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If your film has an important message for the world, this festival is for you.
Join the world's biggest, online, not-for-profit film festival, inspiring viewers to act on the United Nations Sustainable Develoment Goals (UNSDGs). There are 17 UNSDGs that should be met for the UN 2030 Agenda to ensure a thriving and peaceful future for us and generations to come.
All premiered as well as unpremiered films, documentaries and animations covering important social, economic or environmental topics, created IN THE LAST 3 YEARS, are welcome for the Big Syn International Film Festival (BSIFF), London.
Join the festival to;
- Get recognised by a world-class Grand Jury.
- Spread the important messages through your film to a worldwide audience.
- Inspire millions to act on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and mke a better and secure future for all
The festival organiser, Big Syn Institute, is honoured and proud to have international luminaries from the world of film, media and academia as esteemed members of the Grand Jury.
Emma Thomas. BAFTA award-winning Script Supervisor
Farah Nabulsi. OSCAR nominated and BAFTA award-winning filmmaker
Anna Smith. Film critic and broadcaster
Tom Szaky. CEO and founder, Terracycle
US Ambassador (Rtd) Howard Gutman
Jemima Khan. Screenwriter and producer
Prof. Lyndsay Duthie. CEO. The Production Guild of Great Britain
Chris Hees. OSCAR nominated and BAFTA award-winning producer
Prof. Ioannis Ioannou. London Business School | Global influencer – Sustainability leadership and CSR
Dr. Sourav Roy. CEO, Centre for Big Synergy
If your films, documentaries, animations or PSAs address one or more of the following topics, the Big Syn Institute would want the world to know about it.
- Poverty; Hunger; Disability; Health and Well-being; Education; Gender Equality; Clean Water and Sanitation; Affordable and Clean Energy; Decent Work and Economic Growth; responsible industry, Innovation and Infrastructure; Reduced Inequality amongst individuals and nations; Sustainable Cities and Communities; Responsible Consumption and Production; Climate Action; Protecting Life Below Water; Conserving Life on Land; Championing Peace and Justice and strong Institutions; Partnerships and global synergy of ideas and actions.
INSPIRATION
Good stories with worthwhile messages always leave a lasting impression on the audience. When such stories are told via films, it can inform and influence millions. Meaningful stories, told through films have been catalysts for social, economic and political changes since the birth of the art form. The inspiration for the Big Syn Film Festival is drawn from this unparallel power of effective storytelling via films. When important messages are passed in the context of a visual story rather than just a generic message itself, the impact is far greater than otherwise. The Big Syn Film Festival intends to celebrate films and videos that can brilliantly pass on core objectives of the Centre for Big Synergy and also encourage the civic society to actively participate in meeting the core objectives of the United Nations 2030 Agenda.
ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
PLEASE NOTE ALL SUBMISSIONS MUST BE MADE ONLINE VIA FilmFreeway, NO HARD COPIES, DISKS OR DRIVES SHOULD BE POSTED.
ENTRY FEES PAID ARE NON-REFUNDABLE.
A) General eligibility
1. To be eligible for the competition, all films or videos should be made within the last three years, may or may not have been premiered and/or published online. No screening fees are provided to filmmakers.
2. Films and videos from across the world are welcome. On-screen English subtitles are compulsory for films and videos made in other languages.
3. All films and videos should be viewable on FilmFreeway or YouTube or Vimeo to be considered for the festival.
Please do not submit the links to the social media videos when applying for this festival. Social media videos too should be uploaded on FilmFreeway or YouTube or Vimeo.
Please submit passwords of protected videos if they are on Vimeo or YouTube.
B) Mandatory requirements
Subject matters can cover anything and everything (not limited to the ones below) that bring to perspective the need to address the issues below or the solutions that should be adopted to achieve the ultimate goal of creating a better future for all - as far as the society, economy and the environment is concerned. In essence, the topics of the films should be associated with the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Poverty; Hunger; Disability; Health and Well-being; Education; Gender Equality; Clean Water and Sanitation; Affordable and Clean Energy; Decent Work and Economic Growth; responsible industry, Innovation and Infrastructure; Reduced Inequality amongst individuals and nations; Sustainable Cities and Communities; Responsible Consumption and Production; Climate Action; Protecting Life Below Water; Conserving Life on Land; Championing Peace and Justice and strong Institutions; Partnerships and global synergy of ideas and actions.
Watch this video to better understand the UN SDGs: https://youtu.be/RpqVmvMCmp0
C) Sustainability and responsible filmmaking (desireable not mandatory)
These films should ideally be made in the most fair and environmentally friendly ways to minimise their carbon footprint starting from zero use of paper or high wattage lights or equipment powered by fossil fuels, to clever use of stock footage or other reusable and communal video resources as well as utilising innovative cinematic technologies with the least carbon footprint. Other means could include but not limited to used or second-hand costumes and props, use more natural lighting, banning all single use plastics from the sets/locations, encouraging a fully paper-free working culture, using the public transport or carpooling, to name a few.
It is not easy to achieve all of the above, but if you are striving to achieve these or have already achieved some or most of these - you are a star!
D) Screening
In order to keep the overall carbon footprint of the festival to its minimum, while maximising the size of the audience, Official Selections and Winning films will be screened virtually via YouTube and Vimeo.
IMPORTANT: If you have submitted the film to other festivals that require it to be unpublished on the web, please let us know by contacting us directly at https://bigsyn.org/contact-us. These films will NOT be screened at the festival but WILL SURELY be considered for the festival awards.
Following are the awards for relevant entry categories.
1. Winner- Grand Jury Award
2. Special Mention awards
Filmmakers will be entitled to the following.
Global recognition
- Get recognised by a world-class Grand Jury; BAFTA award-winning filmmakers, and notable British and US film and media professionals from streaming platform/s, film schools, media, government policy and sustainability
Laurels and Crest of Honour
- Award winners and official selections will receive the official laurels and the Big Syn International Film Festival's distinguishing Crest of Honour.
Certificate of excellence
- Only the award winners will receive an official certificate of excellence (soft copy).
Potential for collaboration and funding
- Worldwide exposure of the filmmaker and the work to aid collaboration and funding of future projects via a news release circulated amongst the large international network of the members of Centre for Big Synergy, ranging from investors, entrepreneurs, CEOs, to scientists, authors, politicians and artists.
Interviews
- Winning filmmakers will be interviewed and the interviews will be published on the Big Syn Institute's website and publicised via social media.
Permanent web profile
- A permanent profile of winning works, by category, will be published on the Big Syn Institute's website, post festival.
Publicity
- Winners and official selections will receive social media shout-outs and publicity before and during the festival screenings.