ABOUT

BLACKSPHERE is an international film festival which offers both an online platform for film viewing and a live screening as part of the festival’s finale. It consists of two parts. The first part – the BLACKSPHERE ONLINE FILM FESTIVAL – takes place online between September 2020 and June 2021. The second part – the BLACKSPHERE LIVE FILM FESTIVAL – consists of a 48-hour film marathon which will take place in June 2021 in the Czech Republic and where select films will be screened.

The selection process of the audiovisual works is as follows: A jury of European experts selects maximum of 270 works from all the received films, each of which are made available for viewing for a period of seven days between September 2020 and June 2021 as part of the BLACKSPHERE online platform at the online television website www.binarycode.one. One film is added every day and is made available for free online viewing for a period of seven days. Then, based on the number of viewings, we take the 100 most popular films and screen them in June 2021 as part of the 48-HOUR BLACKSPHERE LIVE FILM FESTIVAL marathon which will take place in the Czech Republic. The first three best films from the 100 finalists will be given the BLACKSPHERE trophy and will be offered the option of free accommodation at the BLACKSPHERE LIVE FILM FESTIVAL for its entire duration.

Towards the end of the BLACKSPHERE LIVE FILM FESTIVAL, the 100 screened films will compete for two awards – the Jury Award and the Audience Award.

The Jury Award: The final winner of the BLACKSPHERE LIVE FILM FESTIVAL will be chosen by our jury consisting of select European experts. The winner will receive a special trophy, laurels and the 8000 € main cash prize.

The Audience Award: The accredited viewers of the BLACKSPHERE LIVE FILM FESTIVAL will evaluate the screened films over a 48-hour period. The viewers will vote to select the 10 most successful films and their creators will receive a special award, laurels and the BLACKSPHERE trophy. The overall winner of the Audience Award will be selected and awarded the BLACKSPHERE trophy, laurels and a 2000 € cash prize.

48–HOUR BLACKSPHERE LIVE FILM FESTIVAL

The festival’s finale will consist of a 48-hour film marathon which will take place in the Czech Republic during June 2021, at Račí údolí 118, 790 70 Javorník. During these 48 hours, the works of all 100 finalists of the previous BLACKSPHERE ONLINE FILM FESTIVAL will be screened. The festival’s winners will be announced, and the trophies and main prizes will be handed out. Furthermore, the event will feature workshops and consultations. The workshops’ focus will be announced on the website www.binarycode.one in January 2021 and the selection of topics will be automatically sent to all registered participants, with the offer for accreditation as part of the BLACKSPHERE LIVE FILM FESTIVAL, along with an offer of accommodation and reservation options.

(Photos were taken during zero year of the festival in the Czech Republic, before we have decided to go international.)

Awards & Prizes

10 000 € cash prize together

In June 2021, the following prizes will be handed out:

48–HOUR BLACKSPHERE LIVE FILM FESTIVAL:

BLACKSPHERE FILM FESTIVAL Jury Award: 8000 € cash prize, trophy BLACKSPHERE
BLACKSPHERE FILM FESTIVAL Audience Award: 2000 € cash prize, trophy BLACKSPHERE
BLACKSPHERE FILM FESTIVAL 10 most popular audience picks: trophy BLACKSPHERE

BLACKSPHERE ONLINE FILM FESTIVAL:

BLACKSPHERE ONLINE FILM FESTIVAL 1st place: BLACKSPHERE trophy + a place in the 48-HOUR BLACKSPHERE LIVE FILM FESTIVAL + free accommodation
BLACKSPHERE ONLINE FILM FESTIVAL 2nd place: BLACKSPHERE trophy + a place in the 48-HOUR BLACKSPHERE LIVE FILM FESTIVAL + free accommodation
BLACKSPHERE ONLINE FILM FESTIVAL 3rd place: BLACKSPHERE trophy + a place in the 48-HOUR BLACKSPHERE LIVE FILM FESTIVAL + free accommodation
BLACKSPHERE ONLINE FILM FESTIVAL 100 online finalists: a place in the 48-HOUR BLACKSPHERE LIVE FILM FESTIVAL (applies to all the 100 select films from the BLACKSPHERE ONLINE FILM FESTIVAL, based on the number of views).
All the finalists of the BLACKSPHERE ONLINE FILM FESTIVAL will receive accreditation for their whole team for the 48-HOUR BLACKSPHERE LIVE FILM FESTIVAL.

Rules & Terms

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

The conditions for taking part in the BLACKSPHERE FILM FESTIVAL are simple and as follows.
1) Every applicant must also be the owner of the received audiovisual work or must have permission by the author to distribute their work.
2) Everyone has the right to submit their audiovisual work without any limits as to genre, length, date of production, age of both the creators or their work, but under the condition that they feel their film achieves the required level of filmic quality.
3) Any student, amateur, or professional film can be submitted, and can have any length and be of any genre.
4) We accept audiovisual works created by means of any technique or style of narration. All live-action, animated, documentary works, both narrative and non-narrative, are welcome.
5) We accept films rated G, PG, PG-13, R, NC-17.
6) The date of completion is not important.
7) FFilms containing dialogues must be submitted with English subtitles.
8) The limit for the BLACKSPHERE ONLINE FILM FESTIVAL screening is 270 films. These films will be selected by an expert European jury from all the films submitted.
9) The limit for the 48-HOUR BLACKSPHERE LIVE FILM FESTIVAL screening is 100 films. These films will be selected from the 270 films screened as part of the BLACKSPHERE ONLINE FILM FESTIVAL, based on the number of audience views.
10) All 270 selected films for the BLACKSPHERE ONLINE FILM FESTIVAL are uploaded onto the BLACKSPHERE online platform where each film is made available for a period of seven days. The 100 films with the highest number of views on the BLACKSPHERE online platform will continue on to the 48-HOUR BLACKSPHERE LIVE FILM FESTIVAL. The BLACKSPHERE ONLINE FILM FESTIVAL is part of the online television website www.binarycode.one and are part of their program which aims to support creativity, art and cultural development.
11) There are no restrictions for accepting films which may have been previously screened at cinemas, festivals, museums, etc.
12) The submitted audiovisual work is not supposed to be freely accessible for online viewing, but this in itself is not a condition for the film’s disqualification from the event.
13) The sign-up fees are non-refundable, even in the case that the submitted work will not have been selected.
14) If the film is selected for the BLACKSPHERE ONLINE FILM FESTIVAL, the contributor will be contacted regarding additional information and regarding the method of sending the film for purposes of screening at the online television website www.binarycode.one.
15) The contributor has the right to withdraw their film until the beginning of the festival in September 2020 without providing any reason, and without the right to reclaim the submission fee.
16) We reserve the right to cut any film from the selection if we deem it to be inappropriate for the audience or if it does not possess basic filmic qualities.
17) The festival’s organizers reserve the right to determine the films’ scheduled publication for the BLACKSPHERE ONLINE FILM FESTIVAL and the 48-HOUR BLACKSPHERE LIVE FILM FESTIVAL.
18) By submitting their film, the contributor agrees to all the listed conditions.
19) The festival reserves the right to change the terms and conditions.
20) The company Binary code s.r.o is the owner and organizer of the BLACKSPHERE ONLINE FILM FESTIVAL and the BLACKSPHERE LIVE FILM FESTIVAL. The online festival is screened under the auspices of the online television website www.binarycode.one. The festival’s partner and supporter is Black Sphere, z.s.
21) The conditions of sending in the audiovisual work are: a paid fee and a properly submitted application through FilmFreeway. In case you are selected you will be asked to send in the entire film in adequate quality by means of the online link for download of the given work. Also, you will be asked to fill out an affidavit.
22) The contributor is responsible for making the film available through a link which will be sent to the organizers until September 1, 2020, unless informed otherwise in writing. If the contributor does not do this, they will be automatically disqualified from the festival.
23) The contributor grants the organizers of the BLACKSPHERE FILM FESTIVAL the right to screen, send and otherwise share the submitted work with the members of the jury who will decide on its inclusion in the BLACKSPHERE ONLINE FILM FESTIVAL.

As the organizer of the BLACKSPHERE FILM FESTIVAL, the BLACKSPHERE
ONLINE FILM FESTIVAL and the BLACKSPHERE LIVE FILM FESTIVAL,
Binary code s.r.o. reserves the right to change these conditions.