Frequently Asked Questions

All-Inclusive Film International Network.

A nomination at an IMDb-Qualifying festival, which you may list as "Nominated (nom)". Your official AFIN laurel. A certificate of nomination, available from your film's page once your category has been revealed. A permanent page for your film on our website, with your credits and your result, which does not come down, unless the film is withdrawn before the Awards Night. And for 2027, 1 free screening ticket per nominated project, for yourself or for someone from your cast, crew or family, at the 2027 screenings, whose venue and dates are announced once they are confirmed. It does not cover the Awards Night, which is a separate ticketed event. None of these depend on you attending the Awards Night.

Both are on your film's page on this website, in its Official laurels section, from the moment your category is revealed. Press Download laurel for your laurel, a transparent image for your poster, your press kit and your next submission. Press Download certificate for your certificate of nomination, A4 landscape, naming your film, your award category and the people credited for it; performance nominees receive a certificate in their own name. To list the award on IMDb, the Nominee toolkit further down the same page has the steps. If your category has not been revealed yet, your certificate is already made and will appear on your page on the day it is announced.

Please wait for us. We reveal categories one at a time in the lead-up to the Awards Night, and each reveal is a moment we build an audience around for the films in it. If you announce ahead of your category, your film gets the news out with none of that behind it, and the nominees revealed alongside you lose theirs. Once your category is public, please share it as loudly as you like, and tag us so we can amplify it.

Finalist: close to being nominated, but no further progression. Not IMDb-Qualifying. Nominee: nominated for an award, and remains a nominee if it does not win. IMDb-Qualifying. Award Winner: wins the award, transitioning from Nominee status. IMDb-Qualifying. Only projects that reach Nominee or Award Winner are eligible for IMDb listing, because a Finalist was not nominated for an award. Our current festival has these three results only. We awarded Honourable Mentions in earlier years, so past recipients may still hold one, but we no longer use that tier, and we have never had semi-finalists, quarter-finalists or official selections. We audit IMDb listings for accuracy and will request corrections for any incorrect entries. When adding yours, use the correct award and year, and choose "Winner (1)" for an Award Winner or "Nominated (nom)" for a Nominee.

As soon as we have processed all films we move very quickly, and some categories are revealed earlier than others. FilmFreeway is updated to "Nominee" if you are nominated for at least one award, and only changed to "Award Winner" after the Awards Night. If you made finalist only, your project is updated to "Finalist".

No, and the two are decided separately. A nomination is the result of adjudication; the screening programme is curated, and we can only screen what fits three nights. A film that is not screening is exactly as nominated as one that is, and can win its categories either way. Our 2026 screenings ran 15 to 17 September 2026 at Dendy Cinemas Portside, Brisbane. Each season's lineup is announced once every category has been revealed.

Films chosen to screen are a curated selection of award-nominated films suitable for a diverse audience. Curation generally begins in this order: 1) the number of nominations a film has, 2) how well the film screens, 3) film length, and 4) how the film sits within the lineup and the experience for the audience across the night. We screen as many as we can, every year. To be eligible for selection a film must be available to screen during the festival and must have provided a promotional image with its application.

Your film needs to be delivered to our DCP specification and tested by the delivery deadline we give screening films, which in 2026 was Monday 7 September 2026. The specification, the four things that most often go wrong, and guidance on whether to have a DCP made professionally or do it yourself are all on our DCP page. If anything about the specification is unclear, ask us early rather than close to the deadline, because a file that fails testing in the final week is difficult to fix in time.

At our 2026 screenings at Dendy Cinemas Portside, 15 to 17 September, every nominee received 1 free screening ticket per nominated project, valued at $21, to use however they wished, for themselves or for someone from their cast, crew or family. Those screenings have now taken place, so ticket claims are closed. The ticket did not cover the Awards Night, which is a separate ticketed event.

No, and there is no nominee discount. What every nominee received instead in 2026 was 1 free screening ticket per nominated project, valued at $21, for our screenings at Dendy Cinemas Portside on 15 to 17 September. Those tickets do not cover the Awards Night, which is a separate ticketed event. Worth saying that the Awards Night ticket is not an entry fee: it is your dinner, the red carpet and its photography, the performance and the ceremony itself, all listed under "What is the Awards Night actually like?" below. On our side the price is simply what the evening costs to run: the waitstaff, the SunPAC technicians, our own filming crew and the rest of the team who work the night. AFIN is independent and receives no government funding or major sponsorship. We would rather give every nominee the same thing than offer a rate to whoever asks.

No, and we would genuinely ask you not to put us in the position of saying no. We do not disclose or hint at results before they are announced, to anyone, including nominees who ask us directly, and we will not discuss it informally or off the record. Every request has to be refused, they arrive individually and at all hours, and refusing people you are glad to be celebrating is the least pleasant part of running this festival. This is not us being secretive. Every nominee in a category is in the same position when the envelope opens, and that is exactly what makes an AFIN nomination worth listing on IMDb and in a funding application. A result that leaks early is worth less to everyone who has ever won one. If you are deciding whether to travel, please decide on the evening itself rather than on the outcome, because you do not need to be in the room to win.

We would love you there: a real red carpet, dinner with the people who made the other films, and your work on the big screen in front of them. But no, you do not need to be there. Attendance has never affected the outcome. If you cannot make it, record an acceptance speech video and send it to us by the deadline we give nominees, and we will play it for any award you are nominated for. Your film still goes up on the screen and your name is still read out.

Congratulations on your win! Attendance is not compulsory to be eligible to win, and if you or a representative cannot collect your trophy in person, we can ship it out to you at your cost. We will confirm the postage with you before sending anything.

Yes. The Awards Night ceremony is livestreamed for your cast and crew, your writers and their families, anywhere in the world, so the people who made the film with you can watch it as it happens. We send the link closer to the night, and it is for them rather than for posting: please do not share it publicly or anywhere it can be picked up. Combined with recording an acceptance speech video and having a trophy shipped at cost, nobody who cannot make the trip is left out of their own result.

Here is the evening as we ran it at SunPAC, Sunnybank, on Saturday 19 September 2026. The 2027 night is planned for Brisbane in October 2027, and we publish its date and details once the venue confirms them. On the night, the red carpet opens at 5:00 pm with professional photography that goes into the AFIN gallery, seating opens at 5:50 pm and the show begins at 6:00 pm, with formal proceedings concluding at 10:00 pm. The ticket covers a two-course seated dinner served alternate drop, a three-hour soft drink package with a cash bar for guests 18 and over, red carpet photography, a live performance, and Q&As with selected filmmakers. In 2026, 21 awards were presented on the night, in pristine K9 crystal.

No. Being promoted on social media does not indicate official selection or any outcome from adjudication. In the lead-up we share and promote submissions to support filmmakers and to foster relationships between AFIN applicants and the industry, and that is all it means.

Absolutely, with the exception of explicit pornography and anything made for the purpose of selling a product or service to audiences. Anything above an Australian Classification rating of R cannot be entered. We accept shorts and features, including animation. Web series are welcome too, and are judged as short films in their lane.

Yes, for films. AFIN is committed to authentic Australian First Nations storytelling. Films led by First Nations creatives, or that tell a First Nations story through meaningful collaboration with First Nations communities, enter free under the "First Nations Free Entry" categories (eligibility in the rules). A film qualifies through at least one of these: First Nations-led storytelling: the film centres on First Nations characters, themes, or cultural elements. First Nations creative leadership: the film has a First Nations writer, director, or producer who can confirm their connection to a First Nations community. First Nations collaboration and cultural consultation: if a non-First Nations filmmaker is telling a First Nations story, they must demonstrate meaningful collaboration with First Nations communities, such as a First Nations cultural advisor being consulted, or First Nations voices included in the writing, casting, or production process. Important: simply having distant First Nations ancestry is NOT enough; the film must actively feature First Nations leadership or collaboration. Screenplays are NOT eligible for First Nations Free Entry, as verification is more difficult at the script stage. Films that qualify can still be considered for all other applicable awards. Submitters must provide a short statement in their FilmFreeway submission confirming how their film qualifies. AFIN reserves the right to request further verification, including a letter of support from a First Nations community or consultant. False claims result in disqualification and a permanent ban from future AFIN submissions. The free categories on FilmFreeway: Australian First Nations Free Entry: Feature Film; Australian First Nations Free Entry: Micro Short Film; Australian First Nations Free Entry: Short Film; Australian First Nations Free Entry: Short Documentary; Australian First Nations Free Entry: Feature Documentary.

No. Only completed projects are allowed.

No. Your film may be nominated in multiple categories for a single entry fee. Our panel watches every film on submission regardless, so charging more for multiple categories does not seem fair to us.

We are afraid not. Film submissions must be made with the filmmaker and content creator's approval.

Every entry can choose to add on Standard Feedback: scoring insights and potentially high-level comments.

Films and screenplays submitted to AFIN are viewed by a panel of film industry professionals. We are an equal and fair festival: our awards, nominations and placings are entirely the result of adjudication, and all submissions that do not break the rules are welcome. AFIN seeks films that strive for excellence in storyline, cinematography, writing, performances, originality, production values, globally distributable ideas, and unique and important stories, with special consideration for diversity and for the specific awards. Award winners are celebrated per category with an AFIN award made from pristine quality K9 crystal. Prizes may also be attached to certain awards and are advertised closer to the date.

No. A judge may not have work in competition in the season they judge, in a producing, directing or writing role or any other creative role. If such a work is entered, the judge steps down from the panel for that season and the work is judged like any other entry. A judge who appears in an entry as an actor or in a non-creative role tells us, and does not view or score it. The full Conflict of Interest Policy is in the rules on our FilmFreeway listing.

Yes. The submitter or the rights holder withdraws it through the submission on FilmFreeway, and we act on our side within 5 business days. Before the Awards Night, the project leaves competition, its nomination no longer stands, its page comes down and its place returns to the category. After the Awards Night, the results are final and stay on the record: a withdrawal does not change or remove a nomination or award, though on request we take down the artwork, stills and trailer. We cannot remove press coverage, other websites, or anything already printed or engraved. Entry fees are not refunded on withdrawal. The full clause is in the rules on our FilmFreeway listing.