A Film EPK Website Checklist for Festival Press

A film EPK website should help a journalist, programmer, or audience member find the right information quickly. Treat it as a maintained public reference for approved materials—not a substitute for a festival’s submission portal, password-protected press room, or current delivery instructions.

There is no single press-kit checklist for every festival. A 2014 Film Independent publicity guide recommends preparing a logline, short and long synopses, bios, credits, selected stills, and clips. Sundance’s 2026 Artist Portal shows how requirements can be program-specific: it marks production notes or a digital press kit as recommended in PDF format, requires one to three film stills at least 2560 × 1440 pixels, and recommends clips or trailers and a digital poster when available. These are Sundance’s 2026 requests, not universal festival rules. Check each festival’s current instructions before preparing a delivery.

  <h2>1. Keep one approved source of film facts</h2>
  <p>Maintain a current master record for the title, one-line logline, synopsis, format, runtime, completion year, language, director and key credits, and official contact. Mark fields that are not confirmed instead of filling them with a guess. Use the same approved wording on the website, PDF press kit, festival forms, and outreach so a changed title or runtime does not leave conflicting versions online.</p>
  <p>A festival may set its own synopsis length or ask for details that do not belong on a public page. Prepare from the master record, then edit to that festival’s form rather than assuming one copy fits every request.</p>

  <h2>2. Select media people can identify and use</h2>
  <ul>
    <li>Choose a small set of cleared stills that represent the film. Keep the original files and their required photo credits.</li>
    <li>Add a poster or key art only when you have permission to publish it and the version is current.</li>
    <li>Link a trailer or short clip when public viewing is approved. Add captions and check playback on a phone.</li>
    <li>Use descriptive image text for meaningful stills, and label each download with the film title and what the file contains.</li>
  </ul>
  <p>Keep technical specifications with the asset record. If a festival requests exact pixel dimensions, file format, or a specific number of stills, follow that request; do not treat another festival’s settings as universal.</p>

  <h2>3. Make credits and bios precise</h2>
  <p>Check spelling, role names, and credit order against the approved credits. Use short bios that the credited people have approved for public use. A festival may use different credit rules for fiction, documentary, or other program types, so resolve those questions with the festival or the person responsible for the submission.</p>

  <h2>4. Publish one clear, monitored contact</h2>
  <p>Give press a working route for interview and asset requests. Use a monitored production or publicity address that the team has chosen to publish. Do not expose a private phone number, personal email, or unreleased contact sheet just because one festival form requests contact details for its staff.</p>
  <p>Separate a public press contact from festival-only contacts, technical delivery contacts, and private screener access. Share restricted information through the channel and access controls the festival specifies.</p>

  <h2>5. Keep screening details current</h2>
  <p>When a screening is confirmed, state the date, time zone, venue or viewing link, registration details, and access information people need. If plans change, update the page and the linked ticket or festival source promptly. Remove expired ticket links and do not imply that a public trailer or screener is available when it is not.</p>

  <h2>6. Make downloads easy to check</h2>
  <p>Offer only the files intended for public access. Keep a press kit PDF and high-resolution assets distinct when that makes the requested files easier to find. Before publishing, open each download, confirm the file matches its label, check that the PDF text is selectable and readable, and confirm that the images include any required credits. A full-film screener may need restricted access; do not place it in an unrestricted downloads section unless the rights holder has approved that use.</p>

  <h2>7. Run a short release check</h2>
  <ol>
    <li>Compare the public page and downloads with the latest approved master record.</li>
    <li>Confirm public permissions for photos, poster art, clips, names, and contact details.</li>
    <li>Check that credits, captions, image descriptions, and download labels are present.</li>
    <li>Open the page and each important link on a phone, including screening and press-contact paths.</li>
    <li>Review the festival’s current form and delivery checklist separately; record who owns the next update.</li>
  </ol>
  <p>After a festival, update the page for the film’s next stage. Keep completed screenings as dated history only if useful, replace expired calls to action, and make the current distribution or viewing status clear.</p>

  <p>Filmclusive’s <a href="https://filmclusive.com/websites">film website builder</a> supports project pages with sections for credits, screenings, updates, and downloads. Use it to publish materials your team has approved, then confirm every festival-specific requirement at its source.</p>