Submit a film
About
ShAFF SCREENS THE BEST NEW ADVENTURE FILMS FROM AROUND THE WORLD
We scour the world for the best new adventure films and curate them into programmes that are surprising, energetic, challenging and uplifting. From one minute long to feature length, the films we choose reflect the diversity of the outdoor experience, giving a window into other places, people, and perspectives as well as our own. Adventures include mountain climbing, ocean crossings, high adrenaline and big tricks, alongside quieter moments of contemplation and unexpected discoveries. Filmmakers are valued members of our community, we celebrate their achievements and nurture their talents.
WHAT ADVENTURE MEANS TO US
Adventure means human endeavour outdoors and commitment in the face of the unknown. Rock, mountain, water, air, adventurers are not afraid to take on a challenge. Alongside the adrenaline there is room for reflection, as adventurers we respect the people we adventure with and the environments we adventure in. Films may be sport based, environment-focused, humourous, animated, none of the above, all three or something entirely different, but they must show adventure. If you have a film that that meets any of these criteria we are very interested in hearing from you. We screen films of all lengths but ShAFF works best with 15-20 minute films, if you have a festival edit, we're interested to see it!
DEADLINE - 1ST NOVEMBER (EVERY YEAR)
SUBMISSION COSTS - SUBMITTING YOUR FILM TO SHAFF IS FREE. WE VERY MUCH APPRECIATE THE SUPPORT OF FILMMAKERS AND DON’T THINK THAT CHARGING YOU FOR THE PRIVILEGE OF SUBMITTING YOUR FILM IS THE RIGHT THING TO DO. IT'S AN AWFUL LOT OF WORK ADMINISTERING AND WATCHING OVER 300 FILMS, AND THEN CURATING A PROGRAMME OF AROUND ONE HUNDRED OF THE BEST OF THEM AND UPLOADING DETAILS TO OUR WEBSITE, BUT WE KNOW THAT THIS IS WHAT MAKES SHAFF WHAT IT IS, AND DO IT WILLINGLY AND FREELY!
Payment / Awards - We have a panel of judges who view all films screened at ShAFF and declare winners and runners up in each of the following categories (note that categories may change):
- Best Film - All films are automatically eligible.
- Best Activism Film - Films with a strong call to action matching our festival values.
- Best Film Made In Sheffield - Films by local filmmakers or featuring local athletes and locations, recognising the talent of The Outdoor City.
- Best Climbing Film - Climbing, mountaineering, bouldering, indoor climbing - all types of climbing.
- Best Bike Film - Road, Mountain, Bikepacking, BMX - all types of biking.
- Best Running Film - Ultra running, racing, jogging, orienteering - all types of running.
- Best Spirit Of Adventure Film - The essence of what ShAFF is about: stepping way outside of the usual comfort zones, being out there on a limb, totally committed.
- Best Artistic Film - To recognise cinematic creativity.
- Best Short Film - All films under 10 minutes long automatically considered.*
- Best Soundtrack - To recognise the best overall sound experience in a film.
- Best Women In Adventure Film - To recognise the best film made by or featuring women in a lead role.
Either £100 or equivalent value in equipment will be awarded to the winning film in each category, with £200 to the Best Film winner.
There is also a Judges Special Prize
*The maximum length of the short film category varies from year to year depending on the films submitted, but is generally around 5 -10 minutes.
How and what to submit, and what you are signing up to
Here's what you need to know before you submit:
1. Please supply the film electronically (ideally at at least 1920 by 1080).
2. Please upload files up to 5Gb in size to ShAFF's Dropbox. We can also accept films via Vimeo (please turn on the download link), WeTransfer, Hightail, or any other method which you may already use. Please enable us to download the films. If you have any questions you can email us.
3. Accepted formats: MOV (H264), Mp4, AVI. Unacceptable formats: MkV, ProRes. For other formats we suggest sending a small sample prior to the main file.
4. Films in any language other than English, MUST have English subtitles. Subtitles should be embedded within the video, not as a separate file.
5. ACCESSIBILITY - We are making big strides towards screening film sessions accessible to the VI/Blind and d/Deaf communities. We encourage all filmmakers to submit OC (Open Captions) and AD (Audio Description). If you don't have these assets then we encourage you to consider creating them and have worked with Find It Film and Coldhouse Collective to produce a Best Practice document with advice on how to do so. In the UK there are nearly half a million people who are deaf and or blind who may not be getting to experience your film. We would also really appreciate it if you would include a meaningful ALT Tag description for any images which you upload (see page 15 of Best Practice document in link above for guidelines).
If you have OC please submit one version of your film with OC burned in, not as a separate SRT file. If you have AD please submit with the AD as a separate audio channel in the above file.
6. SUSTAINABILITY - We encourage you to tell us, in your own words, how your film addresses sustainability. We're looking at both the actual process and practice of making the film, the carbon footprint you think it has during production, but also whether there is a call to action in the film which will encourage others to act in a sustainable way, and so on. Any details you can provide will help us gain insight into this. Depending on your answer we will hopefull award your submission a Sustainability Stamp as a way of informing our audience of your practices and stance. Note that 'not' submitting any sustainability notes does not negatively impact on your submission, it is simply a way we are trying to encourage sustainable filmmaking.
7. All entries give the right to ShAFF to screen the film up to six times at the physical festival, and also securely online behind a paywall for a period of one month after the festival date. Profits from online screenings will be shared with filmmakers on a 50/50 basis, paid in proportion to the length of the film. For example, a 10 minute film showing as part of a 90 minute programme will earn 1/9th of 50% of the money earned by the festival. **You can still submit your film if you don't have online permissions, please provide more information when you submit.
8. All submissions will be retained by the Festival for adjudication, and archival purposes.
9. By submitting a film to the Festival (and agreeing to these terms and conditions) you are confirming that all necessary permissions have been sought from contributors to the film, and royalties paid, including ‘release’ from those appearing in the film, and creators of any soundtrack/music, and you indemnify us against any liability that may occur through breach of copyright.
10. At least one high resolution, 16:9 landscape format, JPG image of a scene in the film is supplied for free use in promoting the festival. All images must be labelled with film title, location and photographer credit and will be retained by ShAFF. Please include ALT information for all submitted images for accessibility purposes. Please keep individual file sizes under 8Mb. We may also use screengrabs from the film. Images must include rights to be used for film promotional purposes.
11. We may use a clip from the film in the festival trailer and/or to promote the festival. Note that this trailer/promo will be used online and on air to promote the event. If you would prefer us not to do this please let us know.
12. If you send us your website address and social media handles/tags we will do our best to direct people to you, and where possible, watch or buy your film.
13. If you can supply us with a list of the music tracks, artists, and locations to purchase, we will list these on the festival website in an attempt to feed something back to the artists.
14. The closer you can follow our guidelines means that we will better be able to promote what you do!
15. Submission of films does not guarantee their showing at the Festival.
16. The electronic submission of any entry to the film competition implies acceptance of all the above procedures and regulations by the Entrant.
