The following rules govern all Digital Series submissions to the Austin Film Festival (“AFF” or the “Festival”).

GENERAL RULES

• Submissions must be accompanied by the applicable submission fee PER ENTRY and a completed online entry form
• All series must be in English or, if applicable, have English subtitles at the time submitted.
• Once an entry payment has been processed we cannot provide a refund. If a payment is disputed, the account holder may be subject to any fees.
• Submissions must be the original work of the applicant(s). Neither the Festival nor its jurists investigates or attests to the authenticity of an applicant’s statement of authorship or rights.
• Applicants may submit both filmed episodes and scripted episodes of their series, but each will require a separate application and payment.
• If a submission involves two or more writers as applicants, the monetary prize and any reimbursements will be divided equally among them and only one Typewriter Award will be provided.
• Awards are based on overall merit of the entries. Judges reserve the right not to grant an award.
• Entrants that advance to the Semifinalist level will be asked to provide a treatment of their vision for the series and how subsequent episodes will unfold.

SCRIPTED SERIES RULES

• Applicant can submit 1-3 scripted episodes, totaling no more than 30 pages in length. Each script must be submitted as part of the same PDF file.
• The Scripted Digital Series Competition is only open to writers who do not earn a living writing for film or television.
• Digital series scripts must not have been optioned or sold prior to October 27, 2022.
• Scripts that have previously reached the Semifinalist level and beyond within the Scripted Digital Series Competition or Screenplay & Teleplay Competition are not eligible for submission.
• No revisions or missing pages will be accepted once an entry has been submitted.
• We strongly suggest that applicants register their screenplays/teleplays with the Writers Guild of America, East or Writers Guild of America, West and/or file for copyright registration.
• FORMAT:
  • Digital series scripts must be 3-30 pages in length.
  • Scripts should be formatted according to current industry standards.
  • Font size must be 12 point and in Courier type.
  • Pages must be numbered in the top right-hand corner.
  • Scripts must be in PDF format under 5MB.
  • Only the TITLE of the screenplay should appear on the front cover page.
  • The author’s name must not appear anywhere in the script in order to preserve anonymity in the judging process.

PRODUCED SERIES RULES

• Series must be submitted as an online streaming URL.
• Only new series will be considered. Submissions must be the first one to three consecutive episodes of the series’ first season. The total runtime of the submission cannot exceed 30 minutes.
• Produced series must be submitted as an online screener and be available for screening as an H.264 digital file. Please note: we do NOT screen Blu-Ray, HD-CAM, or DCP when considering series for our competition. If you are unable or unwilling to provide us your produced series as a digital file, please do not submit it.
• Series must have been completed after January 1, 2022. Series must be available for screening during the Austin Film Festival, October 26 – November 2, 2023.
• Series produced, financed, initiated, distributed, or hosted by major studios, online platforms, networks, or similar entities are ineligible for competition.
• Series that have played in Austin in a theatrical setting to a public audience prior to October 26, 2023 are not eligible to be screened at the Austin Film Festival.
• Series that are already publicly available online are still eligible for entry
• Series that have been submitted to AFF in previous years are eligible to be resubmitted, provided they are eligible according to AFF’s current rules and regulations.
• We strongly encourage applicants to submit their series only after the applicable episodes are fully finished and will judge each submission as a completed work, whether it is or not. Once a series is entered, we will not update the submission with a more recent cut. That said, because AFF’s focus is on story, minor technical changes will not affect the final decision of any submission. Should the series be accepted to play during the Festival, the applicant will have the opportunity to supply the festival with their most recent version.

RETURNS & ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

• Submissions will not be returned under any circumstances.
• Submissions will receive a confirmation email.
• Notification letters will be sent via postal mail and e-mail by late September. Semifinalists will be contacted by phone around this time.