2 Messages
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80 Points
Changing release date of short film
Hello, my short film has never had a release and has sat in IMDb for four years without any action on my part (mainly due to covid and I've been working on other projects). My director has been working on a re-edit and we would like to now make some short film festival submissions and get our film out there. Do I have to resubmit my film as a new submission, or can I just change the release date on my existing page? I tried doing the latter but a warning came up saying the following:
"This release date may not be eligible for inclusion.
An earlier release date of 1 January 2020 already exists for this title in UK for a wide release in this country. You are attempting to add a release date with a release type implying some kind of limited screening. Please check the help page to ensure this new date is eligible."
I don't want to fall foul of IMDb rules and would be grateful for your advice. Many thanks, Mari
gromit82
Champion
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7.5K Messages
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276.5K Points
19 days ago
Mari: Yes, you should just be able to change the release date on the film's existing page. In fact, it sounds like that might be appropriate because the existing release date is incorrect -- not a lot of short films get wide theatrical releases, especially not on January 1.
That said, please note, if the film really did get released to the public before, then the date of the first release should be the first release date for the film and the one which determines the year in parentheses after the title. Showing at a film festival counts as a release for IMDb purposes, so if the film had a previous festival screening, that needs to be counted as a release date. (So does distribution online, for that matter.)
If the film really was distributed or screened to the public on 1 January 2020, though, that release date will need to stay in the database.
I hope this helps. Good luck!
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