The organiser is Apple Box Studio Inc.

Entry to the competition is open to all Tasmanian residents aged 16 and over, excluding Apple Box Studio employees and board members, their immediate family members, and sponsors of the competition.

The competition begins at 6pm on Friday 10 July 2026 and ends at 6pm on Sunday 12 July 2026. All times are in Australian Eastern Standard Time.

The Screening & Awards night will start at 6pm on Saturday 18 July 2026.

There is a maximum of one entry per team.

Teams must have a minimum of 1 and a maximum of 10 people, not including actors.

All cast & crew must be volunteers - no-one is to be paid for their time.

The entry fee is per person and is required to be paid prior to the end of the competition. This entry fee covers the individual’s entry into the competition and a single ticket to the awards night. Additional tickets to the awards night can be purchased at an additional cost.

A person whose only role is to act in the film, is not required to pay the entry fee, however they will need to purchase a ticket to the Screening & Awards night if they wish to attend. These people will be eligible to win the Best Actor prize.

Safety of the cast and crew is paramount and should be considered the main priority in every situation. This includes in relation to any animals used during filming.

If there are any safety incidents, filming is to be suspended, and the Producer must inform the organiser as soon as it is safe to do so.

Films must be completed during the period of 6pm Friday 10 July 2026 and 6pm Sunday 12 July 2026, and all creative work must take place within this time frame. This includes, but is not limited to:
- writing the script
- casting of specific roles
- rehearsing
- costume/set design
- shooting
- sound design
- rendering
The only exceptions to this are:
(Prior to the official start of the competition)
- organising cast and crew
- securing equipment
- securing locations
- using previously created, widely available, copyright free music or sound effects.
Teams are encouraged to work with a composer, musicians and/or sound designer to create music and sounds for the films, however widely available, copyright free music and sounds are permissible, as long as they are credited as such. Teams that use copyright free music will not be eligible to win the prize for Best Score.

Films must be submitted by 6pm on Sunday 12 July 2026 to be considered for competition. Films submitted after this time will be screened at the awards night, but will not be eligible for consideration of prizes.

Films submitted must be the original work of the team listed as registered.

Films submitted must not contain obscene or pornographic material, and must comply with an MA15+ classification.

Each team will be assigned three required elements that must appear in their film. Any film found not to contain all three of these will not be eligible for consideration of prizes. These are a prop, a line of dialogue, and a character trait.
- PROP must be seen on screen, however a picture of the prop is allowed.
- DIALOGUE their allocated line of dialogue must be included verbatim, either spoken, sung, or written.
- CHARACTER TRAIT at least one character in the film must clearly display the allocated trait through their actions, dialogue, or decisions. The trait does not need to be named or stated out loud.

Teams can use any cameras or equipment available to them - there are no specific requirements for cameras for this initiative. The use of smartphones is not only acceptable, but encouraged.

All films must be a minimum of 3 minutes and a maximum of 7 minutes in length, including all titles & credits, and must include a slide in the end credits with the Apple Box Studio logo and the 48hr short film competition logo, both of which will be provided to you, along with the following text:

“This film was made for the Apple Box Studio 48hr short film competition 2026”

Please export your films using one of the following file types:
.mp4 - using the H.264 Codec (great for web playback and most devices)
.mov - using ProRes 422 or 4444 (higher quality, larger file size)

Resolution: 1920x1080 (1080p) or 3840x2160 (4K)
Frame Rate: 25fps
Bit Rate: Anywhere from 10-100 Mbps (higher = better quality)
Audio: Stereo (2 Channel), properly mixed (with attention to levels, foley, and dialogue).
Subtitles/Captions: Not compulsory but feel free to submit as a separate SRT file.

If you’re unsure, the easiest and most compatible option is to export a .mp4 using H.264 at 1080p, which will work fine for screening.

All documents must be completed and submitted by 6pm on Sunday 12 July 2026, these include
- volunteer cast releases
- stills release
- music release
- locations releases
- completed cast & crew lists
- tech specs
- at least 3 production stills, 3 behind-the-scenes stills, and one crew photo, for promotional use.

All films must be completed and submitted by 6pm on Sunday 12 July 2026. When films are uploaded, the Certification Statement must be agreed to - that certifies that the team and film have complied with all the rules set out above. The Producer of each team will be sent a link to a Google Drive folder for their team, where they can upload their film and their stills. Further details will be in the Google Drive.

Films must not be discriminatory towards any person, race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, political ideology, or culture. Any films deemed to be discriminatory will be disqualified, will not be screened at the awards night, and will not be eligible for consideration of prizes.

The use of AI is NOT permitted, and teams will be required to state in the Certification Statement that they did not use AI in any part of their film. This includes, but is not limited to brainstorming, writing, filming, editing, graphics, sound, music, acting including voice-only, or images. If a film is found to have used AI, it will be disqualified. This is a decision made by Apple Box Studio for the 48hr short film competition 2026, and it will be reassessed ongoing for future competitions.

Any film found to break any of the rules listed here, will immediately be disqualified, will not be screened at the awards night, and will not be eligible for consideration of prizes.

Disqualification is at the discretion of the CEO of Apple Box Studio Inc. who has final say.

No responsibility will be accepted for entries not received for whatever reason.

The organiser reserves the right to cancel or amend the competition and these terms and conditions without notice in the event of a catastrophe, war, civil or military disturbance, act of God or any actual or anticipated breach of any applicable law or regulation or any other event outside of the organiser’s control. Any changes to the competition will be notified to entrants as soon as possible by the organiser.

The organiser is not responsible for inaccurate prize details supplied to any entrant by any third party connected with this competition.

No cash alternative to the prizes will be offered. The prizes are not transferable. Prizes are subject to availability and we reserve the right to substitute any prize for another prize of equal or greater value without giving notice.

The organiser will not be liable for any loss or damage whatsoever which is suffered (including but not limited to indirect or consequential loss) or for any personal injury suffered or sustained in connection with the competition or the prizes except for any liability, which cannot be excluded by law. The organiser will not be responsible for any incorrect, inaccurate or incomplete information communicated in the course of or in connection with this competition, if the deficiency is occasioned by any cause outside the reasonable control of the organiser, including without limitation technical malfunctions or failures.

All expenses incurred in creating the competition entries are the responsibility of the teams, and not the organiser. The organiser will not pay for or reimburse any entrant or participant in a film for any expenses including, but not limited to, catering, insurance, props, costumes, location fees, equipment hire, and parking fines.

Competition winners will be selected by independent judges not influenced by the organiser, employees, or board members of Apple Box Studio Inc.

Competition winners will be notified in person at the Screening & Awards night, and if they are not available, they will be contacted by email as soon as is practical after the event. Promotion of the winners will take place on the same platforms as the competition was announced, within 7 days of the Screening & Awards night. If the winner/s cannot be contacted or do not claim their prize within 2 days of notification, we reserve the right to withdraw the prize from the Winner/s and pick a replacement Winner/s.

The Winner/s agrees to the use of their name and image in any publicity material. Any personal data relating to the Winner or any other entrants may be disclosed to a third party in relation to securing the prize for the winner without the entrant’s additional consent.

The organiser will notify the Winner/s of details to accept the prize.

The organiser’s decision in respect of all matters to do with the competition will be final and no correspondence will be entered into.

By entering this competition, an entrant is indicating their agreement to be bound by these Terms and Conditions.

The competition and these Terms and Conditions will be governed by Australian law and any disputes will be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Australia.