Withoutabox Unveils "Secure" for "Safe" Online Festival Submissions

IMDb.com unit Withoutabox has launched Secure Online Screeners, described by the company as an "economical way for rights-holders to safely submit short and feature-length films to festivals, and for festivals to manage their incoming submissions, entirely over the Internet." The company envisions the new system as a replacement for mailing in hard-copy DVD screeners to film festivals. Filmmakers, according to the company, will be able to upload a film and select "Secure Online Screeners" as the preview format and deliver their film to Withoutabox's participating festivals.

The software is hosted by IMDb, and the organization said access will be "strictly limited to the filmmakers and festivals" in which a filmmaker selects. Links to screeners can only be accessed through secured Withoutabox accounts via specifically created URLs, which cannot be forwarded or shared outside of authorized users.

Secure Online Screeners will be free for festivals signed with the Withoutabox International Film Festival Submissions System. For filmmakers, uploading films is free and self-service, and the first submission of every film is also free, with $2.95 USD charge for subsequent submissions.

Withoutabox works with 800 film festivals in six continents, with 275,000 members in 200 countries.