Part I — Eligibility & Submission Format
Films must run for exactly 11 minutes and 11 seconds. Films of 11:12 or longer will be reclassified as "epics" and automatically entered into a category that does not exist.
We accept submissions on any format we can no longer legally purchase replacement parts for, including VHS, MiniDV, and interpretive dance. Digital files are accepted but viewed with suspicion.
The director's name must appear in the closing credits in a font no smaller, in points, than the film's total production budget in dollars. Films with a budget of zero dollars may omit the director's name entirely.
Subtitles are permitted in any language except the one actually spoken in the film. This rule is non-negotiable and, frankly, non-defensible.
At least one character must inexplicably own a ferret. The ferret need not appear on screen, but its ownership must be referenced with complete sincerity.
Films may not contain a twist ending, unless the twist is that there is no twist — in which case that is now a twist, and the film is disqualified retroactively.
The submission fee is $45, payable only in a currency not currently recognised by any member state of the United Nations. We will not be explaining this further.
All entrants must submit a director's statement of no fewer than 4,000 words explaining why the film is "important," written in the third person, about themselves.
Animal actors must be credited under their legal names, where known, and their astrological signs, where not.
By submitting, you grant FFSFF the worldwide right to mention that your film exists. This right does not extend to actually telling anyone.