Waterford International Film Festival (17)

Festival start: 20 November 2023      Festival end: 26 November 2023

We consider short films only up to 22 mins. All genres & themes considered.

Best Short Film: Winners' prizes include Waterford Crystal designed Award, a certificate, winners' laurels, and a cash prize.

Runner-Up Award for Best Short Film: Prize includes Waterford Crystal designed Award certificate and runners-up Laurels.
Best Student Film or Debut Film - Winner Laurels and Certificate
Best International Short Film -Winner Laurels and Certificate
Best Music Video-Winner Laurels and Certificate
Best Animation-Winner Laurels and Certificate

Several Special Mention Awards will be presented with a certificate and Laurels.
All selected films will receive officially selected Laurels.

Rules listed here are for Short Films & Scripts- Script rules are below the film rules.

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 Festhome.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 festhome.com you are agreeing to all of these rules.

SCREENPLAY COMPETITION

By submitting the online form below or on festhome.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 Festhome 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.