RULES:

* We're accepting submissions with only English dialog / subtitles or no dialog at this time. *

2024 EVENT SCHEDULE DETAILS:
   - Submissions are open from July 1st through to September 30th, end of day Eastern Standard Time (EST)
   - The top 10 nominees in each category will be selected during the month of October & announced on Monday, November 4th
   - The top 3 winners in each category will be selected during the month of November & announced on Monday, December 2nd

Entry is free. For everyone. From anywhere around the world.

Our two current awards categories are Live Action & Animation.

For now, we are not accepting or awarding:
   - Documentaries
   - Videos with non-English content

** NOTE: Most docs run over 20 minutes. And this being our first year, we have a minimal, mostly English speaking staff. So the 'for now' will stay in place until the SFAA has the resources & public support to collate, nominate & judge longer-form videos & submissions in other languages.

Individuals & small groups of people, such as student or hobby groups & start-up indie companies, may submit their videos.

Only 1 eligible submission per creator or organization may be entered each year - you will be emailed a confirmation of your entry's eligibility. If you're notified a submission of yours is ineligible, you are welcome to submit another video.

Fully completed stand-alone single shows, pilots or any episode from a series may be entered.

* Please read our Eligibility section, below, for more details about ineligible content types. *

Entries must be an all-original, fictional story & contain only original characters, whether a stand-alone show, a pilot or an episode from a series.

All non-original video & audio components used in submitted videos must be in the public domain, or otherwise free of copyright infringement.

Every video submitted will be screened to ensure they meet our ratings requirements - see our eligibility details below.

Every entrant, whether an individual creator or person officially representing a group, must provide their full legal name, email address, age (18 or older / under 18) & mailing address.

The owner of an acceptable entry will be sent an emailed confirmation of such, which they must reply to & confirm receipt of the same by 6PM EST on the seventh day after the closing of submissions. For 2024, that day is September 8th. Video owners failing to meet that deadline will have their entry disqualified.

To payout cash prizes for the 2024 season, the top 3 winners in each category (Animation and Live Action) must be able to receive funds through one of these online payment services:
   - PayPal
   - Patreon
   - Ko-Fi
   - E-transfers (Canada)

** NOTE: After our 2024 event, payment methods such as international electronic bank transfers, mailed money orders or bank drafts may be considered.

All final winners will each have 30 days to officially confirm by email having received notification of their award. Winners failing to confirm receiving notice will forfeit their cash award.

At any time, the owner of an eligible entry may request their film be withdrawn from our event. That request must be in writing, either as an email from their official address or as a signed & mailed letter to our founders.

The SFAA reserves the right to reject or disqualify an entry at any time & without notification.

ELIGIBILITY:

Entries must be under 15 minutes in total run time, including all opening titles, closing credits & slides.

Submissions are open from Jul 1st through Sept 30th for videos released publically between Sep 1st the previous year through to Aug 31st of the event's current year.

All submitted videos must be live & accessible online for public viewing from the date of its submission through to the announcement date of the final 6 winners, AND have its specific release day, month & year clearly listed on the same web page.

Entrants must provide the SFAA with download links of their videos when requested.

Entries must be a completed, all-original, fictional story & contain only original characters, whether a stand-alone show, a pilot or an episode from a series.

Entries must be free of extreme violence, sexuality or nudity, hate speech, racism, genderism, bigotry, drug use, etc., influenced by the MPAA's 'PG-13' rating.

Entries with content of any kind generated by artificial intelligence will be disqualified.

ADDITIONAL INELIGIBLE SUBMISSIONS ARE:
   - Videos dubbed into a language other than English
   - Works in progress (WIPs) / process videos, test footage, animatics
   - Promotional clips, sneak peeks, memes, trailers & teasers
   - Re-mastered/remixed versions of an original video
   - Non-fictional videos, including review, reaction, commentary, 'reporting' & performance videos
   - Unauthorized fan-made videos
   - Comic dubs / audio comics / webcomics / visual novels / audio games
   - Game-engine generated videos made of assets from brands such as Roblox, Minecraft, Fortnite, Garry's Mod, Dreams, Second Life & similar sandbox/machinima content from other game engines.

GENERAL AGREEMENT & LIABILITY:

The submission of an entry acknowledges the SFAA's right to use it for exhibition, promotion & publication purposes in any medium, including but not limited to online platforms, portable electronic devices, or in print. While applying those practices, the SFAA is committed to observing & abiding by internationally recognized laws such as the U.S. Copyright Office's "fair use" clause.
Visit their website for more details.

Submitters of entries acknowledge they have the rights to do so. The SFAA does not verify submitter ownership/affiliation & is held harmless against any liability as a result of the submission for these awards.

The SFAA is not liable for any copyright infringement on the part of the entrant, video creators or creative team members.

 For further information, please see our FAQ page here.