Submitting Your Project to the Sundance Film Festival
Submitting Your Project to the Sundance Film Festival
Submissions to the 2025 Sundance Film Festival are now open. You may click the button below to begin the application process. For answers to the most commonly asked questions about submitting projects to the Festival, download our FAQ document, and please read the Rules & Regulations thoroughly before you begin the process. The deadline dates and submission fees for 2025 Festival consideration are listed below.
2025 Sundance Film Festival
Deadlines & Entry Fees
Early
Official
Late
Feature Films
Aug 9
$75
Sept 6
$95
Sept 23
$120
Short Films
Jul 29
$50
Aug 16
$70
Sept 6
$90
Episodic Content (60 minutes or less)
Aug 5
$50
Aug 30
$70
Sept 20
$90
Episodic Content (over 60 minutes)
Aug 5
$75
Aug 30
$95
Sept 20
$120
The Sundance Institute is a non-profit organization that provides a wide variety of programs and initiatives for independent artists and storytellers working in film and digital media. Fees from Festival submissions help us keep the process as rigorous and democratic as possible and to further support the independent creative community. For more information about the Sundance Institute’s other programs, please visit our apply page.
Submission Categories
Each year, we select a slate of feature films, short films, episodic projects, and New Frontier exhibition and performance projects to play within each of our Festival programs. Before you begin your submission, please read carefully the eligibility requirements for each category below and select the one that best suits your project:
U.S. Narrative Feature Films
Any narrative or non-scripted work of fiction originating from within the United States with a running time of 50 minutes or more. In order to qualify as a U.S. Narrative Feature Film, the submitted project must be either scripted or improvisational fiction, or a fictionalization of actual events, and at least half of the project’s financing must originate from within the United States. Only films retaining world premiere status are eligible for open submission to this category. Completed films that have been or will have been exhibited theatrically or otherwise made available to the general public, either for free or for purchase, prior to February 3, 2025 are not eligible to submit to this category. This includes, but is not limited to, public theatrical exhibition (festival or otherwise), television broadcast, home video, or any digital or online platform.
U.S. Documentary Feature Films
Any nonfiction film originating from within the United States with a running time of 50 minutes or more. If your documentary contains re-enactments or other fictionalized depictions of actual events, you may submit it to this category, but we will ultimately decide which of our Festival programs is best suited for your project, if accepted. In order to qualify as a U.S. Documentary Feature Film, at least half of the submitted project’s financing must originate from within the United States. Only films retaining world premiere status are eligible for open submission to this category. Completed films that have been or will have been exhibited theatrically or otherwise made available to the general public, either for free or for purchase, prior to February 3, 2025 are not eligible to submit to this category. This includes, but is not limited to, public theatrical exhibition (festival or otherwise), television broadcast, home video, or any digital or online platform.
International Narrative Feature Films
Any narrative or non-scripted work of fiction originating from outside of the United States with a running time of 50 minutes or more. In order to qualify as an International Narrative Feature Film, the submitted project must be either scripted or improvisational fiction, or a fictionalization of actual events, and at least half of the project’s financing must originate from outside of the United States. Only films retaining international premiere status are eligible for open submission to this category. Completed films that have been or will have been exhibited theatrically (festival or otherwise) outside of the film’s country or countries of origin prior to February 3, 2025 are not eligible for open submission to this category. Films that have been or will have been made available to the general public in a non-theatrical form, either for free or for purchase, prior to February 3, 2025 are not eligible to submit to this category. This includes, but is not limited to, television broadcast, home video, or any digital or online platform in any country or countries.
International Documentary Feature Films
Any nonfiction film originating from outside of the United States with a running time of 50 minutes or more. If your documentary contains re-enactments or other fictionalized depictions of actual events, you may submit it to this category, but we will ultimately decide which of our Festival programs is best suited for your project, if accepted. In order to qualify as an International Documentary Feature Film, at least half of the submitted project’s financing must originate from outside of the United States. Only films retaining international premiere status are eligible for open submission to this category. Completed films that have been or will have been exhibited theatrically (festival or otherwise) outside of the film’s country or countries of origin prior to February 3, 2025 are not eligible for open submission to this category. Films that have been or will have been made available to the general public in a non-theatrical form, either for free or for purchase, prior to February 3, 2025 are not eligible to submit to this category. This includes, but is not limited to, television broadcast, home video, or any digital or online platform in any country or countries.
U.S. Short Films
Any film or video project originating from within the United States with a running time of less than 50 minutes, including credits. This includes scripted or improvisational fiction, nonfiction or documentary, experimental film or video, animation, music video, or any other short-form film or video project. In order to qualify as a U.S. Short Film, at least half of the submitted project’s financing must originate from within the United States. Short films have no premiere requirements or prior screening restrictions that impact Festival eligibility and may have been screened at any number of festivals or other public theatrical exhibitions, broadcast or streamed on television or the Internet, and/or released via any home video or other public distribution platform anywhere in the world.
International Short Films
Any film or video project originating from outside of the United States with a running time of less than 50 minutes, including credits. This includes scripted or improvisational fiction, nonfiction or documentary, experimental film or video, animation, music video, or any other short-form film or video project. In order to qualify as an International Short Film, at least half of the submitted project’s financing must originate from outside of the United States. Short films have no premiere requirements or prior screening restrictions that impact Festival eligibility and may have been screened at any number of festivals or other public theatrical exhibitions, broadcast or streamed on television or the Internet, and/or released via any home video or other public distribution platform anywhere in the world.
Episodic Content (60 minutes or less)
Any live-action, documentary/nonfiction, or animation project presented in or intended to be presented in a multi-episode format, with a total running time of 60 minutes or less. This includes pilots, pilot presentations, multi-episode series, web series, docu-series, or any other film or video project created to unfold over multiple episodes. Projects submitted to this category may consist of single or multiple episodes, but the total running time must not exceed 60 minutes in length. Submitted projects may originate from anywhere in the world, but multi-episode submissions must be delivered digitally as one single and continuous video file or link, not to exceed 10GB in size. Should you choose to submit single or multiple episodes of your project to this category and further episodes will eventually become available, we will only consider submitted episodes with a total running time of 60 minutes or less. Projects originating from within the United States are not eligible to submit to this category if the submitted content has been or will be made available in its entirety to the general public via any public theatrical exhibition or any broadcast, home video, or digital/online platform prior to February 3, 2025. Projects originating from outside of the United States remain eligible if any or all of the submitted content has been released only within the project’s country or countries of origin or not released at all. If some but not all of the episodes have been exhibited theatrically or made available via any other public platform, you may only submit episodes that have not been exhibited theatrically or otherwise released to the public. For example, if the first season of your series is available online, you may only submit episodes from a subsequent season that have not been released to the public in any form.
Episodic Content (over 60 minutes)
Any live-action, documentary/nonfiction, or animation project presented in or intended to be presented in a multi-episode format, with a total running time that exceeds 60 minutes. This includes pilots, multi-episode series, web series, docu-series or any other film or video project created to unfold over multiple episodes. Submitted projects may consist of single or multiple episodes, and there are no restrictions regarding the total running time of episodes submitted. Projects submitted to this category may originate from anywhere in the world, but multi-episode submissions must be delivered digitally as one single and continuous video file or link, not to exceed 10GB in size. Projects originating from within the United States are not eligible to submit to this category if the submitted content has been or will be made available in its entirety to the general public via any public theatrical exhibition or any broadcast, home video, or digital/online platform prior to February 3, 2025. Projects originating from outside of the United States remain eligible if any or all of the submitted content has been released only within the project’s country or countries of origin or not released at all. If some but not all of the episodes have been exhibited theatrically or made available via any other public platform, you may only submit episodes that have not been exhibited theatrically or otherwise released to the public. For example, if the first season of your series is available online, you may only submit episodes from a subsequent season that have not been released to the public in any form.
International Submissions
Celebrating independence, creativity, and risk taking, the Sundance Film Festival plays a vital role in discovery of new films and new voices from around the world. The World Cinema competitions are specifically dedicated to identifying emerging international talent and connecting them with audiences and industry in the United States.
World Cinema Dramatic Competition
The World Cinema Dramatic Competition showcases a selection of new films from emerging filmmakers. Submitted films must be World Premieres or International Premieres (films that have not screened outside their country of origin) and must have a running time of 50 minutes or more. Accepted films are eligible for jury prizes and an audience award. Among the films premiering in competition since the first edition in 2005: Animal Kingdom, The Maid, Once, Mermaid, Megane, An Education, Madeinusa, Son of Babylon, Drained, Bronson, 13 Tzameti, Kekexili: Mountain Patrol, Little Red Flowers and Happy, Happy.
World Cinema Documentary Competition
The World Cinema Documentary Competition showcases a selection of new films from visionary documentary filmmakers around the world. Submitted films must be World Premieres or International Premieres (films that have not screened outside their country of origin) and must have a running time of 50 minutes or more. Accepted films are eligible for jury prizes and an audience award. Among the award-winning films premiering in competition since the first edition in 2005: Man on Wire, Up the Yangtze, Grizzly Man, Senna, Manufactured Landscapes, Searching for Sugar Man, Bus 174, Black Power Mixtape, 5 Broken Cameras and Afghan Star.
Non-Competition Sections
In addition to the competition sections, international films are also considered for the following sections: Midnight (genre films), New Frontier (experimental films), and Premieres (world premieres from established filmmakers). Over the years, acclaimed international works like Bloody Sunday, Whale Rider, Cronos, Motorcycle Diaries, Carne, Dead/Alive, Goodbye Lenin, Calvary, Cube, Zidane, Open Hearts, Haute Tension, Intacto, Shine, Time Crimes, Away from Her, Four Weddings and a Funeral, March of the Penguins, and Run, Lola, Run have emerged from the Festival.
We do not accept open submissions for the Spotlight category (films that have screened at other international festivals).
You may not apply to a specific Festival program. Instead, please indicate whether the film is as an International Narrative Feature or International Documentary Feature when you submit via FilmFreeway.
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