Festival Submission Workflow
Updated
A festival asks for two different deliverables: a compressed screener for the programmers, and an exhibition copy, usually a DCP, if the film is selected. Here are the current specs from Sundance, Berlinale, Cannes and Venice, and the math for file sizes and upload times. A distribution deal asks for much more; the distribution deliverables guide lists it.
Selection Screener Specs
Taken from each festival's own submission pages for its current edition, checked October 2026. Specs change every year, so check the festival's page before you encode.
Sundance 2027
- Submission
- FilmFreeway upload, or a Vimeo or YouTube link
- Video
- H.264 MP4, up to 1080 lines, 4,500 kbps maximum (recommended)
- Audio
- AAC stereo, 256 kbps
- Size limit
- 20 GB per upload
- Subtitles
- English subtitles hardcoded into the picture for significant non-English dialogue
Berlinale 2027
- Submission
- Berlinale upload link from the entry form
- Video
- H.264 High profile MP4, 1920×1080, 10 Mbit/s suggested; 24, 25 or 30 fps progressive
- Audio
- AAC stereo, 320 kbit/s, 48 kHz
- Size limit
- 10 GB, one file
- Subtitles
- English, burned in; SRT files are not processed
Venice 2026
- Submission
- Mnemonica upload; features may send a DCP or Blu-ray instead (no ProRes or HDCAM)
- Video
- H.264 in MP4 or MOV, 1080p, 3 Mbit/s overall
- Audio
- AAC, 192 kbps
- Size limit
- No size limit
- Subtitles
- English or Italian, burned in; external subtitle files not supported
Exhibition Copy Specs for Selected Films
Once a film is selected, the festival projects a DCP. Cannes takes DCPs by upload only, Berlinale prefers upload, and Venice takes an upload or two identical drives.
Cannes 2026
- Formats
- DCP (ISO/SMPTE or Interop), 2K or 4K; 35mm and 70mm prints need a backup DCP
- Frame rates
- 24 and 25 fps; contact the festival first for HFR
- Audio
- 5.1 and/or 7.1; an Atmos (IAB) version must also carry the 5.1 or 7.1 mix
- Subtitles
- Burned in recommended, otherwise timed text; PNG subpicture subtitles not allowed
- Delivery
- Aspera upload only, at least 6 days before the rehearsal or first screening
Berlinale 2027
- Formats
- DCP (JPEG 2000 at 250 Mbit/s or less) or QuickTime ProRes 422, 422 HQ or 4444 at HD or 2K
- Frame rates
- DCP: 24, 25, 30 or 48 fps. ProRes: 23.98, 24, 25 or 29.97 fps
- Audio
- 2.0 or 5.1 (stereo is upmixed to 5.1 unless you ask); 7.1, Atmos and Auro in some venues
- Subtitles
- DCP: burned in preferred, XML or PNG accepted. ProRes: burned in only
- Delivery
- Upload to the Digital Cinema Portal preferred, or a Linux-formatted drive, by January 26, 2027
Venice 2026
- Formats
- SMPTE DCP (Application Profile Bv2.1) preferred; DCI-compliant Interop accepted
- Frame rates
- Not specified in the DCP guidelines
- Audio
- 5.1 or 7.1 preferred; 2.0 is upmixed to 5.1 unless you ask; object audio by permission
- Subtitles
- Italian (English for Italian films), burned in or as XML in the DCP
- Delivery
- CineSend upload or two identical ext2/3/4 drives, by August 12, 2026
Festival Submission Workflow
Pick Festivals and Check Eligibility
Shortlist festivals whose programming fits the film, then read each one's current rules before you pay a fee.
Fees vary widely. Sundance 2027 charged features $80 (early), $100 (official) and $125 (late), and shorts $55, $75 and $95.
Make the Selection Screener
Programmers watch a compressed file or private link, so encode to each festival's screener spec rather than sending the master.
Size in GB = total Mbit/s × seconds ÷ 8,000. A 2-hour film at Berlinale's 10 Mbit/s plus 320 kbit/s audio is 10.32 × 7,200 ÷ 8,000 = 9.3 GB. Anything longer than about 129 minutes at that rate goes over the 10 GB limit, so lower the bitrate. The free bitrate calculator works it out in your browser.
Prepare the Exhibition Copy
If the film is selected, the festival projects a DCP, or for some festivals a ProRes file it converts itself.
DCP picture runs up to 250 Mbit/s (the DCI ceiling) for 2K and 4K: up to 112.5 GB per hour. A 2-hour feature at the ceiling with 5.1 sound is about 231 GB; at 125 Mbit/s it is about 119 GB.
Deliver and Confirm
Most major festivals now take DCPs by upload, so plan the transfer time as carefully as the shipping.
Upload time = size in GB × 8,000 ÷ upload speed in Mbit/s. A 150 GB DCP at 50 Mbit/s takes 24,000 seconds, about 6.7 hours at full speed. Berlinale tells uploaders to expect eight to ten hours. The free upload time calculator does the sum for your line.
Technical Considerations
Exhibition Copy
- DCP is the standard projection format at major festivals
- Cannes, Berlinale and Venice all accept SMPTE or Interop DCPs
- Cannes projects at 48 cd/m² (14 fL), the DCI reference white
- Test the DCP on a cinema server, not just a DCP player app
Screeners
- H.264 MP4 at 1080p is the common denominator
- Sundance transcodes every upload, and Venice re-encodes files that miss its spec, so match the suggested settings
- Sundance takes no physical media; screeners go through FilmFreeway
- Don't upload a placeholder: once you release a Berlinale screener it cannot be replaced
Subtitles
- Screeners: burn subtitles into the picture; sidecar SRT files are rarely accepted
- DCPs: burned in, or SMPTE timed text (XML) in the package; the caption and subtitle formats guide compares the formats
- Keep subtitles inside the image, not in a letterbox bar
- Cannes subtitles every film in French, and French-language films in English on the DCP
Common Festival Submission Mistakes
- • Sending a screener with subtitles as a sidecar file or a YouTube "CC" track instead of burned in
- • A screener over the size limit, or a Vimeo link that doesn't allow embedding
- • Uploading a placeholder cut to beat a deadline: Sundance disqualifies non-working files and links
- • Subtitles placed in the letterbox bar, where they can be cropped in projection
- • A CPL name that doesn't follow the ISDCF naming convention, or doesn't match the KDMs
- • KDMs that expire before the last screening
- • DCP encoder project files (DCP-o-matic metadata, logs) uploaded with the package
- • Picture or aspect ratio in the wrong DCP container, Flat (1.85) vs Scope (2.39)