Regulations Film Submission DOK.spotlights megaherz Award 2027

Thank you very much for your interest in submitting your film to the 42nd DOK.fest München (5–17 May 2027 @cinemas, 10–23 May 2027 @home).

Every documentary film submitted for the DOK.spotlights megaherz Award 2027 must meet the following requirements:

 

1. General conditions of participation

Only students of the partner universities of DOK.fest München are eligible for submission.

  • The partner universities (please indicate your respective partner university in the submission form.)
  • The DOK.spotlights megaherz Award can nominate films of any length. There is no minimum running time.
  • The date of completion is after 1 January 2026.
  • Until the screening at the festival, the submitted film must not have had a regular theatrical release in Germany, or broadcast on a public or free-to-air private channel. Furthermore, films that are available on freely accessible internet platforms are excluded from the festival. In individual cases, the decision on admission is the responsibility of the festival management.
  • The film must be submitted by 31 December 2026 via the online form (for further information, see point 8).
  • Please note that we review each submission manually, so it may take a few days to process your submission.

 

2. No submission fees

Submissions for the DOK.spotlights megaherz Award are exempt from payment of the submission fee for the participating universities.

 

3. Language versions

English or German subtitles are required for the viewing process. If your film is invited to the festival, German or English subtitles are mandatory. If your film is selected for one of the main-competitions, English subtitles are required for jury viewing.

 

4. Programming / selection

All programming decisions as well as the allocation of the different sections are made by our selection committee. A premiere status is not required for the DOK.spotlights megaherz Award, but it is preferred.

 

5. Granting of rights, legal guarantees and exemptions

(1) By submitting the film, you guarantee that you are the sole owner of all rights to the work. This includes, in particular, the moral rights, copyrights, and neighboring rights of all persons appearing in the film and all those involved in the production of the film, as well as the rights of other third parties and the right to grant us the rights specified as follows: DOK.fest München is granted the screening rights to the film as well as the right to potentially make it publicly available (online streaming, individual tickets geo-restricted to Germany, limited time period, 48-hour window) for the duration of the festival. Furthermore, you agree that DOK.fest München may, at its sole discretion, publish warnings regarding the film, such as, in particular, following the festival trailer shown before your film. The right to distribute press materials is granted to DOK.fest München without restriction as to location, time, or content. 

(2) Upon notification of the film’s selection, you grant these rights to DOK.fest München without the need for any further declaration. You indemnify DOK.fest München against any and all third-party claims in connection with the rights specified in Section 4 (1), including the reasonable costs of the necessary legal defense, such as, in particular, attorneys’ fees and court costs.

 

6. Publicitiy / promotion

If your film is selected we require press and photo material to be provided promptly. By accepting the regulations, you assure that you will make the material (online download link, photos, texts, trailers) available to the festival for press relations and promotional purposes in our print materials, on our website as well as on our social media channels in the context of DOK.fest München. Likewise, you agree that DOK.fest München may use film clips of up to three minutes as part of the festival coverage on the website. With your consent, you also grant DOK.fest München the right to pass on photos as well as trailers to selected partners for promotional purposes.

For the presentation of our respective festival edition on the website, you agree to the retention period of the photo material in our archive.

 

7. Presentation formats

The following exhibition formats are required:

  • DCI compliant Digital Cinema Package DCP
  • ProRes File 4.2.2 HQ (sound format 5.1) or a H.264 file

 

  1. 8. Steps to film submission

Film submissions are made via our website under „My Account”.

  • If you are submitting a film for the first time and do not yet have a user account with us, please register here by creating an account.
  • If you already have an account, you can log in at our website at any time and submit a new film. In case you have forgotten your password, you can request a new one via our system.
  • To submit via the online form, select the module "Your films" under "Your account" after logging in. You can then use the button "Submit a film" (top right) to start your submission.

For the free submission for the DOK.spotlights megaherz Award, please select the section "DOK.spotlights megaherz Award" under "Registration for".

Please fill in the online form completely including an online screening link (a rough cut is sufficient for the screening process; the final cut must be submitted by mid-February). Please enter correct and, if possible, complete information about the submitted film. We will work with the information when selecting the film for our programme. The information you provide will be included in our programme booklet as well as on our website.

Upon receipt of your complete film submission (including a working preview link!) as well as the submission fee, you will receive a confirmation email to the email address you provided during online registration. Submissions that are incomplete or do not meet the above criteria will be considered rejected and will not be taken into account.

For the time being, please do not send us any digital photos, trailers or transcripts. If your film is selected, we will request this material from you. We ask for your understanding that print material sent in unfortunately cannot be returned.

 

9. Screening fee

DOK.fest München pays screening fees, both for the presentation in the cinemas and additionally on the digital screen. The screening fee is agreed with the rights holders. There is also the opportunity to win prizes in the cross-sectional competitions (DOK.international, DOK.deutsch, DOK.horizonte, DOK.spotlights megaherz Award, German Documentary Film Music Award, all inclusive Award, VFF Documentary Production Award, VFF Documentary Production Talent Award and kinokino Audience Award).

 

10. Validity of these conditions of participation

By completing the submission using the online form, you accept the validity of the conditions of participation. These conditions apply to all film submissions for the current festival edition, even if they have not been expressly agreed upon again. DOK.fest München does not recognize deviating terms and conditions even if they are known, unless DOK.fest München has expressly agreed to their validity in writing.

 

  1. 11. Place of jurisdiction and the application of German law

Munich is understood as the place of jurisdiction as far as it is permissible. The law of the Federal Republic of Germany applies to the exclusion of conflicting laws.

 

Contact

If you have any questions about the regulations, please contact:

Jan Sebening 
sebening@dokfest-muenchen.de

Phone: +49 (0)89 – 51 39 97 88

DOK.fest München
Dachauer Straße 116
80636 Munich
Germany