Submissions

Submissions Are Open for OFFA 2024! Help us celebrate 11 years from June 19th to 25th 2024

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OFFA (Oakville Festivals of Film and Art) is proud to celebrate 11 years in 2024, with our week-long festival happening June 19th – 25th. From the moment you arrive, you will understand why this social issues and event-oriented festival is so loved by filmmakers. We offer an intimate and effective networking opportunity for filmmakers (conducted through a full Industry Summit that accompanies the festival), as well as an immersive, film screening and arts experience for our audiences. We recognize filmmakers in all genres who tell great stories, celebrate diversity and explore social issues, while sparking meaningful discussion

For over a decade, we have been bringing the social-issues-oriented Oakville Film Festival to local, Canadian and international filmmakers, giving them a chance to participate in a truly community-oriented festival with national and international appeal. The 2024 festival will be mostly live, with some virtual screenings. From our live gala premiere film screenings that encompass the work of passionate musicians, dancers, and artists; to our full week of festival screenings at our local independent cinema, drive-In theatre and professional, performing arts centre; to our enlightening Q&A sessions; from collaborative networking socials to our professional live and virtual workshops, Master Classes, and panels, you will soon discover why the Oakville Film Festival has become an important stop on the festival circuit. We welcome you to a small community that has a big heart!

Good story-telling is paramount: our thought-provoking features and documentaries about the human condition, speak to the diverse social issues that impact our community, and the world. Festival highlights include issues that are predominant in our community, such as those impacting women, families, immigrants, and Indigenous and BIPOC communities. We value inspiring stories that reveal the indomitable nature of the human spirit, as well as those that highlight difficult issues such as mental illness, addiction, and ageism, bullying, or human trafficking. Our selections include Canadian and international feature films, short films, documentaries, and webisodes.

We have a strong history of attracting diverse filmmakers from around the world, who attend the event to talk directly with audiences about their work, in a friendly, intimate and inspirational environment. Our Industry Summit brings filmmakers together to learn, collaborate and socialize with like-minded individuals who share the same passion for films. Supporting local filmmakers and giving them an opportunity to showcase their films in front of a supportive audience is as key part of our mission. The juried competitive festival awards programme includes 10 different prizes, including cash, in kind prizing for filmmakers, and a beautiful, glass custom-designed trophy.

Check us out at  www.offa.ca

Location: Oakville, Ontario, Canada and some events online (hybrid festival mainly live and some virtual events)

2024 Submission Guidelines

The festival proudly accepts entries via FilmFreeway as its submission platform. Please provide a screener link to a Vimeo, YouTube, or other online screening platform.

DCP
If your film is selected, you must provide EITHER a Digital Cinema Package (DCP) of your film for a LIVE festival screening, or a high-resolution digital file will work for virtual screenings, or live screenings. If you do not have DCP and need one, Oakville Festivals of Film & Art has arranged a discounted rate with film.ca for DCP creation.

Short Films
Short Films (up to and including 22 minutes) that are chosen for the festival must be delivered via an acceptable format digital LINK for screening at the 2024 festival.

Languages
If your film is in a foreign language, we require either English subtitles or an English dubbed soundtrack.

Criteria

Length

Features
Maximum 130 minutes (two hours ten minutes)

Documentaries
2 hours max, 1 hour, 45 minutes up to two hours. Shorter documentaries are twin-billed.

Short Films
Up to and including 22 minutes

Short Web Series
Maximum 30 minutes

Ratings

We do not accept films with an “Adult” rating (pornography)

Dates & Deadlines

Opening Date: November 1 2024
Early bird Deadline: 
March 4, 2024
Regular Deadline: 
April 8, 2024
Notification Date: 
May 10, 2024
Event Date: June 19th to 25th 2024

Festival Categories & Fees

See our Film Freeway Page for more details about categories and fees.

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