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Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Not always. A festival may accept an online screener or another format for selection, then require a DCP or a different presentation format if the film is selected. The rule depends on the festival, program, venue, and edition. Before making or shipping a DCP, check the event’s current technical instructions for your specific film and screening.
Do you need a DCP to submit a film?
Do not assume the selection screener and the final screening copy are the same deliverable. A screener is what programmers review; the presentation copy must meet the selected film’s technical and delivery requirements. Venice publishes separate specifications for screeners and selected films, and Cannes distinguishes preselection formats from selected-film requirements. Venice 2026 technical specifications · Cannes submission instructions.
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For example, Cannes’s 2026 general submission instructions listed a DCP or online upload for preselection. For selected films, the page listed a DCP, JPEG 2000 file, or 35mm print. Short films and special categories have separate workflows, so those general instructions should not be applied to every entry. Its 2026 dates are edition-specific; check the next applicable edition for current deadlines and requirements. Cannes submission instructions.
The practical answer is to prepare only what the current instructions request at each stage. A festival’s selected-film delivery sheet—not a general assumption about how festivals work—is the authority for the final copy.
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What do festival delivery rules look like?
Official instructions show why a universal yes-or-no answer does not work. These examples are tied to the cited festival edition or event, and are not interchangeable technical standards.
| Festival and edition | What the published instructions say | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| Festival de Cannes, 2026 | General preselection instructions list DCP or online upload; selected-film instructions list DCP, JPEG 2000 file, or 35mm print. | Short films and special categories have separate instructions; do not generalize the feature workflow. Official instructions. |
| Venice, 83rd festival / 2026 | The selected-film guide prefers SMPTE DCP Application Profile Bv2.1 and also accepts compliant Interop DCP. Delivery may be by digital transfer or two identical physical devices; physical copies have filesystem and labeling requirements. | These are Venice’s 2026 delivery instructions, not universal DCP rules. Official technical specifications. |
| Moscow International Film Festival | Regulations call for DCP screening in competition and out-of-competition programs, with 35mm or DCP for retrospectives. | Program exceptions and post-selection technical instructions apply. Official regulations. |
| Nederlands Film Festival | Its delivery instructions require QC before delivery, strongly prefer unencrypted DCPs, and encourage digital transfer through Filmfetch. | Deadlines and procedures depend on the relevant edition. Delivery specifications. |
| Sundance, 2024 presentation specifications | The presentation document covers captions, audio description, encryption, and a separate online-screening file specification. | This is a 2024 document, useful as a historical example rather than current Sundance instructions. 2024 technical specifications. |
| AFIN, 2026 | Its DCP guidance distinguishes subtitles from closed captions and says delivered DCPs are tested before the festival. | Guidance is specific to the 2026 event and Dendy Portside venue. AFIN DCP guidance. |
Which subtitle or accessibility version should you deliver?
First establish what the festival wants for the film’s language and screening. A subtitle is not automatically equivalent to a caption track, and the delivery format matters:
- Burned-in subtitles are part of the image.
- Timed subtitle files are separate DCP assets; festival instructions may specify whether they should be embedded or delivered another way.
- Closed captions may be intended for personal captioning equipment rather than display on the main theater screen.
- Open captions, SDH, and audio description have distinct accessibility uses and may require different treatments in the presentation package.
Requirements differ by festival and title. Cannes’s 2026 preselection instructions say films in French or English may be submitted without subtitles, while films in other original languages need French or English subtitles. Venice’s 2026 guide requires Italian on-screen subtitles, or English for Italian films, burned into the image or embedded as XML; it assigns subtitle timing and safe-area placement to the submitter. Moscow prefers soft on/off subtitles in a supplemental DCP file but accepts hard subtitles. Follow the selected program’s exact instructions rather than assuming one festival’s approach applies elsewhere. Cannes · Venice 2026 · Moscow.
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Repair common Windows errors and clear accumulated junk for a smoother, more stable PC - no reinstall needed.Free scan · no reinstallAFIN’s venue guidance explains the practical distinction between subtitles and closed captions; Sundance’s 2024 presentation sheet is an edition-specific example of separate requirements for open captions, closed captions, SDH, and audio description. AFIN guidance · Sundance 2024 specifications.
Does a DCP need to be encrypted?
Do not encrypt a DCP unless the festival or its technical partner has confirmed how it will be unlocked. A KDM (Key Delivery Message) is used to unlock an encrypted DCP on specified cinema servers during an authorized validity window. The festival or lab needs to provide the relevant certificate, recipient, server, testing, and timing requirements; guessing can leave a screening copy inaccessible.
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The cited festival examples favor unencrypted delivery or spell out coordination for encrypted files: Venice’s 2026 guide recommends non-encrypted DCPs and says KDM validity must cover arrival; Sundance’s 2024 sheet preferred unencrypted DCPs and required DKDM delivery to its lab partner for encrypted files; NFF and Moscow also describe KDM arrangements. These instructions are edition- and event-specific. Venice 2026 · Sundance 2024 · NFF · Moscow.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Do you need to send a hard drive?
Not necessarily. Some festivals accept digital transfer. Venice’s 2026 guide allows transfer or two identical physical devices and prefers SSDs for physical delivery; NFF encourages digital delivery. If the event requests a physical copy, its instructions govern the filesystem, interface, labeling, number of copies, packaging, and arrival date. Check before buying storage or shipping a drive. Venice 2026 specifications · NFF delivery specifications.
Who should make and quality-check the DCP?
A professional mastering facility can create the DCP and help validate it, but hiring one does not remove the submitter’s responsibility to meet the festival’s instructions. Venice recommends professional mastering and says the producer or distributor and facility should carry out QC together; its own technical check does not replace that work. NFF also requires QC before delivery. AFIN advises professional creation but allows self-made DCPs and tests them in the same way. The cited policies therefore do not support a blanket claim that DIY is always acceptable or always prohibited. Venice 2026 · NFF · AFIN.
Selected-film delivery checklist
Before commissioning, exporting, or sending a presentation copy, get answers from the festival or its print traffic contact:
- Is this request for a selection screener, a final theatrical presentation copy, or both?
- Which DCP profile and version does the venue accept? Does it accept SMPTE, Interop, or both?
- Which image, frame-rate, sound, subtitle, caption, and audio-description versions are required for this title and screening?
- Should the DCP be encrypted? If so, which certificates, KDM or DKDM recipient, servers, testing arrangements, and validity dates apply?
- Is file transfer allowed? If physical media is needed, what filesystem, interface, label, copy count, packaging, and arrival deadline are specified?
- Who is responsible for QC, and can the final package be tested before the screening?
Keep a record of the exact final package and its CPL, title, and version metadata. Venice’s 2026 guide says CPL naming references need to match across DCP information and warns that a delivered DCP cannot simply be replaced without authorization. It also says stereo playback may be up-mixed to 5.1 unless stereo playback is explicitly requested; that instruction applies to Venice, not to festivals generally. Venice 2026 DCP specifications.
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