Rules and Regulations

1. Our Festivals take place annually in June for Berlin Film Week, October for New York Film Week, November for Paris Film Week, and December for London Film Week.

2. The aim of our Festivals is to raise awareness and promote the various aspects of international cinema in all its forms: as art, entertainment, and as an industry, in a spirit of freedom and dialogue.

3. In addition to the sections mentioned in the following paragraphs, the Festivals also organise special events such as film workshops, and Co-Production days. Lastly, a tribute to a country will complete the official selection in order to get a better understanding of the history of cinema.

4.Official Selection

4.1 Feature Films

An international competition featuring seven feature films from everywhere (European and World territories). This section will present films that represent the latest aesthetics and expressive trends in international cinema.

In order to submit to this category, the total running time of the film needs to be 45 minutes or over (including credits).

We welcome narrative, documentary, and animation feature films.

4.2 Short Films

An international competition featuring seven short films from everywhere (European and World territories). The aim of this section is to showcase short films demonstrating innovation and creative originality.

In order to submit to this category, the total running time of the film needs to be of less than 45 minutes (including credits).

We welcome narrative, documentary, and animation short films, as well as music videos.

4.3 Tribute

The Festival organises a tribute to major film country as a contribution towards a better understanding of the history of cinema.

5. Film Industry

5.1 Film Workshops
A Film Forum will be organised during the Festival. All selected filmmakers will have free access to the workshops organised. The programme will be announced on our website one month prior to the Festival.

5.2 Co-Production Days
Co-Productions days will be organised during the Festival. This is on invitation only, filmmakers/producers will be able to apply by following the submission process.

6. Juries and Awards

6.1 Feature Films Jury

An International Jury composed of personalities from the world of cinema and culture from various countries, excluding any person involved in any capacity in the production of the invited films or who may have an interest in their distribution, will award the following prizes for the feature films:

• Best Film
• Jury Prize, for the film demonstrating the most creative originality
• Best Director
• Best Acting (features both male and female nominees)
• Best Screenplay

6.2 Short Films Jury

An International Jury, composed of personalities from the world of cinema and culture from various countries, excluding any person involved in any capacity in the production of the invited films or who may have an interest in their distribution, will award the following prizes:

• Best Short
• Jury Prize

There will be no joint winners.

7. Selection of films/projects

7.1 Selection Procedure

Only films that have been registered can be considered for selection.
Film registrations are accepted exclusively online on FilmFreeway.
The Festival Director will be assisted by his staff of programmers, as well as by a group of correspondents and international consultants, each responsible for different geographical areas, in order to select the Projects.
Selection will be made under the following criteria: latest aesthetics and expressive trends in international cinema, films demonstrating innovation and creative originality.

7.2 Submission Deadlines

Please visit the FilmFreeway page of the Festival you’d like to submit to for the submissions deadlines (see links above).

All the films have to be registered before the extended submission deadline via FilmFreeway.

Late submissions can only be made with the express approval of the respective section head.

7.3 Registration Fees

For each film submitted to the selection of the Festival, a registration fee is requested to cover administrative and programming costs. Films will only be considered for selection after the entry fee is received.

Fees are depending on the submission deadline:
Please visit our submission platforms pages for detailed fees (see links above).

There are special conditions for film schools and film institutes. Please contact the Programme Organisation on our contact page for further details.

Fees will not be reimbursed under any circumstance.

7.4 Materials to submit

Films are to be submitted in their original version for the selection process. Films in English do not require translation. Films in other languages must be subtitled in English.

All Projects must be uploaded via FilmFreeway Secure Online Screener system.

We reserve the right to disqualify, without refund of any or all submission fees previously collected from the applicant, any Project that is not submitted via FilmFreeway.

7.5. Dialogues/Subtitles

If your project includes non-English dialogues, please ensure all subtitles are hardcoded to your video file (we do not accept a translated list of dialogue on paper).

7.6 Completion

Projects need to be completed:
– from January 1, 2022, to be eligible for consideration for the 2023 edition of the Festival.
– from January 1, 2023, to be eligible for consideration for the 2024 edition of the Festival.

7.7 Premiere Status

Short Films do not need to retain any sort of premiere status. Short Films do not forfeit their eligibility for submission to the Festival if they were previously released theatrically or via any home video platform, broadcast or streamed on television or the internet, or screened at any number of film festivals anywhere in the world.

Feature films need to be London Premieres in order to be considered for London Film Week, Berlin Premieres for Berlin Film Week, New York Premieres for New York Film Week and Paris Premieres for Paris Film Week.

7.8 Re-submission

Projects that have been submitted for Festival consideration in previous years are eligible for re-submission only if the content of the submitted Project has changed significantly since the previous year in which the Project was submitted.

7.9 Declaration of Rights Upon Submitting a Film

The Festival only accepts the submission of a film if the submitter is the holder of all usage rights to the film necessary for the submission and use of the film within the context of participation in the Festival. The Festival reserves the right to demand appropriate proof of these rights and to reject the submission upon failure to provide it.

7.10 Notification

All the submitted films will be notified in writing via FilmFreeway, if their film has been successful or not, after the end of the extended submissions deadline.

If your film is invited to the official selection, you will be contacted by the Festival in regards to all the logistical and practical details of your screening during the Festival.

8. Selected Films/Projects

The invitation to participate is issued by the Festival Director or the section heads, respectively. Only officially selected films/projects can participate in the Festival.

Upon completion of the Festival selection process, the Festival will attempt to contact the Applicant using the contact information provided on the submission form to notify the Applicant of the Project’s acceptance status. The Festival disavows any responsibility for, and will not be held responsible for, any failure to contact the Applicant using the contact information provided on the submission form. It is the sole responsibility of the Applicant to ensure that the contact information provided on the submission form is correct.

9. Participants Obligations

No film may be withdrawn from the festival programme after its participation has been publicised. During the festival, no participating film may be screened outside the festival venues prior to its official presentation at the festival.

Participation in the festival requires the unconditional adherence to all regulations set out in these guidelines.

The Director of the Festival reserves the right to rule on any cases not provided for in these guidelines.

9.1 Acceptance Form

Selected films will receive an Acceptance Form to be duly completed and returned no later than 10 days after the end of the extended submission deadline. Receipt of the form by the Festival implies the legal acceptance of the invitation by all concerned and will be considered definitive and irrevocable.

9.2 Announcement

The invitation of a Project to participate must remain confidential until the announcement of the programme by the Festival. Failure to comply will result in its exclusion from the selection. The general scheduling and screening times are the sole responsibility of the Festival.

9.3 Screening Formats

Short + Feature Films

Selected films MUST provide a Digital Cinema Package (DCP) in order to be screened at the Festival, as well as a back-up Blu-ray.

DCP (and backup Blu-Ray) must be received at least 10 days before the start of the Festival. The DCP and backup Blu-Ray must be in original version with English subtitles.

Should the film copies not be delivered to the Festival 10 days before the start of the Festival, the relevant screenings will be canceled.

The Festival reserves the right to refuse any copy which, on the advice of the Festival technicians, is considered to be of inadequate quality for public screening.

9.4 DCP Specifications / VR Project technical aspects

For films: the Festival will contact selected Projects with the specification information about the systems used by the cinema.

9.5 Catalogue

All the material required for the Festival catalogue (synopsis, cast and credits, biography and a complete filmography of the director, photographs of the director, of actors and scenes from the film in b/w and colour, plus a brief director’s comment on the film) must reach the Festival as soon as possible, but no later than 10 days after the end of the extended submission deadline.

9.6 Press Material

The presenters of films participating in the Festival must send the promotional material for distribution to the press and potential buyers (press book, digital images of the film and the director, video material, audio clips, etc.) no later than 10 days after the end of the extended submission deadline, in the quantities that will be requested after the invitation.

The publicity and promotional material must state “Film Selected at the “London/Berlin/New York/Paris Film Week” and, where applicable, the phrase “World/International/National Premiere”.

9.7 Official Logo

All forms of promotional activity after the presentation of the programme by the Festival must mention their participation in the Festival, including the official logo of the Festival, as supplied by the Festival. Films awarded a prize must also state which award was won, in accordance with the official graphic designs predetermined and supplied by Festival.

10. Hospitality

We invite film directors and leading actors to attend the presentation of their films. The festival is not in the position to cover travel expenses, although a certain number of hotel rooms are made available during the event. Our Hospitality department will be in touch accordingly.

11. Shipping

Our Print Traffic Department will be in touch with selected Projects in regards to the DCP shipments.

Copies of films in Blu-ray disc, together with any press materials sent for selection, must be sent by courier or post directly to the address of the Festival.

All shipments from outside the European Single Market must get customs clearance before being imported. For this purpose, all shipments sent by courier from outside the EU must have three copies of proper customs documentation, containing all the necessary information (i.e.: proforma/commercial invoice), attached on the outside of the package together with the courier’s waybill.

11.1 Shipping Insurance

All insurance costs covering the transport of films and press material to and from the Festival will be at the expense of those presenting the films.

12. Insurance during the Festival

The Festival provides insurance coverage for the entire period during which the copies are in the care of the Festival. The insurance value of a film may not exceed the average laboratory costs for a standard copy. Furthermore, all necessary measures will be taken by the Festival to protect the author’s copyright for works entrusted to the Festival, in accordance with the FIAPF dispositions regarding safeguarding against piracy.

13. Usage Rights

The participant declares and guarantees that he/she is the holder of all usage rights necessary for the use of the film in the context of this agreement. The participant affirms that any third parties involved in the production and distribution of the film have agreed, where necessary, to its use in the context of the Festival as specified in this agreement. The participant guarantees that by using the film in the context of this agreement, no rights of third parties, including persons depicted in the film, are infringed.