The Royal Film Commission Jordan | OPPORTUNITIES BULLETIN #231 August 2022

OPPORTUNITIES BULLETIN #231 August 2022

N.B. The information below is provided directly by the organizers of events, festivals, audio-visual organizations or independent film projects. The Royal Film Commission - Jordan (RFC) cannot be held accountable for it.

In this bulletin:

1. Call for submissions: Submit your feature film for consideration for the Oscar’s Awards
2. Call for submissions: The 44th Cairo International Film Festival
3. Call for application: Sharjah Pitching Platform
4. Call for submissions: Montreal Independent Film Festival (MIFF)
5. Call for submissions: Cannes Indie Shorts Awards
6. Call for applications: Film Independent - Screenwriting Lab

If you are a Jordanian director or producer and have made a film over 40 minutes – narrative, documentary or animation – and have released your film commercially between 1st January 2022, and no later than 30th November 22, for at least seven consecutive days in a commercial theater, you can submit your film for consideration for the 95th Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Creative control of the film must have been largely in the hands of citizens or residents of Jordan.

The film must be advertised during its qualifying theatrical release in a manner considered normal and customary to theatrical feature distribution practices.

An independent Selection Committee – established by the RFC – will look into the submitted films that have to fit eligibility criteria set by the Academy for the International Feature Film Award.

Please check Rule 13 and Rule 2, for more details and criteria: https://www.oscars.org/sites/oscars/files/95th_oscars_complete_rules.pdf

To submit your film for consideration by the Selection Committee, please send an email with a private viewing link of the film to : info@film.jo with the title: “Submission for consideration to the Academy Awards”.

Please submit the viewing link by email before 10th September 2022.

The 44th Cairo International Film Festival (CIFF) will be held in Cairo from 13th to 22nd of November 2022 at the Cairo Opera House.

The Festival aims to bring together filmmakers from Arab countries with colleagues from other countries and to expose the Egyptian audience to the most prominent international films in the world.

The CIFF is calling for film submissions in its different sections:

• CIFF Official Film Sections
 o International Competition for feature fiction and documentary films
 o Out of Competition
 o Horizons of Arab Cinema Competition for feature films
 o International Critics’ Week Competition for feature films
 o Short Film Competition
 o International Panorama
 o Special Screenings
 o CIFF classics
 o Midnight Screenings

To submit your film, please revise the Rules and Regulations: https://www.ciff.org.eg/regulations/

The deadline for submissions is on 15th August 2022.

For more information, please visit the Festival’s website: www.ciff.org.eg

This year’s Sharjah Film Platform Pitching Forum is offering one UAE-based scriptwriter an opportunity to win AED 200,000 to turn their script into a feature film. Shortlisted from a wider pool of applicants, 10 finalists who have a completed draft or version of a feature-length script in the Arabic language, will receive professional script development training ahead of Sharjah Film Platform (SFP), in addition to pitching coaching, before proceeding to an onsite pitching event at SFP to present their script to a panel of industry judges. After the live event, one winning scriptwriter will be selected to receive the prize to realize their film.

The pitching forum will be held at Sharjah Art Foundation on 29 October 2022 during the closing weekend of Sharjah Film Platform.

Eligibility & Submission Requirements

If you wish to apply for this initiative, you must meet the eligibility criteria listed below and submit the required materials.:

• You must be a UAE resident with an original Arabic-language feature-film script that you have written yourself. Scripts must be in Arabic and cannot be translated by a third party.All nationalities that meet this criterion are welcome to apply.
• You must submit a full, completed draft of your script (minimum 75 pages long).
• You must submit a budget summary or financial plan for how the funds will be used.
• You must have a minimum of one director’s credit, which you can demonstrate by submitting a web link or movie file for a full film you have directed. This can either be a short or feature-length film, but it cannot be a trailer. Alternatively, if you are a scriptwriter who does not direct, you must have a director with at least one film on their resume who is attached to your project and is committed to directing your film, if awarded. They must submit a sample of previous film work.
• You must submit a one-page synopsis of your script.
• You must submit a one-page biography of yourself, and your director, if this is a separate person.
• As the scriptwriter, you must be available to participate in the mandatory script lab and pitching coaching training in the run up to SFP, and you must attend the onsite pitching event at Sharjah Art Foundation to present your script to the judges on 29 October 2022.
• There will only be one winning scriptwriter. The winner must be available to go into production in 2023 and complete their film within 24 months of receiving the award, with the support of Sharjah Art Foundation and the SFP5 industry partner, Sharjah Media City (SHAMS).
• The winning film must be shot on location in Sharjah (or at least 80% of the film).

To apply, please send an email with your Arabic submission materials and director’s film link to pitchingforum@sharjahart.org no later than 11:59 pm (UAE time), 5th September 2022.

For more information, please visit: events - Sharjah Art Foundation

The Montreal Independent Film Festival (MIFF) is calling for film submissions for its hybrid event with live screenings in Cinema du Parc of Montreal and online screenings.

The Festival will take place from 25th March until 1st of April 2023 at Cinema du Parc of Montreal.

MIFF is an organization committed to selecting, awarding, promoting, featuring and screening international and Canadian projects of all genres.

The Festival promotes the winners to thousands of film industry professionals and artists working in media. The winners of the season are nominated to be a finalist of the annual event.

Cannes award winners and Oscar nominees have also joined emerging independent artists to compete in various sections of the Festival. With thousands of entries every year, the programming committee selects film and script projects and nominates artists for various sections of the competition, which also includes awards and honorable mentions of the seasonal festival in acting, directing, cinematography, screenwriting, editing, music video, experimental cinema, animation, student film, etc.

Through MIFF channel, the Festival offers daily, hourly and weekly screenings of independent features and shorts throughout the whole season for the official selections.

MIFF Canada has created many opportunities for independent film projects and artists to be noticed, awarded, screened and recognized in the film industry. The Festival also continues to select jury members, who are assigned to various sections of the festival in each edition. MIFF invites filmmakers, critics, actors, writers, composers, cinematographers and many agents and distributors from all over the world.

Rules & Terms

• Films must have been completed in the past three years.
• The Festival offers screening to the projects with the director and a leading cast member available for the premiere in Cinema du Parc of Montreal.
• MIFF channel and MIFF magazine screening and promotion is offered to all the official selections of the seasonal and annual Festival. However, screening is not mandatory in order to compete in various sections of the Festival.
• MIFF considers films regardless of their premiere status. Even if your film has already premiered at another festival, whether it screened at a physical venue or online, it’s still eligible for consideration.
• Online screening is optional in the seasonal competition, and it has to be requested by the producer and is not mandatory for entering various sections of the competition due to premiere status of projects.
• Entry fees are non-refundable because programmers evaluate each project twice.
• English or French subtitles are required for foreign language films. Films in English or French do not require subtitles.
• Shorts must be less than 50 minutes. All projects over 50 minutes should submit to the feature category.

The deadline for submissions is on 7th September, 2022

For more information, please visit: Montreal Independent Film Festival - FilmFreeway

Indie Shorts Awards Cannes calls for international short films of all genres, aiming to find new voices and perspectives to celebrate the power of a good story. It is a celebration of the best cinema with USD 6000 cash prizes per year in awards.

The Live Event will take place from 17th until 21st of October 2022 at Cinema Olympia in the coty of Cannes.

All main category award winning films will be screened in a public event. Tickets for this live screening will be complimentary for filmmakers and for the audience. Furthermore, the films from the Official Selection will be screened in the quarterly Online Virtual Events and will compete for the quarterly cash prizes.

A professional committee will privately review your film each quarterly season and the highest scored films will become part of the Official Selection. Then, the international jury will award the best projects of each season. All of them will receive the Official Laurel and an Achievement Certificate and the main categories winners will compete for the Cash Prize Award for the Best Short of All.

Awards & Prizes

All the Official Selection films will compete for the Best Short of the Season (quarterly special award) and will receive a cash prize of USD 1500.

Rules & Terms

• In order to submit a film, you must own the rights or have permission from the owner.
• The Festival’s relationship will exclusively be related to the film submitter.
• Any foreign film that is not in English must have English subtitles.
• All fees are non-refundable.
• Indie Shorts Awards Cannes will not be responsible for damaged copies.
• Students must present a valid Student ID in order to receive the student discount.
• Not all submissions are selected for the official competition. Judges are free to make their own choices and no answers will be given about not selected films.
• Indie Shorts Awards Cannes can consider any film to be disqualified if the Festival considers the content inappropriate. If you have any question regarding this decision please contact cannes@indieshortsawards.com
• Filmmakers can submit the film in multiple categories in order to become a multi-award film. Still, the decision about the selection is strictly determined by judges' team and no selection is guaranteed.
• A fee is required for the main category submission and also fees for additional categories. For payment structure visit (FilmFreeway website).
• Maximum film duration is 40 minutes.
• A DCP copy will be requested for the live Events with English and/or French subtitles.
• If your movie is selected to be screened at the Annual Live Event, you must provide subtitles in French.

The deadline for submission is on 5th September 2022

For more information, please visit: CANNES INDIE SHORTS AWARDS - FilmFreeway