German International Ethnographic Film Festival

The general aim of the festival is to promote documentary cinema in the context of intra- and intercultural communication and to give credit to new films, videos or interactive media dealing with socio-cultural processes in a wide sense of the term.
The festival provides an opportunity for international co-operation in this field with special emphasis on bridging Global South and Global North, for an exchange of such media and for seeking ways of their broader use. The festival is meant to be a chance for filmmakers, producers and distributors, but also for users to exchange their views at the screenings and following discussions, as well as at special events which may be an integral part of the festival.
One of these events will be a Student Competition with a prize awarded to the best student film.
Statutes
1. The submission of media from all parts of the world is encouraged.
2. The festival is organised by GIEFF e.V. in collaboration with anthropological and other institutions as partners.
3. The Festival Organisation Committee will be appointed by GIEFF e.V.
4. The Selection Committee decides which submitted media are accepted for entering the festival programme. The Selection Committee will consist of visual anthropologists, media experts and documentary filmmakers from different European countries.
5. Films in the Student Competition will be evaluated by an international jury (3 judges). The chairperson and members of the jury will be nominated by the Festival Organisation Committee.
6. If sufficient funding becomes available, the festival will provide accommodation and a festival pass for one filmmaker per selected media.
7. For the screening of selected media, no screening fee will be paid.
8. The selected media will receive participation certificates.
9. The German International Ethnographic Film Festival is a biennial event, taking place in May.
Inscription
1. For the festival all media are eligible which are films, videos or interactive media dealing with social and cultural processes, having received their copyright after 1.1. 2021, and have not yet been submitted to GIEFF.
2. Acceptable screening formats: high-quality-file (not DCP).
3. Submission fee: 20,- Euro per film / medium, student competition: 10,- Euro per film / medium till November 25, afterwards 25,- Euro per film / medium, student competition: 12,50 Euro per film / medium. There is no submission fee for entries (up to 3 films) from countries of the "Global South". See countries of Global North and Global South https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_regional_classification.
4. Entries are to be submitted not later than 15.12.2023.
5. All media can be submitted by the filmmakers, producers, distributors, and other organisations and responsible bodies.
6. All submissions must be accompanied by the following material:
a. Preview copies can be submitted directly via FilmFreeway. In exceptional cases films can be uploaded in a different way. In that case please contact us via e-mail: event[at]gieff.de
b. a transcript of the dialogues, subtitles and commentary in English, if the medium is not in English
c. submission form; in case that one is not able to participate in FilmFreeway, please contact us: event[at]gieff.de
d. English or German synopsis (150 words)
e. payment of submission fee
f. In addition, three still photographs and any available press-clippings of interviews or reviews of the medium are kindly requested.
7. Selected films will be screened as high-quality-file (but not DCP). Only media perfectly fit for projection will be accepted. Films and multimedia should be shown in an English version.
8. GIEFF e.V. will take every reasonable care to protect the submitted films.
9. If a film is selected, the submitter authorises the Festival to keep the screening copy for two years, for non-commercial use in its "Travelling GIEFF" screenings programme. If important reasons speak against it, please fill in the “any remark” field in the submission form.
10. The submitter 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 filmmakers to secure authorization for any copyrighted material that may be used in the film. GIEFF e.V. 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.
11. Inscription for the festival implies full acceptance of the above regulations.
Student Competition
1. An international jury will award a Student Prize.
2. Only films or videos that were completed when the filmmaker was still enrolled as a student in an educational institution will be considered.
3. The right is reserved to reject a film or a video which does not correspond the statutes or does not have the required form and content.
4. In assessing the films, the judges will give greater weight to the content than to the technical expertise with which the films are made.
5. GIEFF does not commit itself to award prizes, if in the opinion of the judges the quality of the films submitted is not sufficiently high.
6. The judges may, at their discretion, divide prizes.
7. The prizes will be awarded to the filmmaker(s) responsible for the making of the winning film(s).