Submit your film

How to enter

Five steps in our own portal, about fifteen minutes if you have your screener link ready. It saves as you go, so you can stop and come back.

Start your entry Entries close 6 November at 23:59.

Two women in Venda minwenda stand under a tree.

Have these ready

  • Your South African ID number (or your passport if you are not South African). If you are under 18, a parent or guardian's details too.
  • The film's title, runtime, language and the month you finished it.
  • A one-line logline and a short synopsis.
  • The director's name and the main credits.
  • A private link to the full film, and its password if it has one.

No poster or stills needed yet. We ask for those only if your film is selected.

The five steps

  1. Sign in with your email

    No password. We email you a six-digit code. Check spam if it hasn't arrived after a minute.

  2. Tell us about you

    Contact details and ID, once. They carry over to every film you enter.

  3. Add your film

    Title, runtime, language, synopsis and credits. It saves as you type.

  4. Share your screener

    Paste the link. The portal checks it straight away and tells you if we can't open it.

  5. Pick categories and submit

    You get a reference number by email, like MFF26-0025, and you can follow your entry in the portal.

A screener link that works

This is where most entries get stuck. The link must open for us without asking us to log in or request access, and it must keep working until 12 December.

YouTube

  1. Upload the film and set Visibility to Unlisted. Private won't work, because we can't open it.
  2. Copy the link from the Share button. It looks like youtube.com/watch?v=… or youtu.be/…
  3. Paste it in the portal. No password needed.

Vimeo

  1. Under Privacy, choose Password (or Unlisted).
  2. Copy the video's link.
  3. Paste the link in the portal and type the password in the box under it.

Google Drive

  1. Right-click the file and choose Share.
  2. Under General access, pick Anyone with the link, set to Viewer.
  3. Copy the link and paste it in the portal. A link to a folder works too.

Dropbox, OneDrive and WeTransfer links also work, but WeTransfer links expire after a few days, so use them only as a last resort. If the portal says it can't open your link, try it in a private browser window where you aren't signed in. If it asks you to log in there, it will ask us too.

After you submit

You can keep editing the film's details until entries close, and you can withdraw an entry at any time. Every entrant hears from us by email before the festival. If your film is selected, we will ask for a screening file by a set date.

Stuck?

Tap Chat to us at the bottom of any page and we'll answer in the chat, or by email if you leave your address. You can also write to info@secretsaturday.co.za.

It's free, and it saves as you go.

Start your entry