I. THE FESTIVAL
Nouveaux Regards Film Festival is now preparing its 7th edition. The purpose of the festival is to provide a platform for Caribbean filmmakers to present their work, meet with professionals of the industry invited by the festival, learn new skills, create new networks and make innovative projects emerge.
The main goals of the festival are:
● to offer the best of Caribbean cinema by revealing the talent of Caribbean film directors,
experienced or not, through a competition of about 20 films.
● to explore new and hybrid forms of screen-based storytelling
● to organise special screenings for the audience to experience Cinema differently
● to raise awareness among the audience, especially the young audience, about the process of cinematographic creation in order to help them build a more critical attitude, to encourage self-expression, to challenge emotions, provoke thoughts and raise curiosity in general.
Cinémas d’Ici et d’Ailleurs, the non-profit organisation in charge of the festival, is supported by the Regional Council of Guadeloupe, Canal Plus Caraïbes, the Directorate of Cultural Affairs (DAC) of Guadeloupe, the National Centre of Cinematography and Animated Pictures (CNC), the French Ministry of the Overseas, as well as numerous private sponsors.
We look forward to welcoming you to our 7th edition, 20-24 March 2024 in Guadeloupe, French Caribbean. Please note, that if conditions are not met, the organisers may decide to postpone or cancel this year’s festival or to turn it into a virtual edition. The festival team will contact the participants well in advance to let them know.
Please find outlined below information on submitting a film for consideration for NRFF 2024. If you still have any questions after reading, please contact us at films@nouveauxregardsff.com.
II. SELECTION CRITERIA
1. The official selection will include short fiction films and documentaries (feature-length or short). A feature film category might open if at least 3 feature films can be shortlisted.
NRFF regards short films as 45 minutes or under, and feature films as any over 45 minutes.
2. Only Films produced & completed after 1st July 2022 are eligible for the festival.
3. For your submission to be considered, the film must either:
- have been made by a film Director originated from or living in one of the following Caribbean islands: Guadeloupe, Martinique, Saint-Martin, Saint-Barthelemy, French Guiana, Antigua-and-Barbuda, Anguilla, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Cuba, Curacao, Dominica, Grenada, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, Dominican Republic, St Kitts and Nevis, Saint-Lucia, Saint-Vincent & the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, Costa-Rica, Guyana, Surinam, Virgin Islands, Bonaire, Porto-Rico;
- have been produced by a Film Production company based in one of the Caribbean islands listed above;
- be about a topic related to the Caribbean.
For the avoidance of doubt, As long as the submissions meet one of the three criterias above, they will be accepted.
4. All non-French speaking films screened at NRFF require French subtitles. When submitting your film to NRFF, you agree to have French subtitles made and submitted in time before the screening. However, for preselection, subtitles are not necessary. Subtitles have to be of professional quality. Using Google Translation or other translating software is not accepted. The festival can recommend the services of a subtitle translator agency if needed.
5. NRFF is particularly interested in World, International, European or National (France) Premieres, and first or second features. National Premiere status is required for all non-French speaking Caribbean submissions, short, documentary or feature films. There is no Premiere status requirement for French-speaking submissions.
6. Films may have previously been publicly screened anywhere outside of France. However, we are unable to accept films that have been screened in another competitive film festival in Guadeloupe within the 3 months preceding the festival, and films that have been broadcast or otherwise made publicly available (including online) before the end of the festival, 24 March 2024.
7. Films that are available to purchase before the end of the festival are not eligible. This includes DVD/Bluray/online digital download formats.
8. Promotional, institutional, corporate films, reports, news broadcasts and documentaries of a strictly journalistic nature are not eligible (e.g. films promoting tourism, charitable appeals, etc.). The same applies to racist, obscene, excessively violent and propagandistic films. If your film does not match the above criteria and you still submit your film, your film will not be considered, and we might not get in touch with you to inform you. The final selection of all films presented at the Festival and their placement in the NRFF programme is at the discretion of the programming team.
III. AWARDS
The following awards will be given at the 7th Nouveaux Regards Film Festival.
SHORT FILM AWARDS
Canal + Revelation Award
This category is open to short fiction films from Guadeloupe, Martinique and French-Guiana
which have not been co-produced by Canal + Antilles.
This award is in the form of broadcasting rights agreement for 18 months paid directly to the
Production of the film.
Short Film Award
All short fiction films in official selection are eligible for the Short Film Award. The award carries
a cash prize and is presented to the director.
Audience Award
Each year NRFF invites our audience to vote for their favourite short film in the program. All
short fiction films in official selection are eligible for the Audience Award.
This award carries a cash prize and is presented to the director.
“Poté Ganm” Award
Inaugurated in 2023, the award carries a cash prize. Are only eligible debut short films which
have been self-produced by the director.
“Jeunes Regards” Award
The award carries a cash prize and is presented to the director. All short fiction films in official
selection are eligible for the Jeunes Regards Award. The jury consists of students of a local school
studying cinema.
DOCUMENTARY AWARDS
All documentaries, either short or feature-length, are eligible for the Documentary Award.
The award carries a cash prize and is presented to the director.
FEATURE FILM AWARDS
If the selection team of the festival can shortlist at least 3 feature films, this category will be open.
● The festival reserves the right to add other Award categories
● Winners will be announced on March 24, 2024. The judges’ decision is final.
● The winner will be asked to record a thank you video in case they cannot be physically
present to receive their award during the Award ceremony in Guadeloupe on Sunday 24
March 2024.
● Awards and prizes will be granted to the director of the film automatically, except for the
Canal + Revelation Award and unless asked otherwise when the film is selected.
● All selected entries receive Official Selection Laurel. Winners will receive an Official Laurel.
The annual winners will be presented with:
An Official Laurel
An Official Certificate/ Trophy
A cash price (based on film submit category & sponsors)
● Any submission outside of competition is also considered, but must be subject to a separate
contact via the address: films@nouveauxregardsff.com
IV. HOW TO SUBMIT
NRFF is a partner of FilmFreeway. The link to the NRFF FilmFreeway submissions page is:
www.filmfreeway.com/NouveauxregardsFilmFestival
FilmFreeway allows you to submit a Secure Online Screener. From there, your submission will be
processed and assigned to NRFF programmers for viewing.
FilmFreeway allows you to check the status of your submission through their website.
Submissions are open from 11 October 2023 to 15th January2024
Registration for the competition is free.
Screener: Entries are submitted via internet links such as Vimeo, Youtube or Dailymotion. The link and
password must be valid and active at the time of submission and until the end of the festival. Films
sent by We Transfer or by post will not be viewed.
● ROUGH CUTS / WORKS IN PROGRESS. Our programmers are happy to consider rough cuts and
will judge the film accordingly. We will not reject any film on the basis of being incomplete,
however you should be confident that your film will be complete well in advance of the start
of the Festival. Please note that due to the large volume of titles we receive, we cannot
guarantee that programmers will be able to watch the completed film at a later date. Please
consider this before submitting the rough cut and aim to have your final cut ready and
submitted by 29 January 2024. When submitting a rough cut, please provide details of the
elements of your film still to be completed (e.g. colour grade, sound mix, VFX etc).
● NRFF will only consider a previously submitted film if it has been considerably re-edited or
re-shot. Please include a cover letter with details of the changes made to the film since its
previous submission.
● If your Secure Online Screener does not work, we will contact you and request another
screener. However, in this case there is a risk that we will not receive the working copy in
time to view, and screeners that do play properly will get priority. When submitting your
Secure Online Screener please ensure that it plays fully before submitting.
● Please make sure that you inform us of any changes to your contact details by emailing
films@nouveauxregardsff.com. It is vital that we have the correct information should we
require to contact you about your submission.
V. SUCCESSFUL SUBMISSIONS
1. If your submission is successful, you will be notified by 28th of January 2024 and our official Entry Form and Screening Guidelines will be sent to you for completion and return.
The promotional material will include 3 to 5 photos of the film, the official poster, a trailer,
the biography/filmography (400 characters maximum) and a photo of the director. Each
photo must be submitted in high definition (300 dpi minimum) and must mention the
credit of the photos on the file, preceded by the symbol © (Ex:TitleofFilm©nameofphotographer.jpg).
2. Links, digital uploads, and physical copies must be received by 29 January 2024. If
necessary, a backup copy (DVD, digital file or blu-ray) may be requested. Shipping costs for
the films are the responsibility of the applicant.
3. The films selected for the official competition will be made available free of charge to
NRFF for the screenings scheduled during the festival (usually but not limited to 2 public
screenings per film, any private screenings necessary for the Jury).
4. Each director of the official selection will be granted an accreditation for the whole
duration of the festival. The festival cannot provide transportation and accommodation for
the festival. 5 invitations per screening will be offered to each director for each public
screening of their film during the festival.
VI. AGREEMENT
Submission to NRFF constitutes agreement to all rules, regulations and conditions contained in this document and your consent that your film be considered for any awards that may be given at the Festival. Anyone submitting a film guarantees that the information provided on the submission form is accurate.
Each participant declares that they hold all the rights of reproduction, exhibition and distribution of their film. Submission also certifies that all film and music rights and clearances have been obtained.
By submitting, you agree not to withdraw your film from NRFF after it has been accepted by the NRFF selection board.
You also agree to the broadcast of clips on television and on the Internet for the purpose of promoting the festival. These clips will not exceed 10% of the total length of the film, and will be in any case limited to 3 minutes; they will be used only within the framework of news reports about the Festival, TV shows or promotional material from the Festival.
