These rules are subject to change at any time at the discretion of North Star Film Festival (NSFF)
Teams and Team Leaders
A “Team Leader” will register the team, submit payment, and will be responsible for that teams film submission. Teams may consist of any number of members (solo or many).
NSFF has no legal responsibility for any member of any team and their behavior on or off set. However we will accept written grievances reporting misconduct and consider appropriate festival responses on a case by case basis.
Team leader will be responsible for the entire group in all aspects including: communication, correspondence, turn-in and adherence to the rules.
Individuals may be involved in the production of more than one film for the festival and may be part of multiple teams.
NSFF Film Exclusivity and Rights
Production on an NSFF film may only begin during the current season year (June to June) and must include that season’s control element. By submitting a film, filmmakers grant NSFF a non-exclusive license to screen the film at NSFF events and to use short clips and stills for NSFF promotion worldwide for up to five (5) years. Public online streaming or posting of the full film will only happen with the filmmaker’s permission.
Filmmakers maintain ownership of their films and are free to do whatever they like with their film after the festival has screened their film. NSFF will hold films from being posted online for up to one year upon request by the filmmaker, in order to allow teams to submit their NSFF films to other film festivals.
NSFF is a premiere festival. All films submitted to NSFF must have their Midwest premiere at our general screening. Films must not have been shown to the public in Minnesota or any neighboring state prior to the NSFF general screening for the current competition year.
If it is discovered that a film was not premiered at NSFF, the team will be disqualified from the festival. BTS and outtakes of your film can be used for crowdfunding. Your film is not to be posted publicly on YouTube or other streaming services until after it has been part of our screening.
Control Element
In order to ensure that films have been produced for the current NSFF season, films will be required to contain a control element. Teams will submit a photo of their control element for approval within the task system. Teams are required to submit a time-stamp of when their control element appears during the film. Films not featuring the required control element will be disqualified, with the sole exception of films made between Jan 1-15, 2026 due to festival uncertainty during this timeframe. Control elements will be announced on the home page.
AI Rules
You are allowed to use AI in your NSFF entry film subject to the following rules:
- You must have the legal rights to all material used in your film — including AI-generated content. Any AI output that incorporates copyrighted material (like a famous actor’s face or a recognizable movie still) without proper permission is not allowed.
- You must list all forms of AI used in the task system, including: generative AI (for story/art/music), computer vision (for VFX/cinematography), and speech/voice AI (for dubbing & dialogue). You must also list what you used the program for in your film.
- You do NOT need to include any AI that is built into editing software or filmmaking programs that assist in executing protocols in the program.
- Any AI used to create content for your film cannot be submitted for individual award categories. This includes, but not limited to: AI generated posters for best poster, AI generated screenplays for best writing/screenplay, AI generated music or song for best original score or song, AI generated Visual Effects for best VFX, AI generated Actors (either physical or voice) for best performances, and AI generated camera movements for best cinematography.
Your film will be eligible for best picture and best genre submission as long as all outlined rules are followed. It will also be eligible for all awards submitted categories AI was not used for.
Anyone caught circumventing these rules will be subject to their films being disqualified from competition and potential impacts to participate in future years of the festival.
Registration and Turn-In Deadlines
Teams are required to meet all registration and turn-in deadlines. If a team cannot meet a deadline for any reason, they are required to contact NSFF to see if alternative arrangements can be made in advance for a given deadline. Teams that fail to meet their deadlines will be disqualified from competition.
Acceptable Content
Any film that does not meet the NSFF content guidelines will be disqualified from competition, and if the offending content is not removed, it will also be rejected from the general screening and removed from the festival. It is up to the sole discretion of NSFF to accept or reject films based on their adherence to the guidelines. Click here for our guidelines.
Turn-In Format and Length
Films must be no longer than 8 minutes for the film, with one additional minute allotted for credits for a total of no more than 9 minutes. Additional footage in the credits such as a blooper reel, bonus scenes, etc are allowed so long as the film has concluded before credits and the additional footage is not necessary to the film’s story. The film should be considered complete without any content contained in the credits.
It is the responsibility of the teams to ensure that their film is within the allowed length and is submitted in the proper format. Specifications on acceptable formats for film turn-in are clearly posted on this website either on the main page or in the filmmaker task system. Films that are turned in with the wrong dimensions, codec, frame rate, etc are subject to disqualification from competition.
Use of Third-Party Content
(See below for special rules for fan films.) Teams are allowed to use a limited amount of third-party content in their films, provided they have rights to use it. Up to 15 percent of video content and up to 100% of music can be licensed for a NSFF Film. Films that use over 15 percent licensed video content are subject to disqualification from competition.
Fan Films
For years, studios have generally tolerated and even encouraged short fan films as long as they don’t attempt to capitalize financially on copyrighted material.
In NSFF, a fan film is considered to be any film that is inspired by another entity’s creative work. This includes feature films, video games, songs, television programs, comic books, etc. Any film which features copy written elements including, but not limited to, characters, sound effects, weapons, set design, screen grabs or even video clips from another’s work is considered a fan film. Fan films are eligible for awards, but they are not eligible for prizes of any kind, cash or otherwise.
Fan Films are not simply because you are a fan of something… this is a very specific genre.
Satirical Films and Fair Use
In its most general sense, a fair use is any copying of copyrighted material done for a limited and “transformative” purpose, such as to comment upon, criticize, or parody a copyrighted work. Such uses can be done without permission from the copyright owner. Four factors are considered in analyzing whether a use was a “fair use.”
1. The purpose and character of the use of the original copyrighted work – commercial or non-commercial; whether a Section 107 favored purpose – criticism, comment, scholarship, research, news reporting or teaching; the degree of transformation from the purpose of the original to the purpose of the new work;
2. The nature of the copyrighted work – certain types of work are more deserving of protection than others;
3. The amount and substantiality of the portion used of the copyrighted work – in relation to the whole of the copied work; and
4. The effect on the potential market or value of the copyrighted work.
We reserve the right to determine whether your film falls under Parody Law or Fan Film. Satirical / Parody films are eligible for cash and prizes in addition to awards.
Copyrighted Material and Releases
Any copyrighted content in a film must be licensed from the copyright holder and the proper documentation must be provided. With the exception of Fan film and Parody films see above. Teams that used copyrighted content in their films without permission will be disqualified from competition and unless the copy written material is removed,rejected from screening and removed from the festival.
Film teams are required to get explicit permission to use any individual’s likeness in their film. Any film that violates any intellectual property or privacy laws of any kind, or breaks the law in any way, is subject to disqualification from competition and rejection from screening and removal from the festival.
Conflict of Interest and Ineligibility
Volunteers are eligible to submit films and participate in competition, provided they are not involved in judging. NSFF may reassign duties or restrict eligibility to avoid conflicts.
NSFF reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to determine eligibility, resolve conflicts of interest, and place any submission into competition or out-of-competition screening as needed, especially during the first season.
Sponsors – We will determine on a case by case basis if a conflict exists.
Judges cannot be a participant in any competing film in any capacity. Judges must certify that their judging is fair, impartial and without conflicts of interest.
Giving cash donations, prizes, or volunteering to work with festival staff, does not automatically disqualify you from cash, prizes and awards. We encourage participants to volunteer and donate if they are able. Our judges are not made aware of donations or volunteer hours and this will not increase your chances of winning. We reserve the right to determine which films have a conflict of interest with respect to these aspects.
Responsibility of Film Production Costs
Teams are 100% responsible for all expenses associated with the production of their films. NSFF bears no ownership or responsibility for any debts or expenses resulting from the production of a NSFF film, including any production costs or any fines, fees, penalties, etc.
Again, BTS and outtakes of your film can be used for crowdfunding. Your film is not to be posted to the public on YouTube or other streaming services in full (trailers or short clips are ok) until after it has been part of our screening.