international
short film festival
in the palace

Login Registration
en /
Menu

REGULATIONS

Festival Rules and Regulations

1. Eligible films are of a duration of up to 27 minutes and completed after 1 January 2014.

2. The Festival accepts individual and institutional entries (i.e. production companies, distribution companies, film academies, national film centers, television networks, creative associations, etc.).

3. Entry fees and deadlines:

  • until 15 April 2016 - 15.00 EUR for the International and National Competition Programs;

  • until 15 September 2016 - 20.00 EUR for the International and National Competition Programs.

On 21 October 2016 the Festival will officially announce its final selection for the International and National Competition Programs.

* Authors whose films have been awarded or nominated in previous editions of the Festival shall not be charged a submission fee.

4. The Festival does not pay any screening fees.

5. The total award fund of the Festival amounts to 10 000 EUR payable in gold.

6. The Festival Competition Program includes:

I. MAIN COMPETITION PROGRAM

ONLY for films having their Bulgaria premiere at the Festival, including the following categories:

  • Fiction

  • Documentary

  • Animation

  • Experimental films, hybrid forms and formats, digital art works.

Films and audiovisual works publicly shown in Bulgaria or released online on free-access websites or platforms are not eligible for this Competition Program.

Films should have English subtitles even if they have English dialogue.



 II. STUDENT COMPETITION PROGRAM

Includes the following categories

  • Fiction

  • Documentary

  • Animation

  • Experimental films, hybrid forms and formats, digital art works.

Eligible are only films that have been completed during the study years of their directors.

Films should have English subtitles even if they have English dialogue.



III. NATIONAL COMPETITION PROGRAM

ONLY for Bulgarian films, including the following categories:

  • Fiction

  • Documentary

  • Animation

  • Experimental films, hybrid forms and formats, digital art works.

Eligible are films produced in Bulgaria or co-productions with Bulgarian participation.

7. The Festival appoints a Selection Committee and a professional International Jury to assess the films shown at Festival. 

8. Authors of selected films will be timely informed about the decisions of the commissions. 

9. Accreditation applications should be submitted not later than 3 weeks before the opening of the Festival. The Festival has the right to decline accreditation; in this case the applicant will be timely notified. 

10. The deadline for sending screening copies of selected films is 3 weeks before the Festival opening.

11. Films should have English subtitles even if they have English dialogue.

12. The recommended format of screening copies, together with all technical requirements, are sent to the address specified in the application.

13. The Festival reserves the right to screen the demo copies of the films presented at the time of selection, if the screening copy is late and/or is different from the one selected, and/or in case the technical characteristics of the screening copy are different from the ones accepted by the Festival. 

14. The Festival will cover the accommodation of one film representative per film from the competition programs, based on preliminary accreditation. In the case of late applications the Festival shall not be held accountable if the accommodation capacity of the Festival has been filled up. The Festival is not able to cover the accommodation of Bulgarian participants.

15. The Festival reserves the right to include films that have not accumulated enough selection points to participate in the competition programs, in thematic non-competitive festival programs. 

16. Copyright and other rights owners of the film agree to its inclusion in any Festival and further presentation programs, such as gratuitous publication and showing of screenshots, trailers and parts of the film (online or via other media) with the purpose of presenting the film’s participation in the Festival.

17. Further to the Festival’s mission to preserve and protect short filmmaking as part of contemporary cultural heritage, all submitted demos of films will be automatically included in the Festival Video Library for a period of 10 years, and will be accessible for non-commercial and professional viewing. In the absence of an explicit written request on behalf of the rights owners at least 2months prior to the expiry of the above 10-year period, it shall be automatically renewed for another period of the same duration.

18. The Festival Director has the right to personally resolve any cases not covered by the present rules and regulations.

19. The submission of an Application for participation in the Festival constitutes acceptance of all the provisions of the present rules and regulations.

The Festival reserves the right to cancel an Application for participation and undertake action in case of breach of the present rules and regulations and/or indecent behavior: acts of aggression and arrogance, intolerance towards difference, etc. that undermine the Festival’s name or impede its normal proceedings.

 Any legal disputes shall be resolved by a Bulgarian court.