International Film Festival in the United States
Internationally recognized film festival in the United States presenting feature films, documentaries, series, and short films. Academy Awards qualification applies to designated short film awards.
Premiere Requirements:
International Premiere
- Eligibility is restricted to completed documentary and narrative feature films and short films meeting the Festival’s category and running-time definitions, with category assignment determined by final runtime and primary country of financing.
- Feature films are defined as works with a final running time of 50 minutes or longer; short films are defined as works with a final running time under 50 minutes, including credits.
- Projects must be submitted to the appropriate domestic or international category based on whether at least 50% of total financing originates from within or outside the United States; misclassified projects may be reassigned or deemed ineligible at the Institute’s discretion.
- Eligible projects must satisfy strict premiere and prior exhibition requirements, including retention of required world or international premiere status for feature categories and compliance with restrictions on prior theatrical exhibition, festival screenings, broadcast, streaming, or other public availability in or outside the country of origin, as applicable.
- Short films are subject to separate eligibility rules that do not impose restrictive premiere status but must still conform to all other content and eligibility standards
- Works that have been commercially released or otherwise made available to the general public in their current form via theatrical exhibition, broadcast, physical media, or online distribution before the specified internal eligibility thresholds are not eligible for open submission in the relevant categories.
- The Institute reserves the right to determine final eligibility, programming section, and format for exhibition, irrespective of the applicant’s original submission category.
- If officially selected, creators must deliver an approved exhibition master and all required access materials, including compliant captioning and subtitling, in formats and technical specifications defined by the Festival’s delivery guidelines