Omaha Film Festival

-To be eligible the film cannot have a public screening in Nebraska prior to the film festival (with the exception of collegiate screenings and touring Academy screenings).
-Your film cannot be view-able in its entirety online on sites like YouTube, Vimeo, or Facebook before the festival screening to be accepted into OFF. Trailers or clips from the film are acceptable.
-Nebraska Short Films: To be eligible for this category you must be a resident of Nebraska or the film has to have been shot primarily in Nebraska. Please include your Nebraska connection in your cover letter.
-Acceptable formats for submission: DVD or password protected online screener.
-All films that are not in English must have English language subtitles.
-Each entry must be a separate submission which includes form and payment for each submission.
-Entry Fees must be payable to "Omaha Film Festival" by check or money order. Fees from outside the US must be payable in US funds. No cash is allowed.
-Only submissions with completed entry forms and entry fee will be accepted.
-All Short Films must be no longer than 25 minutes in length.
-Enclosed with an entry for the Student Short fee must be a copy of a current student ID.
-Releases for music and talent must be obtained by the filmmaker. The Omaha Film Festival is not liable for copyright infringement or unauthorized use.
-If your film is accepted the screening format will be DCP. Exhibition DCP's must be sent to the Omaha Film Festival prepaid, and return requests must include prepaid packaging.
-If your film has been selected to be screened at the festival we will request you send a press kit to include: stills, posters, postcards, a digital file of the trailer, and other publicity materials to maximize exposure for your film. These materials will not be returned.
-The Omaha Film Festival does not assume any liability for damage to films, videos, or publicity materials.
-Film must have been completed after May 1, 2019.
-Filmmakers will be notified of festival acceptance by early February 2021.

Screenplay/Teleplays:
-Contact info must be included on title page.
-Screenplay submissions must not have been produced or optioned.
-Screenplays that are currently optioned or have negotiations and/or are sold before March 2, 2021 are not eligible for competition.
-Applicants must notify OFF of any changes in status following submission.
-Scripts that have reached the semifinalist level or above in previous years within the OFF Screenplay Competition are not eligible for resubmission.
-Teleplay submissions are acceptable for new/original works as well as spec scripts for programs currently airing during this year’s call for entries period.
-Short screenplay length is fewer than 30 pages.
-Feature screenplay length is between 31 and 130 pages.

We are participating in the Seed & Spark 2020 Film Festival Survival Pledge in support of the independent film community affected by the COVID-19 outbreak by pledging to:

ONLINE ELIGIBILITY: Temporarily revise policies prohibiting screening of films that were once available online to now make any films that screen online in an official ticketed festival capacity screening and competition-eligible.

PREMIERE STATUS: Uphold the intended film premiere status for a festival, in the event that festival moves their program online.

GEOBLOCKING WAIVER: If a film screens online for a preceding, non-geographically competing festival in an official ticketed festival capacity (when granular geoblocking technology, smaller than at the country level, is unavailable), temporarily waive policies requiring geographically-based premiere.

PRODUCTION TIMELINE: When accepting submissions for the 2020-2021 festival cycle, temporarily waive policies limiting screening and competition eligibility of films produced within a specific timeframe to include films that were eligible in the previous festival cycle.

COMMITMENT TIMELINE: Uphold these commitments for the duration of 2020. For festivals occurring in 2021, the Production Timeline clause will stand up to the date of your festival in order to protect 2020 films.

DISTRIBUTOR CLAUSE: A distributor can further strengthen this pledge by committing to recognize that by screening online in a fixed-term, pay-wall enforced, official festival capacity (that is geoblocked to a particular area), a film is not earning revenue or being sold to consumers in a traditional VOD market and, therefore, remains viable for future sales opportunities.