Submission guidelines

First of all, thank you for submitting.  Now the legalese. . .

The American Conservation Film Festival (ACFF) promotes and presents its unique branding of conservation film by presenting outstanding films that have a new and unique viewpoint on a topic and provoke thought about the viewer’s fundamental understanding of themselves, the environment, and our culture. All the films ACFF presents ultimately explore individuals and society’s relationship with the natural world and our efforts to conserve what we can, and how we cope with what we can’t save. This can be achieved by presenting films that deal with and show:

• The myriad ways humans interact with wildlife and wild places.
• Issues driven by natural resource conservation.
• Humans as part of the environment, and/or living in a continuum of cultural tradition.
• Conservation of cultures, communities, and or lifestyles in conjunction with changes in the natural world.
• How youths encounter and understand the natural world.

Films that are selected by ACFF are chosen by a committee of media and conservation professionals.  The quality of storytelling, production value, aesthetics, and topic are principle factors in the selection of films for ACFF.

All films being submitted to ACFF shall have completed production or been aired in the past 2 years, and will be duplicated for internal use by the selection committee and board of directors.

Entries are accepted on NTSC DVD and will not be returned. DVD entries must adhere to professional production standards that will ensure compatibility and playback on standard consumer desktop DVD players. DVD RW discs have the lowest compatibility with consumer players and will not be accepted for judging by ACFF. It is the entrant's responsibility that the program that is entered can be easily identified on the DVD menu.  Whenever possible, programs with non-English soundtracks should be submitted with subtitles.

All selected films and solicited materials by ACFF will be programmed into the November festival for that programming year and be used for promotional and marketing materials.  All selected films will be screened in public venues (some venues will have an admission fee).

If this is a STUDENT production be sure to choose that designation on the Submission Form. A student is defined as one who is enrolled at an accredited high school, undergraduate, or graduate school, including such programs as AFI. A student is not required to be a film or video major, but must identify their school and year of study on the entry form. No student production can have been produced as a work for hire.

ACFF is not responsible for notifying any parties other than the entrant, through its contact person, of entry status or of any questions or determinations regarding the entry.

The ACFF Submission Form must be signed. This signature indicates acceptance of the requirements outlined herein and further stipulates that the person or organization entering the production in the competition has the authority to do so.