Garden State Film Festival

READ THIS. WE WRITE IT FOR YOU TO READ IT.

PLEASE PROVIDE ALL YOUR CONTACT INFORMATION INTO THE FilmFreeway PLATFORM- IT IS VERY IMPORTANT FOR US TO GET IN TOUCH WITH YOU. THAT INCLUDES A PHONE NUMBER.

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PLEASE DO NOT USE AN EMAIL THAT NO ONE CHECKS-- or one for an assistant that may not be associated with your film when the time comes for us to send your acceptance letter.

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All sales final. While GSFF values it’s alumni, please note that a previous screening or relationship does not guarantee acceptance. All films compete equally for acceptance.

*Not all categories may have a winner each year.

Terms and Conditions:
The undersigned, the authorized representative of the project named below (hereafter called the "Project") to The Garden State Film Festival (hereafter called the “GSFF”) for consideration for the 2024 Garden State Film Festival (hereafter called the “Festival”), hereby acknowledges the following:

ALL SUBMITTING FILMMAKERS ARE REQUIRED TO READ THE FOLLOWING SUBMISSION RULES & TERMS PRIOR TO SUBMITTING.

All accepted filmmakers must supply a digital file of your film.
We are only accepting 1920x1080, Stereo, MP4, H.264, NOT DCP. (We make our own if needed). Completion date of Films must be within 18 months of Festival Dates.

1. The Garden State Film Festival (“GSFF” or “the Festival”) Entry Fees are non-refundable.

2. ALL FILMS MUST BE A NEW JERSEY PREMIERE, unless it is a student film, which may have been shown at school/on campus, or special arrangements have been made with the Festival.

3. All films must be in English or subtitled in English. We do encourage ALL filmmakers to consider subtitling their films for greater access for our hearing impaired friends.

4. With the exception of Web Series, Music Video and Pilot, films may NOT BE ONLINE prior to screening in the festival unless special arrangement has been made with the Festival.

5. Once a Project has been submitted for consideration it cannot be withdrawn.

6. The Festival disavows any responsibility for, and will not be held responsible for, any failure to contact the Applicant using the contact information provided in FilmFreeway. It is the sole responsibility of the Applicant to ensure that the contact information provided in FilmFreeway is correct through the end of the Festival cycle..PERIOD. WE NEED TO BE ABLE TO REACH YOU, PLEASE USE AN EMAIL THAT IS CHECKED OFTEN.

7. The Festival is under no obligation to, and does not, provide comments or feedback regarding the submitted Film to the Applicant or any other representative of the submitted Film. The Festival will not be held responsible or liable for the contents of any internal comments or feedback regarding any submitted Film obtained by the Applicant or any other representative of the submitted film or any third party.

8. It is the sole responsibility of the Applicant to secure clearance from the copyright holders of any copyrighted materials included within the submitted Film. The GSFF will not be held responsible for the unauthorized inclusion of any copyrighted materials within or relating to the submitted Film. The GSFF reserves the right to disqualify, without refund of any or all submission fees previously collected from the Applicant, any Film with any unauthorized inclusion of copyrighted materials.

9. Successful applicants to the Festival will be notified through the contact information provided in FilmFreeway. The Festival will notify all applicants no later than mid January, and applicant will be required to upload the final screening file within two (2) weeks of the date of the notice. THERE WILL BE NO OPPORTUNITY TO CHANGE THE SUBMITTED FILE LATER. ONE MORE TIME-THERE WILL BE NO OPPORTUNITY TO CHANGE THE SUBMITTED FILE LATER. The contact information in FilmFreeway must be kept valid from submission to the end of the festival. The Festival will not be held responsible for the failure to contact the Applicant when using the contact information provided in this platform.

10. TEACHERS- If you are submitting on behalf of your student(s), you must enter contact information for the student(s) and/or their parents, so that if selected the student receives the festival information to attend. Email, phone number and mailing address are required. *STUDENTS- Please submit to the proper category - Graduate, College, High School or younger and supply a student ID.

11. All films selected for screening at the festival grant GSFF the right to use stills and excerpts of up to two minutes for promotional purposes.

12. Trailers will be provided by the applicant if requested.

IF PROJECT IS ACCEPTED
1. GSFF reserves the right to adjust screening schedules of films at their discretion without notice.
2. The Filmmaker agrees that GSFF will be held harmless for delays due to equipment failure, shipping delays, and or condition the prints delivered which may prevent screening. GSFF cannot be held liable for your exhibition materials which are lost or damaged.
3. GSFF does NOT pay screening fees.
4. Filmmakers or screenwriters accepted and attending the Festival are responsible for all travel, lodging, and all other expenses.
5. All jury decisions are final and will be announced at the Festival Awards Dinner and will be posted on the GSFF website shortly thereafter.
6. All stated information, eligibility and submission guidelines, terms and conditions of entry, and entry information are subject to change by the GSFF, without notice.
7. By making the submission to the GSFF, the submitter warrants that it/they have the legal right to enter film work to GSFF own all rights to all elements of their film, or are authorized to use all elements in the film, and are authorized to submit for the film for exhibition and related uses by the GSFF. Furthermore to, jointly and severally, indemnify, defend and hold harmless the Garden State Film Festival (“GSFF”), its officers, directors, committee persons, agents, volunteers, and all other connected with or providing services to, whether paid, in-kind or volunteered (collectively “Indemnitee”), from liability, damages, costs and expenses, including attorneys’ fees, that such Indemnitee might incur relating to, arising out of or existing by, whether by act or omission, including negligence, by reason of (1) the decision or act to exhibit or not exhibit a Submission submitted to GSFF by the Submitter; (2) the advertisement, publicity, or exhibition of said Submission; or (3) the other use of said Submission by the GSFF.
8. By submitting a film, I freely and voluntarily give and express my full and complete acceptance of all of the terms and provisions set forth in these General Rules and the Terms and Conditions. I acknowledge that no oral representations, inducements, promises or assurances of any kind, and no representations, inducements, promises or assurances not set forth in these General Rules or the Terms and Conditions, below, have been made to me or the Film’s Owners by the GSFF or any Indemnitee.

-----> Help us reach our goal of being accessible to everyone.
NOTE TO FILMMAKERS-
The Garden State Film Festival seeks to make the arts is accessible to everyone. GSFF encourages all filmmakers to include the option of Subtitles or Closed Captioning even if your film is in English to accommodate our hearing-impaired audience members. And to provide Audio Description audio tracks for viewers with vision loss, sensory processing disabilities, and neurodivergent disabilities.

-----For more information about the MOVIE MUSIC COMPETITION, please go to: www.gsff.org or contact us at info@gsff.org