The FilmFreeway upload size limit is not the only cap you face, because each festival adds its own: Berlinale says a screener should not exceed 10 GB, Venice sets a 3 Mbps bitrate, and one festival we read asks for under 2 GB. Find the strictest line in your call for entry, then size the file to it.
| What you are sending | The limit you hit | The Smol setting |
|---|---|---|
| Feature or short as a screener file | Festival caps such as 10 GB (Berlinale) or under 2 GB (one festival we read), plus a bitrate | Compress, MP4, H.264, quality High (CRF 24) as a starting point, then check the size |
| ProRes or MOV master that is far too big | The three festival pages read here ask for MP4 or MOV | Compress, keep resolution at 1920 × 1080, write a copy beside the master |
| 4K master for a 1080p spec | Venice and Berlinale ask for 1080p / 1920 × 1080 | Compress with resolution reduced to 1080p |
| Trailer and stills for the project page | Smaller uploads, quicker review | Compress the trailer as above; compress stills as JPG, quality 75 to 80 |
| DCP for a selected film | DCP is a separate delivery, not a screener | Not a Smol job (see below) |
What is the FilmFreeway upload size limit, and what are festival screener specs?
Read the FilmFreeway cap on your project’s upload screen, then check the festival’s own limit in its call for entry, because the festival’s often decides. Take the smallest cap and leave headroom. Screener specs differ: the same film is a 3 Mbps file for one festival and a 10 Mbps file for another. This table is what three published pages say, all read 11 October 2026.
| Festival | File size | Format and bitrate | Other rules | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Berlinale | Should not exceed 10 GB | MP4, H.264 video, AAC stereo. Suggested: 1920 × 1080, H.264 high profile at 10 Mbit/s, AAC 320 Kbit/s at 48 kHz | 24, 25 or 30 progressive fps; one file for audio, video and subtitles; subtitles burned in, .srt not processed | Berlinale |
| Venice (VIFF) 2026 | No size limit stated for the upload | MP4 or MOV, H.264, 1080p, AAC 192 Kbps, overall bitrate 3 Mbps | Burned-in subtitles; HDCAM and QuickTime ProRes files not accepted; full-length films may send a DCP instead | La Biennale |
| A festival on FilmFreeway | Under 2 GB | .mov or .mp4, 1920 × 1080; codec not stated | Uploaded directly to FilmFreeway; the page does not mention Vimeo or YouTube links | Festival page |
How big will my screener be at a given bitrate?
File size is total bitrate times running time, divided by 8: a 90-minute film at 3.192 Mbit/s (Venice’s video plus audio) is about 2.15 GB. These figures are our arithmetic from the specs above, in decimal gigabytes, before container overhead.
| Running time | At 3.192 Mbit/s (Venice spec) | At 10.32 Mbit/s (Berlinale suggestion) |
|---|---|---|
| 10 minutes | 239 MB | 774 MB |
| 20 minutes | 479 MB | 1.55 GB |
| 90 minutes | 2.15 GB | 6.97 GB |
Working backward is just as useful. To stay under 2 GB, a 90-minute film can average about 2.96 Mbit/s in total and a 20-minute short about 13.3 Mbit/s. At Berlinale’s suggested rate, 10 GB lasts roughly 129 minutes. Long films are where a size cap becomes a bitrate cap.
What film submission file format should I export?
Export an H.264 video in an MP4 container with AAC stereo audio. All three festival pages above ask for MP4 and two also allow MOV; Berlinale and Venice name H.264 and AAC. Keep your master untouched and make the screener from it.
- Container: MP4 unless the call says MOV. Convert MOV to MP4 without re-encoding when the codec already fits, as in our MOV to MP4 guide.
- Codec: H.264 for screeners. Smol defaults to H.265, so switch it; see H.265 vs H.264 for what changes.
- Resolution: 1920 × 1080 for the specs above, even from a 4K master.
- Subtitles: burned in. Both Berlinale and Venice say external subtitle files are not supported, and Smol does not burn them in, so do that in your editor.
- Audio: keep it. Berlinale suggests AAC at 320 Kbit/s and Venice AAC at 192 Kbps; Smol’s video audio can be kept or removed, not retargeted per festival.
Which Smol settings make a festival screener?
Compress your export to MP4 with H.264, start at quality High (CRF 24), keep or reduce the resolution to 1080p, and read the output size. Smol sets quality, not a byte or bitrate target for video, so verify the result against the cap.
| Setting | Value | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Operation | Compress | Quality settings belong to Compress, not Convert |
| Output container | MP4 (or MOV if the call says so) | The formats the specs above name |
| Codec | H.264 | Named by Berlinale and Venice; default is H.265, so change it |
| Quality | High (CRF 24), our starting point | Default label; try Web (CRF 28) if you are over the cap, and compare by eye |
| Resolution | Reduce to 1080p from a 4K master | The sizes in the specs are 1080p |
| Output location | Copy beside the master, _compressed suffix | Originals are untouched by default |
Presets are saved per Mac. For a second Mac, write the settings down and recreate the preset. For more control over an exact CRF between 0 and 63 and the nine speed presets, see our video compression guide and reducing video file size without losing quality.
How do I prepare a screener for FilmFreeway on a Mac?
Export from your editor, compress a copy in Smol, check size and playback, then upload. Five steps, none of which sends the film anywhere until you choose to upload it.
Collect the numbers
From the call for entry: file size cap, container, codec, resolution, frame rate, subtitle rule. Take the strictest.
Export a high-quality file from your editor
Burn in subtitles here. Keep the project frame rate; Berlinale asks for 24, 25 or 30 progressive.
Drop it into Smol and set the screener settings
Compress, MP4, H.264, High (CRF 24), resolution 1080p. Smol writes
_compressedbeside the original.Check the result
Compare the size to the cap and the computed table. If over, try Web (CRF 28) or a lower resolution and run it again. Watch the whole file, not just the opening.
Upload
Upload the file to FilmFreeway, or follow the festival’s own link, and keep the master for any DCP request.
What are the right Vimeo screener settings?
Use a Password video with downloads off unless the festival asks otherwise. Vimeo lists Password, Embed only and Unlisted as paid-plan features, read 11 October 2026.
- Password: anyone who enters the password can watch. Share it only with the festival.
- Embed only: the video “will not be viewable on Vimeo.com”, so the festival needs the embed, not a link.
- Downloads: switch them off under Share, Viewer permissions, per the Vimeo help page. Vimeo says there is no way to offer downloads from the embedded player.
- Check first: the festival we quoted does not mention Vimeo links at all, and some programmers want a file. Linking also moves control of the encode to Vimeo, so your own export is the version they see only if you upload it.
Upload or link?
Upload when the call asks for a file, link when it allows one. If the file is large, compress it first so both routes are fast.
DCP vs screener: which one does a festival want?
A screener is a compact file for selection committees. A DCP is a cinema package, usually asked for once a film is selected. Venice also takes a fully DCI/SMPTE compliant DCP in place of a file for full-length films, with its own delivery instructions and an extra fee of EUR 100.
Smol makes the screener and cannot make the DCP. Exhibition prep is done in a DCP mastering tool or by a post house, and your uncompressed master matters there, so never delete it after compressing a copy.
What do filmmakers use today to shrink a screener?
Free options come first and work well; Smol’s case is a simple, repeatable Mac workflow, not a unique result. Teams cutting delivery files for clients may also like our video production delivery and wedding videographer pages.
| Option | Cost | Good for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Your editor’s export (Premiere, Final Cut, DaVinci Resolve) | Already owned | Exact bitrate and frame rate control; burned-in subtitles | Re-export every time a spec changes |
| QuickTime Player export | Free, built in | Quick 1080p copy | Few controls over bitrate |
| HandBrake | Free | Fine-grained encoding | Many settings; see our HandBrake alternatives page |
| Smol | $29 once | Drag-and-drop batches with saved settings; a screener, trailer and stills together | No bitrate or size target for video; check the output |
See our HandBrake alternatives comparison for a fair look at the free route.
When is Smol the wrong tool for a festival submission?
Smol is the wrong tool in these cases:
- You need an exact bitrate such as Venice’s 3 Mbps or a guaranteed size: Smol has no bitrate or size target for video, so use your editor or an encoder with a two-pass bitrate mode.
- You need a DCP, burned-in subtitles or a frame-rate conform: do those in your editor or DCP tool.
- You are on Windows or Linux: Smol is macOS only.
- You need a lossless or pixel-identical master copy: always keep the master and make the screener from it.
Frequently asked questions
What is the FilmFreeway upload size limit?
Read the cap on your FilmFreeway project’s upload screen, then check the festival’s own limit in its call for entry. Festival limits vary: one festival we read asks for under 2 GB, and Berlinale says its screener should not exceed 10 GB. Use the smallest cap among the platform and the festival, and leave headroom.
What file format do festivals want for a screener?
The pages we read ask for an MP4 or MOV with H.264 video and AAC audio at 1080p. Berlinale wants 24, 25 or 30 progressive frames per second, and both it and Venice want subtitles burned in. Your call for entry is the rule, so match its container, codec, resolution and frame rate exactly.
What are good Vimeo screener settings?
Set the video to Password, share the password only with the festival, and turn downloads off under Viewer permissions. Vimeo lists Password and Embed only as paid-plan options. Confirm the festival accepts a link before relying on it, since some calls, including one we read, ask for a file upload instead.
What is the difference between a DCP and a screener?
A screener is a compact H.264 file that programmers watch during selection. A DCP is a cinema delivery package, with its own naming, drive and encryption-key rules. Venice takes a DCP in place of a file for full-length films, with an extra fee of EUR 100. Smol makes screeners, not DCPs.
How do I get a screener under 2 GB?
Do the math first: 2 GB over 90 minutes is about 2.96 Mbit/s total, over 20 minutes about 13.3. In Smol, compress to MP4 with H.264 at High (CRF 24), reduce to 1080p, and check the size. If over, try Web (CRF 28), then recheck. Smol does not guarantee a byte count.
Does compressing my film upload it anywhere?
No. Smol runs on your Mac, with no account and no server, and by default writes a compressed copy beside the original with a _compressed suffix. Your master is untouched. Nothing leaves your machine until you choose to upload the screener to FilmFreeway or a festival yourself.
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