Phoenix Film Festival

Please review the following carefully. By submitting, you indicate that you have read, understood, and to the best of your knowledge, complied with all eligibility requirements of the Festival and of the categories for which you would like this film to be considered.

1. You submission must be accompanied by a submission fee paid in full and a working screener in order to be considered. Festival staff will do their best to follow up with filmmakers who are missing required submission elements, however, the responsibility for a fully completed submission falls to the submitter.
2. Any submissions that are incomplete by our final deadline will be disqualified without refund of submission fees. Reasons a submission will be considered incomplete include (but are not limited to) the following: a. Missing Screener b. Missing/incorrect screener password c. Screener is missing subtitles (if in a foreign language) d. Screener has major issues with audio, image, or any feature that prevents our screening committee from properly judging it.
3. For the purposes of transparency with the increasing presence and integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in creative outlets, filmmakers must disclose any significant use of AI tools in their cover letter. The Festival reserves the right to request additional information about the use of AI. Any undocumented use of AI may serve as grounds for disqualification at the discretion of the Festival.
4. Filmmakers must respect copyright and intellectual property rights and ensure they have the necessary licenses and permissions for any material used, including AI-generated elements.

All deadlines are set for 11:59pm local Phoenix time (please remember Arizona does NOT observe Daylight Savings Time and the time difference will change with DST).

1. Short films may not be publicly available online or screen in the Phoenix Metro area from January 1 to April 30, 2027 if selected.
2. Feature films must have a Phoenix Metro area premiere. a. The Phoenix Metro Area includes the cities of Phoenix, Scottsdale, Chandler, Mesa, Tempe, Gilbert, Maricopa, Glendale, Peoria, Surprise, Cave Creek, Carefree, Anthem, Goodyear, Sun City, Avondale, Tolleson, Buckeye, Ahwatukee, Sun Lakes, Apache Junction, Laveen, Fountain Hills, Litchfield Park, Paradise Valley and Queen Creek. b. It is the submitter’s responsibility to notify the Phoenix Film Festival of any updates in premiere status as they occur, especially if the film is selected for another festival in Arizona. c. This does not include the International Horror and Sci-Fi Film Festival which runs concurrent with the Phoenix Film Festival.
3. Any change in premiere status must be brought to the Festival’s attention as soon as possible.
4. If a film violates the premiere requirements at any time in the process, the film will be disqualified without refund of submission fees.

1. All entrants are required to pay the submission fee of their film’s appropriate category.
2. Category Changes: If you believe you have submitted your film to the wrong category, contact us immediately. Submitter is responsible for any additional fees. The Phoenix Film Festival is not able to reimburse submitter for lower category fees.
3. If they qualify, films may submit to more than one category. A separate submission fee must be paid for each category.
4. Films will only be considered in the category or categories in which they are submitted.
5. The Phoenix Film Festival reserves the right to determine eligibility of a submission in each category. Refunds will not be offered for submission to an inappropriate category.

1. Films outside of the United States of America are considered “World Cinema Films”. This includes films from Canada and Mexico.
2. World Cinema Films can be in any language.
3. All foreign-language films in any category must be submitted with English subtitles. If a film is in a foreign language and does not have subtitles, the Phoenix Film Festival will do its best to contact the filmmaker for a subtitled version. However, if the submission does not have working subtitles by the final submission deadline, the project will be disqualified without refund of submission fees.

The Phoenix Film Festival encourages the production of film within Arizona and is dedicated to ensuring the future of Arizona filmmakers. Both of the following are requirements for the Arizona Feature and Arizona Short film categories:

1. Over 50% of film was made in Arizona.
2. Director or over 50% of crew currently resides in Arizona.

The Phoenix Film Festival accepts works in progress, however the fact that it is a work in progress must be noted in the submission. Any missing elements (color correction, shots, music, effects) should be clearly indicated (ex: no color-correction, shot missing at 47:02, temporary score, missing VFX,) both in your cover letter and the film cut itself (ideally as a title card at the start of the film).

1. Any updated cuts must be uploaded to your original FilmFreeway submission with same submission link and password.
2. The Phoenix Film Festival is only responsible for considering the project as it exists at the time of review. While we will try, we are under no obligation to revisit updated cuts once a screener has been completely judged. Therefore, you should not submit your project if it is not complete enough to adequately represent the final product.
3. No updated cuts will be accepted for consideration after the final submission deadline: December 10, 2026.
4. The final version of the film must be available by February 5, 2027.

1. The Phoenix Film Festival DOES NOT PAY SCREENING FEES for submitted films. By submitting your project, you acknowledge that the Festival will not pay to present your work.
2. Films are screened on DCP and must be delivered in format requested by deadline set at time of acceptance.
3. All Festival scheduling is purely at the discretion of the Phoenix Film Festival staff.
4. If selected as a participant in the Festival, if requested, television ready media clips of the film must be provided by the date indicated on notice of selection.

Accepted films may be considered for the Phoenix Film Festival’s Copper Wing Award. By submitting you agree that:

1. Should this film win a Copper Wing Award (“Award”) at the Phoenix Film Festival, you are authorized and/or empowered by all parties legally representing this film to name the individual(s) listed on the Copper Wing Award Designation List (to be received upon notice of selection to Festival) to receive any and all award(s).
2. In the event the designated party is unable to attend the awards ceremony, you understand that the director and/or producer of the film as listed in the credits of the film shall accept any and all awards in their stead.
3. In the event that filmmakers are not able to receive award in person, the Festival will do its best to send award to recipient.

The Phoenix Film Festival reserves the right to disqualify any submission without refund, even after a film has been invited or final programming has been announced, at the sole discretion of Phoenix Film Festival staff. Once a project is listed “In Consideration” on FilmFreeway, we are unable to offer refunds for any reason, including (but not limited to):

1. Submission to the wrong category.
2. Change in premiere status or distribution.
3. Acceptance to other festivals within the metro-Phoenix area or festivals that breach the Phoenix Film Festival premiere requirements.
4. Duplicate submissions.
5. Failure to pay the full submission fee by the final deadline.
6. Failure to provide a working screener by the final deadline.
7. Project’s failure to comply with submission Rules & Terms.
8. Improper use of a discount code or waiver.
9. Rejection from the festival.
10. Withdrawing your submission for any reason (including changes of heart).

1. You have read and agree to the rules and regulations above.
2. This film is not subject to litigation nor is threatened by any litigation.
3. You are duly authorized to submit this film to the Festival and its Competition and understand that the Festival holds the right to screen my film for Festival screening and promotional purposes and to extract clips from this film for promotional purposes. You understand this may include online streaming of clips on Festival or Festival sponsor sites.
4. You understand that the Phoenix Film Festival ("Festival") and the Phoenix Film Foundation (“Foundation”) are not responsible for any type of damage to or loss of the print during screenings, at any other time during the course of the Festival, while the film is in the Festival’s possession or while en route to or from the Festival, and you release The Phoenix Film Festival ("Festival") and the Phoenix Film Foundation (“Foundation”) from any and all liabilities regarding damage to or loss of the print while en route to/from the Festival or while it is in their possession.
5. This film will not be available online publicly until the completion of the 2027 Phoenix Film Festival.