Rules for Participating in the XI. Central American Film Festival Vienna, Austria

Rules for Participating in the XI. Central American Film Festival Vienna, Austria

The XI. Central American Film Festival will take place from the 15th to the 22nd of November 2019, in Vienna, Austria.


Papaya Media Association, organizer of the event, announces the call for submissions for the pre-selection of participants in the official competition and parallel sections for the eleventh film festival. The submission of works for the selection process is free of charge (unless an intermediary platform requires a minimum fee) and the deadline is the 30th of July, 2019. Details on how the works should be presented are explained below.


Only films that have been made within the last two years prior to submission for the film festival are qualified to participate in the main competition. Films produced before this time will be entered into the parallel sections.


Films will be exhibited in DCP or H264 HD, 35 mm and Beta Digi formats in various indoor and/or open-air venues throughout Vienna, depending on the specific program.


General Information about the XI. Central American Film Festival


For ten consecutive film festivals, the Viennese public has been consistently exposed to Central American productions. Local interest in the audio-visual production of Central America has therefore been growing. In previous festivals, a varied film program divided into features films, documentaries, short films and animation was shown, providing the public access to the most recent productions of the region.

The enthusiasm with which the event has been received has motivated Papaya Media Association to make the festival a yearly event.


The following categories will make up the official competition:


  • Fictional feature film

  • Fictional short film

  • Animation

  • Documentary

As in previous festivals, the spectators will vote directly for their favourite film from each category, and the winning film will be presented with a certificate of recognition. The winning films may also be included in further presentations taking place in cities throughout Austria and/or Europe


Objectives


  • Allow the public to become familiar with the most recent audio-visual production of the Central American region, specifically Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, Belize and the South and East of Mexico.

  • Promote the production and distribution of quality audio-visual work made in Central America.

  • Provide a platform for reflection and debate, give professionals the opportunity to keep in touch with current developments, and support the communication between the artists of the Central American region and Europe.

  • Facilitate the understanding of cultural diversity and the establishment of a culture of tolerance by putting diverse social realities in touch with one another.

  • Promote the Central American region as an area of cinematic interest.

  • Promote Central American cinematic production within European interest groups.

  • Encourage producers from all over the world to invest in the region, specifically in cinematic production.

The Festival will provide a platform to:

  • Identify and distribute the best of Central American film and video production.

  • Summon the public, attract advertising media and institutions active in the audio-visual production sector and promote venues and tourism

  • Summon distinguished directors, producers, distributors, personalities and specialists, both local and international. cinematic

  • Promote and encourage initiatives directed towards the development of policies and projects intended to increase, both in quantity and quality, the areas of work available to artists in the Central American region.

  • Hold touring exhibitions in diverse cultural public spaces.

Regulations


1. Organization


The exhibition is organized by Papaya Media Association.


2. Collaborators


The festival is organised in cooperation with El Festival Centroamericano de Cine y Video Icaro (Icaro Central American Film and Video Festival), independent producers and directors of the Central American region and Europe, as well as with academic, public, non-governmental, and private institutions and entities from various countries around the world.


3.- Submission of work.


a) The submission of works is free of charge (unless an intermediary platform requires a minimum fee). Central American works and co-productions made in 2017, 2018 and the present year may qualify for participation in the official competition.


b) Works that have been awarded prizes in other festivals are still qualified to participate in the competition. It is also possible to participate even if the film has already debuted in its country of origin.


c) Works can be submitted for pre-selection in order to be considered for the official competition or any of the non-competitive sections. In the case of submission to a non-competitive section, there are no restrictions on the year of production. (See section 5. B)


4.- Requirements for participation


Parties interested in participating in the Festival’s pre-selection process should send the details of the intended works by email to office@papayamedia.org or by uploading the works to a server or platform for download. The festival works with FESTHOME (http://festhome.com/) and Movibeta (http://es.movibeta.com/) as platforms for submission. If you choose FESTHOME or Movibeta to submit your works, you will have to accept their terms and nullify the need to submit the works directly by email. Deadline: 30 July, 2019.


Documents and materials required:


a) Submission form, adequately filled out (this can be found in the festival’s website: www.centroamerica.at).


b) Attached materials:


  • Posters and any other publicity materials about the film.

  • Digital graphic material in a minimum resolution of 300 dpi.

In addition, under special circumstances the following materials should be sent by normal post before 15 August, 2019. Special circumstances could arise on a case by case basis and are determined by the organizers. When necessary, this shall be directly communicated in a timely manner to the people or organization who entered the submission.


  • 3 new DVD (PAL) or Blurays of the film in high resolution.

  • Paper copy of the submission form, adequately filled out and signed.

  • Original letter attached to the submission form authorizing Papaya Media Association to use the material within the Festival and related events.

  • CD/DVD, which includes photographs from the films in TIFF or JPG format (300 dpi), in case they are needed for the web page of the festival and/or in printed information.

  • Complementary materials such as photos, posters, brochures and/or a trailer for the film may be included (not compulsory).

Important:

The submitted DVDs or Blurays and other materials will form part of the festival’s archive.


Only those works that comply with these requirements and arrive within the submission deadline of 15 August, 2019 at 24:00 Vienna time, will be considered as officially submitted. Note that works must receive an official notification of submission.


5.- Sending the materials


Participants are responsible for the postage costs of submitting the works for pre- selection.


The parcel should be sent with the following remark: “without commercial value and solely for cultural purposes.”


Packages should be sent to:


Enrique Bedoya

XI. MAFF

Brünner Strasse 31/2/34

A- 1210 Wien – Austria


The organizers of the Festival will not take on customs costs, and reserve the right not to receive those parcels which do not meet this requirement.

Works that do not fulfil all of the requirements numbered in points 3, 4 and 5 will not be considered as officially submitted.


6.- Sections of the Festival


a) Categories of the competition:


  • Fictional feature film

  • Fictional short film

  • Animated film

  • Documentaries

b) Parallel non-competitive sections:


  • “Pioneers of Central American Cinema”: Recognizing those creators who initiated the development of cinema in Central America and, at the same time, the search for a collective memory.

  • “Guest film”: Films that, according to the criteria of the festival’s coordinators, are considered important to present.

  • “Latin American view”: Selection of audio-visual works from Latin America that give a glimpse of life in that region. This year our guest country of honour will be Mexico.

  • “Works in process”: Special presentations and exhibitions will be held for distributors of works in the process of production and recent films which, without forming a part of the competitive and non-competitive selections, are available for commercialization in Central America and other countries of the world.

  • “Bonus film”: Films that complement part of the Festival in some way (for example, first or second episodes) or which, according to the criteria of the organizers, should be presented to the public.

7.- Selection of works


The selection of submitted works will be carried out by the Selection Jury, made up of the coordinators of the festival and their advisers. The results of the selection will be announced on the festival webpage or on Festhome or Movibeta starting from 30 September, 2019. Works that are NOT selected will not be notified by any means. All official selections are final and not subject to appeal.


8.- Requirements of the copies intended for exhibition


The copies for exhibition should fulfil the following requirements:


The submitted works should be in one of the following formats: DCP, H264 HD, 35 mm, Beta Digital, DVD (PAL) or Bluray.


Any copy for exhibition that does not meet these requirements will be automatically excluded from participating in the competition.


9.- Language


The Festival is principally aimed at the German-speaking public. Therefore, works must be subtitled in German or English.


10.- Official Awards


The awards will come as a result of direct voting from the public in attendance at the cinematic presentations. The Festival organizers will award the following recognitions:


a) Best Feature Film of the Festival


b) Best Short Film of the Festival


c) Best Documentary of the Festival


d) Best Animated Film of the Festival


In case of very close scores in the voting, shared prizes and special mentions will be awarded.


11.- Rights of the organization


The organizers of the Festival reserve the right to make a digital copy of the selected works for the Festival archive. These copies will not be used commercially and will only be used for other exhibitions of an educational or cultural nature carried out by the organization itself and without previous notification.


The festival is based in Vienna. A selection of works could be exhibited in future activities that might be organized in Vienna and other Austrian/European cities, depending on the interest generated by the festival.


The submission of works to the Festival implies the acceptance of the regulations presented in this document.


Once a submission is made, it cannot be retracted for any reason.


For submissions, more information, advice or suggestions, please contact:


Central American Film Festival

office@papayamedia.org

www.centroamerica.at