Podcast Competition

Submissions Now Closed

What It Is

The American Black Film Festival (ABFF) Podcast Competition is a national search to showcase emerging Black podcasters. Its mission is to bring broader awareness to quality shows and provide support in the form of financial and development assistance.

Eligibility Criteria

  • Open only to permanent, legal United States ("U.S.") residents who are physically residing in one (1) of the fifty (50) United States or the District of Columbia (excluding Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands and other U.S. territories).
  • All entrants must be twenty-one (21) years of age or older as of the start of the contest period.
  • If the podcast features more than one host, at least half of the team must be of African descent.
  • Podcast episode submitted must have been created after January 1, 2021.
  • Submission must be no more than five (5) minutes in length.
  • Submission must be the original work of the entrant(s).
  • Submission must not include any music that has not been licensed by the entrant.
  • Submission must not contain material that violates or infringes another's rights (including, but not limited to material that violates privacy, publicity, or intellectual property rights).
  • Podcast must not be sponsored or have received sponsorship in the past.
  • Podcast must not be contractually obligated to be hosted exclusively on any platform at the time of submission nor during the selection process.

How to Enter

  1. Your podcast submission, herein referred to as your "Micro Episode", must be uploaded to ABFF Podcast Competition FilmFreeway portal, per the directions listed on filmfreeway.com. In order to enter this competition, entrant(s) must submit an audio file featuring the entrant(s) discussing a topic of her, his, or their choosing (the Micro Episode). The Micro Episode must be a clip from an "original" (as defined by copyright law) episode of the entrant(s) Podcast Series. Your Micro Episode must be transferred into an .mp4 or .mov file and housed online (via video sharing sites such as vimeo.com or dropbox.com for example). You will need to provide ABFF with a URL directly to your Micro Episode in order to complete your submission.
  2. Complete one (1) Competition Submission Form downloadable here, and submit inclusive of the URL link to your Micro Episode by uploading to the Podcast Competition FilmFreeway Portal by the competition deadline of February 28, 2023.

These two (2) items, the URL link to the Micro Episode and the completed Competition Submission Form, will constitute your valid submission/entry. You may enter only once.

Failure to comply with this or any other official rule will result in disqualification.

Judging, Selection & Notification Finalists & Winner

  1. All eligible submissions will be judged by a panel of industry experts (Selection Committee) whose decisions are final on all matters relating to this competition, to determine up to three (3) finalist Podcast Series, based on the following criteria featured in the Micro Episode submitted: chemistry between/of hosts, quality of hosts/guests, and engagement with and commitment to target audience. In the event of a tie, tied entries will be re-judged in accordance with the criteria listed above.
  2. Up to two (2) members of each of the three (3) final Podcast Series selected will each receive a trip prize to the 2023 ABFF in Miami (if they reside outside of the City of Miami, FL). The prize includes: one (1) round-trip coach class ticket, hotel accommodations: June 14 to June 18, 2023 (4 nights) plus ABFF Festival credentials, and the opportunity to host their show to a live ABFF audience.

    Finalists must possess required travel documents (e.g. valid photo I.D., passport, etc.) prior to departing for the Festival. Finalists must agree to travel on dates specified by the ABFF; dates of departure and return are subject to change. No substitution or transfer of prize permitted. The ABFF reserves the right to substitute prize of equal or greater value.

  3. Each of the three (3) Podcast Series selected will receive a cash prize of $1,500, and the opportunity to receive mentorship and development assistance from a major podcast distributor to be announced.

GENERAL RULES: Any person who possesses an artist management contract, and/or any Podcast Series that has or has previously received sponsorship or the opportunity to host their series or Micro Episode on a streaming platform exclusively is not eligible to enter the ABFF Podcast Competition. By entering the Podcast Competition, all entrants consent to: (a) the use of their original submission, semi-final and final performances as well as their name/likeness and address (city/state only) to be announced in media including but not limited to internet, television, radio, magazines and newspapers for publicity, advertising, consumer voting and promotional purposes, unless expressly prohibited by law; (b) ABFF Ventures LLC., its subsidiaries, sponsors and affiliates, have the right to use/broadcast the submission or portions thereof in advertisement and/or in the promotion of the contest, consumer voting, ABFF or ABFF PLAY without further compensation, unless prohibited by law. Acceptance of any prize constitutes permission to ABFF and its affiliates to use winner's submission, name and/or likeness for purposes of advertising and trade without further compensation, unless prohibited by law. By accepting prize, finalists and winner agree to hold ABFF, its respective directors, officers, employees, assignees, sponsors and affiliates, harmless against any and all claims and liability arising out of use of the content of his/her/their submission and prize. Finalists and winner assume all liability for any injury or damage caused, or claimed to be caused, by participation in this competition or use or redemption of any prize. By participating in this competition, entrants agree to be bound by the 2023 ABFF Podcast Competition and Rules and the decisions of the judges. ABFF is not responsible for any typographical or other error in the competition general rules, administration of the competition, announcement of the finalists, broadcast of any submission and related details, announcement of the finalists, winner and any related prizes.