OPPORTUNITIES BULLETIN #249 February 2024 | The Royal Film Commission

OPPORTUNITIES BULLETIN #249 February 2024

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. Red Sea Fund: Call for Funding 2. The International Awareness Video Competition: Call for Submission 3. Largo.ai 100 Producers Program: Call for Submission 4. Santa Fe International Film Festival: Call for Submission 5. Cannes Indie shorts Awards: Call for Submission 6. Brooklyn Film Festival: Call for Submission 7. London Global Film Award: Call for Submission 8. Pharos BI Short Film Festival: Call for Submission

1. Red Sea Fund: Call for Funding

A dynamic force in the world of Arab and African film financing, the Red Sea Fund operates across four cycles, encompassing projects in stages of development, production, and post-production. The Fund’s dedication to nurturing cinematic creativity has resulted in supporting 250+ films since its first edition in 2021. Beyond its financial contributions, the Fund is also launching a range of initiatives to bolster the film industry. These include a celebration of women in cinema by funding graduation films from the first women’s university and the first filmmaking degree in the Kingdom of Saudi. This is in addition to partnerships with other festivals worldwide, providing financial awards to exceptional projects.

Documentary, fiction, animation – episodic, shorts, and features – the Fund is looking out for filmmakers and the exciting new wave of films from the region.   The fourth edition of the Red Sea Fund announces the launch of Cycle 1 for the year 2024, dedicated to film projects in post-production. The Fund will accept submissions from directors of Arab nationality/origin and African nationality, applying with feature-length (60 minutes or more) narrative, documentary, and animation projects.   Deadline: 21st Feb, 2024 Apply now and unlock new opportunities for your film and stay tuned for the other Fund Cycles: Production - from 6th April – 30th April Development - from 6th June – 30th June Post-production - from 6th August - 21st August For more information on the rules and regulations, and how to apply, visit the Fund page on our website here.

2. The International Awareness Video Competition: Call for Submission

This festival is organized in its third session to bring together content creators in Tunisia, the Arab world and the world with the aim of producing awareness videos that contribute to the consolidation of human values and urge people to spread the noble values of tolerance, brotherhood, good intentions and other principles that will change the world for the better by employing the culture of sound and image as a tool for education.

The festival activities will be held over three days in public squares open to the public, interspersed with refresher and promotional performances of local heritage, national industries, tourism, community campaigns, competitions in smart phone and mobile films, in addition to awareness video shows based on modern technology in lighting and giant screens. The independent international jury awards the festival prizes for outstanding productions in all competitions, which will also have the opportunity to be shown on television screens and media partner platforms, with a prize dedicated to the public through social media.

International Competition: Citizenship and Sustainable Development The festival approved the theme of "Citizenship and Sustainable Development" as a main focus of the competition of the third session through its manifestations in 8 items of the Sustainable Development Goals: – Eradication of poverty – Zero hunger – Good health and well-being – Clean and affordable energy – Elegant work and economic growth – Industry, innovation and infrastructure – Sustainable cities and communities – Responsible consumption and production

Deadline for video submission: 30 July 2024

Submission Link: www.festivalfivs.com/inscription

Website: www.festivalfivs.com

3. Largo.ai 100 Producers Program: Call for Submission

Largo.ai is pleased to announce the 5th edition of its 100 Producers Program, a highly successful initiative that provides producers with the opportunity to learn how to apply artificial intelligence (AI) in the development of their projects. This program is an exclusive opportunity for 100 selected producers to participate in a 12-month proof-of-concept duration, during which they will receive personal training on AI and have access to Largo.ai tools with a 90% reduction in regular costs.

By participating in the program, you will have the following 3 main benefits: • The ability to apply AI to your ongoing projects with the help of Largo.ai tools. • Build strong forecasts and triple the chances of your projects to be funded. • Access to the Largo.ai Connect, where you can publish your projects with AI results and potentially secure financing from distributors and financiers. Important Conditions: • The program is limited to 100 producers, selected by Largo.ai and its partners. • The participating producer must have at least one project in development or pre-production stage. • 90% of the costs will be covered by support programs and film institutions, with the participating producer responsible for the remaining 10%. • Selected producers will have access to Largo.ai tools and training for a 12-month period.

The Deadline is 15th March, 2024. Apply here: https://largo.ai/application-form

4. Santa Fe International Film Festival: Call for Submission

The 16th Annual Santa Fe International Film Festival takes place 16th-20th October, 2024. Dubbed “Toronto, but on a much smaller scale” by Deadline Hollywood and “a young Sundance” by indieWire, SFiFF is a creative center for film in Santa Fe, allowing filmmakers to connect with industry and distributors. SFiFF showcases emerging and established filmmakers by screening features and shorts in one of the greatest art cities in the world. SFiFF provides over $100k in cash and prizes, filmmaker travel, juried awards, and all-access passes to the festival. Santa Fe International Film Festival provides over 100k in cash and prizes. 2024 SFiFF winners will receive: • Narrative Feature Award presented by Panavision: Includes camera package courtesy of Panavision valued at $60,000, a post-production package from Light Iron valued at $30,000, and $1,000 cash prize from the Santa Fe Film Institute. • Best Documentary Feature: $1,000 cash prize from the Santa Fe Film Institute. • Best Narrative Short: Includes camera package courtesy of Panavision valued at $15,000, and $500 cash prize from the Santa Fe Film Institute. • Best Documentary Short: $500 cash prize from the Santa Fe Film Institute. • Best New Mexico Short: $500 cash prize from the Santa Fe Film Institute. • Best Short Film by an Indigenous Filmmaker: $500 cash prize from the Santa Fe Film Institute. All award winners receive a special artisan-made SFiFF Statue Award. Non-Cash Awards: Audience Choice Best Narrative Feature Audience Choice Best Documentary Feature Audience Choice Best Narrative Short Audience Choice Best Documentary Short Best New Mexico Feature Best Experimental Short Best Animated Short Deadline: 4th March, 2024. For more information, please visit: Santa Fe International Film Festival

5. Cannes Indie shorts Awards: Call for Submission

Cannes Indie shorts Awards is an IMDb qualifying event recognized for being a home for new filmmakers that join the Awards in a week live event full of masterclasses, industry professionals meet and greet, Q&A's at our interview point, filmmakers’ cocktails and USD 5000 in cash prizes in one of the biggest networking short film events. Awarded as one of the " 50 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee " by Moviemaker.

Awards & Prizes All Official Selection films will receive the Official Laurel and will be screened at our 5-Day Annual Live Event. Winners will be announced at the end of the event as well as the Audience Award (cash prize of USD 1000), the Grand Prix (cash prize of USD 2000) and the Prix du Meilleur Espoir (cash prize of USD 1000). Winning films will receive their Certificate of Achievement. In addition, a selection of outstanding projects will be chosen as semi-finalists who will be invited to participate in the Awards’ Virtual Event and compete for a cash prize award of USD 1000. All semifinalist films will receive their corresponding Laurel. Competitions: You do not need to pay extra fees to have your film considered for Technical & Performance awards. Once you submit your film in any Official Competition, it will be reviewed by the screening team and the highest scored films will be selected to be part of the Official Selection and will be considered for all the winning categories. In the Submission Form, please click on the additional categories you wish to be considered for and add the name of the artist in each of the chosen categories.

Deadline: 22nd February, 2024 For more information, please visit: CANNES INDIE SHORTS AWARDS - FilmFreeway

6. Brooklyn Film Festival: Call for Submission

BFF is a 10-day International-competitive festival. The 27th event will run from 31st May – 9th June, 2024. The 27th BFF will be staged indoors at Windmill Studios in Greenpoint and Wythe Hotel Cinema in Williamsburg. The festival will also be shown online 24/7, where all the selected films will be shown non-stop for ten days. For the latest news on this matter, please check BFF website: [Brooklyn%20Film%20Festival%20-%20FilmFreeway]www.brooklynfilmfestival.org.

The final selection of roughly 150 films is announced in April-May. All the films that end up being part of the final lineup come from submissions only. All selected films are eligible for several awards and even the smallest film can end up winning the very top award: the Grand Chameleon. In addition to the film programs, BFF also hosts multiple filmmaker events and a variety of innovative opportunities to network and get involved.

Deadline: 25th February, 2024 For more information, please visit: Brooklyn Film Festival - FilmFreeway

7. London Global Film Award: Call for Submission

The London Global Film Festival celebrates the essence of independent filmmaking and the profound language of cinema as an exquisite art form. It embraces both established maestros and emerging storytellers, creating a vibrant platform that welcomes films from across the globe. L.G.F.A. provide personalized feedback for ALL selected works. This means that, even for those who do not win, taking part is a valuable experience. Competitions are open to everyone - L.G.F.A love to see passion projects brought to life. In relation to the subject matter, the audience demonstrates readiness for a diverse range of topics. Filmmakers are requested to provide English subtitles for their projects. This necessity arises from the fact that while Awards’ community spans globally, all live screenings occur exclusively within the British capital, London. L.G.F.A jury has many decades of experience in the industry - having worked alongside filmmakers such as Jackie Chan, Jean-Claude Van Damme and Ewan McGregor, to name but a few - they offer a wealth of wisdom to all participants by providing personalized feedback, which is included as standard for every official selection.

Rules & Terms All submissions to the short film contest: - Must be less than 40 mins in duration. - Can be in any language, with English subtitles. - Must be at least 1080p HD quality. - Must not incite hatred towards any demographic, based on their race, religion, nationality, gender, sexual-orientation or disability, for example. All submissions to the screenplay contest: - Must be 130 pages or less. - Must be in English. - Must be a professionally formatted .pdf file. - Must not incite hatred towards any demographic, based on their race, religion, nationality, gender, sexual-orientation or disability, for example.

Deadline: 21st February, 2024. For more information, please visit: London Global Film Awards - FilmFreeway

8. Pharos BI Short Film Festival: Call for Submission

Pharos BI Short Film Festival is an international competitive film festival created by filmmakers and dedicated to the short form. In 2023, PBISFF celebrate its 4th annual edition. The festival screenings will once again take place at the Cine Astron, at Mandra. PBISFF is a competitive festival with winners in each of nine categories: Best Short, Best Animation Short, Best Director Award, Best Actor Award, Best Actress Award and Best Screenplay Award, Best Student Award. The audience votes for its favorite film in each screening. Filmmakers in attendance from the US, UK, Australia, Germany, South Africa, Canada, Italy and more. Attending filmmakers participate in a post-screening Q&A and network with other filmmakers and industry guests at our after-party. Awards & Prizes: - Best Short Film Award - Best Animation Award - Best LGBTQ Award - Best Director Award - Best Actor Award - Best Actress Award - Best Screenplay Award - Best Audience Award - Best Student Award Deadline is 24th February, 2024 For more information, please visit: Pharos BI Short Film Festival - FilmFreeway or [Home%20(pharosff.com)]Home (pharosff.com)