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RULES
1. OSCAR® QUALIFICATION OPPORTUNITY FOR SHORT FILMS THROUGH THE BEST SHORT FILM CATEGORY
The Best Short Film winner will receive a festival-funded seven-consecutive-day theatrical screening at a commercial cinema in New York City, providing the winning film with an opportunity to pursue eligibility for consideration for the Academy Awards® under the Academy's applicable rules.
To be selected for this opportunity, the film must be eligible for theatrical exhibition and must meet the applicable Academy rules and requirements for short films.
Key requirements include:
• The film must meet the Academy's definition of a short film and the applicable requirements for the relevant category. It must be a live-action, documentary, or animated film. In the case of a film combining multiple genres or formats, the applicable category will be determined based on the predominant form of the film.
• The film must be a completed original work, and the filmmaker must hold or have secured all necessary rights and permissions for its commercial theatrical exhibition.
• The film must be available for a qualifying theatrical run in New York City for at least seven consecutive days, in accordance with the applicable Academy requirements.
• The film must be presented in a technical format accepted by the Academy and must meet all applicable technical requirements. The theatrical screening must be presented in DCP format.
• The film must have any required English subtitles or captioning, where applicable.
• The version of the film presented during the qualifying theatrical run must be identical in content and running time to the version submitted to the Academy.
• The film must comply with the Academy's rules concerning prior public exhibition, distribution, streaming, television broadcasting, VOD, and other forms of nontheatrical distribution. For films qualifying through the theatrical route, public nontheatrical exhibition or distribution before the qualifying theatrical release may affect eligibility. The applicable Academy restrictions remain in effect until after the qualifying theatrical release.
• The filmmaker must own or have secured all necessary rights for commercial theatrical exhibition, music rights, archival materials, actor and performer releases, and any other required permissions.
• The filmmaker must provide, within the required deadlines, all materials and documentation necessary for the film's submission to the Academy.
• The film's seven-day qualifying theatrical run must take place no later than July 31, 2027.
• Films must have been completed on or after January 1, 2026.
IMPORTANT NOTICE
Winning the Best Short Film award at Palm Springs Film Awards does not itself guarantee eligibility for the Academy Awards®, an Oscar® nomination, or an Oscar® win.
Final determination of a film's eligibility and acceptance into the Academy Awards® consideration process is made exclusively by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, according to the official rules applicable to the relevant awards year.
Filmmakers entering this category should therefore ensure that their film can meet all applicable Academy requirements before submitting it to Palm Springs Film Awards.
Although Palm Springs Film Awards operates as an online film competition, the Annual Best Short Film winner will not be publicly exhibited or screened online by the festival. This is intended to preserve the winning film's ability to pursue theatrical qualification under the Academy's applicable rules.
The festival-funded theatrical screening is intended to provide the winning filmmaker with an opportunity to pursue Academy eligibility; the Academy alone determines whether a film ultimately qualifies for consideration.
2. Language Requirements.
Films that are not in the English language must include English subtitles. Failure to provide English subtitles may result in disqualification.
3. Accepted Production Date.
Only films produced after January 1, 2023, are eligible for submission.
4. All entry fees are non-refundable.
Submission fees will not be refunded under any circumstances, including disqualification, withdrawal, or non-selection.
5. Multiple entries are permitted.
Applicants may submit multiple projects. Each project must be submitted separately and accompanied by a separate entry fee.
6. Final decision.
The decision of the festival selection committee and jury is final and not subject to appeal.
7. Original work and copyright compliance.
All submitted projects must be the original work of the entrant and must not infringe upon any copyrights, trademarks, moral rights, or other rights of any third party.
The entrant confirms that they have obtained all necessary rights, licenses, and permissions for music, sound, images, performances, and any other copyrighted material included in the submission.
8. Liability.
The festival organizers are not responsible for any copyright violations or legal claims arising from submitted projects. All legal responsibility rests solely with the entrant.
9. Online screening consent.
By submitting a film, the entrant expressly agrees that, if officially selected, the film may be screened online as part of the festival program.
10. Geo-blocking.
All officially selected films will be geo-blocked and made available for online screening exclusively within the territory of the United States (USA). The festival is not responsible for unauthorized access attempts outside this territory.
11. Online screening rights confirmation.
By submitting a film, the entrant confirms that they hold all necessary rights and permissions required for digital exhibition and online screening within the United States.
12. Eligibility.
Submissions are open to individuals, production companies, registered organizations, and professional representatives who have valid tax identification credentials.
13. Promotional rights.
By submitting, the entrant grants the festival a non-exclusive, royalty-free right to use trailers, still images, excerpts (up to 2 minutes), titles, and names for promotional purposes on the festival website, social media platforms, press releases, and other marketing materials.
14. Disqualification.
The festival reserves the right to disqualify any submission that does not comply with these rules or contains illegal, defamatory, or otherwise inappropriate material.
15. Rule changes.
The organizers reserve the right to update or modify these rules at any time.
16. Acceptance of rules.
Submission to the festival constitutes full acceptance of all the rules and regulations stated above.
17. Screenplay Submission
We accept this submissions only in PDF
SCREENPLAY CATEGORIES
All writers of submitted material must be 18 years of age or older
• Entries must be in English
• Submissions via PDF file only
• Resubmits/changes incur additional fee
• Produced/optioned or otherwise encumbered scripts are ineligible
• All submitted materials must be the original work of the author(s)
• Adaptations of prior works must give source material credit
• Decisions of judges are final as per industry criteria
• Pages should be numbered.
• Full-Length Feature Scripts: 160 pages or under
• Short Film Scripts: 40 pages or under
• TV Pilots: 130 pages or under
• All written or verbal coverage, critique, criticism, or analysis of submitted material is provided subjectively based upon objective standards as they are applied to the writing submitted and under consideration.
• No warranties are expressed or implied as to the utility, value, or accuracy of statements written or spoken by our reader-analysts with regard to material submitted to us by writers, customers, or contest entrants.
• Comments provided by judges, readers, administrators, or other writers are based upon personal opinion only and do not reflect the opinions of management; management assumes no responsibility the academic, creative, professional, economic, or emotional impact or consequences of the opinions we provide.
• Submitting writers agree to hold harmless against claims of any and every kind, each and every employee, independent contractor, reader, analyst, system administrator, or officers of the company in perpetuity.
• Material submitted to the competition is solely at the risk of the individual registering, entering, or offering written material for scoring, analysis, judgment, or commentary.
• Once submitted material has been read, reviewed, analyzed, critiqued, scored, or commented upon by agents, employees, representatives, or management of the company, no refund of entry fee will be made.
