RESTRICTIONS
- NO STRONG LANGUAGE. Commonplace profanity is acceptable, but "f-bombs" and other obscene language is cause for disqualification from the festival.
- No nudity or graphic sex scenes.
- No graphic depictions of sexual assault or rape.
- No extreme, excessive, or graphic sexual situations.
- No graphic murders, killings, or suicides.
- No graphic displays or depictions of drug use.
- Limited references to drugs and drug use.
- Limited alcohol use and/or abuse.
- No gore, gratuitous violence, or extreme bloodshed.
- No excessive profanity.
- No obscene gestures, actions, or imitations.
- No slurs, derogatory terms, or incendiary remarks regarding race, gender, sexual orientation, or religion.
- No dangerous or life-threatening stunts that were filmed without regard for personal safety or the safety of others or situations where innocent people were harmed, traumatized, or pranked due to blatant misbehavior, mischief, or criminal activity.
- No disturbing psychological trauma or graphic torture.
- No disturbing images or themes.
- No adult themes.
- No slasher-horror films. (Horror Films or Thrillers are acceptable as long as they meet the requirements listed above.)
- Films must remain within specified run time.
- Non-English language films must have English subtitles at the time of submission. Dialogue lists and Closed Captioning are not accepted or supported.
- All films must have original content and cannot be depictions, imitations, or recreations of any other copyrighted work.
- All music must be original unless proper licensing has been obtained by the filmmaker(s) to use copyrighted performances or stock music obtained from legal sources. Documentation of licensing and permissions may be requested after submission. Music attribution must be displayed in the credits section of your film.
- Regarding Music Videos, only original music or performances of works listed as Public Domain will be accepted. Fan Covers, Arrangements, Parodies, Lipsyncs, or Collaborations of copyrighted works will be disqualified unless proper licensing and exhibition permissions have been granted by the copyright holder. Documentation of licensing and permissions must be provided upon submission and attribution must be displayed in the credits section of your film.
- Projects must have a storytelling element and meet the current film industry standards of what constitutes a theatrical motion picture production. Films that are intended to be (or are disguised as): advertisements; promotional or corporate films supporting a business, product, political or social issue, or idea; political, religious, or social propaganda; or that are rallies for social movements, causes, or trends; or otherwise will be disqualified.
Films can be rejected or disqualified at any time if:
- Festival personnel determine a film has not met the exhibition requirements.
- The film has created or will create negative publicity for and/or tarnish the reputation of the festival and its partners/sponsors.
- The film creates or will create hostile actions, threats, boycotts, or protests by the community, other festival participants, sponsors, partners, or festival attendees.
ELIGIBLILITY
To be eligible for acceptance into the Grand Teton Film Festival:
- Your project must conform to the Content Requirements and Film Submission Guidelines.
- Your project cannot be a modification of a previous season's submission to GTFF.
- Any project submission that was either accepted or rejected in past GTFF seasons is not eligible for re-submission.
- Your project must meet the Technical Requirements in order to be screened at festival locations.
- You must submit all necessary materials pertaining to your film as well as pay the applicable film submission fee before the deadline.
- You are eligible to submit more than one film in the same or differing categories as long as all titles conform to the eligibility requirements.
See RULES for more details.
SUBMISSION MATERIALS
All promotional materials related to your film must be included with your submission on FilmFreeway. You are encouraged to provide as much information as possible so that we can help promote your film at the festival. You will be guided on what to include with your submission upon creation of your FilmFreeway profile.
TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS
Films must adhere to the following exhibition requirements:
Accepted Aspect Ratios
- 1920x1080 (16:9 HD Widescreen)
- 1440x1080 (4:3 HD Square)
- 1920x817 (2:35:1 HD Cinemascope/Panavision Widescreen)
- 1920x1038 (1:85:1 HD Academy "Flat" Widescreen)
- 720x480 (SD DVD Widescreen)
Supported Sound Codecs
- Stereo (AAC)
Supported Digital Film File Codec
- All digital film files must be encoded in .MP4 format with AAC sound. No other codecs (ProRes, NxHD, etc.) will be accepted due to file sizes and the time it takes to ingest into the digital projection system at the theater. DVDs and Blu-Rays are not supported.
If wishing to submit a DCP of your film, you must adhere to the technical requirements of the theater. You must send a Blu-ray or DVD of your film as a backup. If opting to exhibit your film utilizing this codec, you must provide and ship an external hard drive with your film in DCP format. Be aware that some festival venues do not support DCPs. Please contact us at submissions@grandtetonfilm.org if you would like to submit a film in DCP format. DCP FORMATS ARE ONLY ACCEPTED FOR FEATURE FILMS OR FEATURE-LENGTH DOCUMENTARIES. DCPs are not allowed for any other kind of film submission.
MULTIPLE ENTRIES
You may submit more than one film to the Grand Teton Film Festival in the same or differing categories. However, you may not submit multiple films in the same entry. Each project must be individually submitted. Multiple films sent in the same entry will result in the disqualification of the entry to the festival. Applicants in violation of this policy may re-submit the films in question individually without penalty before the specified submission deadlines.
The main reason for requiring individual submissions of each film is because all funds received from film entries is dedicated wholly to the awards and prizes given to the filmmakers. The more funding we receive from submissions, the better the awards will be.
RE-ENTRY
If your project was rejected or disqualified from the current season of the Grand Teton Film Festival for content violations or other reasons, you may re-enter it if you have made significant changes to the film and if all applicable eligibility requirements are met by the submission deadline. This revision can be re-submitted without penalty or additional fees. To re-submit a film for the current season, please contact the Film Submission Coordinator at submissions@grandtetonfilm.org
If your project was rejected or disqualified from the Grand Teton Film Festival in past seasons, you may not re-submit the work to the festival.
Film submissions that were either accepted or rejected by the Grand Teton Film Festival in past seasons that have been revised, re-named, re-edited, or similar, will be disqualified.
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
By submitting a film to the Grand Teton Film Festival, you acknowledge that you are authorized by the film’s creators, producers, and investors as well as publishers of any copyrighted material to enter the film into the festival. You submit the film at your own risk and accept all responsibility and liability for its exhibition. You understand and acknowledge that the festival and festival personnel will not be held liable for exhibiting a film if you did not obtain all necessary copyright and exhibition licensing or permissions, or for exhibiting films that contain unlicensed copyrighted material (such as music soundtracks and etc).
Film submissions made to the Grand Teton Film Festival does not guarantee acceptance. Films and related content must adhere to strict guidelines regarding viewer content, running time, and the level of professionalism your film displays. You will be notified within 10 days of your submission if it has been selected as an official entry.
Films selected as official entries for their intended categories will be critiqued by a panel of professional filmmakers who will base award nominations on the following filmmaking elements:
- Cinematography
- Editing
- Screenwriting
- Acting
- Sound Design
- Visual Effects
- Direction
You accept all liability for the film’s content and indemnify Grand Teton Film Festival, LLC as well as its officers, administrators, committee members, personnel, patrons, sponsors, donors, and partners against any legal action that may result from your film’s exhibition.
You acknowledge that entry to the festival is voluntary and does not grant you entitlement to a portion of ticket sales, event profits, or compensation of any kind. You likewise are not entitled to determine showcase order or exhibition time frame. By submitting your film and all required promotional materials, you hereby grant Grand Teton Film Festival, LLC permission to exhibit your film during the showcase, to have it critiqued by a panel of judges, and to use your film with related materials to promote the event on location; the official website; social media channels; and other mediums and formats yet to be perceived, discovered, or determined throughout the universe in perpetuity without limitation and compensation.
