Eligibility:

• All submissions must be made through FilmFreeway
• Films of all genres and styles are welcome as long as they align with the specific categories of The Reel Review International Film Festival
• Submissions must be the original work of the applicant(s) and must not infringe upon any third-party copyrights or trademarks
• Films that have been publicly available online for free are not eligible.
• Submissions depicting profanity, nudity, and violence are allowed because our opinion is that what some people may consider offensive content, others may consider art. Therefore, as long as the dialog and content clearly fit the story (as long as it is clear that the word-choices or "offensive content" were necessary), then we will accept the submission as long as the content is legal. In other words: we do not accept defamatory or illegal content!
• The filmmaker retains full ownership and copyright of his/her film/submission.
• By submitting, the filmmaker grants The Reel Review International Film Festival the right to screen their film and use promotional materials for marketing purposes.
• Films found to contain plagiarized content or violate submission guidelines will be disqualified without a refund
• Each month's officially selected submissions will be screened online each month. The winning submissions of all months of the year will be voted on and only the top-performing, top-voted films will be selected for a screening at
  a physical venue (details are announced each January). We wish you an amazing journey and we will be approach each selected submission with respect and careful attention.

Don't forget:

• Our team will be reviewing your work, therefore we will select the works which professionally qualify and whose messages we feel inspired to review.
• The festival is not responsible for any claims, liabilities, or disputes arising from submitted works

Reminder:

• If your film submission is accepted, we will provide you with a detailed critique of your film as well as personalized videos by actual viewers of your works.
• If your film submission is not accepted, we will provide a shortlist of reasons why. Remember: a shortlist. We know how valuable this.
• If your submission is not accepted in the month you submit it, then you will know the reasons why, have the opportunity to fix it, and resubmit in a later month with its appropriate fees. We absolutely know the value of this, too! Most festivals do not do this but we founded The Reel Review International Film Festival specifically on this very point - that we know how valuable feedback is if a film is accepted and especially if a film is not. It will be up to you, each filmmaker, to accept or reject those suggested changes and then execute them, and then resubmit in another month.

Submission Period:

• The Reel Review International Film Festival accepts submissions on a monthly rolling basis. Submissions open on the 1st of each month and close on the last day of the same month. Films submitted after the deadline will be considered for the next month’s competition

Categories:
Best Director: Recognizing outstanding direction

Best Drama: Honoring compelling narrative storytelling

Best Music Video: Celebrating creativity and innovation in music video production.

Best Short Film: Highlighting short-form storytelling (under 30 minutes)

Film Length Guidelines:

• Mini Short: 1min to 5min
• Short Film: 6min to 39min
• Episodic Film: 40min to 59min
• Feature Length Film: 60min and up
• Documentary: 120min max
• Music-Video: 10 min max
  
  Mini Short: 1 min to 5 min / $9.00
  Mini Short / Drama
  Mini Short / Romance
  Mini Short / Social Awareness
  Mini Short / Psychological
  Mini Short / Suspense
  Mini Short / Fantasy
  Mini Short / Best Director
  Mini Short / Best Actor
  Mini Short / Best Actress
  Mini Short / Original Music
  
  Short Film: 6 min to 39 min / $19.00
  Short Film / Drama
  Short Film / Romance Short Film / Social Awareness
  Short Film / Psychological
  Short Film / Suspense
  Short Film / Fantasy
  Short Film / Best Director
  Short Film / Best Actor
  Short Film / Best Actress
  Short Film / Original Music
  
  Web/TV Pilot: 40 min to 59 min / 29.00
  Web/TV Pilot / Drama
  Web/TV Pilot / Romance
  Web/TV Pilot / Social Awareness
  Web/TV Pilot / Psychological
  Web/TV Pilot / Suspense
  Web/TV Pilot / Fantasy
  Web/TV Pilot / Best Director
  Web/TV Pilot / Best Actor
  Web/TV Pilot / Best Actress
  Web/TV Pilot / Original Music
  
  Feature Length Film: 60 min and up / $34.00
  Feature Length Film / Drama
  Feature Length Film / Romance
  Feature Length Film / Social Awareness
  Feature Length Film / Psychological
  Feature Length Film / Suspense Feature Length Film / Fantasy
  Feature Length Film / Best Director
  Feature Length Film / Best Actor
  Feature Length Film / Best Actress
  Feature Length Film / Original Music
  
  Documentary: 120 min max / $29.00
  
  Music Video: 10 min max $ 14.00
  Music Video / Best Song
  Music Video / Best Actor Music Video / Best Actress
  Music Video / Best Director
  ​ Music Video / Best Concept

Fees:

• Each submission must be accompanied by its own appropriate entry fee Entry fees are non-refundable Discounts may be accepted only during promotional periods with appropriate discount codes

Language:

• All films (including English) must include embedded English subtitles Check to make sure subtitles are free of mistakes attention to such tiny details is evidence for your audience evidence of how much care went into your work

Required Materials:

• A completed FilmFreeway submission form with confirmed paid fee
• A secure, high-quality screener link (private Vimeo or unlisted YouTube preferred). We do not accept GoogleDrive, DropBox, MediaFire, or any other version that requires us to download the video we will not download video but will only watch it on a streaming platform such as YouTube, Vimeo, etc)
• Screeners must be a minimum of 720p
• Screeners must contain embedded English subtitles even for English-speaking film
• Your FilmFreeway profile must contain a director/producer statement, names of actors/actresses and their corresponding characters, promotional stills, and posters. Your submission will not be accepted without them

Multiple Entries:

• Filmmakers may submit multiple films across multiple categories, but each film and submission must be entered separately with its own entry fee
• Reminder: all submissions must be made through FilmFreeway
  
  

​Judging

• Films will be evaluated by a panel of industry professionals and festival curators.
• Judging criteria include originality, storytelling, technical excellence, and alignment with the category.

Notification

• Selected films will be notified by email by the 15th of the following month. Winning films for each category will be announced on our website.

​Awards and Prizes

• Winners in each category will receive:
• A custom festival trophy or certificate.
• Official laurels.
• Promotion on the festival’s social media and website.
• Opportunities for interviews and networking within the film community

Ownership and Rights

• The filmmaker retains full ownership and copyright of their film.
• By submitting, the filmmaker grants The Reel Review International Film Festival the right to screen their film and use promotional materials for marketing purposes.

Disqualification

• Films found to contain plagiarized content or violate submission guidelines will be disqualified without a refund.
  
  

Screening

• Selected films will be screened online or at a physical venue (details will be announced each month).
  
  

Liability

• The festival is not responsible for any claims, liabilities, or disputes arising from submitted works.