Submission Guidelines

Submitting to TAG!

Films must have been made by a director who identifies as queer or trans; films by allies are not screened in the TAG! festival.
All films need to be 15 minutes or under including credits.
We currently accept work only through FilmFreeway.com and all projects must be complete at the time of submission with digital screeners provided for review—no work in progress.
TAG! has made a commitment to accessibility and all films must have subtitles or closed captions available in English and in the language(s) of production at the time of submission. With enough advance notice we can assist with titling; write to silv@tagqsf.org
Films must be compatible with our streaming and projection systems; submit a high-resolution copy encoded in a standard codec (ProRes 422, h.264) in an MP4 or MOV container and please check sound levels before encoding.

TAG! favors films that are ultimately humanizing; they don't have to be "happy" or "positive" but projects featuring unexamined objectification, degradation or violence don't typically get selected.
We review films from all genres and all topics made by queer filmmakers, but because of our limited programming slots, films with an explicitly queer theme are more likely to be accepted.
Successful films usually reflect authentic, lived experience of the director and cast; mindful collaboration across identities is great, however we are sensitive to folks from one segment of our community appropriating the stories and lives of other groups.
TAG! especially welcomes points of view that challenge mainstream narratives, that look at topics like coming out or homophobia in a fresh and nuanced way or from an intersectional perspective not often seen in the media.
We are a sex-positive festival, however our sponsors do not allow us to screen work that is overtly pornographic. Please contact us early in the submission period if your film includes non-simulated sexual interaction or similarly explicit content at info@tagqsf.org.