Menu

America’s first and only Music Documentary Film Festival

The Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame (LIMEHOF) is proud to announce film submissions for the new festival on Sept. 25-27th, 2026 is now open.

All films must be submitted on FilmFreeway at:
https://filmfreeway.com/LongIslandMusicandEntertainmentHallofFameMusicDocumentaryFilmFestival

In 2025, the festival launched its inaugural season with great success, showcasing films about Harry Chapin, Public Enemy, The Beatles, The Zombies, Steppenwolf, Guggenheim Grotto, Ron Delsener, Garland Jeffreys, and more. The event brought together filmmakers, musicians, and audiences for a celebration of music, storytelling, and cultural heritage.


Now, having completed its first season, the LIMEHOF Music Documentary Film Festival is preparing for its second festival on September 25th-27th, 2026.

Film submissions are now being accepted. We are welcoming works from around the world that explore music scenes, music history, tours, biographies, festivals, music education, concerts, culture, music technology, and the transformative power of music.

The festival takes place at the Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame in Stony Brook, New York. Founded in 2004, LIMEHOF celebrates and preserves Long Island’s profound impact on global music culture. The nonprofit organization encompasses Nassau, Suffolk, Queens, and Brooklyn, and has inducted legends such as Billy Joel, Lou Reed, Clive Davis, Public Enemy, Carter Burwell, the Ramones, Run-DMC, Carole King, Count Basie, Barbra Streisand, George Gershwin, Neil Diamond, Vince Giordano, Mariah Carey, John Coltrane, Louis Armstrong, Arlo Guthrie, and Cyndi Lauper. Beyond celebrating these icons, LIMEHOF invests in the future through scholarships, educational programs, and its state-of-the-art traveling museum.

The three-day festival fosters dialogue among filmmakers, musicians, and audiences, while creating a unique space where music and film converge. In addition to screenings, the program features Q&A sessions, panel discussions, press opportunities, and live performances on the LIMEHOF stage by musicians featured in the films.

With the LIMEHOF Music Documentary Film Festival, the Hall of Fame continues to honor the past, celebrate the present, and inspire future generations of music lovers.

Awards and Prizes

The festival presents a Jury Award for Best Short and Best Feature Music Documentary, as well as Audience Choice Awards, where attendees vote for their favorite films. Judges consider artistic merit, storytelling, technical excellence, and contribution to the music documentary genre.

Rules and Terms

Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame Music Documentary Film Festival Rules and Terms

By submitting your work to the Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame (LIMEHOF) Music Documentary Film Festival, you confirm that you have read, understood, and agreed to the festival’s Rules and Terms, and you agree to abide by all Terms and Conditions of participation.

General Rules
• Film Length: Submissions for feature music docs must be a minimum length of 50 minutes. Submission for short music docs must be under 50 minutes.
• Language Requirements: All non-English films must include English subtitles.
• Original Work: Submissions must be the original work of the entrant and must not infringe on any copyrights or rights of third parties. The submitter affirms that all necessary permissions, including those for music, sound, and images, have been obtained.
• Official Selections: Once selected, no film may be withdrawn from the festival program.

Festival Liability and Indemnity
• By submitting, entrants release and hold LIMEHOF, its Board of Directors, Officers, Staff, and Volunteers harmless from any claims, demands, costs, damages, or expenses arising from the screening or any third-party claims.
• The festival’s decisions regarding judgment, selection, awards, schedules, venues or other activities, all of which are within the sole and absolute discretion of LIMEHOF, are final and binding.
• LIMEHOF reserves the right to refuse any submission for any reason and does not provide screening fees.

Festival Rights
• By submitting, you grant LIMEHOF the right to use press materials, stills, and promotional content from your film for marketing and festival promotion on websites and social media platforms.
• Selected films may be screened once at the annual showcasing event, and trailers or promotional videos may be publicly displayed on social media.
• Screening dates, times, and venues are subject to change.

Technical and Operational Requirements
• LIMEHOF is not responsible for submissions that are missing, damaged, unreadable, lost in transit, or stolen.
• Submissions must comply with festival guidelines, rules, and technical specifications. Non-compliance may result in disqualification.

Submission Requirements
• Materials Required: Submissions must include film stills, production pictures, a downloadable poster, and a trailer or teaser.
• Screeners: If not uploaded via FilmFreeway, online screeners (e.g., Vimeo, YouTube) with passwords must be provided, and any changes must be updated promptly.
• Judging Access: Screeners must be downloadable and available to judges and programmers throughout the submission season.

Submission Fee
• All submissions must be accompanied by the applicable submission fee, paid via the FilmFreeway platform. All fees are non-refundable.

Eligibility Requirements
• Films may be submitted regardless of their premiere status or completion date.
• Submissions must include:
• A brief synopsis
• A trailer
• High-resolution publicity stills (minimum 72 dpi)
• A poster
• Only completed films will be considered.
• LIMEHOF does not accept films in the DCP format for festival screenings.
• Eligibility is limited to persons over the age of 18 (or the age of majority in their jurisdiction, if greater)

Ineligible Content

LIMEHOF does not accept:
• Extremist or propaganda content from political or religious organizations.
• Films with poor production standards, including inadequate sound quality, missing subtitles for non-English films, or resolution below 720p HD.
• Watermarked films.

Submission Agreement

By submitting, you confirm that:
1. You are authorized to submit the work and have secured all necessary rights, licenses, and releases.
2. LIMEHOF has the right to exhibit and promote the submitted work as described in these rules.
3. You indemnify and hold LIMEHOF harmless against any claims related to copyright, trademarks, publicity, defamation or any violation of the rights of any person or entity.

Failure to comply with these terms may result in disqualification or removal from the festival lineup without refund.

Support The Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame