Festivals

Film festivals have been established in the following areas:

* To be eligible for Film By Invitation, you must have submitted a film to either Film By Online or one of the local Film By festivals above.

If your film is selected to represent your school at a local festival, it will possibly be shown at a matinee (a performance in the day) or a premiere (evening or night performance). 

General enquiries 

For all information about festivals, ticketing, guidelines for making a successful film and all other general enquiries, please contact your local festival manager. Details on festival pages. 

Premiere  

All participating students are encouraged to dress like stars for the red carpet walk on the night of the premiere. 

Matinees 

Matinee performances are the festival’s way of ensuring the successful running order of the evening premiere. It is recommended that students and classes whose films are successful in making it into the premiere screening do not attend the matinee unless they are unable to attend the premiere. The matinee screening is a chance for other classes, students and teachers to be involved in the festival and encourage participation for the following year. 

The Department of Education requires you to provide a number of risk assessments as per the excursions policy documents.

Film By – cinema risk assessment (for schools attending)

Please inform the festival manager if you have any concerns about your students, staff or parent/carers wellbeing that need to be prepared for prior to the event.

Please ensure that when you attend a matinee or premiere, you follow these steps: 

1. Prepare your own school risk management plan, especially for travelling to and from the venue and to cater for any specific student needs. Make 2 copies and give one to your school principal and keep one with you on the day of the excursion.
2. Make 2 copies of the Film By – cinema risk assessment plan provided on behalf of the team.
3. Make 2 copies of your student roll – one to be handed to staff upon arrival and one for you to have for the day.
4. Make 2 copies of any participating student's medical plans to be handed to the manager of the event upon arrival. Ensure the relevant medication accompanies the student.
5. Carry a first aid kit which includes a general-use adrenaline auto-injector such as EpiPen® /Anapen ® and Ventolin.

The department requires that teachers and staff demonstrate a duty of care to students on excursions. Staff are not permitted to leave their school group unsupervised at any time.

First aid

The Film By team will have a first aid kit. Teachers are required to have an appropriately equipped first aid kit on excursions as per the Department of Education’s excursions policy.

For the Film By festival to run efficiently and be a safe and enjoyable experience for both performers and audience, it is necessary to set guidelines to be observed by all schools, teachers, staff and students involved.

• All schools will be required to sign in on arrival.
• All schools will be required to give a copy of their medical information upon arrival.
• Students will only be granted access to the matinee performances as part of a school group with an accompanying staff member.
• All coordinating teachers and assisting helpers must have an identification lanyard or badge for access to dressing rooms, backstage and the theatre.
• Please report anyone behaving suspiciously and does not appear to have official business in the holding areas to a senior production team member.
• Student comperes will be returned to their accompanying parents at the end of the evening premiere. 
• Teachers are to remain with the students until each student has been collected by a parent or guardian. 

For child protection, copyright, safety and the comfort of other audience members, private video recording and photography of the festival is prohibited in the cinema and theatres.

A Film By team member will take photographs of the performance. Should there be any students who do not wish to have their images used in publications or promotions, coordinating teachers are to notify the festival manager in writing prior to the Film By festival.