SanMa Short Film Festival 2026 (SSFF26)

Official Guidelines

1. Eligibility

1. All participants must be current members of the San Diego Malayalees Organization (SanMa).

2. Directors must be 18 years of age or older.

2. Registration link & Event Confirmation

To participate in SSFF26, directors must register by Sunday, December 07, 2025 by completing the registration form: https://forms.gle/aFbsJ1LM4Eee5t5M8 along with a $100 refundable caution deposit at the time of registration. This deposit demonstrates your commitment to the festival and will be fully reimbursed upon final submission of your completed short film.Deposits will not be refunded if registration is withdrawn or if the film is not submitted.

Payment Details

• Deadline: Sunday, December 07, 2025

• Method: Zelle to sanmapay@gmail.com

• Payment Note: Include "SSFF26” and “Director’s name”

Event Confirmation Process

The SanMa Arts Committee is looking for a minimum of 7 directors registrations to confirm SSFF26. We strongly recommend to wait for official confirmation before significantly investing in your film production or starting the shoot. We will confirm by Dec 15th 2025.

Key Date: Monday, December 15, 2025

3. Guidelines

1. Registration, submission, and all communications with the SanMa Arts Committee must be handled by the directors of the short film teams.

2. Directors can assemble their own team of writers, editors, cinematographers, and actors. Please note all teams members have to be members of SanMa. Directors are not allowed to create a team with people outside SanMa members.

3. Two directors may collaborate to produce one short film.

4. Directors may choose any genre from the list provided in the Genre section.

5. Technical staff (cinematographer, editor, writer.) may participate in a maximum of 2 short films.

6. Actors may participate in a maximum of 1 short film in any capacity (lead, supporting, cameo, etc).

7. Dialogue or narration must be substantially in Malayalam. Intermittent usage of other languages is acceptable with subtitles.

8. The story may be based on an entirely new concept or inspired by real life or another literary work, as long as you do not copy anything directly and your story reflects your own voice and perspective.

9. Duration of the short film must be a minimum of 4 minutes and maximum of 15 minutes without credits, and a maximum of 17 minutes with credits.

10. The due date for submission without credits is  on or before Sunday, March 29, 2026, and another version with credits on or before Sunday, April 5, 2026. A Google Drive location will be provided on the due date for uploading short films.

11. The version with credits must be exactly the same as the version without credits (no major or minor edits).

12. Minor non-compliance with rules may not disqualify a short film (subject to Arts Committee's decision). Directors following all the rules will receive an additional +20 bonus points toward the Best Director Award.

4. Official Filmmaking Period

Short film creation (shooting and editing) must occur between Tuesday, December 16, 2025 and Sunday, March 29, 2026, provided confirmation of SSFF26 on Dec 15th 2025.

All creative work, including but not limited to the following, must take place during this period:

• Writing the script

• Rehearsing

• Costume/Set Design

• Shooting

• Editing

• Sound Design

• Rendering

• Uploading to Google Drive

Submission Deadline:

Your completed short film (without credits) must be uploaded to Google Drive on or before Sunday, March 29, 2026.

A version with credits must be submitted on or before Sunday, April 5, 2026. (See Section 3 for submission requirements)

5. Footage

Animation and special effects are permitted but must be created during the Official Filmmaking Period.

Stock footage filmed or created at another time cannot be used unless it is part of a post-production effect or displayed on a background monitor (e.g., a television), as long as the team has rights to the stock footage and it is used alongside content filmed during the Official Filmmaking Period.

6. Music

Pre-recorded music or royalty-free sound effects may be used. Optional: Teams are encouraged to work with composers and/or musicians within the SanMa community to write and record original music for their short films as original song will be one of the award category.

7. AI Usage Policy

SSFF26 celebrates human creativity, craft, and the talent of our San Diego community.

Our Expectation:

Your film should showcase real people, real performances, and your creative vision. AI tools may assist your workflow, but your film must be fundamentally your work; your story, your direction, your effort.

What This Means:

• Your actors must be real people (not AI-generated characters or voices)

• Your footage must be filmed (not AI-generated video)

• Your story and creative decisions must be yours

Disclosure:

At submission, you will certify that your film complies with these principles and submit a disclosure form.

Why This Matters:

We are  celebrating filmmaking as a craft and community activity. Directors who invest time, effort, and creativity deserve recognition for that work

8. Required Media Specifications

• Video Codec: H.264

• Submission Method: Online Submission

• File Type: MPEG-4 (.mp4) preferred; MPEG-4 (.m4v) accepted

• Resolution: HD 1080 (1920×1080) preferred

• Aspect Ratio: Widescreen (16:9) preferred

• Pixel Ratio: Square (1:1) preferred

• Frame Rate: 24 FPS preferred; 24 FPS (23.976), 25 FPS, 30 FPS (29.97) accepted

• Interlacing: Progressive / Non-Interlaced

• Audio Codec: AAC (.aac), WAV (.wav), or MPEG-4 (.mp4).

9. Genre

Directors may choose any genre from the following list:

• Drama

• Fantasy

• Romance

• Thriller/Suspense

• Action/Adventure

• Horror

• Comedy

AWARDS

Film & Direction

• Best Film

• Best Director

• Best Debut Director

Writing

• Best Story

• Best Screenplay

Technical Excellence

• Best Cinematography

• Best Editor

• Best Production Design

• Best Sound Design/Background Score

• Best VFX/Special Effects

Music* (awarded only if applicable)

• Best Original Music Composition

• Best Vocals

Performance

• Best Actor (Male)

• Best Actor (Female)

• Best Supporting Actor (Male)

• Best Supporting Actor (Female)

• Best Child Actor (Male)

• Best Child Actor (Female)

• Best Debut Actor in Lead Role (Male)

• Best Debut Actor in Lead Role (Female)

*Best Original Music Composition: Recognizes the creation of original music for the film (melody, arrangement, composition). Awarded to the composer/music creator. Films using AI-generated music are not eligible.

*Best Vocals: Recognizes singing performance and vocal talent. Can be awarded for performing original songs OR covers. Films using AI voice cloning are not eligible.

For questions or additional information, please contact the SanMa Arts Committee.