Sundance Film Festival – Call for Entry 2023 (2024)

Dear Asian filmmakers the Sundance Film Festival (USA) is accepting Short Films (until September 5), New Frontier Projects (until September 9), Episodic Content (until September 12), and Feature Films (until September 26, 2022).

* Note in this article we will only post information for International productions. Requirements for USA films can be found at the Sundance Film Festival’s website*

General Rules and Regulations for Submitting a Film:
– If more than 50% of the Project’s financing originated from sources outside of the United States, the Project may only be submitted in one of the following categories: International Narrative Feature Films, International Documentary Feature Films, International Short Films, New Frontier Projects, or Episodic Content.
– The festival accepts short films (under 50 minutes) and feature films (over 50 minutes).
– Projects must have been completed after January 1, 2021.
– The festival accepts work-in-progress (Narrative and Documentary feature films).
– If the film had private screenings (tickets were not available for the public) are eligible to submit to the festival.
– International Narrative and Documentary Feature Films that have been or will be released via any home video or public distribution platform (including, but not limited to, Bluray, DVD, digital download, streaming, or video on demand) or broadcast on television in any country prior to January 30, 2023 are not eligible for submission to the Festival unless the version submitted is significantly different from the version that was previously made available to the general public.
– International Narrative and Documentary Feature Films that have been or will be released theatrically, broadcast on television, or screened at up to two festivals within their country of origin prior to January 30, 2023 are eligible for open submission to the Festival in their respective categories of submission.
– International Narrative and Documentary Feature Films that have been or will be released theatrically, screened at festivals, broadcast or streamed on television or the Internet anywhere outside of their country of origin prior to January 30, 2023 are not eligible for open submission to the Festival.
– Short Films do not need to retain any sort of premiere status.
– Episodic Content Projects originating from outside of the United States remain eligible if any of the submitted content has been released only within their country of origin or not released at all via any platform (broadcast television, Blu-ray, DVD, streaming, VOD, etc.) prior to January 30, 2023.
– Projects that have been submitted for Festival consideration in previous years are eligible for re-submission for 2023 Festival consideration only if the content of the submitted Project has changed significantly since the previous year in which the Project was submitted.
– Applicants submitting Projects that contain significant non-English spoken dialogue must provide on-screen English subtitles.
– Video files for all Projects submitted to the Institute for Festival consideration must be via direct digital upload or by providing either a Vimeo or YouTube link entered directly on the Applicant’s FilmFreeway Project page.

Submission Categories & Eligibility Requirements:

– International Narrative Feature Films:
Any narrative or non-scripted work of fiction originating from outside of the United States with a running time of 50 minutes or more. In order to qualify as an International Narrative Feature Film, the submitted project must be either scripted or improvisational fiction, or a fictionalization of actual events, and at least half of the project’s financing must originate from outside of the United States. Only films retaining international premiere status are eligible for open submission to this category. Completed films that have been or will have been exhibited theatrically (festival or otherwise) outside of the film’s country or countries of origin prior to January 30, 2023 are not eligible for open submission to this category. Films that have been or will have been made available to the general public in a non-theatrical form, either for free or for purchase, prior to January 30, 2023 are not eligible to submit to this category. This includes, but is not limited to, television broadcast, home video, or any digital or online platform in any country or countries.

– International Documentary Feature Films:
Any nonfiction film originating from outside of the United States with a running time of 50 minutes or more. If your documentary contains re-enactments or other fictionalized depictions of actual events, you may submit it to this category, but we will ultimately decide which of our Festival programs is best suited for your project, if accepted. In order to qualify as an International Documentary Feature Film, at least half of the submitted project’s financing must originate from outside of the United States. Only films retaining international premiere status are eligible for open submission to this category. Completed films that have been or will have been exhibited theatrically (festival or otherwise) outside of the film’s country or countries of origin prior to January 30, 2023 are not eligible for open submission to this category. Films that have been or will have been made available to the general public in a non-theatrical form, either for free or for purchase, prior to January 30, 2023 are not eligible to submit to this category. This includes, but is not limited to, television broadcast, home video, or any digital or online platform in any country or countries.

– International Short Films:
Any film or video project originating from outside of the United States with a running time of less than 50 minutes, including credits. This includes scripted or improvisational fiction, nonfiction or documentary, experimental film or video, animation, music video, or any other short-form film or video project. In order to qualify as an International Short Film, at least half of the submitted project’s financing must originate from outside of the United States. Short films have no premiere requirements or prior screening restrictions that impact Festival eligibility and may have been screened at any number of festivals or other public theatrical exhibitions, broadcast or streamed on television or the Internet, and/or released via any home video or other public distribution platform anywhere in the world.

– Episodic Content:
Any live-action, documentary/nonfiction, or animation project presented in or intended to be presented in a multi-episode format. This includes pilots, pilot presentations, webseries, docuseries, limited series, anthologies, or any other film or video project that was created to unfold over multiple episodes. Episodic projects may originate from anywhere in the world and you may submit single or multiple episodes of the same project, as long as all episodes play continuously in one single video file for digital upload and do not exceed 10GB in size. We accept both short-form and long-form content, with no restrictions regarding minimum or maximum episode or series length. Projects originating from within the United States are not eligible to submit to this category if the submitted content has been or will be made available in its entirety to the general public via any public theatrical exhibition or any broadcast, home video, or digital platform prior to January 30, 2023. Projects originating from outside of the United States remain eligible if any or all of the submitted content has been released only within the project’s country or countries of origin or not released at all. If some but not all of the episodes have been exhibited theatrically or made available via any other public platform, you may only submit episodes that have not been exhibited theatrically or otherwise released to the public. For example, if the first season of your series is available online, you may only submit episodes from a subsequent season that have not been released in any form.

– New Frontier Projects:
A wide range of innovative works and immersive experiences will be considered for the Festival’s New Frontier program. These works may include VR/AR/MR/XR projects created for a variety of platforms, media installations, live cinematic performances, custom digital platforms, or any combination of those elements. We request that you provide documentation that outlines any specific logistical, spatial, or equipment needs for your project. Specific instructions for submitting different file types are contained within the application. We encourage the diverse creative community of storytellers and technologists to submit inventive works of fiction, documentary, and interactive projects for consideration. Projects may have previously been exhibited or performed at other festivals, industry trade shows, and/or events/conventions and still retain their eligibility for submission to this category. However, we do take premiere status into consideration in the final selection process. If your project includes immersive, interactive, or live performance elements, you should select the “VR / XR / Immersive” category when you create your project page on FilmFreeway. If your experimental film or video project does not include any of these elements, please select one of the feature or short film categories listed above.

Festival Programs & Eligibility Requirements
– World Cinema Dramatic Competition: This competition program is comprised of films submitted to the Institute in the International Narrative Feature Films category, which are subject to the eligibility requirements set forth in Section II. Films selected for this program will be presented both in-person and online (with geographical restrictions), and will compete against one another for jury prizes and an audience award.
– World Cinema Documentary Competition: This competition program is made up of films submitted to the Institute the International Documentary Feature Film category and are subject to the eligibility requirements set forth in Section II. Films selected for this program will be presented both in-person and online (with geographical restrictions), and will compete against one another for jury prizes and an audience award.
– NEXT: This program may consist of films submitted to the Institute in any of our U.S. and International Feature Film categories, both Documentary and Narrative. As such, they are subject to the eligibility requirements listed in each of those four categories in Section II. Films selected for this program will be presented both in-person and online (with geographical restrictions), and will compete against one another for the NEXT Innovator Award and an audience award.
– Short Film Competition: All short films are selected from the U.S. and International Short Film submission categories and are subject to the eligibility requirements set forth in Section II. Short films may play before features or in one of our Short Film Programs, and all accepted short films are eligible for the Short Film Grand Jury Prize. Films selected for this program will be presented both in-person and online (with geographical restrictions), and will also compete against one another for jury prizes within their respective categories and genres (U.S. Fiction, International Fiction, Nonfiction, and Animation).

– Submission Fees & Deadlines:

We recommend filmmakers to read the full Rules and Regulations here: https://dotorg-stg-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/pdf/submissions/2023_Submissions_Rules.pdf

We remind readers that the Sundance Film Festival will take place from January 19 – 29, 2023 in person in Park City and Salt Lake City, as well as online.

To see other Call for Entries please follow the next link: “Call for Entries”.