Theme
Each year, the Award explores a new and relevant theme. For 2026, the theme chosen by the winners of the previous edition is: TIME.
Concept
The concept of “Time”, the theme of the 2026 edition of the Libera Connessione Award, has often been the subject of debate among great philosophers such as Plato, Aristotle, Kant, and Heidegger.
A shadow of eternity and an imperfect reflection of imperfect reality—or the measure of motion, tied to change and potential.
And again: time as an a priori category, that is, a structure of the human mind for understanding the world. And finally: time as being-toward-death, in which human existence is marked by finitude and temporality.
Eternity and finitude, objectivity and subjectivity.
We like to think that time is, in fact, humanity itself: an entity that travels through time and within time—and that time itself is life and light.
And you who are reading this… what is your “time”?
Libera Connessione is sponsored by ENERGICA.
• Registered authors must submit a videodance work with a maximum duration of 1 minute and 30 seconds, in which the connection between “Time”, its different interpretations, and dance clearly emerges.
Deadline
• Submission deadline: April 20, 2026
Prerequisites
• Maximum duration of the work: 1 minute and 30 seconds.
Award
• Two prizes of €1,000 will be awarded (one per category).
• The winners must attend the awards ceremony online and present their works on April 29, 2026, as communicated by the organization.
Regulation
1. Recipients
The competition is open to dancers, choreographers, students, writers, directors, videomakers, musicians, and sound designers who wish to express themselves through the creation of innovative videodance works, highlighting aspects, relationships, and connections between time, humanity, dance, and any other connections one may refer to—or draw inspiration from.
2. Originality
• The work may already exist and does not need to be produced specifically for this call; however, it must comply with the requirements of the call. The author must self-certify the originality of the work and guarantee that it is their exclusive property, assuming full responsibility that it does not belong to third parties.
• The use of AI tools is allowed only as support: AI must not be predominant and must not replace the human creative contribution (choreography, performance, directing, and editing).
3. Registration
• Authors must register by providing their name, surname, tax code, and address, along with a brief personal/artistic profile and curriculum notes.
• Age requirement & parental consent: participation is open to applicants aged 16+. For minors, the person submitting the entry and/or uploading the video confirms that parental/legal guardian consent has been obtained. Documentation may be requested at a later stage. If consent cannot be provided, the entry will be disqualified.
4. Assessment
• The jury panel is composed of the Artistic Director of Monferrato DanzArte, a director, a videomaker, a journalist, a dancer/choreographer, and a musician.
• The evaluation criteria are:
1. Artistic/expressive evaluation
2. Technical evaluation and best direction
3. Evaluation of best idea and content
4. Evaluation of best synthesis ability
5. Evaluation of the best relational aspect between contents, TIME, and dance
• Scores will be expressed out of ten.
• The works with the highest overall score(s) will receive the Libera Connessione Award 2026 (2nd edition).
The jury’s decision is final and unquestionable.
5. Communication
• The top three entries will be made public. The winner(s) will be contacted by email and then by phone. The winner(s) undertake to present the work(s) online on April 29, 2026.
6. Winner’s Obligations
• The winner(s) are required to attend (online) the awards ceremony. In the event of problems with the selected work(s) (e.g. plagiarism, or unavailability of a winner), the jury may declare the next ranked entry as winner.
• All participants grant the competition organization the right to use their videos for promotional and cultural purposes, always respecting the moral rights of the authors.
7. Expenses
• If a winner wishes to attend in person with the Commission, travel and accommodation expenses to participate in the awards ceremony will be at their own expense.
8. Ambassador of the Award
• The winners of the Libera Connessione Award will act as Ambassadors of the Award until the next edition’s winners are announced.
