Terms & Conditions

Screen Illawarra x Creative Wollongong Short Film Competition

  • Screen Illawarra x Creative Wollongong Short Film Competition (the “Competition”) is organised by Screen Illawarra & Wollongong City Council (“the Promoter”).
  • These Terms and Conditions govern the submission of all films for consideration (“Film/s”) for the Competition.
  • By entering a Film in the Competition all entrants (“Entrant/s”) confirm they have read and understand the entirety of these Terms and Conditions and fully accept and will comply with these Terms and Conditions.
  • The Promoter reserves the right to alter these Terms and Conditions without notice and the Terms and Conditions are not confirmed to govern any future competitions organised by the Promoter.

Eligibility

  • To be eligible for consideration for the Competition, at the time of submission: (a) Entrants must be an Australian resident or an Australian company; (b) where the Entrant is a person, the Entrant must be aged 12 or older; (c) where the Entrant is a person under 18 years old, the Entrant must confirm parental/guardian consent to the submission.
  • There is no fee payable to enter the Competition.
  • The Films submitted by Entrants may be of any genre and theme, up to a maximum duration of fifteen (15) minutes (including titles and credits).
  • Films must have been completed before 30th January 2026
  • Films may not be submitted into other film festivals until the screening of the Creative Wollongong festival in March 2026.
  • The Competition is only open to Australian citizens and permanent residents who live in the Wollongong or Shellharbour Local Government Areas. If you enter the Competition, you may need to provide Council with proof of your name and address.
  • You cannot enter the Competition if you work for Wollongong City Council or Shellharbour City Council, or if you are the spouse, partner, parent, sister, brother or child (whether biological, step or adoptive) of someone who works for Council.
  • If you do not follow these terms and conditions, Council may disqualify you. Failure by Council to enforce any of its rights at any stage does not constitute a waiver of those rights.

Judging and Evaluation

  • The Promoter has at its discretion appointed a panel of judges (“Competition Jury”) to assess and select the top 6 (six) winning film projects to move forward into production.
  • The Competition Jury is committed to evaluating the film’s concepts based on strength of idea, creativity, and expression of the filmmaker’s talent and experience and providing its assessment of the film’s concept to the Promoter.
  • The 5 (five) finalists will be paired with a production company for mentoring prior to the announcement of the finalists.
  • The production company will review the six finalists and select the finalist who best aligns with their company
  • The five finalists receiving the $2000 towards production costs will be decided by the judging panel and announced at the networking event on October 21st, 2025
  • The Production companies will receive their funds via bank deposit within 1(one) week of the announcement.

Requirements for film entries

Your film must:

  • Be no more than 15 minutes long
  • Only include original material created by you, including (where applicable) any words, art, music, photographs, sound recordings or footage.
  • Each entry needs to include a reference to this year’s signature theme, ‘Birds’. Your film must have been made in 2025-2026, in response to the festival’s theme.
  • All competition entries are eligible to be screened at the outdoor Short Film Festival so films must be rated G and PG.
  • Credit both Screen Illawarra and the production company who is mentoring your team with inclusion of logos from both parties

General

  • Screen Illawarra and or Wollongong Council may cancel or vary the Competition at any time. Screen Illawarra and or Wollongong Council will not be responsible for any loss or costs you may incur in relation to such cancellation or variation.
  • The Entrants will retain full ownership over all intellectual property rights (including copyright) of their Film
  • By registering for the Competition, you release Screen Illawarra and or Wollongong Council from, and indemnify Screen Illawarra and or Wollongong Council against, all liability (including negligence) for any loss or damage or injury whatsoever which is suffered by (including, but not limited to, indirect or consequential loss), or for any personal injury suffered or sustained in connection with the competition, or the use of the Prize, except for any liability which cannot be excluded by law.
  • By submitting your film to Screen Illawarra and or Wollongong Council, you grant to Screen Illawarra and or Wollongong Council a perpetual, royalty-free, non-exclusive, worldwide licence to broadcast, modify, reproduce or otherwise use your film for Screen Illawarra and or Wollongong Council -related purposes (including the ability to sub-licence a third party engaged to carry out work or services on Screen Illawarra and or Wollongong Council behalf). You agree that Screen Illawarra and or Wollongong Council is not liable for any costs, expenses, liabilities, losses or damages you incur or suffer as a result of Screen Illawarra and or Wollongong Council exercising its rights under this licence.
  • You agree that Screen Illawarra and or Wollongong Council can screen your film as part of Council’s ‘Best of…’ short-film event to be held on a date to be confirmed.
  • You agree Screen Illawarra may use your film or edits of for the purposes of promoting the Film and/or the Competition in all media (including without limitation to online on the Promoter’s social media platforms including Meta, Twitter, TikTok and Instagram); a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to screen the Film for live audiences (whether ticketed or free of charge) in Australia for 12 months from the date the Shortlisted Films are publicly announced.
  • You are responsible for ensuring that your film does not infringe the intellectual property rights of any third party.
  • You will indemnify Screen Illawarra and or Wollongong Council against:
    • All claims made against Screen Illawarra and or Wollongong Council by any person in respect of any infringement of intellectual property rights contained in your film or Screen Illawarra and or Wollongong Council use of your film; and
    • Any costs (including legal costs on a solicitor and own client basis), losses or damages suffered or incurred by Screen Illawarra and or Wollongong Council arising out of or in any way in connection with any claim referred to in the above.

Privacy Protection Notice

  • Purpose of collection: When you register for the Competition, Screen Illawarra and or Wollongong Council will collect your personal information in order to verify your eligibility to participate.
  • Supply: While the supply of personal information is voluntary, the information provided will enable your participation in the competition.
  • Access / Correction: Your personal information may be accessed by you Screen Illawarra and Council. A request to access, update or correct any information should be directed to Wollongong City Council.
  • Storage: The personal information collected will be stored by Screen Illawarra and Wollongong Council for the purposes indicated above. However, any personal information may be disclosed as required by law.

By submitting an entry to The Screen Illawarra x Creative Wollongong Short Film Competition, Entrants acknowledge that they have read, understood, and irrevocably agree to these Terms and Conditions