OPPORTUNITIES BULLETIN #220 September 2021

OPPORTUNITIES BULLETIN #220 September 2021

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 Awards
2. Call for submissions: Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Film
3. Call for applications: IDFA Bertha Fund
4. Call for submissions: Beirut Shorts International Film Festival
5. Call for entries: the 17th edition of the Mobile Film Festival
6. Call for entries: The Watersprite Film Festival
7. Call for submissions: The 2022 Script Pipeline Screenwriting and TV Writing Competitions

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 January 1, 2021, and no later than December 31, 2021 for at least 7 consecutive days in a commercial theater, you can submit your film for consideration for the 94^th 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.

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 2 and Rule 13, for more details and criteria:

 https://www.oscars.org/sites/oscars/files/94aa_rules.pdf 

To submit your film for consideration, 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”.

The Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Film will take place from May 3^rd until 8^th 2022.  The Festival focuses on artistic animated films, innovations in the field of interactive and transmedia projects, as well as the promotion of young talent.

A total of up to 70,000 € in prize money is awarded in the various competition sections.

Terms and conditions for participation:

• Every animated film, including computer animations and combinations of live-action and animation, that was completed after October 1, 2020 may be submitted to participate in the Festival’s competitions.
• Only completed animated films can be taken into consideration in the pre-selection process.
• The medium of choice for the viewing is an upload of the film. Films with dialogues that are not in English must have English subtitles.
• The films chosen by the pre-selection jury participate in the competitions free of charge.
• Only the service provider of the submission platform charges for its service. No payment of film rental is intended for the films selected.
• Only animated films of up to 30 minutes in length are admitted for entry in the International Competition, the Young Animation Competition for Student Films, the Trickstar Nature Award and in the children’s film competition Tricks for Kids.
• Any animated film made by students and graduates of universities of film, art and media studies and of educational institutes may be entered in the Young Animation Competition for Student Films. It is not possible for student films to be submitted to the International Competition directly by the students themselves. Student films have to be proposed for the International Competition by the pre-selection jury.
• Animated short films and series for children (each with no more than one episode) may be submitted to the children’s film competition Tricks for Kids. The entry condition for submitting a series is that the episode narrative comprises self-contained stories or part stories.
• Animated short films addressing the topics of climate protection, biodiversity, the environment and sustainability in a manner which is critical and informative yet also entertaining and humorous are eligible for submission to the Trickstar Nature Award.
• Animated films with a length of over 60 minutes can participate in the feature film competition AniMovie, provided that they have not yet been released in cinemas in Germany before the Festival’s edition in 2022.

The deadline is December 1^st, 2021.

For more information, please visit: https://www.itfs.de/en/professionals/call-for-entries/

Applications to the IDFA Bertha Fund (IBF) can be made in a variety of different funding categories. In all categories, the Fund is looking for films that use strong visual treatments to tell compelling stories and have the potential to reach a global audience.

The IBF offers development and production support to filmmakers from Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe. IBF Europe aims to stimulate the collaboration between independent European producers and producers from the above regions. 

The IDFA Bertha Fund supports documentary filmmakers in Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe (see IBF Classic Country List) by offering them financial contributions, assistance and coaching to complete their projects. The Fund is looking for creative documentaries that use strong visual treatments to tell compelling stories and have the potential to reach a global audience.

Projects can be submitted in two  categories:

Project development: The maximum contribution for project development is €5,000, which must be spent in a country on the IBF Classic Country List.

Production & post-production: The maximum contribution for production & post-production is €17,500, which must be spent in a country on the IBF Classic Country List.

The deadline is December 10^th, 2021  

For more information, please visit:https://www.idfa.nl/en/info/ibf-application-categories

Beirut Shorts International Film Festival (BSIFF) is celebrated annually under its constant theme “The Power of Youth”. The Festival aims to promote young filmmakers by screening their films for a large audience base and promoting their talents and artistic excellence.

BSIFF accepts both Lebanese and international short films in all mentioned categories: Fiction, Documentary, Animation, Experimental, Web & New Media.  Applicants may be graduating students or independent filmmakers.

Rules and Regulations:

• Films produced after July 1^st, 2019 are eligible for submission.

• Lebanese premiere is a must; films that were screened previously in Lebanon won’t be taken into consideration.

• BSIFF supports the travel cost of directors of selected international films to Lebanon to participate in the festival screenings and activities (conditions must apply).

• Submission fees are non-refundable and non-reimbursable under any circumstances.

• BSIFF retains the right to accept or decline any film, for whatever reason, without any explanation.

• Applicants admit that they are authorized to submit the film, being the rights-holders or authorized representatives of the film.

• BSIFF receives exhibition copy in QuickTime 1080p HD 8 bit uncompressed or apple pro-res file or equivalent via a downloadable link.

All films must have adequate English subtitles.

The deadline is October 11^th, 2021

For more information, please visit: https://filmfreeway.com/BeirutShortsInternationalFilmFestival

You still have one month to participate in the "Making Peace with Nature" edition of the Mobile Film Festival, in partnership with The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

You can submit your film as follows:
Format: 1 Mobile, 1 Minute, 1 Film
Theme: Making Peace with Nature
Awards: €26,000 ($30,000)

Making Peace with Nature is clearly an enormous topic, open to interpretation, the Festival gives you great creative freedom for your films. Be creative and push boundaries.

For more information, please visit: How to participate? - Mobile Film Festival 17th edition

This year, The Watersprite Film Festival will take place from March 4^th until 6^th, 2022.

The Festival is now looking for the world’s best short films in different categories: Fiction, Documentary, Animation, and Experimental for its 13th edition! The Festival offers a wide array of exciting awards across several technical and genre categories, which aim to provide long term career support, offering unique opportunities such as working with respected industry professionals and getting access to the best available equipment.

Watersprite FF goes beyond one-off cash prizes and instead provides you with real, practical opportunities to progress your career in the creative industries.

All filmmakers nominated for a Watersprite award are offered a free travel and accommodation bursary to fly to Cambridge and experience all that the Festival has to offer.

 Eligibility

• All films must have a total running time of 23 minutes or less.
• All films must either be in English, dubbed in English or subtitled in English.
• All films must have completed production no earlier than January 2020.
• A maximum of two films per entrant will be accepted per year.
• Films may only be submitted to Watersprite once.
• All entrants must be at least 16 years old at the time of the Festival. Under 18, will need parental permission to attend.
• For a film to be eligible for consideration, at least two out of the following three must have been students during film production: Director, Producer, Writer.
• In order for a film to be eligible for a Watersprite technical award, the person responsible for that particular technical aspect of the film must have been a student during film production.
• Watersprite defines 'student' as those who are in full or part-time education at any age or those who graduated no more than one year ago. Proof of student enrolment will be required at the submissions stage.
• The exception to this rule is ‘Best Performance’, for which the actor must be an amateur in a student-directed film, and must not have an agent.

For more information please visit: https://www.watersprite.org.uk/submit-here

7. Call for submissions: The 2022 Script Pipeline Screenwriting and TV Writing Competitions

The Script Pipeline Screenwriting and TV Writing Competitions continue their search for up-and-coming talent to connect them with top producers, agencies and managers. As one of the longest-running screenplay contests, the competition focuses specifically on finding writers representation, supporting diverse voices, championing marketable and ambitious storytelling, as well as pushing original projects into production.
 

Awards & Prizes

• Grand Prize Winner: $25,000 each for Screenwriting and TV Writing ($50,000 total).
• Runners-up: $2,500 each for Screenwriting and TV Writing ($5,000 total).
• Introductions to managers, producers, agents, directors, and others searching for screenplays.
• Long-term script circulation to industry and continual guidance connecting with companies.
• Additional script reviews and consideration of other material for industry exposure.
• Exclusive invitations to annual writer and industry events hosted by Pipeline Media Group.
• Up to 75 Quarterfinalists and 30 Semifinalists will receive general feedback on their work from Script Pipeline's development execs, plus consideration for industry circulation.

Basic guidelines:

• Cover page should include the title, but remove any contact information (name, email address, etc.). Logline and genre on the title page as well is preferred.
• Co-writers are allowed. List each writer's name when registering your script.
  PDF required. All software should have a convert to PDF function, including Final Draft and other screenwriting software.
• For the Screenwriting Contest: script should be a feature-length screenplay.
• For the TV Writing Contest: script should be an original pilot.
• All genres are allowed, and there are no length requirements for either contest. If it's a multi-part series, please send only the first part.
• Script Pipeline Screenwriting or TV Writing winners, runners-up, and finalists since 2011 are not eligible.
• No limit on the number of entries. Each entry is a separate fee.
• Simultaneous submissions are allowed (i.e., you can enter other screenwriting contests with the same script).
• All rights to the material remain with the entrant, whether they place as a finalist or not.
• The script entered must not have been produced in its full form. Shorts based on the script are fine.
• Electronic submissions only.
• Must be at least 18 years old at time of entry.
• For full rules: scriptpipeline.com/screenwriting-tv-writing-rules-2022 

For more information please visit: https://filmfreeway.com/ScriptPipeline