Submissions

The 2024 ILLUMINATE Film Festival is scheduled for April 5-14, 2024.  

Film Festival submissions are currently CLOSED. 

Newly relocated to Santa Barbara for its 10th year, ILLUMINATE is the world's premier film festival for conscious cinema. Inspired by the late physicist David Bohm's theory of the holomovement, the 2024 festival theme is "Making the invisible visible to make the impossible possible."

Founded in 2014 on the premise that the language of film is a universal and dynamic force in carrying messages worldwide, IFF partners with filmmakers to catalyze movements that change consciousness and elevate humanity. ILLUMINATE showcases narrative features, documentaries, episodic series, and shorts in the genre of transformational entertainment. Our 2024 Holomovement-inspired curation categories are Science & Spirituality, Consciousness, Social Action/Sacred Activism, Environmental Stewardship & Regeneration, Self-Realization for Social Transformation, Evolutionary Arts, Indigenous Wisdom, Wholistic Health & Wellness, and Discovery of Collective Purpose (from Me to We).

ILLUMINATE SUBMISSION CATEGORIES

ALL SUBMISSIONS:

*Films must be in the genre of transformational entertainment, including inspirational human journey stories and themes related to wellness, mindfulness, science and spirituality, social and environmental sustainability, and human potential and personal growth.

*Completion date of the film must be January 1st, 2022 or later.

*One film per entry fee. Entry fees are non-refundable.

*Initial submissions should be submitted as online digital links, please make sure a password is included if necessary.

*Films submitted must be available in English or in the original language with legible English subtitles.

JURY COMPETITION FEATURES (DOCS + NARRATIVES)

*Must be 50 minutes or longer in total runtime.

*Must be a World, International or US Premiere at IFF 2024.

*Must not have been scheduled for public broadcast, commercial theatrical engagement, DVD, DVD, SVOD or TVOD in the US prior to April 15, 2024.

NON-JURY COMPETITION FEATURES (DOCS + NARRATIVES)

*Must be 50 minutes or longer in total runtime.

*Preference will be given to World, International, and U.S. premieres, but must be at minimum a Santa Barbara Premiere at IFF 2024.

*Must not have been scheduled for public broadcast or commercial theatrical engagement (in-theater) in the US prior to April 15, 2024.

*Preference will be given to films that have NOT been available to the public through virtual theatrical engagement, public broadcast, SVOD, or TVOD. (Must not have been offered free online)

*The film’s world premiere must not have occurred before September 2022 (except Retrospective submissions).

EPISODIC SERIES:

*Must be a World, International, or US Premiere at IFF 2024.

*May submit up 120 minutes of content.

*Must not have been scheduled for public broadcast, commercial theatrical engagement, DVD, DVD, SVOD or TVOD in the US prior to April 15, 2024.

SHORT FILMS:

*Must be no longer than 20 minutes in total runtime.

*Must be at minimum a Santa Barbara Premiere at IFF 2024.

*Preference will be given to films that have NOT been available to the public through public broadcast, SVOD, or TVOD.

LEGAL NOTES FOR ALL SUBMISSIONS:

-Entrants give permission to ILLUMINATE Film Festival to use stills, titles, copy, and/or information from the submission for promotional purposes.

-Entrants are responsible for obtaining any necessary licenses, royalties, release forms, clearances, and permits necessary to present their work. ILLUMINATE Film Festival is not responsible for any claim involving copyright, trademark, credits, or royalty infringement related to the work.

-For the Physical Festival: Exhibition format must be a high-quality digital file or Blu-Ray. Further instructions will be sent via email if accepted. For the Virtual Festival: Exhibition Format must be an upload of high-quality digital file through the Eventive platform. Further instructions will be sent via email if accepted.

-Exhibition print supplier shall be responsible for the one-way cost of shipment to ILLUMINATE. ILLUMINATE will return the print to the supplier or to the next destination as indicated by the supplier (Features only). Entry materials and/or Short films other than DCPs will not be returned.

-The Festival is not responsible for damage to or loss of submitted materials incurred by shipping to or from the Festival.