1. GOALS
Márgenes is an international film festival dedicated to independent auteur cinema, with a special focus on emerging filmmakers and innovative proposals. Its main vocation is to defend and promote high-quality cinema made with artistic conviction.
2. SECTIONS, DATES AND VENUES
2.1 Official Selection: international competition that showcases films of outstanding cinematic quality, focusing on singular and visionary practices in contemporary cinema as well as the personal vision of the authors.
2.2 Escáner: national competitive section dedicated to Spanish films committed to the renewal of audio-visual narratives and to an artistic vision of filmmaking, with special attention to first and second feature films.
2.3 Films featured in the Official Selection and Escaner will be screened in cinemas between November 24 and December 3, 2023.
2.4 The organization reserves the right, with the prior authorisation of the entities or persons owning the rights, to screen the films in the festival section it deems appropriate.
3. JURIES AND PRIZES
3.1 Official Selection: The board of directors will designate an official jury made up of national and international professionals from the cinematographic and audio-visual arts as well as cultural management and other artistic disciplines, in charge of awarding the following prizes:
- Best Film: 4.000 €
- Jury Special Mention: Production of English or French subtitles and production of a DCP print of the winning film or another work by the winner (Prize sponsored by Laserfilm).
- The jury may award an Honorable Mention without a cash or in-kind prize.
3.2 Escáner: The board of directors will designate an official jury made up of national and international professionals from the cinematographic and audio-visual arts as well as cultural management and other artistic disciplines, in charge of awarding the following prizes:
- Best Film: 1.000 €
3.3. The verdicts by the juries shall be final.
3.4 In addition to the above-mentioned awards, the following prizes will be awarded:
Audience Award: €500. All films in the Official Selection and the Escaner section are candidates for this prize.
Young Jury Prize: without a cash or in-kind prize. To be awarded among films in the Escaner section.
3.5 The cash prize of the awards will be paid, upon presentation of an invoice, to the company or person that registered the film or confirmed its participation in the festival.
3.6 The cash prizes of the awards shall be subject to withholdings and taxes established by Spanish legislation in force at the time of payment, which in any case shall be deemed to be included.
3.7 Award-winning films must include the festival's logotype on any advertising and promotional material as well as in the film's credits.
3.8 The organization reserves the right to extend the categories and prizes.
4. REQUIREMENTS
4.1 Year of Production: only films completed after the 1st of January 2023 may be entered. However, the organization reserves the right to include films from the previous year.
4.2 Duration: films with a minimum duration of 40 minutes will be accepted. However, the organization reserves the right to include films of a shorter length if such films would clearly add value to the annual selection.
4.3 Genre and Format: There are no restrictions in terms of genre, production format or subject matter, although institutional films, advertising films, reports, television documentaries or purely journalistic works are excluded.
4.4 Rights: To participate in the festival, it is necessary to hold the exhibition rights of
the film in Spain.
4.5 Distribution: Films that have been commercially released in public cinemas and video, or broadcast on television or VOD platforms in Spain will not be accepted. Selected films may not be screened in Madrid prior to their screening at Márgenes. Spanish premieres will be positively assessed.
4.6 There is no restriction on the number of films that can be submitted per director. A separate entry must be registered for each film.
5. SUBMISSION
5.1 Registration period will remain open from the publication of these rules until the 16th of July 2023 at 23:59 hours (GMT+2).
5.2 Registration is free. Only rsubmissions made through FilmFreeway will be accepted.
5.3 On submitting a film, a screener with subtitles in Spanish and/orEnglish must be sent. The password must remain unchanged until the 30th of September 2023. If this is not possible, the organization must be notified of any password changes.
6. SELECTED FILMS
6.1 A selection committee chaired by the Festival Director and the Artistic Director will be appointed. The final decision will be notified by email by mid-September 2023.
6.2 Once a film has been selected, it cannot be withdrawn. Furthermore, the films selected shall not be screened in Madrid prior to the festival.
6.3 The selection will remain confidential until the festival makes its official announcement.
6.4 Screening fee: a screening fee will be paid to those films participating in the Official Selection and in the Escaner section. The amount will be of €100 + VAT (if applicable) for films over 40 minutes and €50 + VAT (if applicable) for films under 40 minutes.
6.5 Materials: selected films must provide the organization with the following materials, within the deadlines indicated below:
Promotional materials: synopsis, filmography, artistic and technical credits, director’s portrait and biography, stills, poster and trailer will be requested; if available, a complete press kit and video clips must also be sent before the 1st of October 2022.
Screening copies: a DCP copy of the film must be provided to the organization before the 22th of October 2022. Reception of the copies can be made in two different ways:
Digital delivery of the DCP through servers or other file sharing and cloud storage systems such as Dropbox, Wetransfer, Mega, Drive, FileMail, etc.
Shipment of the DCP to the Festival offices at the expense of the participants.
Whenever possible, participants are encouraged to use digital delivery.
Subtitles: screening copies must be submitted with English or Spanish subtitles. Where necessary, a non-subtitled original version of the film will also be requested. If the screening copies are subtitled in English, the subtitles dialogue list must be submitted in advance before the 15th of October together with the downloadable link to the screening copy.
6.6 Rightholders authorize the use of images and fragments from the selected films across different media and social networks to promote the festival. The organization also reserves the right to use extracts and images for the festival’s website, catalogue and video materials.
7. RESPONSIBILITIES, TRANSFER OF RIGHTS AND ACCEPTANCE OF THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS
7.1 Participation in Márgenes Festival implies the full acceptance of all the terms and conditions included herein.
7.2 Submitted films must not contain content that infringes any third-party rights. Films that incite sexism, racism, xenophobia and other related forms of intolerance shall be not considered.
7.3 The organization declines all legal responsibility for the content of the films, holding the persons or entities that have entered each film in the festival responsable.
7.4 Any issue not foreseen in the rules will be resolved by the organization in according to international film festival regulations.
7.5 The organization reserve the right to alter, modify or suspend the festival programme at any time.
