How to run a film festival or film competition online
Keep everything that makes your festival yours (programming, rules, judges, prizes) and move the parts that break online: judges' scoresheets, a one-night audience ballot, and entrants scattered across time zones. Plink hosts competitions for festivals, film schools and organisations: each judge scores every film against your published criteria and scores lock when submitted, an optional audience award only counts votes from people who watched both films, and every film can premiere at the same moment, so the people who couldn't travel can still watch and vote.
What moves online, and what stays yours
| Stays yours | Plink handles |
|---|---|
| Your rules, locked once the first entry is accepted | Entry pages, film hosting and playback |
| Your judges and your criteria | Per-judge scoring queues; scores lock on submit |
| Your entrants and every film’s rights | A watch-gated audience award, if you want one |
| Your prizes, paid by you to your winner | A single premiere moment for every film |
Why the audience award matters
An audience award decided by a paper ballot measures who was in the room. One decided by an open online poll measures who shared the link hardest. Requiring a vote to come from someone who watched both films is the only way an audience award says something about the films.
Questions people ask
Can a festival run its competition on Plink?
Yes. Festivals, film schools and organisations run their own judged competitions on Plink, with an optional audience award. Start at plink.video/host.
Does Plink hold the prize money?
No. The organiser pays their own winner directly. Plink never holds anyone’s prize money.
Who owns the films?
The filmmakers. Entering grants the right to stream the film for the competition and nothing more.