ABOUT US

About IIFF

The Indian Independent Film Festival is an India-based international film festival competition. It holds monthly editions that qualify for its annual awards. Outstanding projects from the monthly competition, including official nominees for the annual awards, are featured at the Annual Awards event every year, along with a carefully chosen non-competitive section. The Indian Independent Film Festival occasionally hosts special screenings and Q&A sessions with cast and crew in addition to the regular awards cycle, which helps to advance communication and camaraderie within the filmmaking community.

Indian Independent Film Festival is looking for independent projects from all genres, especially looking for filmmakers who don’t have the opportunity to showcase their talent from all countries, especially from those traditionally underrepresented in the global film industry.

Every month, Indian Independent Film Festival establishes a comprehensive hierarchy of the most important films in the festival circuit, awarding a considerable number of projects in several different categories.

Monthly competitions:
Every month, a panel of invited experts from the film industry and academia evaluates the submitted projects based on a strict criterion of excellence. Annual nominations are based on the monthly award winners.

Therefore, the Indian Independent Film Festival awards a significant number of projects in multiple categories each month and creates a thorough hierarchy of the most significant films in the festival circuit. A monthly breakdown that lets you participate in a TRADITIONAL ANNUAL FESTIVAL all at the same time, hoping to be selected as one of the year’s top films to be screened in Kolkata, the city of joy.

INDIAN INDEPENDENT FILM FESTIVAL OFFER
All Finalists/ Official Selections of each Monthly Edition:
All projects officially selected in each monthly round receive the Indian Independent Film Festival official laurel and the custom certificate (digital format) of achievement according to their final status in the competition and will be listed on our website and Social networks.

All-Winners of Each Monthly Edition:
Will receive the Indian Independent Film Festival Awards Laurels by email and receive the Winner Indian Independent Film Festival Awards Certificate (digital format) ready for printing & will be listed on our website and Social networks;
Automatically enter the ‘BEST OF THE YEAR’ competition as an Annual Official Selection (will be decided by our Honorable Jury Members).

ANNUAL AWARDS:
(The Traditional Annual format)
From the pool of nominees and awards winners of each cycle of 12 monthly rounds, Indian Independent Film Festival shortlists the annual finalists (the top of the year) and decides the 3 top nominations for each of the awardable categories.
All nominated projects are screened at the annual event which closes with the awards ceremony for the best of the year & receive the prestigious Indian Independent Film Festival Trophy during the Annual Gala Event in front of the Audience. In case they could not attend the Award Ceremony they can receive their trophy by paying shipping costs;

Also, for each monthly round, Indian Independent Film Festival decides and awards two overall winners (chosen from all categories) special jury mentions (Awards of Excellence) & Outstanding Achievements Awards.

EVENTS DATES:
The special screenings and Q&A as well as the annual awards have a different timeline that is announced through our website and social media outlets. All submitters are always kept in the loop and in advance to be able to do the preparations to attend the events.

𝐏𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐞: “𝐀 𝐝𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐚𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐥 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐯𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐡𝐥𝐲 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞,”

Rules & Terms:
Please read these Rules and terms carefully before you submit your project. By submitting your project to competition in the Indian Independent Film Festival, you expressly acknowledge and agree that you shall be bound by the terms of these Rules and terms.

(1) All films must have English-language subtitles.
(2) Indian Independent Film Festival can use trailer/teaser/film poster/stills or BTS for promotional purposes (but do not release, under any form or circumstances, the full film)
(3) Entry fees are non-refundable.
(4) Submitting your film to the IIFF is not a guarantee of selection. All the official selections, nominees, and winners will be listed on our website permanently. All the winning projects will receive an award or certificate. Please note that we do not offer application fee waivers. We treat every submitter equally.
(5) By submitting, you agree that you own all copyrights and intellectual properties to your work.

WE DO NOT ACCEPT:
1. Amateur videos.
2. Extremist or propaganda content from religious or political organizations.
3. Projects involving politics/films promoting political agenda.
4. Pornography.
5. Films with a poor production standard (bad sound, lack of subtitles for non-English films, poor resolution).

DISCLAIMER:

(i) Indian Independent Film Festival is an independent film festival. Any resemblance to or association with any other festival, event, organization, or institution is purely coincidental. We do not represent, act on behalf of, or claim affiliation with any other organization unless expressly stated.

(ii) The Festival respects the privacy and confidentiality of filmmakers, participants, and submissions. We do not disclose, share, or provide any personal, confidential, submission-related, or registration information to third parties without the consent of the concerned party or a legally valid request from a competent authority.

(iii) Please be aware that Indian Independent Film Festival does not solicit, request, or accept donations, sponsorship payments, or any form of unauthorized financial contribution through third parties.

Submissions are accepted only through FilmFreeway

Data Privacy & GDPR Commitment (IIFF)

At the Indian Independent Film Festival (IIFF), we are deeply committed to protecting the privacy and personal data of our submitters, filmmakers, and visitors in accordance with global data protection standards, including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Data Collection & Purpose: All personal information, contact details, screener links, and project materials submitted via FilmFreeway or our website are used exclusively for festival curation, judging, screening, and official communications.

Strict Third-Party Protection: We do not sell, rent, or disclose any filmmaker’s personal data or identity details to any unauthorized individual, external organization, or third party under any circumstances.

Third-Party Disputes & Festival Immunity

IIFF functions solely as a platform for film exhibition and appreciation; the festival does not act as an adjudicator, arbitrator, investigator, or legal authority in private disputes, personal conflicts, or intellectual property claims between third parties and submitters. The festival assumes zero liability for any disputes arising from submissions.