Terms of service

Effective October 13, 2026. Global Film Festivals (globalfilmfests.com, “the site”) is part of the WholeTech network, based in Austin, Texas (“we”). By using the site you agree to these terms. Our privacy policy explains how we handle data.

1. What the site is

• A free directory of film festivals worldwide, built from public sources such as Wikidata and festivals’ own websites, plus corrections from festivals and readers.
• A free submissions app at /app/ where filmmakers keep their films, track entries made anywhere, and enter festivals that open a call here; and where festivals claim their listing, run calls and review entries.
• Filmmakers never pay us a fee. Entries made through the site are currently free; calls that charge an entry fee send you to the festival’s own entry form, and any fee you pay there is between you and the festival.

2. The directory is information, not a guarantee

We work to keep festival facts accurate and we say where dates come from, but festivals change dates, rules and fees, and sources can be wrong. Always check a festival’s official site before you enter, pay or travel. Our rank is our own sorting score, not a verdict on any festival. We don’t endorse festivals we list and aren’t responsible for what they do.

3. Accounts

• Give accurate details, keep your password to yourself, and use one account per person. You’re responsible for what happens under your account.
• You can delete your account any time from your dashboard.
• We may suspend or close accounts that break these terms, send spam, or put others at risk.

4. Filmmakers

• Only enter films you have the right to submit, and make sure everything you tell a festival (credits, premiere status, completion date) is true.
• When you enter a festival here, you let that festival’s team view your film and its details to judge the entry. That permission is limited to evaluation; screening, publishing or anything else needs your separate agreement with the festival.
• You keep all rights to your films. We host no video files: screeners are links you control, and you can remove or change them at any time.
• Each festival’s own rules apply to your entry. You accept them when you enter.

5. Festivals

• Only claim a listing for a festival you actually run or represent. Claims are checked by email at the festival’s own domain or by our review.
• To open a call here you agree to the entrant pledge: watch every film entered, and tell every entrant your decision by the date you set. If that date passes, we tell entrants their decision is overdue.
• Keep your call details true: categories, deadlines, fees, eligibility and rules. Use entrants’ details only to run your festival.
• Festivals that take entries without holding an event, mislead filmmakers, or break the pledge may lose their claim, their calls and their listing.

6. What you may not do

• Post anything unlawful, infringing, hateful or deceptive, or impersonate someone else.
• Send spam through the site, harvest other users’ details, or try to get into accounts that aren’t yours.
• Overload the site or get around its limits. If you want the data, use the free open data and read API instead of scraping pages at high speed.

7. Content and licences

• The festival directory data is released as open data under CC0 (see /data/). The site’s design and written text are ours.
• Things you add (film details, corrections, call details) stay yours. You let us store and show them as needed to run the site, and, for corrections and festival facts, to publish them in the directory.
• Videos on festival pages come from festivals’ own YouTube channels or websites and play on YouTube under YouTube’s terms.
• Discussions on festival pages are hosted by AustinSpring and follow its rules.
• Think something here infringes your copyright? Tell us what it is and where, and we’ll act on it promptly.

8. Links to other sites

We link to festival websites and to other submission platforms such as FilmFreeway and Festhome. Those sites have their own terms and fees, and we don’t control them.

9. No warranty; limits on liability

The site is provided “as is”, without warranties of any kind, and may sometimes be unavailable or wrong. To the fullest extent the law allows, we are not liable for indirect or consequential losses, or for losses arising from festivals’ decisions, fees, events or conduct. Where the law doesn’t allow these limits, they apply as far as the law permits. Nothing here limits rights you have that can’t be waived.

10. Changes and ending

We may update these terms; the date above shows the current version, and we’ll email account holders about significant changes. You can stop using the site and delete your account at any time.

11. Law

These terms are governed by the laws of the State of Texas, USA, except where the law of the country you live in gives you protections that can’t be overridden.

Questions about these terms: contact us.