FAQ
What is North Star Film Festival?
North Star Film Festival (NSFF) is a community-run short film festival and film challenge. We celebrate local storytellers, new filmmakers, and creative teams.
Is this a film festival or a film competition?
Both.
- Festival screening: we screen all submitted films during our festival events.
- Competition: films are reviewed by a team of judges and eligible for numerous awards, with winners revealed at our annual awards gala.
Do I need filmmaking experience to join?
No. Beginners are welcome and encouraged to participate and every film submitted will screen provided they meet the content requirements. If you’ve never made a film before, you can still join a team, volunteer, or help as cast or crew. Newcomers may be eligible for student categories or first time filmmaker awards, in addition to all other award categories.
How long does my film need to be?
Your film can be between 4 – 8 minutes, with up to one minute dedicated to credits for a total of no more than 9 minutes.
How do filmmakers submit their film?
We use a task system in our portal that walks filmmakers through everything step by step (film, trailer, poster, and any required details). The portal tells you exactly what to upload or what link to submit.
Do you accept YouTube or Vimeo links?
In most cases, yes. We usually collect a link for review/judging instead of making you upload a huge video file. The portal will tell filmmakers the preferred format and settings.
What is a “screener”?
A screener is a high quality version of your film used to screen your film in the theater. Specific requirements for your screener are listed in the team portal. Your judging version is a web friendly version of your film used for review, judging, and awards gala programming.
Do I have to be in Minnesota to participate?
Not always. We welcome teams from Minnesota and surrounding neighboring areas, as long as you are committed to attending local in person events. Please check the current season rules for any specific location or attendance requirements.
What kind of films do you accept?
Short films. Genre can be anything (comedy, drama, horror, documentary, experimental, etc.). The current rules will list the time limit and any content restrictions.
Can I submit a 2 part film?
Multiple Submissions vs. Multi-Part Films You are welcome to submit multiple films to the festival, provided each one stands completely on its own. To ensure a level playing field for all filmmakers adhering to the 8-minute runtime limit, we do not allow a single story to be split across two or more submissions as part of the competition.
If you submit films with a shared storyline or characters, they will still be played at the screening. However, if our board decides the films function as a two-part story rather than independent shorts, you will be asked to choose only one of those films to be submitted to the judges for award consideration.
Are there fees?
Yes. We have an entry fee to help support festival operations and community events like the award show, Best of Fest, and other festival costs. Tickets to the screenings and awards gala will be posted as the date approaches. We try to keep costs as affordable as possible while also providing an experience to remember. The exact amount (and any category differences) will always be clearly listed before you register.
Do you offer a student discount?
Yes. Eligible student teams may receive a 50% discount on team registration fees after verification.
To qualify, the film’s director and writer must be enrolled as students at the time of production. College student films must be directed, written, and produced by registered students. These positions may be filled by the same student or by different individual students.
Eligible students include those currently enrolled in Middle School, High School, College, or University, including Undergraduate or Graduate programs.
Before completing payment, student teams must email proof of current student status to hello@northstarfestival.com. Accepted proof may include a valid Student ID, current class schedule, enrollment letter, school portal screenshot, or other official proof of enrollment.
Please include your Team Name and Registration Code in the email.
You may cover or hide private information such as birthday, address, barcode, or financial details. We only need to confirm the student name, school, and current enrollment status.
If approved, we will send you a one-time Zeffy discount code to use during checkout. Please do not complete payment before your student verification is approved if you plan to use the student discount. Discount codes cannot be guaranteed after payment has already been completed.
Can I submit a film that I already made?
No. All films must be created within the official season timeframe and must include the required control element (listed at the bottom of the home page). Films made before the season starts are not eligible.
Will every submitted film be screened?
Our goal is to include all submitted films in our general screenings, as long as they follow the rules and meet basic technical requirements. Final scheduling depends on runtime limits, venue time, and programming needs.
Can you screen films again later (Best of Fest)?
Yes. We may do encore screenings (like Best of Fest) or community events. Filmmakers agree to allow NSFF to screen their film again at NSFF-related events for a limited time (details are in the Filmmaker Agreement).
Will NSFF post my full film online?
Only if the filmmaker agrees to it. If we ever do an online archive (like a YouTube playlist), we also respect an agreed holdback period (up to 1 year) so filmmakers can submit to other festivals first.
Who handles cast/crew releases and music rights?
The filmmaker is responsible for getting permissions and releases needed for their film (cast, crew, locations, music, and any copyrighted material). We don’t provide legal clearance for films.
How does judging work?
Our Festival’s Judging Process
We know how much hard work goes into making a film. That’s why we’ve built a rigorous, fair, and comprehensive judging system to ensure every single project is evaluated with the utmost care and respect.
Here is an inside look at how our festival’s judging process works from start to finish.
Who Are Our Judges?
Our jury panel is carefully curated to provide a well-rounded evaluation of every film.
- Industry Professionals: The majority of our panel consists of working filmmakers and professionals in the film and media fields.
- The “Audience” Perspective: To ensure our results reflect a balanced, Rotten Tomatoes-style consensus, we also include a select group of avid moviegoers outside the industry.
- Experienced & Diverse: Many of our judges are returning veterans who have judged for us and other festivals in previous years. The panel is an intentional mix of local talent and out-of-state experts.
A Note on Anonymity: After the awards show, judges can choose to have their names listed on our website or remain anonymous. About half choose to remain anonymous. This prevents filmmakers from reaching out to judges and removes the pressure to give certain films special consideration.
Integrity and Eligibility
To guarantee a fair playing field, our judges must adhere to strict guidelines:
- Conflicts of Interest: To be eligible, a judge must not have participated in any capacity on any team competing in the festival.
- Signed Agreements: Upon registration, every judge signs an agreement promising fair and unbiased scoring.
- 100% Completion: A judge’s scores are only counted if they watch all films in the competition. There are no skipped films or partial scorecards.
How Scoring Works: Main Categories
Once the films are queued up, the evaluation begins. Judges rate nine specific elements of the film on a scale of 1 to 10:
- Story
- Directing
- Acting
- Cinematography
- Lighting
- Sound
- Production Design
- Editing
- The X-Factor (The overall impression and magic of the film)
Weighted Scoring: To reflect the core pillars of filmmaking, scores for X-Factor, Acting, Directing, and Story carry a higher 1.5 weight.
These tallies determine the overall festival rankings, as well as the winners for Best Director, Best Ensemble, Best Cinematography, Best Lighting, Best Sound Design, Best Editing, and Best Production Design.
How Scoring Works: Special Awards
After watching and scoring the main categories for every film, judges move to the “Special Awards” section of our judging portal.
This section covers specific, targeted awards like Best Actor/Actress, Best Credits, Best Prop, Best VFX, and more.
- The Clip Review: Judges watch 30-second clips submitted by the filmmakers to remind them of specific performances or technical achievements.
- Ranked Voting: Judges select their top three choices for each category.
- 1st Place: 3 points
- 2nd Place: 2 points
- 3rd Place: 1 point
- The Nominees: Points from all judges are tallied together. The five entries with the highest scores become our official nominees, and the entry with the absolute highest score takes home the win!
Best Screenplay
Because writing requires a uniquely specialized eye, we use a completely separate set of judges for the Best Screenplay award. These judges all possess specific experience in screenwriting. They read the submitted scripts and score them using a similar ranking system to determine the winner.
What awards do you have?
Awards can include genre awards and craft awards (like directing, acting, editing, sound, cinematography, etc.). The full list is posted here.
How can new actors and crew get involved?
Easy:
- Volunteer with NSFF, or
- Join a team as cast/crew (PA, sound, camera, editing, etc.)
- Join community groups (on or offline)
We also share community casting/crew posts when teams are looking for people.
Can I volunteer?
Yes. We need help with events, check-in, ushering, filming behind the scenes, social media, and more. Contact us for volunteer opportunities.
How can I support NSFF if I’m not making a film?
You can:
- Donate
- Be a sponsor
- Attend screenings
- Volunteer
- Share our posts and invite friends
- Apply to be a judge
Where do screenings happen?
Venues and dates will be posted on our website as we confirm them. Some screenings may be hosted with partners.
Who do I contact if I have questions?
Send us a message through the website Contact US page, or on social media (Facebook and Instagram) @northstarfilmfestival.