The Setting Sun Film Festival

The Setting Sun Film Festival

The Setting Sun Film Festival

Setting Sun Film Festival

Submission guidelines and rules

Read about categories, prizes and judging in the Submit Film section  here.

By entering the Setting Sun Film Festival, entrants agree to abide by the following terms and conditions. Failure to abide by these terms and conditions will result in disqualification. Fees will not be refunded. By entering a film, it is presumed that every entrant has read the Terms and Conditions, award categories and judging information.
All films in all categories entered into the competition, must have been completed from 1st December 2021 until 31st Jan 2024. Applicants must register and pay before submitting their film. The deadline is midnight 31 January 2024.
All films in all the general short film categories in the competition, (which is separate to the festival) must not be more than 40 minutes opening to closing credits. Films in the Under 18s youth section, and the female filmmaker section, can be no more than 20 minutes.
Films will be judged and the winners announced on the website prior to the festival starting. Judges’ decisions are final and no discussion will be entered.
All short films must be uploaded by the filmmaker onto FilmFreeway, via YouTube or a Vimeo link for judging. No hardcopy DVDS are to be submitted to the festival. Please check the quality of your film once uploaded. Please provide the password on your application.

For screening purposes at the Sun Theatre

For screening at Kindred Studios, the Greek Centre and online

Filmmakers will need to provide an MP4 file for theses venues. 

BEST SHORT FILM WEST
Filmmakers entering the Best Short Film West Award must have had key creatives (director, producer, writer) living in the West, or have completed their entry in the West.
ROUGE PROGRAM AND BEST FILM BY A FEMALE DIRECTOR
Entrants must have two of the following to be eligible to be screened in the female filmmaker program, The Rouge: producer, screenwriter, director.
Only films with a female director can be eligible to win the Best Film by a Female Filmmaker and the $500 prize. The winner agrees to use the festival laurel in the credits. The winner of the Rouge Program agrees to mention the festival in media interviews and use a laurel.
SECONDARY STUDENTS entering a film in the competition must be over 13 years of age to enter. It is presumed that by entering the competition that the child’s parent/ guardian has read the terms and conditions and has consented.
FEATURE FILMS:  For the purposes of the festival, an Australian film is any film with 51% or more Australian financing.
i. Your film can be a documentary or a narrative.
ii. Your film must not have had a screening in Victoria. It must have been completed between 1 December 2021- 31 December 2024. Please feel free to contact the office you are unsure of your film’s eligibility. We reserve the right not to screen a feature if the films entered cannot meet the criteria.
iii. Your film must be more than 60 minutes long.
iv. You are available for a Q and A following the film’s screening
v. The feature film file chosen to screen  at a theatre during the festival must be a DCP file set to 24fps or 25fps. 

All films that require KDMs will require a valid KDM for festival duration as well as 2 weeks in advance to allow for testing.