Terms and Conditions

2026 FILM SUBMISSION GUIDELINES & TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Our vision is to celebrate cycling in all its glorious shapes and forms.

We aim to share the best short cycling films from around the world with our audience.

SUBMIT YOUR FILM

OVERVIEW

The Big Bike Film Night (BBFN) is organised by Film Pedlars International Ltd. and this is our 12th year bringing these wonderfully inspiring bike stories to the Big screen.

All films selected will be screened to the public and go on a tour around New Zealand, Australia, parts of the UK, Guernsey, and provinces in Canada from mid-February 2026.

We are open-minded about the style and genre but it must show bicycles.

If you have a film that meets this criteria we invite you to submit your film for consideration.

The BBFN provides an opportunity for filmmakers to showcase their work, receive merit, help build international exposure, and help contribute towards a stronger and more vibrant bike culture.

Dates at a glance

Open for Submissions – now
Deadline – 1 November 2025
Notify producers whose entries are selected as finalists – 1 December 2025
Screenings commence – mid-February 2026 (TBC)

Submission Costs- FREE

We aim to produce the best programme of films and attract as many people as possible to see them, therefore we respect and appreciate your support and value what you do as a filmmaker/ production house.

The BBFN has a desire to see others succeed, and all participating films in the Big Bike Film Night 2026 collection receive a measure of financial reward.

From the submissions, the best will be presented in the programme for the BBFN 2026.

All selected films are invited to promote the official BBFN laurel in the film credits, promotional/ press material, social channels, newsletters, and your website.

How and What to Submit

Eligibility

The Big Bike Film Night accepts entries of short movies or shorter ‘festival’ edits of feature-length films (ideally 10-35 minutes). Films entered to the BBFN must not have been screened commercially, or broadcasted. Films can be new, pre-existing, or made for this event but may not be older than five years (year of production: 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025).

Entry Details

  1. A Film Submission Form (one per film) should be completed and returned by 1st November 2025. If you have a Press Kit/ Trailer on your film (720p or 1080p) please submit with this form.
  2. All non-English speaking films MUST have English subtitles. (We recommend a sans-serif font with maximum readability against both light and dark backgrounds).
  3. Receipt of entries will be acknowledged by the BBFN Organiser ONLY if requested.
  4. All submissions will be retained by the BBFN for adjudication, on-demand, and archival purposes.
  5. Submission of films does not guarantee their inclusion in the BBFN.
  6. At least two high-resolution JPG images of a scene in the film are supplied for free use in
    promoting the BBFN. All images must be labelled with film title, location, and photographer credit, and will be retained by BBFN. Please keep individual file sizes under 6 MB.
  7. Finalists will be notified in early December 2025. Format preferred is DCI compliant DCP (24 frames), alongside this, your film is supplied as .mp4 or .mov files with dimensions of 1920 x 1080 (16×9), and h264 codec.
  8. The BBFN will pay filmmakers selected for the 2026 film tour based on submission length and total profit revenue. Filmmakers will be paid after the BBFN tour in the most economical way.
  9. The entrant acknowledges and agrees that all matters will be decided by the BBFN Organiser or Judges at their sole discretion. THE BBFN’s selection decisions are final and no correspondence will be entered into. We do not provide critical analysis or feedback.
  10. An admission charge will be made to the public to cover the costs of the event.
  11. The BBFN retains the option to screen award-winning films following the Premiere screening.
  12. Screening fees will not be paid.

INDEMNITY

The entrant agrees to indemnify the BBFN, their respective successors, licensees, and their
respective officers, Directors, members, agents, and employees and hold them harmless from and against any and all claims, liability, losses, damages, costs, expenses (including reasonable legal fees), and penalties arising out of, resulting from, based upon or incurred because of a breach by the entrant of any statement, representation or warranty made by the entrant in the entry form, these procedures and regulations.

Technical Requirements

We MUST download your film screener for judging.

Projection Formats for Judging

We prefer all film screeners to be supplied as .mp4 or .mov files with dimensions of 1920 x 1080. 720p and h264 codec. The file should not be bigger than 2 GB.

Entry Instructions

There are several different options to send your film screener:

  1. If the film can be viewed online (only on YouTube or Vimeo sites, public or password-protected), please include the relevant link (and password) on the Submission form.
  2. Entries are accepted directly from our website or via FilmFreeway.com (use BBFN2026 as a waiver code).
  3. Submission form, promotional image/s, and a digital version of the film screener delivered to the Big Bike Film Night office via download at http://www.wetransfer.com. The highest quality level, please.
  4. A digital version of the film screener and promotional image/s and delivered to the Big Bike Film Night office via download at http://www.dropbox.com. The highest quality level, please.

Format for the Collection

If your film is selected for the 2026 collection, we will need you to send your film to us in several different formats as the variety of cinemas and venues means there is no ‘one fit all’ format that is appropriate. It is your responsibility to have the films in DCI compliant DCP (24 frames) FLAT format and we will also need your film supplied as .mp4 or .mov files with dimensions of 1920 x 1080. 720p and h264 codec.

Any other questions or enquiries should be directed to the Organiser, Brett Cotter info@bigbikefilmnight.nz

Consent

Within your submission, you will be asked if you have read and agreed with the Terms and Conditions in this document. Participation in The Big Bike Film Night implies understanding and acceptance of these regulations.

THANK YOU

To finish with, the spirit of collaboration is well represented by the well-known Maori proverb: “Na to rourou, na taku rourou, ka ora ai te iwi” or in English “with your food basket and my food basket, the people will thrive.”

Kia waimarie from Aotearoa/ Good Luck from us here in New Zealand!