Film Submission, Rules and Regulations
Our call for films for the 2023 festival was open from October 15th to December 1st 2022.
Please read the following Rules & Regulations for ethnocineca 2023 carefully before submitting. By submitting you confirm that you have read and understood the Rules & Regulations and that you fully agree to the conditions of entry. Questions regarding the Rules & Regulations and/or film submission should be directed to programm(at)ethnocineca.at. You can find the link to the entry form at the bottom of this page.
1. General Information
Ethnocineca celebrates its 17th edition in Vienna’s Votiv Kino and Kino De France from the May 4th – 11th 2023. As Austria’s biggest film festival for documentary cinema and ethnographic film, ethnocineca is dedicated to diverse realities of human life. With our Call for Films we are looking for films of any length and approach that make accessible the diversity, uniqueness as well as the commonalities of social and cultural life worldwide, while narrating this view critically and innovatively. In addition to the general programme, in which all films run out of competition, there are five competition sections, that films may be submitted to.
2. Competition Sections
It is mandatory to specify in the online entry form, if you are entering your submitted film to one of the five competitions (EVA, IDA, ADA, ISA, ESSA) or if you are submitting your film to the main programme without entering competition. It must be ensured that the film meets the respective competition criteria (multiple choice is not possible).
2.1 Overview of Competitions
IDA – International Documentary Award
IDA celebrates documentary film as a dynamic art form and transmits the experience of its rich diversity: here the format has no set limits – submissions from classical storytelling to animated documentaries, are welcome. Outstanding works that go beyond the factual communication of content and stimulate a reflexive and undogmatic analysis of human lifeworlds and society will be honored. Films from each region and on any subject are welcome, as long as man and society are at the center focus. Prize money: EUR 1.000.-
• International documentaries, traditional to experimental
• Length: min. 45 minutes
EVA – Excellence in Visual Anthropology Award
This competition reflects the diversity of ethnographic film and honors outstanding achievements and innovative works that contribute to a progressive understanding of Visual Anthropology. Films, which have been made within scientific research as well as independently produced films will be accepted. Traditional and experimental methods and approaches are equally welcome, as long as they correspond to anthropological principles in perspective and style. Prize money: EUR 1.000.-
• Innovative films in the field of Visual Anthropology
• Length: min. 45 minutes
ADA – Austrian Documentary Award
To promote Austrian Documentaries an international jury will select the best Austrian film. Film can be submitted for this category if they have a minimum length of 45 minutes and if they are either produced by an Austrian production company or made by a director with residence in Austria. Prize money: EUR 1.000.-
• Films by Austrain prouction companies or by directors with residence in Austria
• Length: min. 45 minutes
ISA – International Shorts Award
Within the International Shorts Award (ISA) the nominated documentaries show the dynamics and expressive opportunities of the short film format. Apart from the formal requirement of the length of the films being under 30 minutes, there are no limits to their audio-visual expression. The audience will elect the winning film of this competition. Prize money: EUR 500.-
• International short documentaries, traditional to experimental
• Length: max. 30 minutes
ESSA – Ethnocineca Student Shorts Award
Young talents – Big cinema! With the ESSA, ETHNOCINECA gives due attention to the multifaceted inspiration of young documentary filmmaking. The award not only presents an international platform for young filmmakers of documentary filmmaking, but allows the participants to discuss their works with established filmmakers and a large festival audience. Student works and first works from the documentary field and ethnographic filmmaking with a maximum length of 30 minutes are sought for this competition. ESSA is an audience award. Prize money: EUR 500.-
• Student works and first works
• Length: max. 30 minutes
MAIN PROGRAMME
You can submit your film also to our main programme to run out of competition, for example if your film doesn’t fit into any of the award criteria.
2.2 Programme Focus 2023: LIMINALITIES
The programme of ethnocineca 2023 focuses on LIMINALITIES, the processes in which one oscillates between old and emergent understandings and being. We are interested in cinematic approaches to and reflections on the phases of life or social states of limbo, in which the old has not quite ended but the new has not yet been achieved. We thus invite films dedicated to phases of transition, the quality of ambiguity and unstable spaces, whether in microcosmic observation of a personal biography or as a comprehensive socio-political reflection of social change.
2.3. Information on the Selection of Films, Screening Fees and Prize Money
The curators of ethnocineca carry out the selection of films for the festival programme and have the right to reassign competition sections. It is therefore possible, that the selected films for the programme run in a competition other than the one originally selected. The organizers reserve the right to change the type and number of the listed competition sections. All mentioned prizes are subject to change. An external jury decides on the winning films of IDA, EVA and ADA. ISA and ESSA are Audience Awards.
Ethnocineca will pay screening fees to all films screened at the 2023 festival edition. In addition to the screening in the cinema we will invite a small selection of films to be repeated online during the festival week.
3. General Submission Criteria and Film Entry
If submitting for a competition, the film must meet the stated criteria above. Submitted films that had a theatrical release in Austria or have been broadcasted on the internet, VOD or on Austrian / German speaking TV orwho were already shown in previous ethnocineca festivals cannot be taken into consideration for the programme. Only films that have been completed after January 1st, 2021 are eligible for the programme. All films will be shown in the original version with English subtitles. Thus only entries with English subtitles will be taken into consideration for the programme selection. The entry form on Filmfreeway must be fully completed and all the requested documents submitted. One entry form must be filled out for each film. Applications will only be accepted if all required information is submitted before the deadline of December 1st, 2022.
Overview of General Submission Criteria:
• Submission Deadline: December 1st, 2022
• Year of production 2021 or more recent
• No theatrical release in Austria, no prior broadcast on the internet, VOD or on TV
• Original version with English subtitles
• Fully completed submission form
• A preview copy
4. Preview Copy
Preview copies can be submitted directly via Filmfreeway, via download link (no date limitation!) or online screener (e.g. vimeo). In exceptional cases we offer an upload to our FTP server or you can send us a DVD/Blu-ray. In that case please contact us via e-mail: programm(at)ethnocineca.at.
5. Legal Information
The applicant warrants that s/he is authorized to allow the Festival the use of the film, as well as that its use during the festival does not violate rights of third parties (e.g. copyrights, performance, personal rights). It is the responsibility of the filmmaker to secure authorization for any copyrighted material that may be used in the film. ethnocineca is held harmless from any and all claims, liabilities, losses, damages, and expenses, which may be incurred by reason of any claim involving copyright, trademark, credits, publicity, or screening of any film.
The filmmaker agrees that organizers can use clips or trailers of her/his work as well as any additional materials, which have been submitted to our organisation for advertising purposes for the film as well as for the festival.
Costs of sending screening copies to the festival are at the expense of the sender. Submitted viewing material cannot be returned. ethnocineca will not incur any shipping fees of the screening copies.
6. Dates and Deadlines
Opening Date: October 15, 2021
Earlybird: October 29, 2021
Regular Submission: December 1, 2021
Notification Date: March 10, 2022
Event Date: May 12 – 19, 2022
