FAQ: Submitting your film

IDFA welcomes films and interactive/immersive new media projects. Below, you can find the frequently asked questions about the film entry form. For performances and new media projects, please go to our FAQ page for submitting immersive/interactive projects and performances (IDFA DocLab and IDFA on Stage).

Submitting a film

1. I want to submit my film to IDFA. What do I have to do?
2. What is the difference between world, international, European, and Dutch premieres?
3. What is the country of production of my film?
4. Can I submit a work in progress?
5. I am a student filmmaker. Is my film eligible for IDFA?
6. I made a mistake on my entry form. Can I get back in to change it?
7. Why do the statistics on my Vimeo link show zero views?

Payment

8. Why do you charge an entry fee?
9. How can I pay?
10. What can I do if I can't use one of the provided payment methods?
11. Do I have to pay before a certain date?
12. Am I eligible for a discount code?
13. I already paid but I want to withdraw my submission. Can I get a refund?
14. I encounter an error when I attempt to pay the fee. What should I do?
15. I submitted my form and tried to continue to the payment page, but the page does not open or I see a blank page. What do I do?
16. Should I expect a confirmation e-mail that my payment went through?
17. My film is being made with support from the IDFA Bertha Fund. Do I still have to pay the entry fee?
18. My bank statement shows a payment made to a company called Adyen. Is this the payment to IDFA?
19. Do I need to pay VAT?
20. I shouldn't have to pay VAT since my company is based in the EU, but I am charged with VAT in the payment page anyway. What do I do?

Selected films

21. My film is selected for IDFA. Am I invited to the festival?
22. What are the technical requirements for my screening copy?
23. Will my film also be screened online?
24. How do the industry guests attending IDFA get to see my film?
25. What happens to the screenings of my film if the measures related to COVID-19 in the Netherlands change?

Submitting a film

1. I want to submit my film to IDFA. What do I have to do?
To submit your film you need to first read our regulations carefully. In the regulations you will find the general entry requirements and the entry requirements per program section. After having read our regulations, please go to MyIDFA to submit the online entry form and pay the entry fee.

2. What is the difference between world, international, European, and Dutch premieres?
i. World premiere: the first screening ever.
ii. International premiere: the first screening of the film outside the country of production. Your film is eligible for international premiere status if, prior to IDFA, the film has only been screened in its home country. Example: a Canadian film that has only been screened in Canada is eligible for an international premiere at IDFA.
iii. European premiere: the first screening in Europe. Your film is eligible for European premiere status if, prior to IDFA, the film has been screened outside the country of production but not yet in Europe. Example: a Chinese film that has been screened in China and the United States is eligible for a European premiere at IDFA.
iv. Dutch premiere: the film was screened in Europe outside it's country of production before, but this is the first screening in the Netherlands.

3. What is the country of production of my film?
The country of production is the country or countries where the (co-)production company(s) are registered, and the country(s) that the director(s) identifies as their home, be it in terms of citizenship, origin, or residence. Shooting locations do not count as countries of production.

4. Can I submit a work in progress?
Although we strongly prefer to be sent final versions, we do accept works in progress. Please note, however, that IDFA will consider any film entry (whether submitted as a work in progress or a final version) only once. Rejected works in progress cannot be resubmitted when a newer version is available, nor for the following year.

5. I am a student filmmaker. Is my film eligible for IDFA?
IDFA welcomes student films and takes these into consideration in any of its competitions and program sections for which it may be eligible considering the general and specific programs' eligibility criteria.

6. I made a mistake on my entry form. Can I get back in to change it?
Once you have submitted an entry form, you can no longer make changes yourself. Simply send an e-mail to program@idfa.nl, and we will correct the information in our database.

7. Why do the statistics on my Vimeo link show zero views?
We watch every film submitted to IDFA, but there have been instances in which our views are not recorded on Vimeo’s statistics. As also stated in Vimeo's Analytics FAQ, Vimeo is not always able to record views if films are not watched via their direct link in a web browser.

Payment

8. Why do you charge an entry fee?
IDFA greatly appreciates your submissions, and we sincerely hope that you see IDFA as a valuable launch pad for your creative documentary. Unfortunately, we have to charge a fee for each submission. This fee will cover the processing, careful viewing, and reviewing of your film.

9. How can I pay?
After submitting the entry form in MyIDFA, you will be redirected to the payment page. Payments are handled by Adyen. We are offering the following methods to pay the entry fee:
i. Credit cards: MasterCard, VISA, and American Express
ii. iDEAL (for forms submitted from the Netherlands)

10. What can I do if I can’t use one of the provided payment methods?
If you don’t have the ability to use one of the above methods of payment, please send an e-mail to program@idfa.nl.

11. Do I have to pay before a certain date?
Payment should take place as quickly as possible and within two weeks after the submission of our online entry form. Entries will not be processed and taken into consideration until your payment has been received. Entries cannot be taken into consideration if the payments are completed after our final entry deadline.

12. Am I eligible for a discount code?
If the film's main country of production is on the IBF country list, it is eligible for a fee waiver based on IDFA's discretion. Requests can be submitted by sending an email to program@idfa.nl.

13. I already paid but I want to withdraw my submission. Can I get a refund?
Unfortunately, we apply a no-refund policy.

14. I get an error when I attempt to pay the fee. What should I do?
If you get an error while trying to pay, please send an e-mail to program@idfa.nl.

15. I submitted my form and tried to continue to the payment page, but the page does not open or I see a blank page. What do I do?
To solve the problem, we advise you to open the page in Google Chrome and make sure to pause all ad blockers that may be running on the page. If the problem persists, please send an e-mail to program@idfa.nl.

16. Should I expect a confirmation e-mail that my payment went through?
If your payment was successful, the payment page will state this. You will receive a confirmation by email after your submitted entry form has been processed by IDFA.

17. My film is being made with support from the IDFA Bertha Fund. Do I still have to pay the entry fee?
If your film is being or has been made with support from the IDFA Bertha Fund, please send an e-mail to idfaberthafund@idfa.nl before filling out the entry form.

18. My bank statement shows a payment made to a company called Adyen. Is this the payment to IDFA?
Yes, this may be the case, as Adyen handles all IDFA payments.

19. Do I need to pay VAT?
In case you fill out a company which has a billing address based outside the Netherlands, you will not be charged additional VAT by IDFA, but you will have to pay your VAT duties in your own country.

• If this is within the European Union, you need to fill in your VAT details in the billing address field. For general VAT rules within the EU please go to EU Tax and Customs info. Please make sure to fill out the correct VAT information in the billing details on the entry form, as this cannot be adjusted on the payment page. If you forget to fill out your VAT number you will be charged VAT. If you made a mistake in filling out the VAT information, please send an email to program@idfa.nl before completing the payment, as this is the only way to still edit the information. IDFA cannot refund VAT after the payment has been completed.
• If your company is based outside the EU, IDFA will not charge VAT but you will need to check your tax regulations in your own country and act accordingly.

All Dutch submissions and all submissions done by private persons only (with no company attached) will need to pay VAT and will be charged in the IDFA invoice.

20. My company is based in the EU and I shouldn’t have to pay VAT, but I am charged VAT in the payment page. What do I do?
If you've already submitted your form and continued to the payment page, you can no longer edit the billing information yourself. Please send an email to program@idfa.nl before completing the payment, as this is the only possibility to still add this information. IDFA cannot refund VAT after the payment has been completed.

Selected films

21. My film is selected for IDFA. Am I invited to the festival?
IDFA invites all directors of selected films to attend the festival and represent their film in Q&As. Directors will receive free festival accreditation. Anyone who wants to attend the festival must fill out an accreditation form via MyIDFA. The festival will do its utmost to provide free hotel accommodation for directors not based in the Netherlands whose films have been selected for IDFA’s festival program. After selection, IDFA’s Guest Services department will inform directors about all guest arrangements.

22. What are the technical requirements for my screening copy?
Once your film has been selected, you should deliver the screening copy as a DCP (2K/4K), 35mm, or 16mm film print for cinema screenings. IDFA requires all DCPs to be in XYZ colorspace encoded in JPEG2000. Presentation of other formats and video systems requires authorization from the festival. If your film is selected as part of the festival’s online program, IDFA will require a ProRes or h.264 for online screenings.

23. Will my film also be screened online?
A sub-selection of films made by the IDFA Program team will be invited for the online program of the festival.

24. How do the industry guests attending IDFA get to see my film?
Unless requested otherwise in writing by the rights holder, all films in the festival selection will be made available for accredited guests in IDFA’s Press & Industry library, hosted on the festival’s website.

25. What happens to the screenings of my film if the measures related to COVID-19 in the Netherlands change?
Because of the unpredictability of the pandemic, all exceptional decisions we need to make regarding the festival presentation of films will always be made in close conversation with filmmakers.