Regulations & How to Submit


​​Rules

The judges will be using the following rubric to judge the submitted films. Please review  and follow these requirements for your submission. 

Your movie must oblige by the HoCo FilmFest rules. There is a different set of rules for story based films and Public Service Announcements (PSAs) 

Story Based Films
  • Films must be produced from a middle or high school student that lives in Howard County.
  • Must be student directed, produced, and edited.
  • The entered film should be 3 to 10 minutes in duration. Credits and any additional content that is not part of the main story are not included in the time limit. 
  • Must be an original concept or idea.
  • Must be appropriate for family viewing. The film must be limited in sexuality, language, and violence. No weapons allowed.
  • Must follow traditional storytelling elements. This includes the use of plot, characters, setting, etc.
  • AI may not be used 

HC DrugFree PSA Films

Please Note: PSA Films MUST correlate with HC DrugFree’s regulations of Public Service Announcements. All PSA’s submitted must be related to the theme as set by HC DrugFree. Find out more on the HC DrugFree Category page.
  • The entered PSA produced must be from a middle or high school student that lives in Howard County.
  • The entered PSA must be student directed, produced, and edited.The entered PSA should be 30 to 120 seconds in duration.
  • The entered PSA must be an original concept or idea.
  • The entered PSA must be appropriate for family viewing. The PSA must be limited in sexuality, language, and violence. No weapons allowed.
  • AI may not be used

Actor and Participant Permissions

Within the submission form, creators are asked to get permission from their participants to include them in their video. The text below outlines the permissions and agreement form that must be signed allowing the use of the actors/participants in the film:

Confirm that your actors/participants have given you the perpetual right to use, as you may desire, all video, still and motion pictures and sound track recordings which you may make of me or of my voice, and the right to use my name or likeness in or in connection with the exhibition, advertising or any other use of such motion picture or recording. I also understand that it takes a significant amount of time to complete a film – and in some cases student films are abandoned and not completed at all. If the student filmmaker has promised a taping of the film I agree to allow a reasonable amount of time to elapse after the performance for completion (i.e. six months). 

Creative Works Release Agreement

Within the submission form, the following information is presented. Students must agree to and sign the form before submitting their film: 

Student and Parent/Guardian understand and agree that:
1) No monetary consideration shall be paid;
2) Agreement and release have been given without coercion or duress;
3) This Agreement and Release is binding upon heirs and/or future legal representatives;
4) The Creative Work may be used in subsequent years;
If the Student and Parent/Guardian wish to rescind this Agreement and Release they may do so at any time with written notice.

Student and Parent/Guardian release to the Howard County Public School System the student’s name and Creative Work and consent to its use by the Howard County Public School System for the following uses. The Howard County Public School System agrees that the student’s name and Creative Works shall only be used for public relations, public information, student recognition or awards, student competitions entered into by the student, instruction, distribution to students or parents in the Howard County Public School System, or sales where the entire proceeds benefit the school or school system.​

 
Copyright Infringement and Fair Use
​PLEASE READ THIS INFORMATION CAREFULLY.

The Howard County Student Film Festival in past years has received excellent films. HOWEVER, they were IMMEDIATELY disqualified due to copyright infringement. Please read this section very carefully in order to prevent your film from being disqualified.

Regarding Video

Students “may use portions of lawfully acquired copyright works in their academic multimedia,” under two conditions. 1. The media is in the public domain (news footage) OR 2. the student has received written permission from the copyright owner to use the footage in their production.

Regarding Music

Copyrighted music is prohibited for use in films unless the student has explicit written permission from the copyright owner. Instead, music should be obtained from royalty-free music sites and include proper attribution. Films including copyrighted music will be automatically disqualified.

Electronic Submission Process

After you create your film, upload your film to your HCPSS.me account or your personal Google Drive, and copy/paste the URL of the film into the Film Submission Form. The electronic submission form will ask for the name of your film, the name of directors, the school the directors attend, director’s cell phone number, and the director’s e­mail address. Please make sure that you fill out the electronic submission form appropriately. The names included on the submission form will be the names that are included in the program. Please use real names, not nicknames or the names of the characters in your film. Make sure you provide a email address that you use regularly. We may e­mail you verification of the information you provided us with or ask for clarification.


Please make sure that you have read all of these regulations very carefully. If any of these regulations are compromised, your film may be disqualified from competition. At HoCo FilmFest we want to make sure all films are able to compete. If you have any questions regarding the regulations or submission process, e­mail us immediately at: [email protected]. It may help to look at our website , Instagram, (@hocofilmfest) or Twitter page (@HoCoFilmFest). 

HoCo FilmFest sponsors can be reached at:From all of us at the Howard County Student Film Festival, we wish you the best of luck in competition. Thank you for entering your film into HoCo Film Festival.