Black Swan International Film Festival – Kolkata focuses on the unconventional, innovative, and true artists of our time. The Festival is created by independent filmmakers, for independent filmmakers, with the sole purpose of showcasing and screening new and upcoming talents from all around the world.

Our main objective is to provide an opportunity for filmmakers from all over the world to excel, by accepting all genres, to have the best work selected and showcased in a celebration of cinema, as well as to give filmmakers a platform to network amongst fellow professionals and cinematic artists. BSIFF is looking forward to fostering these relationships and to helping extraordinary filmmakers get their projects seen by global audiences. BSIFF unites cinematic, cultural, and educational objectives by presenting its film discoveries.

Black Swan International Film Festival (BSIFF) is also an IMDb Award Listing Qualifier.

We are also including and actively supporting not only the finest examples of classic movie-making but experimental works, breaking ground in new non-narrative forms and crossing over into the video arts. All films will be reviewed as they are submitted, and the best in each category will be chosen to screen at the festival. A jury of industry professionals will then view the finalists and choose the winning selections.

The officially selected project in each month will receive a laurel and certificate and the winners will receive customized certificates and laurel and be rated on their respective IMDb pages (if applicable). Also, all the monthly winners will automatically be qualified for the annual screening and nominated for our honorary Andre Tarkovsky Memorial Award.

Besides the BEST of the category AWARDS, there are also OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT
AWARDS, which are given in different categories.

Please read these Rules & Terms carefully before you submit your film. By submitting your film to competition in the Black Swan International Film Festival, you expressly acknowledge and agree that you shall be bound by the terms of these Rules & Terms.
BSIFF is open to any film, regardless of content, subject, or origin. Submitting your film to the BSIFF is not a guarantee of selection. All the official selections, nominees, and winners will be listed on our website permanently. We treat every filmmaker equally.

1. The film submitted to the BSIFF for a particular month can be re-submitted at any time for a second chance, considering that we have different judges' panels for each season.
2. Films made in languages other than English must have English subtitles otherwise they will be summarily rejected.
3. The BSIFF reserves the right to refuse entries.
4. A director/producer may submit more than one film in a category and more than one category at a time.
5. You agree to indemnify and hold harmless the BSIFF, from and against any and all claims, liabilities, losses, damages, and expenses (including but not limited to attorney's fees, and costs of the court) which may be incurred by reason of any claim involving copyright, trademark, credits, and publicity.
6. After a film has been official selection, the filmmaker will be notified, and eventually the film will be listed on the festival website under Official Selections. The Official Selection status doesn’t mean that your film will be screened at the festival. It means that your film has been appreciated by our judges of the panel and you can use the festival logo on your poster.
7. The BSIFF will not refund any fees if the filmmaker fails to submit the film in the correct category. Films submitted without the correct fees or proper submission media may be deemed ineligible at the discretion of the BSIFF programming director or executive director. The festival does not cover any of the expenses incurred by the filmmaker.
8. We require an official trailer or poster, a synopsis, and a link to your film. Please select the correct category while submitting to avoid disqualification. We reserve the right to re-assign films to the appropriate category.
9. A nominee will be privately screened for the BSIFF judging panel, and will not be screened initially to the public.
10. A filmmaker’s submission fee will not be reimbursed if they decide to withdraw their submission. All entry fees are non-refundable.
11. You agree to indemnify and hold harmless the BSIFF, from and against any and all claims, liabilities, losses, damages, and expenses (including but not limited to attorney's fees, and costs of the court) which may be incurred by reason of any claim involving copyright, trademark, credits, and publicity.
12. BSIFF may without advance notice amend these Rules & Terms from time to time. Each and every such amendment shall become effective immediately. It is your responsibility to periodically check for updates on these Rules & Terms.