What's new for ADFEST 2026 Lotus Awards?

A new Special Award has been added to the line-up this year with Independent Network of the Year joining the line-up.

Some sub-categories are also updated, most notably:
The Mobile Lotus sub-categories are now under Digital & Social Lotus Additional Products & Services sub-categories have been also added into the Brand Experience Lotus, Commerce Lotus, Creative Strategy Lotus, Digital & Social Lotus, Direct Lotus, Effective Lotus, and Media Lotus. The Entertainment Lotus is also expanded to include more Music & Audio, Gaming, and Sports sub-categories.

What are the Lotus categories?

There are 21 Lotus Categories including:
Brand Experience Lotus Commerce Lotus Creative Strategy Lotus Design Lotus Digital & Social Lotus Digital Craft Lotus Direct Lotus Effective Lotus Entertainment Lotus Film Craft Lotus Film Lotus INNOVA Lotus Lotus Roots Media Lotus New Director Lotus Outdoor Lotus PR Lotus Press Lotus Print & Outdoor Craft Lotus Radio & Audio Lotus Sustainable Lotus

How much are entry fees?

FEES BY LOTUS	EARLY BIRD RATE Invoice by 19th Dec 2025 Payment by 9th Jan 2026	REGULAR RATE Invoice by 9th Jan 2026 Payment by 23rd Jan 2026	LATE FEE Invoice after 9th Jan 2026
Brand Experience Lotus Commerce Lotus Creative Strategy Lotus Design Lotus Digital & Social Lotus Digital Craft Lotus Direct Lotus Effective Lotus Entertainment Lotus Film Craft Lotus Film Lotus Media Lotus New Director Lotus Outdoor Lotus PR Lotus Press Lotus Print & Outdoor Craft Lotus Radio & Audio Lotus Sustainable Lotus	THB 15,500	THB 17,500	THB 19,500
INNOVA Lotus Lotus Roots	THB 23,000	THB 25,000	THB 27,000
Film School (under New Director Lotus)	THB 7,750	THB 8,750	THB 9,750

Note: All entry fees are inclusive of VAT 7%

When are the deadlines for entry submissions?

FOR ALL LOTUS CATEGORIES

FEES & DEADLINES	Entry Confirmation & Invoice Generation Deadline	Payment Deadline	Materials & Documents Deadline
Early Bird Rate	Friday 19th December 2025	Friday 9th January 20261	Friday 23rd January 2026
Regular Rate	Friday 9th January 2026	Friday 23rd January 20262

Early Bird Rate¹: If payment is not received by Friday 9^th January 2026, 11.59 pm BKK time (UTC+7), the Early Bird Rate invoice will be voided and a new invoice with the Regular Rate will be issued.
Regular Rate²:  If payment is not received by Friday 23^rd January 2026, 11.59 pm BKK time (UTC+7), the Regular Rate invoice will be voided and a new invoice with late fees will be issued.

Who can submit works to ADFEST?

ADFEST is a regional festival so only works from companies with in Asia, the Pacific including Australia, New Zealand, and the Middle East region are eligible.

How to Submit

9 KEY STEPS TO ENTERING

All entry details must be completed online. To submit: To submit entries, go to Entry Submission to: Go to www.ADFEST.com, in menu under “Awards”, select “Entry Submission”. You will be re-directed to an online entry submission system created by WebEnergy. Select the appropriate Lotus Category and complete the online submission.
Note: An entry can be pended for further revisions and additions of details until you click “Confirm” After you confirmed your entry submission, you can download the Entry Submission form and Entry Confirmation form from the Entry List & Payment. After you have submitted your payment details, the Invoice will be sent directly to your email and you can also download/print it out from the Payment Summary page. An Entry Summary containing all your entries submitted can be downloaded/printed from the Entry Summary page.
Note: Your entry is not complete until all required materials, and payment have been received.
IMPORTANT: Carefully check the credits you enter. If the work is a finalist or winner, As Credits are provided by the entrant and only credits submitted at the point of entry via the ADFEST entry site are used and cannot be changed retrospectively. Any requests for credit changes must be done in writing to Nat@ADFEST.com. Entry credits CANNOT be revised after Friday 30^th January 2026. Any requests for changes are subject to the approval of the Organiser. A fee of THB 2,000 per request will be charged for each change including revisions for credit revisions, written submission and material replacements.

Why is my payment status “Unpaid” though I’ve already paid?

As ADFEST needs to verify the receipt of payment with our bank, your payment is likely in the process of being verified. Once payment is received and verified, our finance department will update your payment status to “Paid” and send you the Receipt for your payment.

How can I go back to the system to continue my payment?

To proceed to payment for your confirmed entries:
Login to your account Select "Payment Summary" Under "Action," click "Pay" to proceed to the selected confirmed entries
If this fails, please logout and wait at least 15 minutes then login and try again. If this still fails, please contact Arunya@ADFEST.com for assistance.

Where are the Submission Form, Entry Confirmation Form, and Summary Form?

You can find these forms in the following sections of Entry Submission:
Submission Form from the Entry List & Payment Entry Confirmation Form from the Entry List & Payment Summary Form from the Entry Summary

Our work does not have a client, can we still submit?

Yes, you can. The work can be created as a self-promotion or internal communication campaign, for which you can be considered the client. In which case, please provide a verification letter in your company letterhead to state that the entry is part of your self-promotion or internal communication campaign.

Can my clients submit? If so, do they have to provide a Client Endorsement Letter?

Yes, clients are most welcome to submit entries. They can provide a verification letter in their letterhead to state that the entry is part of their communication campaign.

Where can I find the label?

ADFEST does not use labels. You must attach the Submission Form, Entry Confirmation Form and Summary Form along with your physical entry, if applicable. You no longer need to send mounted board of the digital image of your entry. ADFEST will print the board digital image for you. However, if your entry has actual physical sample of the work, then you should the physical material if it will benefit the juries in judging your work.

I need to revise some credits for my entry, how can I do so?

You can inform Nat@ADFEST.com to revise an entry's credits. However, requests for credit revisions must be done by Friday 30^th January 2026 , after which, credits will remain as entered by the entrant. 

After 30^th January 2026, any requests for changes are subject to the approval of the Organiser. A fee of THB 2,000 per request will be charged for each change including revisions for credit revisions, written submission and material replacements.

I have changed my mind and want to withdraw my entry, can I get a refund?

No. Once the payment has been made and the entry has been processed, while you can withdraw your entry from being judged, the payment for the entry is non-refundable.

What is the Fabulous Five?

As one of the sub-categories under the New Director Lotus, Short Films by the Fabulous Five is a platform aimed to kickstart the careers of commercial directors in the Asia Pacific and Middle East. Launched in 2008 (as the Fabulous Four), the initiative has grown to receive close to 50 scripts from a dozen cities across the region.

Aspiring directors are invited to submit scripts (free of charge) for the chance to become one of the Fabulous Five New Directors. Juries of the New Director Lotus panel will vote for their favorite scripts to determine the identities of the Fabulous Five, who will be flown, accommodated, and take the stage and premiere their short films at ADFEST in Pattaya, Thailand.

All Fabulous Five films will also be automatically entered for consideration at the Academy Award® and BAFTA qualifying 2026 LA Shorts International Film Festival.

Who is eligible to become a Fabulous Five?

To be eligible, aspiring directors must meet the following criteria:
Entrants must be directors or assistant directors based in Asia and the Pacific, including Australia, New Zealand, and Middle East. Eligible Directors must have started their career after March 2024.
Note: No more than 2 years professional experience as a Director. Each eligible director can only submit one script. Scripts which might offend national or religious sentiments or public taste are not eligible.

How to become a Fabulous Five?

Each entrant submits (free of charge) a script for a 5-minute short film inspired by the ADFEST 2026 theme, "Human+" by Friday 2^nd January 2026. If your script is one of the top five scripts as voted by ADFEST's Film Craft Lotus & New Director Lotus jury, you will be asked to direct the short film of the submitted script and debut your film at ADFEST 2026, held Thursday 19^th – Saturday 21^st March 2026 in Pattaya, Thailand. 
ADFEST will provide return economy airfare, ground transportation, accommodation, and full delegate registration for these 5 selected directors to attend ADFEST 2026 to debut and discuss their short films at the Fabulous Five session on Friday 20^th March 2026.

To submit a script, click here.