Submission Terms & Conditions

DANA Film Festival (“the Festival”) is organised by DanaX L.L.C-FZ (“the Organiser”), registered in the Meydan Free Zone, Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The 2027 edition takes place from 19 to 23 March 2027 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

The Organiser may amend these dates and will publish any change on danafilmfestival.com and on all listing platforms.

1. Films must have been completed on or after 1 January 2025.
2. There is no restriction on the nationality of the director, cast, or crew.
3. Films not in English or Arabic must carry burned-in or accurately timed English subtitles. Submissions without compliant subtitles may be disqualified without refund.
4. There is no limit on the number of films one submitter may enter. Each film requires a separate submission and a separate fee.
5. Category-specific eligibility is set out in the Awards & Categories page and forms part of these Terms.
6. Submitters must be aged 18 or over. A submitter under 18 may enter only where a parent or legal guardian submits on their behalf and accepts these Terms; the parent or guardian is then treated as the submitter for all purposes under these Terms.
7. Premiere status. There is no requirement that a film be a premiere. At submission you must, however, truthfully declare the film's public screening history and the premiere status (for example world, international, regional or UAE premiere) it would hold at the Festival, and you must inform the Organiser of any change to that status before the Festival.

By submitting, you represent and warrant that:

1. You are the copyright holder of the film, or are fully authorised by the copyright holder to submit it, and are duly authorised, on behalf of yourself and all other persons or entities holding any ownership rights, licences or interests in the film, to grant the Organiser the right to screen the film publicly at the Festival and to make the promises set out in these Terms.
2. You have secured all necessary rights, clearances, licences and consents in respect of music, archival footage, images, performances, trademarks and any third-party material contained in the film.
3. The film does not infringe any third party's copyright, trademark, privacy, publicity, or other rights, and is not defamatory or unlawful.
4. You have obtained all consents required from your distributor, sales agent, producer and any other rights-holder to submit the film to the Festival and to permit its screening at the Festival.
5. The film is not the subject of, or under any threat of, any litigation, arbitration, or other adversarial claim or proceeding, including any dispute over its ownership.

Sole responsibility. Clearance of all content in the film from any and all actual or potential legal claims is your sole responsibility. The Organiser bears no responsibility for any unauthorised material contained in a submitted film and accepts no liability for any dispute arising from it.

Indemnity. You agree to indemnify, defend and hold harmless the Organiser, the Festival, and their respective directors, officers, employees, representatives and affiliates from and against any and all claims, liabilities, losses, damages, fees and expenses — including but not limited to reasonable legal and attorneys' fees — incurred as a result of, or in connection with, any breach of the representations and warranties in this clause or any third-party claim relating to the film.

Survival. The representations, warranties and indemnity in this clause survive and continue to apply after the disqualification or withdrawal of the film, the conclusion of the Festival, or the termination of these Terms for any reason.

Disqualification. The Organiser reserves the right to disqualify any film that is, or becomes, the subject of a third-party claim, or that breaches these warranties, without refund.

1. Submission is complete upon upload of the screener and confirmation of payment.
2. The screener must be the final version of the film. Replacement after submission is permitted only at the Organiser's discretion and only before evaluation begins.
3. Submitted files and materials are not returned.
4. Required materials: screener (link or file), one director photograph, three production stills, a poster, synopsis, director biography and complete credits.
5. Incomplete submissions may be evaluated on the material provided or excluded, at the Organiser's discretion, without refund.
6. Completeness deadline. It is your sole responsibility to ensure that all required materials — including a working screener, valid subtitles where applicable, poster, stills, synopsis, biography and credits — are complete and accessible by the deadline under which you submitted. A submission that remains incomplete by that deadline may be disqualified without refund, and the Organiser is under no obligation to request missing materials.

1. Selection is at the sole discretion of the Festival's selection committee and jury. Decisions are final and are not subject to appeal.
2. The Organiser determines the section in which a selected film is programmed. Submitters may indicate a preference but cannot elect a section.
3. Selected submitters grant the Organiser a non-exclusive licence to screen the film publicly at the 2027 Festival, at official Festival venues and any officially designated satellite or online screening, during the Festival period.
4. Selected submitters grant the Organiser the right to use the film title, stills, poster, up to three minutes of excerpt footage, trailer, and the names and images of the director and principal cast for the promotion of the Festival, in print, broadcast, digital and social media, without additional payment.
5. Selected films must supply a screening copy in the specified format by the date notified. Failure to do so may result in removal from the programme without refund.
6. A film may not be withdrawn from the programme once it has been selected. In exceptional circumstances, withdrawal after selection requires the prior written consent of the Organiser. Fees are not refunded.

Award decisions rest with the jury and are final. Cash prizes, where offered, are paid to the person or entity named as the rights-holder in the submission, subject to identity verification and applicable UAE law. Prize amounts are stated gross; any tax or transfer costs are the recipient's responsibility.

If a copyright, ownership or other legal dispute arises in relation to a film that has been given an award, the Organiser reserves the right to revoke the award and to require the return of any prize, and accepts no liability arising from such revocation.

1. Filmmakers, delegates and guests attending the Festival, and anyone representing a submitted film, are expected to behave respectfully and professionally towards Festival staff, volunteers, jurors, other participants and the public.
2. Harassment, discrimination, threatening or violent behaviour, and any conduct that endangers the safety of others or brings the Festival into disrepute will not be tolerated.
3. The Organiser reserves the right to refuse admission to, or remove from, any Festival venue or event any person in breach of this code, and to withdraw a film from the programme or revoke an award where a person connected with it is responsible for a serious breach, without refund and without liability.
4. Attendees must comply with the laws of the United Arab Emirates and with all venue rules at all times.

1. Fees are charged in AED and vary by deadline and category as published. All fees are inclusive of Value Added Tax where applicable.
2. Fees charged on third-party submission platforms include those platforms' service charges and commissions and are therefore higher than the fees charged on danafilmfestival.com. This differential reflects platform costs and is not a discount or promotional offer.
3. Fee waivers are not granted, in order to preserve fairness across all entrants.
4. Refunds are governed by the Refund Policy, which forms part of these Terms.

Personal data supplied at submission is processed by the Organiser for the administration of the Festival, in accordance with UAE data protection law. Data is retained for the duration of the Festival cycle and for such period afterwards as is required for accounting and audit purposes. Data is not sold. Submitters may request access, correction or deletion of their data by writing to privacy@danafilmfestival.com.

Selected films may be retained in the Festival archive for non-commercial reference for twelve months following the Festival only where the rights-holder has given express consent. Consent is captured by a separate, optional tick box at the point of submission and may be withdrawn at any time by writing to submissions@danafilmfestival.com. Where consent is not given or is withdrawn, no copy is retained.

1. To the fullest extent permitted by law, the total aggregate liability of the Organiser to any submitter, arising out of or in connection with a submission or these Terms, is limited to the amount of the submission fee actually paid by that submitter.
2. The Organiser is not liable for any indirect, incidental, special or consequential loss or damage, including but not limited to loss of profit, loss of opportunity, loss of distribution, reputational harm, or travel and accommodation costs, however arising.
3. Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits any liability that cannot lawfully be excluded or limited under UAE law.

1. These Terms are governed by the laws of the United Arab Emirates.
2. Where these Terms are published in both English and Arabic, the English version governs in the event of any discrepancy.
3. Any matter not expressly addressed in these Terms, and any issue arising in connection with a submission, shall be negotiated in good faith between the submitter and the Organiser. If any provision of these Terms could present a difficulty for a particular film, the submitter should contact the Organiser before submitting.
4. The Organiser reserves the right to determine any matter not addressed in these Terms.
5. Submission constitutes acceptance of these Terms in full.