OPPORTUNITIES BULLETIN #234 November 2022

OPPORTUNITIES BULLETIN #234 November 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. Job Vacancy at The Royal Film Commission – Jordan: Social Media / Digital Marketing
2. Call for submissions: 3rd round of Mosalsalat Screenwriters Lab
3. Call for submissions: Morocco Shorts International Film Festival
4. Call for submissions: Beirut International Women Film Festival (BWFF)
5. Call for submissions: Malmo Arab Film Festival 13th edition
6. Call for submissions: Cannes Film Awards
7. Call for submissions: Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF)
8. Call for submissions: Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF)

The Royal Film Commission – Jordan (RFC) is seeking to fill the position of social media / Digital Marketing.

This position is at the Communication and Culture Department at RFC.

Job Description:

A)         Social Media

• Generate, edit, publish and share engaging content daily.

• Select appealing images and videos to complement text.

• Coordinate with various teams to create social media posts, while ensuring they are in line with the Institution’s guidelines.

• Communicate with followers, respond to queries and comments in a timely manner and monitor reviews.

• Oversee sub social media platforms

• Create content calendars.

• Monitor and track discussion topics on social media (traffic, engagement, shares, conversion rates) and measure the success of social media posts/campaign.

• Prepare content and statistical reports; online research on cinema-related topics.

• Apply advertising techniques to boost awareness on activities.

• Perform research on current benchmark trends and audience preferences.

• Responsible for content released on all the Institution’s social media accounts: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, YouTube, LinkedIn.

B)         Digital Marketing

• Compile analytics reports.

• Develop campaigns and plans to execute them.

• Oversee the production of promotional videos.

• Monitor SEO and user engagement and suggest content optimization.

• Evaluate competitors' websites & apps.

C)         Film-Related Activities

• Involved in the work of the Communication department.

• Assist in the screening program: selection of films and management of the screening, whenever required.

Qualifications:

• BA Degree in Marketing or Communication or any related field.

• 5-7 years experience as a Social Media Specialist or Digital Marketing or similar role.

• Very good cinema culture.

• Online research savvy.

• Understanding of SEO and web traffic metrics.

• Familiarity with PPC, Google AdWords, Google Analytics, CMS, Photoshop, and Microsoft Office experience.

• Familiarity with web design and publishing.

• Copywriting and content creation skills (Arabic and English).

• Analytical mind.

• Good public speaking skills. 

• Attention to details.

• Self-motivated and a team player.

Reporting:

Report to the Communication and Culture Manager but working across the various RFC’s departments.

How to Apply:

Submissions for the 3^rd  round of Mosalsalat Screenwriters Lab are now open. The Lab will take place in May 2023.

Mosalsalat Screenwriters Lab is an annual five-day series script development workshop aimed at independent Arab screenwriters working on their narrative series projects.

Screenwriters joining the Lab will experience one-on-one mentoring sessions with international accomplished screenwriters (Mosalsalat’s Creative Advisors). The goal of the program is to guide and strengthen the writers’ understanding of story concept, structure, and character development with the intention of producing a pilot script and supporting materials.

Submission deadline: Tuesday, 3^rd January, 2023, before midnight (Jordan Time).

The festival accepts both Moroccan and international short films in different categories: Fiction, Documentary, Animation, Experimental, Web & New Media; applicants may be graduating students or independent filmmakers. The festival will take place from May 3 – 7, 2023.

In addition to its rich and wide selection of short films, the program includes master classes, seminars and workshops tackling different topics in filmmaking in collaboration with national and international partners.

Morocco Shorts is organized in partnership with the French Cultural Center in Rabat, Rabat International Author Film Festival, Beirut Shorts, & Beirut Film Society.

Rules & Terms
Rules and Regulations:

• Films produced after January 1, 2021 are eligible for submission.
• For International submissions, a Moroccan premiere is recommended, but not mandatory, films that are previously screened in Morocco may have less chances of being selected.
• MSIFF offers logistical support for directors of selected international films who want to travel to Rabat - Morocco, to participate in the festival screenings and activities.
• Submission fees are non-refundable and non-reimbursable under any circumstances.
• MSIFF retains the right to accept or decline any film, for whatever reason, without any explanation.
• Applicants confirm that they are authorized to submit the film, being the rights-holders or authorized representatives of the film.
• MSIFF receives exhibition copy in QuickTime 1080p HD 8 bit uncompressed or Apple ProRes file or equivalent via a downloadable link.
• All films must have adequate French or English subtitles.
• Screening fees must be declared prior to or upon submission.
• The festival holds the right to:
• Use the selected films for trailers and publicity usage,
• Screen the winning films in other related events inside Morocco, and recommend the winning films to other international film festivals that collaborate with MSIFF after the approval of the filmmakers.

The deadline is on 2nd December , 2022.

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

Beirut International Women Film Festival (BWFF) is an annual event organized, in Beirut, by Beirut Film Society, under the theme “Women for Leadership” highlighting the role of women as leaders in their societies and gathering filmmakers and cinema lovers from all over the world.

BWFF tackles issues such as gender equality, domestic violence among others through the power of the lens and cinema which is the window to society and particularly women in this case.

BWFF, which comprises of films about women and/or executed by women, aims to highlight the power of women in different life situations.

Rules and Regulations:

• Films produced after January 1st, 2021 are eligible.
• For international feature films submissions, a Lebanese premiere is a must – feature films that were screened previously in Lebanon won’t be taken into consideration.
• BWFF supports part of the travel cost for filmmakers of selected international films to Lebanon during the festival days. (Conditions apply)
• Submission fees are non-refundable and non-reimbursable under any circumstances.
• BWFF retains the right to accept or decline any film, for whatever reason, without any explanation.
• Applicants confirm that they are authorized to submit the film, being the rights-holders or authorized representatives of the film.
• BWFF receives exhibition copy in QuickTime 1080p HD 8 bit uncompressed or Apple ProRes file or equivalent via a downloadable link.
• All non-English speaking films must have adequate English subtitles.
• Screening fees must be declared prior to or upon submission.
• The festival holds the right to:
• Use the selected films for trailers and publicity usage,
• Screen the winning films in other related events inside Lebanon, and recommend the winning films to other international film festivals that collaborate with BWFF after the approval of the filmmakers.

The deadline for submission is on 12th December, 2022

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

Malmö Arab Film Festival (MAFF) is now accepting entries of films for its 13^th edition, slated to take place in Malmo-Sweden, from April 28 to May 4, 2023. MAFF 2023 competitions are Feature Film Competition for fiction and documentary, as well as Short Film Competition for fiction and documentary. Juries composed of prominent filmmakers and cinema professionals will select the winners in each category of the competitions and the winning films.

MAFF Industry Days offers several funding initiatives for Nordic-Arab co-productions. The initiatives present an excellent opportunity for film professionals to pitch their projects to film experts and a jury chosen from a selection of prominent filmmakers and critics.

Rules and regulations:

• Films longer than 70 min should be submitted as feature films, and films less than 70 min should be submitted as short films

• Films that may participate in the festival are selected by the festival’s judging committee.

• Applicants for participation in the festival have no guarantee that the film will be shown during the festival.

• There is no fee for applying. No compensation will be paid by the festival to showcase the film.

• MAFF only accepts online viewing links, any download link will be disgarded. Notification of approved films will be sent to participants two months before the festival’s start date.

• Selected films to participate in the festival may not be withdrawn.

• Submitted films should be produced in 2022-2023. No contributions that have been produced before the year 2021 will be accepted in the official competition but will accepted programs out of the competition.

• Submitted films should be subtitled to English or Swedish language.

• Submitted films will not be accepted if they have been screened in Sweden before.

• The festival cannot provide any reasons for unselected films.

• MAFF has the right to manage the use of film clips and photographs from submitted films selected for the festival for all its image or print ads in all pages on the Internet utmost to promote the festival.

The submission deadline is on 15^th December 2022.

Cannes Film Awards is an international film festival with a live screening for film distributors in , Cannes, where the event will take place from April 14 – 16, 2023. The festival’s mission is to support independent artists from all over the world. The festival collaborates with experts in the field of European film art.

Rules & Terms

• All films that are not in English must have English  subtitles.

• Multiple entries from the same submitter are accepted.

• The decision of the festival’s selection committee will be final.

• The excerpts from films sent  for Cannes Film Awards can be shown on social networks.

• Films that are submitted must be the entrant’s original work and shall not infringe on any copyrights or any other rights of any third parties. Contestants agree that they have obtained all required copyright permissions regarding music, sound & images, etc. presented in their film.

• Cannes Film Awards’ organizers reserve rights change, cancel or re-schedule the dates, venue, awards & categories without consent or information to contestants.

• The organizers reserve the right not to award any or all of the prizes.

The deadline is on 17^th November, 2022.

The festival is a unique event in Australia, with a vibrant screening program. In recent years, MIFF has successfully extended its activities to include a raft of programs focusing on industry and filmmakers including: Accelerator, a 4-day educational and inspirational skills development program for up-and-coming directors with short films screening at MIFF.

• MIFF 37ºSouth Market, a 4-day film financing market for producers with market-ready projects pitching to potential international and local co-financing partners.
• MIFF Premiere Fund, MIFF’s own investment and loan fund, providing essential financing support for local feature-length films.
• MIFF Talks program, a complementary program of panels and In Conversations featuring invited guest directors, actors, screenwriters, and producers.
• MIFF has an Academy®, BAFTA and AACTA accredited short film competition. The winners of the top prizes in the competition become eligible for Oscar® consideration.

Rules and Regulations:

Definitions:

• Short Film: This category is reserved for any film whose runtime is 40 minutes and 29 seconds or less (including credits).
• Feature Film: This category is reserved for any film whose runtime is 40 minutes and 30 seconds or more (including credits).
• International: This includes all films that do not fall under the ‘Australian’ definition; to reiterate, Australian co-productions can be submitted into any Australian category.
• Experimental: This sub-category of short film is reserved for films that have an absence of linear narrative and/or include abstraction within the structure and conventions of the physical medium itself.
• Episodic: This category is for any project presented or intended to be presented in a multi-episode format, including limited series, docuseries, web series, anthologies or any other project that was designed to develop over multiple episodes.

Eligibility requirements
To be eligible for consideration, all submissions must meet the following requirements:

• Films must have been completed after 1 January 2022.
• Films must not have been (or will not be) broadcast on television or publicly screened, distributed or exhibited in a physical location within the state of Victoria, Australia, prior to 21 August 2023. The only exceptions to this requirement are for private screenings held for cast, crew or investors, and film-school graduation screenings.
• Films must not have been (or will not be) available commercially online and accessible from the state of Victoria, Australia, either for free or via on-demand services prior to 21 August 2023. Screenings as part of a digital or online festival are permitted if the festival is for a limited run and geo-blocked whereby access by Australian viewers is prohibited.
• Films must be in their original language; if the original language is not English, subtitles in English must be provided.

The deadline for submissions is 30th November , 2022.

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

Introducing Hong Kong, Chinese language and Asian cinema and filmmakers to the world, the 47^th Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF) will take place from 30th March until 10th April 2023.

The festival features world and international premieres of Hong Kong and Asian films, and Asian premieres of international films.
Rules and Regulations:

·         Films must have been completed after 1 January 2022.

·         Except for Hong Kong productions, films must not have been shown in Hong Kong prior to the festival’s screenings.

·         English subtitles are required for non-English language films.

·         Films previously submitted to the festival and which were not selected will not be reconsidered.

·         Selection status will be updated on FilmFreeway on 13 March 2023. Unsuccessful submissions will not be notified individually.

·         All selection decisions are at the sole and absolute discretion of the HKIFF Society and are final. The HKIFFS do not disclose internal discussion on its programming decisions and do not provide any feedback or comments on any submitted film.

·         Selected films will be shown in the section determined most appropriate by Festival programmers.

The deadline is on 31st December , 2022

For more information, please visit: HKIFF