Submissions

Submissions for the 2013 Brisbane International Film Festival are open via Withoutabox.

2013 Terms and conditions

1. Eligible Films

The festival will not accept films that have:

• previously screened in any format or duration in Queensland
• been broadcast online or on Australian television except under special circumstances.  

In general, films must have been completed after 1 January 2012.

2. Categories 

A film is considered a short if it is 30 minutes or less in length.

A film is considered a feature if it is 31 minutes or more in length.

3. Deadlines and Entry Fees

As stated above.

4. Fee Waivers

Unfortunately, BIFF is not able to waive the entry fee as we rely on these fees to administer the large numbers of entries.

5. Preview Copy

A preview copy of your film must be submitted for selection purposes (on DVD). 

Each preview copy must be submitted through Withoutabox and have paid the appropriate entry fee. 

If your film is accepted for screening at the festival, you must be prepared to supply a 35mm, Betacam, Digibeta, HD Cam (not HD Cam SR), E Cinema package or DCP format for screening.

Please do not include publicity materials with your preview copy.

Preview copies will not be returned.

6. Submission

Only submissions accompanied by the correct fee, and received by the allocated deadline, will be accepted/considered.

Films submitted without payment will not be considered.

All deadlines are postmarked. However, all preview copies must be received within two weeks of the deadline in which they were submitted, to be considered.

All preview copies must be received by BIFF office by Friday 19 July 2013 to be considered. Any copies received later than that date will not be considered.

7.  Late Entries

Late entries will only be considered under exceptional circumstances and only on advice of the Head of Screen Culture.

8. Submission Address

BIFF encourages submissions to be delivered on regular mail rather than by courier.

By regular mail:

Brisbane International Film Festival
PO BOX 15094
City East Brisbane, QLD, 4002
Australia

By courier:

L15, 111 George St
Brisbane City, QLD, 4000
Australia

9.  Selection

Selected films will be invited by official invitation.  The festival will consider submitted entries and if accepted for screening at the festival, the entrant will be advised in writing.  The festival is not required to explain why a film was not selected for screening.

10.  Screening Format

Eligible formats are 35mm, DCP (D-cinema) and Sony HDcam. We cannot screen from DVD, Blu-ray, HDcamSR or any other format that is not listed here.

For 35mm film prints, we screen 24fps in aspect ratios of 1.37, 1.66, 1.85, or 2.35. We accept sound formats of mono, stereo, Dolby SR and Dolby SRD (Dolby Digital). For Sony HDcam tapes, we accept HD 1080 format in the following frame rates: 50i, 23.98, 24, 25, 29.97, 59.94i. We do not accept PsF. If your video image is other than the native 16:9  you must have it pillarboxed or letterboxed during the lab transfer for it to be screened without any image distortion. DCP must be DCI compliant, however content does not need to be encrypted. If content is locked keys must be open for a testing period specified by the festival, and HDcam backup copy must be provided in addition.

Please note that short films may be transferred to a compile and screened from format during the festival.

11.  Number of Screenings

It is festival policy to schedule feature films on no more than two occasions.

12.  Subtitles

Entries produced in languages other than English must be subtitled in English.

13.  Awards

The festival’s BIFFDOCS (documentary competition) section is competitive with a cash award of $A25,000.

Eligible documentaries must:

• be over 60 minutes in length
• have been completed after 1 June 2012
• not have screened publicly in Australia prior to 14 November 2013.

Documentaries may only enter the competition by invitation from BIFF. Please read the detailed BIFFDOCS guidelines.

Except for the BIFFDOCS section, the festival is non-competitive.

14.  Publicity Material

Applicants whose films are accepted for screening at the festival are required to send the following promotional materials for inclusion in the official festival catalogue and/or pre-publicity:

• At least two (2) copies of the film as a DVD preview screener
• At least three (3) high resolution stills from the film (a mix of black and white and/or colour pictures)
• Electronic press kit
• Film posters and flyers (if available)
• Background material on the director
• A high resolution director head shot 
• Copies of press reviews (if available)
• A preview trailer (for feature films)

The festival reserves the right to use an excerpt from the film not exceeding three minutes for promotional purposes.

15.  Freight

All films must be sent pre-paid.  If for some extraordinary reason the producer(s) or distributor(s) are unable to supply a film under these conditions, the film may still be accepted but only if prior arrangements have been made with the Head of Screen Culture. 

BIFF will only pay the in-bound shipping and customs charges for films invited to the festival.

To ensure shipments originating outside of Australia clear customs without delay, please follow these instructions:

1. Include 3 copies of a Proforma Invoice (declaration of contents) containing the following information: Sender’s name, address and telephone number, Receiver’s address (festival address,) Title of Film and format (e.g., 35mm) Length of film, Fair market value (standard are $50 AUS for tapes and $100 AUS for feature-length 35mm print and DCP). Please note the value must not exceed $1000 AUS in order to clear Australian customs without delay. Also include Country of manufacture, Declaration “Goods on loan for festival purposes only. No commercial value. Non-pornographic”. Sender’s signature
2. The proforma invoices must be included with the courier waybill.

16.  Liability

Films accepted by the festival are indemnified while in our possession and in transit while being returned to the entrant or forwarded to the next destination.  In the event of print loss or damage, the festival’s liability shall be limited to the cost of making a new screening copy according to current laboratory rates for a standard print.

17.  Consent

18.  Privacy Disclaimer

The personal information you have provided to us will not be used for any reason other than that expressed in our privacy policy.  Please contact BIFF or Screen Queensland at +61 7 3248 0500 or biff@biff.com.au if you wish to access, remove or update personal information you have provided us.