Already submitted? Confirm your entry and follow up

Identify the confirmation you actually need

If you have just paid an entry fee and cannot tell whether the entry went through, find the submission record before paying again. A saved draft, an uploaded file, a successful payment, a completed entry, selection and an award are different pieces of evidence.

Finish this guide able to answer four questions in your own notes: which edition and section received which version; what the evidence says now; who must do what next; and by when. This page does not connect to your submission accounts, check live status or send reminders.

Match the entry record to the payment

Keep a separate record for each section you enter. Check the title, festival edition, category, entrant name, submission reference or other identifying record, and submission time with its time zone. Keep the payment details, screener version and rules snapshot together. Where no reference is issued, save the completion page or acknowledgement; do not invent an “official number”.

This is a way to organise evidence, not a universal platform dictionary. A free call may have no payment record, and an email is not the only possible confirmation.

Festhome’s FAQ describes a confirmation page after payment; confirmation emails depend on the account setting. An absent email alone does not establish a failed entry. Check the platform record too. See the official FAQ.

On the Kyoto AI Film Festival page reviewed for this guide, the organiser says it will acknowledge the form within a few days and asks entrants without confirmation to enquire with their entry name and film title. That is this organiser’s process, not a universal response deadline. See the official entry page.

If a charge has no matching entry record, save its transaction reference, time and relevant screenshot, then use the platform’s or organiser’s enquiry channel. Do not send bank-card details, one-time codes, identity documents or entire private contracts in an ordinary enquiry. Paying again is not a useful way to test whether the first submission worked.

Separate processing from judging

FilmFreeway distinguishes Submission Status from Judging Status. These selected terms apply to that platform only:

The action column is our guidance, not an additional platform promise. Other platforms need their own definitions. See the official status explanation.

Save the date checked, the displayed record and the official notice. Festhome says results may arrive through a festival’s own channels and allows manual updating of a selected status in some circumstances. A platform icon should not be your only evidence when announcing a selection or award. See its FAQ.

State exactly what you want to replace or supply

Separate contact or project-text edits, a replacement screener, and delivery after selection. They may have different deadlines and recipients. Read the request before acting, then record the old version, new version, runtime change, actual edits, delivery channel, time and acknowledgement.

FilmFreeway says festivals you have entered can immediately access a replacement video. That is not a promise that a judge will watch it again or reassess it. If judging has begun or a version-freeze date applies, ask the organiser whether the replacement will still be used. See the video-replacement help.

The SVAiFF Korea 2026 guide expressly says replacing a confirmed judging copy restarts review. It reserves some candidate and delivery materials for later requests, while minors have a separate initial guardian-consent requirement. Do not generalise this into permission to defer every document. See the official guide.

Festhome says film-field edits affect earlier submissions. Before changing shared project fields to suit one festival, check the effect on existing entries and save before-and-after copies. See its FAQ. Even subtitle, credit, music or AI-shot changes should be described. Recheck runtime, permissions and AI disclosure where affected. Delivering a screener does not itself authorise a public release; use the premiere and permissions guide for that separate check.

A fictional record and a clear next step

Echo Locker, “Harbour Image Week”, the reference, dates and messages below are entirely fictional practice facts. There is no real film, organiser response or award.

For your own film, add the original notice’s location, responsible person, last check and next review date. Keep your internal buffer separate from the official deadline. Passwords and private documents belong in your own secure notes and should be removed from any public example.

The notification date has passed

First establish whether the date is a result notification, submission deadline, public-voting date, screening or award ceremony. Preserve the stated wording and time zone. Check the submission platform, entry email, spam folder and organiser updates; make sure your email and viewing link still work.

FilmFreeway recommends contacting a festival when no update has arrived more than two weeks after its notification date, and says it cannot enforce notification deadlines. This is that platform’s advice, not a worldwide waiting period or an automatic selection or refund rule. Follow any organiser-specific enquiry process; a time-sensitive screening or permission conflict may need earlier clarification. See the notification guidance.

Write from the entry email with the edition, section, title, reference and one clear question. Log the message and reply rather than repeatedly sending the same enquiry to several addresses. If an email and platform record conflict, preserve both and ask which currently applies.

Read a selection notice before accepting

Check the sender through a known official channel and confirm which film the notice concerns. Record the result separately from the commitments you are being asked to accept. A request for a poster or production evidence, candidate status, screening selection and an award are different. Confirm unexpected payment or login instructions through an independently known official channel.

Before replying, organise six things; keep unpublished details marked unconfirmed:

1. Result and reply deadline: edition, section, stage, whether acceptance is required, and the deadline with its time zone.
2. Screening: online or in person, territory, dates, premiere or other-entry restrictions, and when you may announce the result.
3. Delivery: judging copy or final screening copy, file specification, subtitle language, poster and still requirements, transfer channel and technical contact.
4. Permissions: any new full-film, promotional, archive or third-party distribution rights. Read these rather than carrying over a vague summary from entry.
5. Costs: final-stage fees, delivery, travel or attendance. Record cash prizes separately from credits; an unconfirmed prize is not income.
6. Evidence: the terms you accepted, the version delivered and acknowledgement of receipt. Save the official list and exact award separately from publicity wording.

This is an organisational checklist, not a set of mandatory attachments. Do not assume a DCP, a copy without subtitles or travel is required. Follow the actual notice and use the fees and prizes guide for cost questions.

Withdrawal is four separate questions

Withdrawing an entry, requesting a refund, cancelling an agreed screening and changing an existing licence need separate checks. FilmFreeway allows withdrawal from the relevant submission record but says withdrawal itself does not refund the fee; ordinary refunds are at the festival’s discretion. Neither an automatic refund nor a blanket claim that refunds are impossible follows. See the withdrawal help.

Save the original rules, payment and correspondence. Specify the section and version, whether you already accepted a screening, and what you are requesting. Changing existing permissions depends on the terms and the appropriate response; deleting a project is not evidence that a licence has ended. Review the separate permissions guide.

Two enquiries you can adapt

These are editorial examples, not official platform templates. This site will not send them. Replace the brackets, remove irrelevant sentences and attach only necessary evidence.

Subject: [Edition / section] — submission confirmation for [Film title]

Hello, I submitted [Title] through [official channel] at [date, time and time zone], under [entry name], reference [if issued]. I can find [confirmation page / payment record / status], but have not confirmed [specific outstanding point]. Is this entry complete, and are further steps required? If needed, I can provide the relevant part of transaction reference [reference], without payment credentials or one-time codes. Thank you.

Subject: [Reference] — additional material / screener version for [Title]

Hello, the submitted version is [version and runtime]. Following [dated request], I would like to provide [material] / request replacement with [version and runtime]. The changes are [specific changes, including any effect on subtitles, AI disclosure or permissions]. Please confirm the delivery channel, deadline and time zone, whether replacement is permitted at this stage, and which version judging will use. I will not assume the replacement has been accepted without confirmation. Thank you.

Record “sent” and “receipt confirmed” as separate events. Before closing your notes, check that the entry and version are identifiable, the status has evidence, someone owns the next action, deadlines include time zones, and unresolved questions remain visible.

Original sources and review scope

Public sources checked on 27 October 2026. This is a guide based on official help, not a report of logging into a creator account, paying for an entry or obtaining a real submission or replacement receipt. Pages and rules can change. The links support specific facts; you do not need to leave this article to build your follow-up record.

• FilmFreeway: processing and judging statuses
• FilmFreeway: replacing a project video
• FilmFreeway: notification dates and enquiries
• FilmFreeway: withdrawing a submission
• Festhome: submission, editing and notification FAQ
• Kyoto AI Film Festival: acknowledgement after entry: used only for its enquiry process, not edition-specific eligibility.
• SVAiFF Korea 2026: judging-copy confirmation and later materials: an example of a specific process, not a rule for other festivals.