BIFA 2019 Feature Film Entries Open

We are now accepting feature film entries for our 2019 awards ceremony.

There are a few small changes that you need to know about:

Entry deadlines & Fees

Starting this year we’ll be charging entry fees for some films, under some conditions. BIFA has grown enormously over the last four years; we now have around 700 voters and receive over 150 feature film entries and 300 shorts each year. The new entry fees are designed to help us deal with the organisational and administrative challenge of getting all the films seen, discussed and through the voting process in a fair and efficient manner.

The deadlines and entry fees for feature films (British and International) are*:

(*These prices exclude VAT)

Feature films may be accepted after 30 August, until 6 September, at the discretion of the Nomination Committee and at the rate of £250 per entry for feature films with production budgets under £1m and £500 per entry for feature films with production budgets over £1m.

If you can’t enter your film before the fees kick in (eg. if you won’t hear about a festival acceptance until after the 8th August), please contact us on hello@bifa.film and we may be able to issue a fee waiver.

FILM INFORMATION

There is new information required to enter films to BIFA:

Budget & crew size

• Production budget (approximate, in £). This information is required to determine if entry fees need to be charged for the film. It also helps us determine eligibility and monitor the health and activity of the British film industry. Budget information will not be released to BIFA voters unless the film has been entered to the Breakthrough Producer or Raindance Discovery Award categories, where it is required information. Budget information will never be released publicly.
• Crew size. This includes all film staff, cast and crew who worked on a film from pre-production to the final edit, but not sales agents, distributors, marketing etc. This information also helps us monitor the health of British filmmaking.

British FILM INFORMATION

Entrants entering British films will also be asked to complete:

BFI Diversity Standards

• All British feature films being entered to BIFA this year must be assessed against the BFI Diversity Standards.

Awards eligibility criteria does not currently require films to meet the Standards, but they must be assessed against them. Films that have already been assessed against the Standards do not have to be re-assessed. You can find out more about the BFI Diversity Standards here.

Diversity & inclusivity monitoring

Part of what we do – aside from celebrating amazing films and the people who make them – is keeping an eye of the bigger picture of how the British film industry is working and trying to improve it in as many ways as we can. To improve diversity and inclusivity amongst British filmmakers, it’s important to have an accurate picture of who is (and who isn’t) making films. A huge range of films come through BIFA’s doors each year, so we want to take this opportunity to grab a snapshot of the state of play by analysing the makeup of all of the films entered for the awards.

• Entrants will be asked to send BIFA’s Diversity & Inclusivity Monitoring form to Writers, Directors and Producers of all British feature films entered to BIFA.

Category statements

Our statement formats have been updated in all categories in which they are required:

• Breakthrough Producer – see statement format here
• The Raindance Discovery Award – see statement format here
• The Craft categories – see statement formats here

The way that entrants send us statements has also changed. Gone are the days of uploading documents – now entrants will be asked to simply paste statements into text boxes in the entry form.

HOW TO ENTER A FILM

1. Please read the full list of rules & eligibility requirements here
2. Head on over to our Entries page
3. If you already have an account, log in
4. If you don’t already have an account, create one via the ‘Register’ tab
5. Log in to your account and head back to the Entries page  (if you aren’t there already)
6. Click on the ‘Feature Films’ button and fill in the form

If you have any questions or problems, please get in touch with us on hello@bifa.film