the official competition program to be submitted to the Short Film Awards Jury.  The shortlisted films will not be made public.  The Jury’s processes, discussions and deliberations are strictly confidential and no discussion will be entered into regarding their decisions.

MIFF Shorts Awards:

The award winners will be announced during the MIFF Shorts Awards Ceremony during the festival.

The short films competition are competing for the following prizes:

Grand Prix for Best Short Film (Academy Accredited Award)

Award for Best Australian Short Film (Academy Accredited Award)

Award for Emerging Australian Filmmaker

Award for Best Fiction Short Film 

Award for Best Animation Short Film

Award for Best Documentary Short Film (Academy Accredited Award)

Award for Best Experimental Short Film

The prizes are subject to change.

If you need further assistance after reading this information, please email the Submissions Department, submissions@miff.com.au