Rules. We know, YAWN, but this is important stuff that’ll only take you two minutes to read. Films that comply with these rules will pass moderation and be accepted into the festival. Films that don’t, won’t. We want your film to stand the best chance of being featured, so please familiarize yourself with what is and isn’t allowed.
First, some key points:
You must be over the age of 18 to enter, and logged in as a LEGO® Insiders member. If you’re under 18, you can ask a parent or guardian to review these rules and submit a film on your behalf.
You must submit via LEGO.com/LSW-25 between March 1st and April 22nd. The LEGO Group will get back to you within 14 days to confirm whether your film’s passed moderation and been accepted or not. If it’s accepted, it’ll be added to the festival on LEGO.com or LEGO YouTube between the 4th and 25th May 2024.
We’re only able to take 1,000 submissions into the festival.
Rules for your film:
It must be fan-made, have a narrative or story, and be 25 seconds long (cos, you know, it’s our 25th anniversary).
Your film can be in any visual style (hand-drawn, CGI, stop motion etc) but LEGO Star Wars sets and minifigures must be the main feature. You don’t need to own a LEGO set to participate.
No Earth-based languages please! Languages from the Star Wars galaxy are OK though (as long as they aren’t subtitled), as are mumbles and expressions without words.
Don’t add a title or credits. We’ll ask for the film maker’s name when you submit, and if it passes moderation and is accepted into the festival, we’ll add the credits.
Films must be set within the LEGO Star Wars universe. Please don’t feature characters, locations or items from other franchises, or any third-party intellectual property other than LEGO Star Wars. Star Wars products other than LEGO Star Wars, including toys or merchandise, also aren’t allowed.
As cute as your cat is, no people or animals should appear in your film. Hands are OK, if there are no visible accessories and they’re moving LEGO bricks and/or minifigures.
Music, sound effects and voices must either be taken from The 25-Second Film Festival ‘Kit of Parts’ (LINK here) or be your own creation. No commercial music and performances, including from Star Wars and LEGO Star Wars content like soundtracks or actor performances.
Your film must be rated PG and will be moderated for suitability for a family audience. Films related to the following don’t fit our brand values and will DEFINITELY be rejected:
- Real-world politics and political symbols, campaigns or movements
- Real-world religious references including symbols, buildings or people
- Sex, nudity, drugs or smoking
- Showing alcoholic beverages
- Swearing or profanity
- Blood, terrorism, horror or torture
- First-person shooter perspective
- Warfare or war vehicles in any real-world, modern or present-day situation, or national war memorials
- Human-scale (as compared to minifigure scale) weapons or weapon replicas of any kind, including swords, knives, guns, sci-fi or fantasy blasters, etc.
- Racism, bullying of any persons, or cruelty to real-life animals
Lastly, tech spec. Films must be 16x9 (horizontal aspect ratio), 1920x1080px, H264 or H265-encoded MP4 file. If your film’s too dark or blurry it’ll be rejected based on quality.