Submission Guidelines

UPDATE!

Submissions are now closed for 2026. Applicants will be notified no later than Monday, April 13 by 4:30PM NT / 4:00PM in parts of Labrador.

The guidelines below will remain online for applicants to refer to when submitting any outstanding information or a final copy of their film.

Thanks to everyone that applied!

…

In this inaugural year for the Sandy Point Film Festival (SPIFF), there will be a screening of two acts, each with a maximum of 45 minutes, with a brief intermission between. Before applying, please read the following submission guidelines.

Criteria

1. The film must have a maximum runtime of ten (10) minutes. For films between ten (10) and fifteen (15) minutes, exceptions may be made. It is recommended to contact the SPIFF team before applying if this is the case.
2. The Director and/or Writer must be a new artist with three (3) years or less of professional practice. Artists may be required to submit a résumé / CV. The one exception may be an established Director / Writer whose film crew are at least 80% new artists. It is recommended to contact the SPIFF team before applying if this is the case.
3. Submitters are required to provide a headshot and biography for themself, plus a logline and synopsis for the film. Any film submitted without these items will not qualify for a screening.
   • Headshots should be a minimum of 900x900px and a maximum of 2400x2400px in JPG or PNG format.
   • Biographies should be a minimum of 50 words and a maximum of 150 words.
   • Loglines should be a maximum of 25 words.
   • Synopses should be a maximum of 150 words.
4. Submitters must have the right to distribute the film to SPIFF, and grant SPIFF with rights as a license holder to present the film, including any copyrighted material that is used within the film (images, video, audio, etc.). Rights granted to SPIFF include the in-person screening to be held on Saturday, May 9, 2026 at the Stephenville Arts & Culture Centre; and, on the SPIFF YouTube channel for a 48-hour period running from Sunday, May 10 to Monday, May 11, 2026.
5. Films must be in MOV or MP4 containers, using either H.264 or H.265 video codecs, and audio in either AAC or PCM data. Resolution should be a minimum of 1920x1080p, and a maximum of 3840x2160p. It is strongly preferred that submissions be in a 16:9 ratio. If a film uses another ratio or resolution, it must be scaled before submitting.
6. Films may have been screened previously at other festivals, but should not have been distributed freely, either online or using physical media. Nor should the film have had distribution through a corporation (e.g., Bell Media, CBC, APTN, etc.). Exceptions may be made, but applicants are first required to contact SPIFF and provide details.

Application Guidelines

Prepare the following in an email, which should be sent to submissions AT spiffest DOT ca.

1. Include a link to a password protected or unlisted copy of your film when applying using either Vimeo or YouTube. Approved submissions may required sharing via an online folder (e.g., Dropbox, Google Drive, etc.). Rough cuts of the film are permitted for the initial application, but the final film must be submitted no later than April 18, 2026 at 4:30PM Newfoundland time / 4:00 in parts of Labrador.
2. If you use a pseudonym or have preferred pronouns, please indicate as such in your application email.
3. Please indicate the genre(s) associated with your film up to a maximum of three (3). E.g., Horror/Drama or Comedy/Horror/Thriller.
4. Required information (bio, headshot, etc.) may be included in the body of the email, or in an attachment (ODF, PDF, DOCX, RTF formats only).
5. Submissions should be sent no later than Friday, April 3, 2026 at 4:30PM Newfoundland time / 4:00PM in parts of Labrador.

Send your application to: submissions AT spiffest DOT ca

Please note:

• Submission guidelines are subject to change, which may occur without public notice. Check this page for update notifications.
• All files and information submitted as part of an application may be deleted at the applicants request by contacting the SPIFF team. Please allow up to 5 business days for this to occur.
• All decisions made during the curatorial process are final. Applications that do not meet the criteria or are not selected for screening will be deleted once the final selections are made.
• Copies of submitted films, including those that are selected for screening, will be deleted immediately following the festival. The one exception will be the copy of selected films in the online screening system, which will be marked private, with no public access available.