ELIGIBILITY
To be eligible for consideration:
1. Entrants must fully comply with these Entry Rules & Regulations, including all deadlines, entry material and other requirements.
2. Films may only be submitted online - no hard copy, DVD or Blu-Ray submissions will be accepted until after submission acceptance has been determined.
3. Films should have either English or Greek subtitles if the main language is not English.
4. Submitted films should be original creations fully owned by the filmmaker or filmmakers. Filmmakers are responsible for securing clearances or legal permission for the use of any copyrighted musical, cinematic, or literary materials. By submitting your film, you confirm that you own 100% of the rights to the work. If the work's copyright is held by more than one person, the submitter must have the written consent of all other owners prior to submitting. S.O.F.A Film Festival will take no responsibility for copyright infringement. If S.O.F.A Film Festival thinks it necessary, proof of copyright will be asked for. Failure to produce proof in writing from the copyright holder will result in automatic expulsion from the competition.
5. No works in progress will be accepted unless agreed in writing beforehand or the project is invited by the Festival.
6. S.O.F.A. Film Festival has no premiere requirements; films submitted to other festivals are still eligible for submission. If you do wish us to hold a premiere screening, please write to us PRIOR to submitting your film to: sofafilmfestival@gmail.com
7. Filmmakers may submit more than one project. However, a separate entry fee is required for each submission.
PLEASE NOTE: The online festival is filmed through our platform on Patreon and the final viewing links send to us for screening if your film is selected must be via Vimeo or YouTube, made public for the day of screening and not password protected. The films can not be shared or downloaded by our viewers. After your screening date you can re-lock or make private the films on your platforms (vimeo or youtube). If you are accepted as part of our festival but decide not to 'open' the films to us for the screening day a submission refund will not be issued.
TERMS OF USE
By submitting your project via FilmFreeway.com to S.O.F.A. Film Festival you hereby agree to be legally bound by the following Terms and Conditions:
1. S.O.F.A. Film Festival is not responsible for the streaming quality of online submissions uploaded through FilmFreeway. If your entry is unable to be watched by our administrators due to issues with your upload, your film will be disqualified and no refund will be made. You are free to include an additional private link through Vimeo or YouTube where your film can be viewed by emailing us at sofafilmfestival@gmail.com .
2. Films must have been completed no earlier than January 1, 2009. The filmmaker represents and warrants that the submitted material does not defame or invade the rights of any person living or dead and s/he fully indemnifies S.O.F.A Film Festival against any claim made for such violations of the law.
3. S.O.F.A. Film Festival does not, under any circumstances, pay screening fees or a percentage of ticket or Patreon fees. By submitting your film, you are agreeing to screen your film online without a screening fee or any other compensation if selected. The same applies if your film is chosen to have a live screening.
4. Live screenings will be held at a separate date to the online festival screenings. Details will be discussed by e-mail with the entrant.
5. Entry fees must be paid in US Dollars as required by FilmFreeway and are non-refundable. Please not that we do NOT waive entry fees. We understand the costs involved in filmmaking and that you are hopefully submitting to many festivals so we have kept our fees as low as possible.
6. All entries will be acknowledged by email or through the FilmFreeway communication system.
7. If for some reason the Festival determines that a submission no longer meets all of the criteria listed after acceptance, the submission will be designated ineligible and no refund will be issued.
8. Selection of an entry to S.O.F.A. Film Festival grants the Festival the right to screen your trailer and use your name, poster (with our screening date added) and likeness for promotional purposes without compensation. Filmmakers are responsible for securing clearances or legal permission for the use of any copyrighted musical, cinematic, or literary materials.
9. Submission of an entry to the Festival does not guarantee that a work will be shown. S.O.F.A. Film Festival reserves the right to refuse to screen any film online or live.
10. All rights to the submitted material remain with the entrant. The Festival administrators DO NOT claim any rights to the material submitted to the competition.
11. The entrant will promote S.O.F.A Film Festival and their screening on their social media and websites and tag the festival using #shoutoutforanimals and #sofafilmfestival. If their entry wins a Certificate they agree to post a photo with the certificate once it has been received.
12. All entrants agree to be included in the public voting for the best film in each category and understand that the administrators cannot and will not influence the final outcome in any way. The voting forms will be handled on the JotForm platform.
ENTRY MATERIALS
1. All entries must be submitted online via FilmFreeway. Filmmakers must complete the online registration form in full prior to submission.
2. Once your film has been accepted by S.O.F.A Film Festival a trailer of your film and a poster must be sent to the administrator within 3 days. Details will be given in the acceptance communication.
MULTIPLE ENTRIES
Each entered film must be submitted separately and pay a separate submission fee.
SELECTED FILMS
1. Selected films will be notified via email using the information provided on the submitted entry form. Changes in the entrant’s contact information may be made by contacting the festival at sofafilmfestival@gmail.com .
2. Selected films wishing to be screened on our website must provide S.O.F.A with a link or embed code from YouTube or Vimeo (or similar reliable video presentation platform).
3. Entrant must be 18 years of age or older. (Entrants between the ages of 13 to 18 may enter with a written letter of consent from a legal guardian.)