Before you enter

Rules & Terms

Submitting a film or a screenplay means agreeing to all of this. It is short, so please read it.

General eligibility

Language: Films whose dialogue is not in English must carry accurate, burned-in English subtitles. An unsubtitled film is disqualified without a refund.
Completion date: We accept projects completed after 1 January 2023.
Premiere status: There is no premiere policy. Work that has screened elsewhere or is already online is eligible. We care about the craft, not about exclusivity.

Fees are final: Submission fees are non-refundable. We do not refund projects that are not selected, nor entries that turn out not to meet the eligibility rules.
No waivers: Out of fairness to everyone who pays to enter, we do not grant fee waivers or discounts on request.
Multiple entries: You may enter as many projects as you like. Each one is a separate submission with its own fee.

Format: Screenplays are submitted as a PDF in standard industry format.
Genres and drafts: All genres are welcome. Once a script is in, we cannot accept an updated draft or a rewrite unless a new submission fee is paid.

Rights are yours to hold: By submitting you declare that you hold every right, clearance and permission for the content of your work, including music, archive footage and trademarked imagery.
Responsibility: The Rotterdam Indie Festival, its organisers and KINO Rotterdam are not liable for copyright infringement or legal disputes arising from a public screening of your work. The submitter carries full legal and financial responsibility.

Jury decisions: Selections are made by our programming committee and the jury's decisions are final.
No feedback: Because of the volume of entries we cannot provide personal feedback, scorecards or notes on work that is not selected.
Exhibition formats: If your film is selected for the screening at KINO Rotterdam you must supply a high-quality exhibition copy (DCP, ProRes, or a high-bitrate MP4 or MOV) by the date we ask for it. A film that arrives late or in the wrong format may be pulled from the programme.

Attendance is not required: We would rather you came, because the Q&A and the networking are most of the point. But you do not have to be in the room to win an award.
Costs: The festival does not cover travel, accommodation or visa costs.

Then send us the thing you actually wanted to make.