The Atlanta Film Festival (ATLFF)

We strongly encourage you to review the following carefully. By submitting your project, you acknowledge that you have read and agreed to all of the following rules and terms. All projects that have been submitted by our final deadline and that adhere to the following terms will be considered for inclusion in the 2026 Atlanta Film Festival.

SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

In order to be considered, each submission must be accompanied by a submission fee paid in full and a working screener. Once we have all necessary materials, the submission will be marked “In Consideration.” It is the submitter’s responsibility to make sure that all submission requirements are met. If your submission is marked “Incomplete” and you are unsure why, please email .

Any submissions that still have an “Incomplete” status on Sfilmmaker by our final submissions deadline will be disqualified without refund of submission fees. Reasons a submission will be considered incomplete include (but are not limited to):
Screener is missing
Screener has been deleted or password has been changed
Screener does not have subtitles (if in a foreign language), audio, image, or any feature that prevents us from properly judging it

In addition, we cannot accept screener links via email, they MUST be attached to your submission. We DO NOT accept DVD or Blu-Ray screeners.

For Virtual Reality film submissions, see requirements below:

For 360° video — please provide either or both:
A) Private 360-enabled screener (Vimeo, YouTube or Oculus Media Studio.)
B) Downloadable video link.

For tethered/PCVR and other room scale/interactive projects:

We REQUIRE a full video recording of the experience. While you may include app links and builds alongside that, the video screener is the primary format for consideration. Lastly, please detail any needs for the exhibition (such as schematics, compatible HMD/tech, etc.).SUBTITLES

All foreign-language films must be submitted with English subtitles. If we discover a foreign-language submission is missing subtitles, we will email you to request an updated screener with English subtitles. If the submitter fails to provide working subtitles by the final submission deadline, the project will be considered incomplete and will be disqualified without refund of submission fees.

SUBMISSION CATEGORIES

Please review all submission categories carefully before submitting your project. All entrants are required to pay the submission fee of their film’s appropriate category. If you believe you have submitted your film to the wrong category, contact us immediately. While we can typically facilitate a change in category, the entrant will be responsible for any changes in submission fees. We cannot offer partial refunds for categories with a smaller fee. If the new category has a higher fee, the entrant is responsible for paying the difference.

Submission to multiple categories is not encouraged. Please read category descriptions carefully to determine where your submission belongs. If you wish to submit to multiple categories, a separate submission fee must be paid for each category. ATLFF reserves the right to determine eligibility of a submission in each respective category. Refunds will not be offered for submission to an inappropriate category.

Our submission categories are defined by length and format rather than genre. We accept films in all genres. If you have questions about any of our submission categories, please email .

ATLFF will not pre-screen or evaluate films prior to submission for the purpose of recommending a category for submission.

GEORGIA FILMS

A discounted submission fee is available for submissions that were both shot in Georgia and come from a director with a current Georgia address. Projects that meet both qualifications can submit at a discount.

In order to qualify for a Georgia Film discount, your project must be:

Filmed at least partially in Georgia
AND
By a director currently residing in the state of Georgia

Films that are not live-action are also eligible for the discount, if the director resides in-state and the project was partially produced in Georgia.

If this applies to your project, email to obtain the discount code.

All films submitted with this code must adhere to the rules of the festival at large and the category to which they submit. If you submit using this code without meeting the necessary criteria, you will be disqualified from consideration for the festival and will not be issued a refund.

Submitting with the Georgia Film code will not impact a film’s chances of being accepted into the festival either positively or negatively. This code is intended as a way to support our local filmmaking community by offering a low-cost means of entry (and also makes it easier for us to identify local films in our submissions pool).COMPLETION DATE

Any project that was completed on or after October 1, 2023 will be eligible for consideration at the 2026 Atlanta Film Festival.

WORKS IN PROGRESS

Works in progress are accepted with the following stipulations:

Incomplete projects must be clearly listed as such. Films should be marked either “Rough Cut” or “Work In Progress/WIP”. All missing and incomplete materials or changes to be made (e.g. temporary score, missing VFX, no color correction) should be clearly indicated in your cover letter, project title, and/or on an opening title to the film itself.

You may update your screener up until the final submission deadline, as long as the link and password for the submission remains the same. However, ATLFF cannot guarantee that your submission will be re-screened and considered each time you update it. Therefore, you should not submit your project if it is not complete enough to adequately represent the final product.

Updated cuts must be accessible via your Sfilmmaker account. We cannot accept updated cuts via email.

No updated cuts will be accepted after the final submission deadline.

If selected, the final version of the film must be available by February 2026.

PREMIERE STATUS

ATLFF does not require a World Premiere in any category, but we do consider premiere status when making final selections.

Films should not have screened publicly in the greater Atlanta area prior to the 2026 Atlanta Film Festival, and we strongly prefer to program works that have not yet screened in the state of Georgia. Exceptions to this rule may be made on rare occasions and are solely at the discretion of the programming team. A Georgia Premiere is required for consideration in the feature competition categories, excluding the Georgia Feature Award. Feature films that have acquired US distribution of any kind prior to selection at ATLFF are not eligible for competition.

Feature films that have been (or will be) publicly released online, on VOD, or DVD prior to the 206 Atlanta Film Festival are not eligible to screen. Short films that are available online are programmed on a case by case basis, but we typically prioritize films that have not yet been released to the public.

Films that have screened online as part of a virtual festival presentation are still eligible for screening at ATLFF.

It is the submitter’s responsibility to notify ATLFF of any updates in premiere status as they occur, especially if the film is selected for another festival in the state of Georgia.

DEADLINES

Please keep track of deadlines closely if you plan on submitting within a certain submission window. All deadlines are set for 11:59pm Eastern Daylight Time (with the exception of our final deadline at 11:59pm Eastern Standard Time).

All works selected must be ready with a final version, or a reasonable expectation of when we can expect a final version, by our notification date for inclusion in the festival.

Upon acceptance into the 2026 Atlanta Film Festival, you grant ATLFF the right to utilize an excerpt from your film for promotional purposes.

All accepted films will screen at least once during the festival, with the possibility of an encore screening for select films/shorts blocks on a case-by-case basis. All scheduling, screening venues, digital platforms, and time slots are at the discretion of the ATLFF staff and are subject to change.

If you need to ship us your film on a physical drive, ATLFF only pays for a return shipment of your drive, not inbound shipping. Flash drives will only be returned upon request, and drives for local filmmakers are pick-up only. We cannot return international flash drives, so we highly recommended sending films online.

DCP capability is limited and dependent on the screening venue. DCP must be approved by the Print Traffic department after the schedule has been finalized. ATLFF is not responsible for any shipping expenses of unapproved print formats.

Any kind of film exhibition (16/35/70mm) is rare and solely at the discretion of the programming team, venue capabilities, and schedule allowances. It is not a format that can be guaranteed at the time of acceptance. If you choose to submit, it is best to assume that (if selected) a digital version would most likely be chosen for exhibition.

Schedule and screening venues are decided solely at the discretion of the programming staff, and ATLFF cannot guarantee that any film will play in a DCP-capable theater. Please be prepared to have an alternate print format available. If approved for DCP, you must provide a backup format (such as Blu-ray or a digital file).

SCREENING FEES

The Atlanta Film Festival does not pay screening fees for submitted films. By submitting your project, you acknowledge that ATLFF will not pay to present your work.

THIRD PARTY SOFTWARE

ATLFF regularly uses private, secure third party software to organize, track, and review submissions. By submitting to our festival, you are authorizing us to handle your film using those third party softwares.

CODE OF CONDUCT

Please be advised that the Atlanta Film Festival has instituted a code of conduct by which all attendees of the festival are expected to follow. Those who fail to follow the terms of this code of conduct will face possible dismissal from the festival. Possible grounds for dismissal may include, but are not limited to, the following: gross misconduct or insubordination, theft of property or misuse of agency materials, abuse or mistreatment of clients, guests, staff or other volunteers, failure to abide by agency policies and procedures, any form of harassment or assault.

COPYRIGHT & LEGAL TERMS

By entering your film for consideration to the 2026 Atlanta Film Festival, you authorize that your work is cleared for festival exhibition and accept full legal responsibility for the intellectual property therein. The submitter and all filmmakers associated with the project shall indemnify and hold harmless the Atlanta Film Festival, Atlanta Film Society, and any representative or affiliates from and against any and all claims, liabilities, losses, damages, and expenses (including but not limited to attorney's fees and costs of the court) which may be incurred by reason of any claim involving copyright, trademark, credits, publicity, screening, and loss of or damage to the screening videos entered.

REFUNDS & DISQUALIFICATION

Once a project is listed “In Consideration” , we are unable to offer refunds for any reason, including (but not limited to):
Submission to the wrong category
Change in premiere status or distribution
Duplicate submissions
Failure to pay the full submission fee by the final deadline
Failure to provide a working screener by the final deadline
Project’s failure to comply with submission Rules & Terms
Improper use of a discount code or waiver
Rejection from the festival
Withdrawing your submission for any reason (including changes of heart)

ATLFF reserves the right to disqualify any submission without refund, even after a film has been invited or final programming has been announced, at the sole discretion of ATLFF staff.

ATLFF reserves the right to decline any submission for consideration for any reason.

If you have any questions that are not answered here or in our Submission FAQ, please email us at . We are unable to address inquiries via phone.