Why submit to Orama?

- Publication and recognition in a uniquely curated venue, reviewed and assessed by experienced scholars and professionals in the industry.

- Feedback on your work by professionals – both your finished product, but also your work in progress. 

 - Featured amongst a selection with high exposure and promotion to audiences that want to see your work.

- A home for your film to live and remain accessible to audiences even after a festival circuit.

Must I pay anything to submit my work or for publication?

No. Contributors do not pay anything to submit or to be published in Orama. Orama works on the same basis as traditional academic journals.

Will I lose ownership of my work?

No. You will always retain the right to be recognised as creator or author of your work. We work on the same model as academic journal publishers where the author assigns the publisher licence to publish upon acceptance of the submission.

Where is the catch?

There is none. It is both free and you keep your copyright. Orama uses a standard publishing licence agreement granting rights to feature on our platforms.

But what if I want to submit my film to a festival? 

Do it! We don’t compete with festivals, Orama is a new and different journal format marrying the benefits of the academic peer-review system with film expertise to give filmmakers and scholars an alternative platform to get their work out into the world. You can submit your film to festivals even if published with Orama.

But some festivals require an exclusive premiere.

Yes. It depends on the festival whether they understand being featured in Orama as having publicly premiered. You can let us know which festivals you are interested in and we’ll try to figure it out. In any case, you can submit your film to Orama also after it is shown at a festival.

Two further options include: 1) delaying publication of an accepted film until after its festival premiere; or 2) featuring your film on Orama as a pre-publication (or trailer only) until the film has premiered at the festival, after which we will publish as usual on Orama.

What if my film gets bought by a streaming platform or a distributing company?

Amazing! You retain copyright of your work at all times and are free to sell and make an agreement with other companies. Orama will still retain the right to continue featuring your film on our platforms. If the streaming platform or distributing company wants exclusivity, we will negotiate an agreement with them for our part of the licence.

Orama wants to foster opportunities, not obstruct them. We want to help your film become successful!

What do I do if my submission file is too big or doesn’t upload via the submission form?

Please contact editorial@oramafilmjournal.com so that we can find a solution.

Must I be part of a university to submit a film or article?

No. Submissions are accepted from anyone who wishes to submit, including independent creators and researchers. Films and articles will each be assessed according to our guidelines.

Must I be an established or experienced filmmaker in order to submit?

We accept submissions from filmmakers at all stages of their development. We assess each film for its own original merits. We are committed to promoting new and unknown talent in film.

Can I submit a film or paper that has been submitted or published elsewhere?

Aside from our note on film festivals (see above), we accept only original film and article submissions that have not been distributed or published elsewhere. Submissions must not be under review with any other venue while under review at Orama, and until a decision is received. Please include details of any previous publication or showings when submitting.

What do I do if I can’t access my account?

Contact editorial@oramafilmjournal.com and we will find the solution.