Filmmaker submissions and entry fees

Filmmakers apply from your own website through the Submit a Film block, and the review queue lives in Film Festival -> Submissions.

Putting the form on your site:
1. Website -> open the page you want submissions on
2. Add block -> Submit a Film
3. Set the heading and whether to ask for a screener link and filmmaker bio
4. Publish

The block reads your festival settings directly, so you control it from one place. It shows the categories and the deadline tier that applies today, and closes itself when you switch submissions off.

Eligibility:
If you set an earliest completion year, a maximum runtime, or a premiere requirement in Settings, they are checked when the filmmaker submits. An ineligible film is turned away at the form with a message naming the exact rule it missed, rather than consuming a reviewer's evening.

Categories and deadline tiers:
The block shows the tier that applies today with its closing date and fee, so a filmmaker knows the terms before they start. The category they pick and the tier they submitted under are both recorded on the submission.

Entry fees:
If the tier in force carries a fee, the filmmaker pays it on your own page before the entry reaches your queue - they are never sent to a third-party checkout. The payment settles to your connected account, posts to your books, and the filmmaker gets a receipt.

Until that payment clears, the entry is held as Awaiting payment and does NOT appear as something you owe a decision on. If a tier's fee is zero, the submission is recorded immediately with no payment step.

If someone pays and then closes the tab before the confirmation loads, opening your Submissions queue reconciles it automatically. A fee is never charged twice for the same entry.

When a film comes in:
Every owner and admin is emailed the moment a filmmaker submits - title, director, runtime, and the filmmaker's contact details, with a link to the review queue. The same alert lands in your notification bell. The filmmaker gets their own confirmation with a reference number. Nothing to turn on.

Submission statuses:
- Pending - received, not yet reviewed
- Under Review - a team member is evaluating
- Approved - accepted into the festival
- Waitlisted - held pending other decisions
- Rejected - not selected
- Selected - accepted, and a catalog record is created from the submission

Reviewing:
1. Film Festival -> Submissions
2. Filter by status
3. Open a submission to see the screener link, the filmmaker's details, and the review notes
4. Set a status and add internal notes

Status changes are recorded on the submission and visible to your team. If you want filmmakers to be able to check where they stand, turn on the filmmaker portal in Settings rather than emailing each one.