LightReel Discovery Official Contest Rules
These are the official rules governing entry into and administration of the LightReel Discovery short film contest, presented by LightReel Film Festival and originalFlix. By entering, you agree to be bound by these rules.
1. Sponsor
LightReel Discovery (the "Contest") is jointly presented by LightReel Film Festival and originalFlix (together, the "Sponsors").
2. Contest period
2.1 The Contest opens on October 19, 2026 and closes on February 28, 2027 (the "Contest Period").
2.2 Entries must be received by the Sponsors before the close of the Contest Period at 11:59pm February 28, 2027.
2.3 The Sponsors reserve the right to extend, shorten, or otherwise modify the Contest Period, with notice posted on the Contest website.
3. Eligibility
3.1 The Contest is open only to legal residents of the 50 United States, U.S. territories, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
3.2 Entrants must be 18 years of age or older at the time of entry.
3.3 The Contest is open to filmmakers at any stage of their career; no resume, industry connections, or prior directing or writing credits are required.
3.4 Employees, contractors, and agents of the Sponsors, their affiliates, and their immediate family members or household members, are not eligible to enter.
3.5 Void where prohibited or restricted by law.
3.6 By entering, each entrant represents that the submitted script or idea is their own original work and does not infringe the rights of any third party.
4. How to enter
4.1 Entrants may submit either a completed short film script or a treatment/developed concept for a short film.
4.2 Entries must be submitted through the official Contest entry portal during the Contest Period.
4.3 Completed scripts must be no longer than 23 pages, in standard screenplay format.
4.4 There is no limit on the number of entries a single entrant may submit; each script or idea submitted is treated as a separate entry.
4.5 Incomplete, illegible, corrupted, or misdirected entries will be disqualified.
5. Entry fee
5.1 Each entry requires a non-refundable fee of $75.00 USD, payable at the time of submission.
5.2 The fee applies per entry. An entrant submitting multiple scripts or ideas will be charged $75.00 for each one.
5.3 This is a skill-based competition: entries are selected on the merits of the submitted script or idea, as judged by the Committee described below, not by random chance or drawing.
6. Judging and selection
6.1 All eligible entries are reviewed by the LightReel Discovery committee (the "Committee").
6.2 Entries are evaluated on originality, craft, and production potential.
6.3 The full pool of entries is narrowed to the 100 strongest ("Top 100"), then further narrowed to 10 finalists ("Top 10").
6.4 From the Top 10, the Committee selects two winning entrants (the "Winners").
6.5 Decisions of the Committee are final. Selection is not based on an entrant's resume, connections, or prior credits.
7. Prizes
7.1 Each Winner will receive full production funding, covering equipment, locations, costumes, cast, and post-production, provided by the Sponsors.
7.2 Each Winner will be assigned a professional crew, including cinematographers, editors, and technicians, to support production through delivery.
7.3 Each Winner directs their short film, developed from their submitted script or idea, in collaboration with the assigned crew and the Sponsors.
7.4 Each Winner's completed short film will premiere at the 2027 LightReel Film Festival — one opening the festival, one closing it.
7.5 Prizes are non-transferable and have no cash-equivalent value.
8. Rights granted by entrants
8.1 By entering, entrants grant the Sponsors a license to review, discuss, and evaluate their submitted script or idea for purposes of administering the Contest.
8.2 Entrants selected as Winners grant the Sponsors the rights necessary to produce, distribute, exhibit, and promote the resulting short film, on terms to be set out in a separate production agreement.
8.3 Each resulting short film, together with all copyrights and other intellectual property rights therein, is a work made for hire for the Sponsors and shall be owned exclusively by the Sponsors, in perpetuity, throughout the universe, in all media now known or hereafter devised. To the extent any such rights do not automatically vest in the Sponsors as a work made for hire, each Winner hereby irrevocably assigns, transfers, and conveys all such rights, title, and interest to the Sponsors.
8.4 By entering, entrants consent to the use of their name, likeness, and entry for promotional purposes related to the Contest, without additional compensation, except where prohibited by law.
9. General conditions
9.1 The Sponsors reserve the right to disqualify any entrant who tampers with the entry process or violates these rules.
9.2 The Sponsors are not responsible for entries lost, delayed, or corrupted due to technical failure of any kind.
9.3 The Sponsors reserve the right to cancel, suspend, or modify the Contest if fraud, technical failure, or any other factor beyond their reasonable control impairs the integrity of the Contest.
9.4 All federal, state, and local laws and regulations apply.
10. Privacy
By entering, entrants agree that personal information submitted with an entry — including name, mailing address, phone number, and email address — may be collected, processed, and stored by the Sponsors for the purposes of administering the Contest. Entrants may request access to, correction of, or deletion of their personal data by contacting info@lightreeldiscovery.com
11. Winner list
The names of the two Winners will be announced by the Sponsors following the conclusion of judging.
12. Governing law and disputes
These rules are governed by the laws of the State of Maryland, without regard to conflict-of-law principles. Any dispute arising from the Contest will be resolved individually, without resort to class action, in the courts of that jurisdiction.
LightReel Discovery — a collaboration between LightReel Film Festival and originalFlix.