These guidelines are contractually binding – please read carefully!

1. Qualifications: The Next Step Film Festival welcomes short films with any content and in any style, whether it's live-action, documentary, or animation. Entries must have a total run-time between 1 and 30 minutes. The year of production does not matter and there is no premiere requirement.

2. Submission Categories: All genres.

3. Student Films: The Student category is open to students only. The submitted film must have been created while the film's director or directors were enrolled at a school, college, or university. 

4. International Films: The International category is open to any short that was created by anyone who is not a Italian citizen and the production must have been shot primarily outside of Italy.

5. Italian Films: The Italian Filmmaker category is open to any short that was created while the director or directors were residents of Italy. The production must have been shot primarily in Italy with Italian locations. 

6. Submissions: All films must be submitted through our website - there are no exceptions.

7. Subtitles: Non-English language films must be subtitled with subtitles in English or contain minimal dialog. 

8. Awards: The festival will award six winners, chosen by the festival board of directors. The prize includes a three-day stay in Venice, with meals included, for each winner. The award does not cover airfare to the event.

In addition, there are two awards for films dealing with the topics of: Solidarity & Inclusion and Environmental Sustainability. The awards include a prize valued at least €3000 in benefits. On occasion, the festival may add additional awards.

9. Exhibition Copies: Selected films must provide one of the following formats for exhibition: DCP (Digital Cinema Package), .mov (Quicktime ProRes) or mp4 (H.264) with sufficient quality to convert to a DCP. In addition the audio for all films must be stereo format. Electronic or online delivery of exhibition copies are the only accepted delivery options. 

10. Notification: Selected films will be notified by email. Please add venezia@nextstepfilmfestival.com to your email filter to avoid the notifications going into your spam folder!

11. Stills and Poster: A press kit is not required for submission. Upon selection, filmmakers are required to provide a high-quality digital still and poster for the film.

12. Ratings: Under no circumstances will the festival staff share film review committee and programmer comments or ratings with the public or submitting filmmakers.

13. Fee Waivers, Discounts: In fairness to all filmmakers, all unsolicited fee waiver or discounts, requests will be declined. The festival board, on occasion, may offer waivers or discounts to films viewed at other film festivals, although this is completely at the discretion of the festival board.

14. Programming: The festival programmers may add selected films to any category or programming block deemed appropriate.

15. Warranties: By submitting your film to the Next Step Film Festival, you warrant that we hold all the necessary rights to screen your film at our event.

16. Permissions: By submitting your film to the Next Step Film Festival we reserve the rights to use still images and short video clips (up to 30 sec) of your film, as well as your likeness for promotional use leading up to and during our event.