no stars no funding no taste
Exploding Cinema
Exploding Cinema
no stars no funding no taste

Submit Film

Submit your film online via form below.

Please read and follow these simple guidelines below for full satisfaction.

Submissions for regular screenings both online and live are always open on a rolling basis. A stack of new films are received each month, so it might be a while before yours is screened, send it now!

By submitting a film you agree to its use at EXPLODING CINEMA screenings and any parts for promotional purposes.

Please express your film’s runtime in HH:MM:SS (hours:minutes:seconds) format. If your film is 4 minutes 25 seconds long, that would be 00:04:25

No WeTransfer links unless they have no expiry time. Do not send us time-sensitive links as it sometimes takes us a while to get to it. Don’t forget to include the access code if the hosting site requires it and remember to enable download of your film! For Dropbox, Google Drive, Vimeo etc use our email address explodingcinema@hotmail.com for invitations to access/view/download the film.

Please fill out a separate form for each film. If you submit multiple films at once, only ONE of them will be put in the queue and shown (we will choose)

You should get an automatic acknowledgement on this page that the submission has been received. You will be notified by email when it has been programmed. If you need to contact us regarding your submission, email us at explodingcinema@hotmail.com

Live visualists, we want to show your works!

If you practice the obscure art of live visual creation, come and perform your piece at one of our ‘Live Cinema’ shows. Let the world know it exists and meet with other live cinema creators! Abstract or narrative, collaborations or solo – all performances will be accepted as long as they are under 20 min long.

Add ‘Live Cinema’ preceding your intended title. Let us know about your setup and technical requirements too – in the ‘Short Synopsis’ field.

Please enter hours, minutes and seconds as two digit numbers seperated by colons eg: 00:04:30 for a 4 minute 30 second film
Use this space to enter your social media name and platform(s) so we can tag you when we make publicity posts about your screening.
  • DURATION: Films must be 20 minutes or shorter. We cannot stress this enough.
  • FORMAT: For downloadable video files, we prefer an .mp4 file with h.264 encoding. Please keep file size under 500mb. In our experience there is no tangible improvement in projection quality for an 8 Gigabyte uncompressed monster. In fact, massive files often play less smoothly. If you have used an unusual format we can’t support, you are welcome to bring along a suitable player and plug it into our system. We have an EXCELLENT projection and sound system.
  • CELLULOID – REAL FILM: we LOVE to screen Celluloid and have excellent 16mm and Super 8/standard 8 projectors (the 16mm with optical sound, the super 8 with mag stripe sound or you can play your soundtrack on cassette or cd) Also 35mm slide projectors. If you want to do something on multiple screens or with double projections you may have to bring some additional equipment of your own, or not, but contact us about this.
  • PERFORMANCE WORK: We are not a performance, poetry reading or music event as such – BUT- if your work incorporates an element of PROJECTION – we will get very excited and welcome you with open arms! So if you are really keen to do something, and say, you are primarily music based- why not team up with someone to do projections? Contact us to negotiate. Also, sometimes when we do bigger shows we have space for installations or longer performance – so write to us about this too if you have a clear idea.
  • Anxious to know if it’s arrived with us? The programmer will get in contact with you a few weeks or so before your screening, so relax. But if you are very anxious to know, then you can send us an email stating clearly when you sent the film and the person answering the emails will find out for you and email you back.
  • WHEN WILL YOUR WORK BE SHOWN? We programme on a ‘first come first served’ basis- so if there is a big backlog of work you may not be in our next show- you may have to wait. Generally the shorter the work, the more likely it will be shown in the next show. We will prioritise Celluloid, and care for it lovingly. If you send in several pieces all at once, or a compilation we will not usually screen them all – our first instinct will be for the programmer to choose to screen their favourite! So if you don’t want this to happen make it clear what you want screened MOST. Remember we have a lot of work to screen and want to be fair and make space for all.
  • COME TO THE SHOW & bring a guest for free: All film makers are invited to either present an introduction to their film, or do a short Q&A after their film. Most choose the Q&A and it’s always fun!

Exploding Cinema offer you a wonderful showcase for your work – a keen audience, lovely venue, the VERY BEST projection – and we invite YOU as an honoured contributor – (plus one guest!) to come to the show. YOU make the shows what they are and the atmosphere is especially good when all the film makers are present. If you come with a whole bunch of people we will love you long time, but remember only two of you will get in free. Door revenue is the only way we can keep going and support the independent film scene. Our constitution does not allow us to accept outside funding and that’s how we’ve continued and remained independent since 1991.     

ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? Mail us: explodingcinema@hotmail.com