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What’s Yours…
FFTG FILM FEST®
Nov 25-10 December, 2023
The outcomes of 2022 will be revealed alongside the results of 2023
The Competition
The FFTG Awards Film Fest serves as a platform dedicated to introducing new audiences to the world of independent cinema.
The FFTG Awards Film Festival is an annual international event and qualifies for IMDb, aiming to offer independent filmmakers a distinctive digital platform to showcase and promote their movies. In its second year, we’re welcoming films of all genres for the competition across various categories. Submissions are open to filmmakers from around the world. Chosen films will be shown on the Official FFTG and/or Partner Secured Channel. The selection is categorized into different sections. For more details, visit FilmFreeway.
For information on submissions, dates, and deadlines, refer to the categories listed below.
If you have any questions about choosing the appropriate category, feel free to reach out to us at info@fftgawards.com.
FFTG Awards Videos
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Dates & Deadlines
OPENING DATE
Sept 01, 2023
REGULAR DEADLINE
Oct 22, 2023
FINAL DEADLINE
Nov 13, 2023
NOTIFICATION DATE
Nov 19, 2023
Films of the Official Selection 2023 announcement date
FESTIVAL DATE
Nov 25th - Dec 10, 2023
PEOPLE CHOICE VOTING
Nov 25th - Dec 10, 2023
Winner announcement Dec 20, 2023
the FEST SPIRIT AWARD
November 25th - December 10, 2023
Picked by participating filmmakers only. Winner announcement Dec 20,, 2023
THE GRAND JURY CHOICE AWARDS
Dec 26, 2023
All categories winners announcement between Dec 22nd-27th, 2023
- Filmmakers are required to submit their valid student IDs and government-issued IDs for individuals aged 18 and under, in addition to their entries.
- Anyone among the producer or director qualifies if either possesses a valid student ID.
- Anyone among the producer or director who is 18 years old or younger qualifies with a valid government-issued ID.
- The FFTG Awards Film Festival reserves the right to disqualify entries if the IDs provided are not valid, and no refunds will be issued
Submission Categories
WEDDING FILM
- Under 30 mins including credits
- Open for all nationalities from around the world.
- A copy of wedding card mandatory to be uploaded along with your submission.
FASHION FILM
Feature, Documentary, Short, Micro-short
- Open for all nationalities from around the world.
- Filmmakers, designers, agencies and labels invited to submit their films.
- Dedicated to fashion, style, and beauty.
Feature Film
Includes Documentary, Experimental, Animation, New Wave Filmmakers, LGBTQ+, New Directors, Debut Films, Female Filmmakers, 18 years & below, etc.
Over 40 mins
All Genre
Year of Production does not matter. Premiere not mandatory but preferable
Short Film
Includes Documentary, Experimental, Animation, New Wave Filmmakers, LGBTQ+, New Directors, Debut Films, Female Filmmakers, 18 years & below, etc.
Under 40 minutes including credits
All Genre
Year of Production does not matter. Premiere not mandatory but preferable
Ultra-Short Film
Under 5 mins including credits
All Genre
Awards
Jury Choice Awards: All Genres & Categories
- Best Film of the Festival (Only One among All Categories, Genres)
Winner receives the FFTG Awards prestigious statuette shipped to their location - Best Feature/Short Film (Includes Best US & International Feature/Short)
- Best Female Filmmaker
- Best Student Film
- Best Title of the Festival
- Best Ultra-Short Film (TikTok, Insta Reels, Snapchat Etc.)
People Choice Award
- The winner of this award will be determined by the quantity of votes a film receives between Nov 25 and Dec 10, 2023, without considering its length or category. The filmmaker with the highest count of votes, likes, and comments during the competition week will secure victory in this category. The winner will receive the revered FFTG Awards statuette, sent to their location.
FFTG Spirit Award
- Filmmakers in the Official Program 2023 collectively select a film that embodies the FFTG Spirit, regardless of length or genre. They vote for the top film within Nov 25 - Dec 10, 2023, and the film with the most votes wins. The winner receives the esteemed FFTG Awards statuette, delivered to their location.
Official Selections, Nominees and Winners
- The FFTG Film of the Fest 2023 will be given the FFTG Awards Film Fest 2023 statuette, featuring both the movie's name and the director's name engraved on it.. FFTG has collaborated with the creators responsible for the design and manufacturers of Emmy's, Golden Globe, Academy of Country Music, Youtube Creators Awards, BET, Billboard Music Awards, MTV Movie Awards, MTV Video Music Awards and Dancing with the Stars among others. and a certificate.
- Every Official Selection, Nominee, and Winner will be granted the FFTG Awards Film Fest Official Laurel as recognition.
- Each Official Selection, Nominee, and Winner will be presented with a digitally signed FFTG Awards Film Fest Official Certificate from the festival director.
- We engage all chosen, nominated, and victorious participants in a valuable conversation about their creative journey through a video lasting up to 10 minutes. This video will be showcased on the FFTG Awards official website, www.fftgawards.com, and various social media channels.
- Winners will be granted permanent access to write blogs on the official FFTG Awards website.
- Exploring potential partnerships with Film Festivals To Go (FFTG) to expand the global audience reach and potentially distribute films through OTT platforms.
- We back your film with social platform support and branding: FFTG Awards shares your film consistently on our social media, using hashtags to target the right audience, and promoting the project. We ensure your work reaches the right audience through hashtags, comments, ads, shares, and social platforms.
- If the submitter opts out of specific award nominations from the dropdown, the film will only be considered for the selected nominations. Submission options are provided for your choice.
- All trailers and interviews from the Official Program 2023 will be shared on our Official YouTube Channel, providing more visibility for your project. Our channel is not designed for monetization, so no projects will be monetized. If a filmmaker wishes to have their project removed from the channel after the festival dates, they can send an email to info@fftgawards.com for immediate removal.
Eligibility Guidelines
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
- We accept all fiction and non-fiction film genres. All age groups are accepted.
- Projects submitted must be the original work of the participant. All submission will be received through Film Freeway only. No Exceptions.
- This movie link must not require download and must remain active and accessible through the closing date of the festival. Entry forms and payment will not be processed without accompanying submission link in accepted format.
- Please include Film poster, two film stills and a director's headshot with your entry. These can be emailed or included with submission.
- For (up to) a 5 min interview, a set of questions about their chosen entry will be sent to the filmmaker. The filmmaker is then responsible for editing answers to the questions into a high res video, superimposed with the FFTG Awards logo. This completed edited video file must be sent back in the stipulated time communicated by the festival representative. If the filmmaker wishes for the festival to take care of the editing, there will be a nominal fee to do so. If the video is not received in the required format within the stipulated time, the festival reserves the right to disqualify the film.
- Feel free to send along any additional press material, cast and crew bios or any other information about your film.
- Filmmakers with Student ID's to submit the right category by providing Student ID.
- Filmmakers 18 and under can submit their film in the respective category by providing govt issued age proof id.
- You can submit from all the countries as being student filmmaker, or producer; there are no restrictions.
- We consider films in any language but screened only in English. They need to be SUBTITLED, DUBBED in English else the film will be disqualified.
- Festival is not responsible for any lost, stolen or damaged entries.
- Exceptions to the festival regulations must be authorized by the Festival Director.
- Multiple entries are permissible, but each entry must be accompanied by a separate entry form and fee.
- Any situation related to music and copyrights belongs to the sender.
- By submitting, you agree to publish your film's trailers & images and you agree to share your data for promotional purposes.
- Withdrawn films are considered they were disqualified and the fee will not be refunded.
- All fees are non-refundable.
- Submitting is not a guarantee of being programmed.
- Written comments describing entries are beneficial.
- Makers should authorize us to use the film in any platform independently or it will be disqualified. Once the contest is over, winners can upload their films on IGTV only not on their YouTube channel.
ELIGIBILITY/ RIGHTS
- Submitted films should be an original work of the contestant.
- We consider films regardless of their premiere status. Limited to If your film has already premiered at another festival at a physical venue or on the festival's site only.
- Films available on the Internet are not eligible.
- We consider films based on the competition program mentioned in rules and regulations.
- Features previously self-distributed by the filmmakers online are not eligible for consideration in Feature categories.
- There are no additional eligibility criteria for short films. All shorts are eligible!
- All screeners must be uploaded by the appropriate deadline.
- Deadlines close at 11:59 PM PST.
- We will contact entrants if there's anything wrong with the submission. If this occurs, you will need to fix the submission issue by the requested deadline, otherwise we can't guarantee that your film will be watched in time.
- The films submitted to the contest will remain in the files of the Festival and the video archives.
- The works will not be commercially exploited. Before any other different use, the authors will be contacted for receipt of agreement. FFTG Awards is taking reasonable security precaution to protect the copyright of the film submitted to the Festival. Films dealing with all themes are allowed to the festival, with the only exception of advertising and pornographic.
- FFTG Awards has the right to exclude from the festival any film that is judged, at its sole discretion, not compliant with its ethical code or to the provisions of applicable law. In case of exclusion, the festival fee that has already been paid will not be reimbursed. We don't provide screening fees.
- The festival jury will also define, at its sole discretion, the winners of the festival categories. The names of the winners will be announced on the festival official website www.fftgawards.com, social media platforms and to the winners’ email address that are communicated at the time of the film submission.
- The Festival reserves the right to opt for a different genre than the one the candidate choose and indicated in the submission form;
- The Festival is not responsible for any spelling mistake or wrong information provided in the application. The titles and names of filmmakers used in all promotional materials will always refer to the ones provided in the application. Equally, title changes made by the filmmakers after the submission, may not be possible to alter, as such the applicant recognizes this at the moment of completing the submission.
- The festival programmers do not share festival selection committee comments or ratings with the public or submitting filmmakers. In fairness to all filmmakers, fee waiver requests will be declined.
- Promotional materials of selected films become the property of the FFTG Awards and can be used to promote the Festival and the programs of the Festival in all mediums.
RELEASE
- Your submission implies that you have the legal right to represent and submit this film for consideration along with your acceptance of FFTG Awards regulations.
- By submitting this form, you also agree to allow the festival the use of your film and its publicity materials for promotional purposes. Please agree below.
- You accept these conditions by submitting to us.
- The producer grants FFTG Awards the rights to:
(a) Exhibit the film online for the duration of the Festival, in a programmed session available ‘on-demand’ from the FFTG Awards website via Vimeo Premium.
(b) Include a section of the production for promotional purposes. - The producer warrants to the FFTG Awards that they have obtained all the necessary permissions to enter this film and that the film does not infringe the rights, including copyright, of any third party. This includes use of music and literary material.
HOW WE PICK THE WINNERS FOR AUDIENCE CHOICE AWARD
FFTG Awards is a simple and fair online competition which helps you to get more eyes on your work. Winning is everyone's right - our different award categories allow different kinds of filmmakers to participate and get a chance to win in different categories. The Best Film of the Festival is an Audience Choice Award & will be picked by the number of votes a film gets during the competition week regardless of its length & category. The filmmaker who will get the maximum number of votes, likes, and comments during the competition week - will win the competition for the best film of the festival. We also have an award category where all the participant filmmakers will vote for the best film in the competition & based on their votes, the highest voted film will receive the “FFTG Spirit Award”.
HOW WE PROGRAM FOR OTHER AWARD CATEGORIES
Each film will be watched by at least two different jury members. Our jury consists of professionals including Architect, filmmakers, artists, and entrepreneurs from various facets. Their diverse life experiences and outlook brings the right blend towards judging of a movie.
If a film gets two or more recommendations after the first round of watches, it will be watched by more programmers and discussed at deliberations sessions.
- Deliberating programmers determine a festival selection through discussion and voting.
If a film gets two or more recommendations after the first round of watches, it will be watched by more programmers and discussed at deliberations sessions.
- Each participating programmer has an equal vote and no festival selections are made outside of this process.
We generally don't share programming feedback with entrants.
The FFTG Awards programmers/Selection Committee decisions are final. Only the Festival Director has the authority to overrule any decisions.
IF ACCEPTED
- Accepted filmmakers will be notified via email ONLY. "Add filmfreeway.com to your email to avoid it going into your spam folder!"
- Filmmakers must confirm their participation by the given deadline, otherwise they might lose their spot in the line-up.
- Upon selection, filmmakers are highly encouraged to provide a high-quality digital stills, and poster from the film if they are not already available via FilmFreeway. If these are not available the film will be disqualified.
- For every chosen movie screenplays, we lead all selected filmmakers and writers in a meaningful discussion about their process in a (up to) 10 mins video that would be broadcast on FFTG Awards official site www.fftgawards.com and it’s Youtube Channel and other social media sites.
- Accepted filmmakers must be the authors of their submitted work and own all rights to their film and its components ahead of screening at FFTG Awards Film Fest.
- If accepted, entrants are responsible for delivering their trailer, final screener link (if any), press stills and press kit on time.
- All projects as part of the Official Program 2022 will be uploaded on our Official Youtube Channel to get more eyes for your project. Our Youtube channel is not set up for monetization so no project will be monetized. At any given point in time, if the filmmaker doesn't want their project to be featured on the channel after the festival dates, simply email at info@fftgawards.com and the project will be removed immediately.
PAYMENT
- Payments must be made in USD currency.
- Submission fee is payable via Film freeway only and accepted by Visa, MasterCard, American Express, JCB, Discover, Diners Club, Union Pay, and 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 the Film constitutes agreement with the regulations set forth here.
Jury
Damien Donnelly
Ireland
Heather Coombs
London, UK
Jillian Vitko
USA
Kari Karsten
USA
Mitra Raeesmohammadi
Iran
Nicole Proschek
Germany
Pamela PerryGoulardt
USA
Reza Soleymantash
Iran
Teleah Moore
USA
Valentina Galdi
Italy