Submission-ready artwork

Film festival
poster design.

Festival posters have to work twice: as a standalone piece of key art, and as a canvas that can carry official selection laurels once your film is accepted. We design with that second life built in from the start, so your poster doesn't need a last-minute redesign when the laurels arrive.

Start your festival poster View our portfolio ↗

Built for submissions

Timing matters

Festival deadlines don't move. First concepts are typically ready within 24–48 hours, and revision support continues until the artwork is submission-ready — so a tight deadline doesn't mean cutting corners on the design.

Put the portal name, the file dimensions they ask for, and the timezone of the deadline in the first email. “ASAP” is not a date. A date is a quote input. If laurels will arrive after you upload, we keep a clean zone so you are not redesigning the night before. Print files stay 27×40 inches at 300 DPI unless the festival specifies otherwise.

What a festival-ready poster must survive

Submission platforms compress. Physical screenings do not. The artwork has to read as a small JPG and as a printed one-sheet in a lobby. That is why we design key art as a master, then export both. Billing blocks, quotes, and wreaths compete with faces — we hierarchy the image so the film still reads when those extras arrive.

Independent teams often pair festival files with our indie filmmaker poster workflow. If you also need streaming art after a sale, start from the same lock. See poster sizes and formats for the checklist to paste into your brief.

What to put in a festival brief

Portal name, due date with timezone, current file-size cap, and whether laurels will arrive after upload. Send stills you can clear and three reference posters. “Make it cinematic” is not a deadline. A date is a quote input. First concepts typically arrive in 24–48 hours; rush is quoted when the calendar has to move.

If you are submitting to more than one festival, say so. Some want a 27×40 PDF, some want a compressed JPG that still has to look like the print. We design one master and export both. Billing blocks and quotes compete with faces — we keep a print version and a cleaner digital crop when the portal eats the lower third.

After a sale, the same lock should become streaming key art. Starting from a festival-only collage is how teams pay twice. Pair this page with how long design takes if your programmer date is real.

Selected festival-ready case studies

Festival poster questions

Do you leave space for festival laurels?

Yes. Composition includes a clean zone from the first lock. We place official selection artwork when you have the files. Last-minute wreaths on a busy one-sheet usually mean a redesign.

What print size do festivals expect?

Standard US theatrical is 27×40 inches at 300 DPI unless the festival specifies otherwise. We also export the digital size your portal asks for, because submission platforms compress.

Can you hit FilmFreeway file limits?

Yes if you send the current spec. Confirm dimensions and megabyte limits in the brief. Guessing a number is how files get rejected at upload.

Should the festival poster match later streaming art?

Ideally yes. Design the one-sheet as a crop of the key art system so a sale does not require a new hero. Independent teams often pair this with the indie filmmaker workflow.

Festival posters by genre

See how festival-ready artwork adapts across genres — drama poster design, horror festival posters, comedy movie posters, and family film key art. Budget-conscious teams often pair this with our indie filmmaker poster design workflow.