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Organize a film festival or community film screening

Film festivals, non-profits and community groups that wish to host film screenings must register and work with Alberta Film Classification.

Overview

Film festivals and community screenings have different compliance requirements than commercial distributors.

  • Film festivals are a program of films curated by a non-profit organization or community group that occurs once per year.
  • Community screenings refer to any film screened by a non-profit organization or community group that is not part of a film festival.

Requirements for film festivals

Films screened as part of a festival are exempt from film classification. However, your festival must be registered with Alberta Film Classification prior to the event.

Even though films screened at festivals are exempt from classification, organizers must submit a complete list of film titles, trailers, advertisements or public service announcements (PSAs) that will be screened. Organizers may submit this list to Alberta Film Classification when they register.

Film festival organizers are encouraged to inform patrons about film content and are welcome to discuss information-sharing methods with our staff. However, organizers may not use the Alberta age-based categories and symbols (G, PG, 14A, 18A, R) for unrated films.

Alberta Film Classification reserves the right to request a copy of any film to be shown in the province.

Requirements for community screenings

Non-profit organizations or community groups must get feature films and trailers rated prior to screening. All community screenings are exempt from ratings fees.

Please contact Alberta Film Classification 3 to 5 weeks before your screening to ensure staff can schedule your film or trailer for classification.

How to register for a community screening

Film festivals, non-profit organizations and community groups may fill out the form below to register with Alberta Film Classification.

All fields are required unless otherwise indicated.

Event details
Organization information
Applicant information
Screening venue information
Film details
For film festivals