Novi Sad Film Festival

Submission rules & regulation

Novi Sad Film Festival

1. General information
2. Programs
3. Submission guidelines and materials
4. Selected movies
5. Conclusion

1. General information
1.1 Organizer
Founder and organizer of Novi Sad Film Festival are City of Novi Sad and Cultural Center of Novi Sad. Novi Sad Film Festival is an international competitive feature film festival. Five day festival is organized on numerous location in city center.
1.2 Goals
Five-day festival brings current film productions by different directors, four competition selections, many off program selections and panel discussions on the future of 7th art and new technologies, a focused Industry program that creates significant space for future production and co-production development – accompanied by a music program and guest appearances by some of the cult names from the film industry.
1.3 Date
Second Novi Sad film festival will be held in Novi Sad on 18th to 22nd September 2024.
1.4 Jury

Competition programs juries will be comprised of prominent representatives: filmmakers, actors, actresses, producers, film festival programmers and selectors, film critics and representatives of cultural sector. For Novi Sad Film Festival there will be four juries established, one for each competitive selection. Special jury is established for Industry part of the festival, called Work in progress where award is to be given to the best movie in the phases of production and postproduction. Every selection has three members of the jury. None of the jury members cannot be any part of the production of the movie that is listed in the official competitive program of the festival. Jury members cannot be relatives, spouses or in any blood relative with producers of the movie listed in official competitive program of the festival.
2. Programs
To be part of the official competitive selection on the Festival, movies can apply for the following selections:
• International feature film - main competitive selection
• Game Cinematics – international competitive selection
• Student film – regional competitive selection
• Highschool film “Wednesday in school” – national competitive selection
Applied movies will be considered only if they fit to profile of one of the mentioned programs/selections
International feature film
• The best film – plaquette and 2.000 eur (award is to be given to production company)
• The best direction – plaquette and 1.000 eur (award is to be given to director of the film)
• Audience award
• Special mention – plaquette (award is to be given to director of the film)

Game Cinematics – international competitive selection
• The best Game Cinematics – plaquette (awards is to be given to gaming company)

Student film – regional competitive selection
• The best student film – 500 eur (awards is to be given to director of the film)

Highschool film “Wednesday in School” – national competitive selection
• The best film – diploma
• The best scenario – diploma
• The best camera – diploma
• The best editing – diploma
• The best actress – diploma
• The best actor – diploma

To be part of the official non-competitive selection on the Festival, movies can apply for the following selections:
• A Sad Novi – movies from Novi Sad based authors
• Eco film – movies with ecology theme
• Children's film – selection of animated and feature children's movies
2.1 International film – main competitive selection
The Novi Sad Film Festival’s main international selection presents the year’s most successful feature films by directors from around the world.
Terms:
Only those films that meet the following conditions may be considered for selection:
• Film must be feature film; advantage will have films that are produced in co-production,
• It has not be publicly screened before 1st of January 2023.
• It must last longer than 60 minutes
• It must have English subtitles (if the English is not language of the film)
• It must have at least a national premiere at the Festival (first time shown in Serbia)
• Advantage will have films whose screening on the festival includes also regional, international (worldwide) premiere.
2.2 Game Cinematics – international selection
Game Cinematics is a selection by which we connect and promote the collaboration between the IT scene and cinematography. Given the structure and form of Game Cinematics, which directly relies on and arises from the film structure of NSFF, there is room for presentation, better acquaintance, and exchange of experiences of creators from the world of gaming and the world of film. As one of the most developed segments of the economy, the IT industry is an integral part of the film industry and in that sense, we want to promote this integration, and we have introduced the Game Cinematics as part of the competition selection.
Terms:
Only those films that meet the following conditions may be considered for selection:
• Production of the video game of which game cinematics is part, must not be older than 1.1.2023.
• If Game cinematics is not in English language it has to have subtitles in English language
2.3 Student film – regional selection
Regional selection of a short feature film is an opportunity for young, unestablished directors and future filmmakers to introduce themselves to an audience and win rewards for their efforts. We wanted to stimulate future directors to create, to be active agents of the city’s film life by integrating student films in the competitive selections, to awaken the competitive spirit, and to provide an opportunity for the first showings to a wider audience.
Terms:
Only those films that meet the following conditions may be considered for selection:
• The film must be made within the official student education program,
• The origin of the film must be from one of countries of Adria region
2.4 Highschool film – national selection
Even the youngest filmmakers will have the opportunity to demonstrate what filmmaking means to them and how amateurs build the groundwork for future professionals. Short films written by high school students will be shown in gymnasium “Laza Kostić”, which is the only one in Novi Sad that has a course dedicated to performing and audio-visual arts.
Terms:
Only those films that meet the following conditions may be considered for selection:
• One of the authors of the film must consist of high school students (editor, director, screenwriter, and cinematographer)
• Production of the movie must not be older than 1.1.2022.
3. Submission guidelines and materials
3.1 Entry form, screener and additional materials
All submissions must contain the following:
• A duly completed online entry form
• Preview copy of the film
• Film submission fee processed for the programs requiring payment.
The application form should be accompanied by all available promotional and press materials of the film such as synopsis (in English), director's explication, biography and filmography of the director, and a list of all members of the cast and crew of the film. In the event that any of these materials are not available at the time of application, the material will be required if the film is included in the Festival program.
If the selector decides that the film does not meet the requirements for the submitted selection, there is a possibility to transfer the film application to the appropriate selection without first sending an e-mail or other type of notification.
Please read the rules carefully, and if you are not sure which selection your film fits in, contact us via e-mail competition@nsff.rs.
3.2 Submission deadlines
Unless otherwise stated, all necessary links and film submission materials for the Competition Selections programs must be submitted no later than: 12.8.2024.
Applications submitted after the deadline, the Festival is not obliged to consider, nor to comment on why some films are not included in a particular selection.
The date for the announcement of which films entered the selection is August 20th, 2024.
3.3 Submission fees and obligations
Before completing the film application process and paying the fee, contact your film crew, producers, sales agents and/or distributors to verify that the film has not already been submitted or to submit the application to the correct program selection or whether your film application meets all our criteria, and thus will not be rejected.
The Festival reserves the right to refuse or disqualify any ineligible applications, without a refund.
It is possible to submit more than one film. Special submissions must be completed for each film you intend to submit. Please note that each application is paid separately, unless otherwise stated.
Participation fees are expressed in currencies: US dollars (USD). The price of the registration fee refers to one film title, and is not subject to refund. The festival reserves the right to disqualify the application, if not all the conditions are met, including the change of eligibility status after the application, without any refund of any kind.
Depending on which selection you are applying for and depending on what time you apply, the amounts of registration fees vary.
3.4 Preview copy
All films must be submitted in their original language, and if the original language of the film is not English, the selection copy must be subtitled in English (unless otherwise specified). All films are submitted via the Film Freeway platform. When submitting a film, all the requirements stated on the film application platform must be complied with. If any of the requests have not been properly filled out or not submitted, the Festival is not obliged to consider that application or to explain in writing why it did not consider it.
The authors of the films selected by the Festival for the official selection must submit their film in DCP format to the address provided by the festival organizing team. In the event of a change of e-mail address, a change of password or a change in the review link after sending it, you must immediately notify the Festival at the competition@nsff.rs with that change, so that we can update your information in the application. If the Festival is not notified of the change and if the link is found to be inactive or the code is incorrect, the application may be considered unacceptable.
3.5 Announcements
The selection of all films to be included in the program is carried out by the Festival selectors. The selectors invite the chosen films to the Festival. The deadline for inviting films to the Festival is August 20, 2024. The Festival is not obligated to inform the authors of submitted films that have not been selected. The complete Festival program with screening schedules will be announced in September 2024, no later than ten days before the beginning of the Festival s. The Festival reserves the right to decide when to announce the titles of selected films.
4. Selected films
4.1 Participant obligations
After the film is included in the selection, and the authors accept the invitation via e-mail or contract to participate in the Festival, it is not possible to withdraw the film from the festival program.
Authors of films who receive an invitation to participate in the competition programs of the Festival must keep the information that their films have been included in the festival selection secret until the Festival officially announces it.
4.2 Catalogue materials
After accepting the invitation to participate in the Festival, contact persons for all selected films will receive a request to submit materials for the festival catalogue.
In order to be able to print the Festival catalogue, for each selected film, the Festival must receive a properly completed application form and other requested materials, namely: the film trailer, the duration of the film, the year of production, a high-resolution link, a synopsis of the film, a biography and filmography of the director and a list of all members of the author's team and other members of the team whose names will be listed in the catalogue, information about the type of premiere, as well as three official photos of the film in high resolution.
The requested materials must be submitted within seven days after accepting the invitation to participate in the Festival. The Festival will not be held liable for misinformation in the submitted materials printed in the official festival publications.
The festival can use all the above mentioned materials exclusively for promotional purposes of the Festival. The festival reserves the exclusive right to decide on the contents of the festival catalogue.
4.3 Promotional materials
Representatives of films included in the Festival selection will receive a request to submit promotional materials. The materials will be used in festival publications and distributed to media representatives and festival guests.
After a film has been included in its program, and for the purpose of promotion, the Festival exercises the right to use excerpts from the film, in the country and abroad, where this applies to a maximum of three minutes of film (in the case of short films, the clips that the Festival will use must not represent more than 10 percent of the total duration of the film). In the event that the clips are not available, and it is clearly established that a copy of the entire film may not be transferred to third parties under any circumstances, The Festival has the right to copy one or more excerpts from the film no longer than maximum 3 minutes in total, in strictly controlled conditions solely for the purpose of promotion before and during the Festival.
For the promotion of festival programs and individual films, the Festival has the right to use any photograph or clip from a film in digital format on its website (less than three minutes). The festival will also require the submission of a trailer (link from YouTube or any other similar platform) and a poster in digital format.
4.4 Programming and official selection
The general planning of the program and the determination of the dates of public film screenings, as well as screenings for representatives of the media and the film industry, are under the exclusive competence of the Festival's executives.
4.5 Subtitling
Selected films will be screened in their original language.
The following subtitles are required for all selected films:
• English-language films must have integrated subtitles or VF subtitle files in Serbian
• Serbian-language films must have integrated subtitles or VF subtitle files in English
• Films in any language other than English or Serbian must have integrated subtitles or VF subtitle files in English or Serbian
4.6 Format
The projection format of the festival is DCP. On request, it is possible to screen films in another format, depending on the technical conditions of the cinema in which the film will be shown. If the package is encrypted, it is necessary to submit DKDM or KDM, both for test and for official projections.
Submission of films in other formats and on other video systems, as well as on some other type of disc, in another format or with different licenses is possible only in agreement with and with the express approval of the Festival. The festival reserves the right to exclude from the program films that are submitted without authorization in a format that is different from the standard festival format.
4.7 Delivery of a screening copies of films
Screening copies of all selected films must be submitted to Serbia, no later than 15 days before starting the Festival. They must be available throughout the festival unless otherwise agreed. Participants must follow the instructions for the submission of films to the Festival (which will be sent to the producer, director or other representative of the film). Copies are delivered physically, by mail or digitally via the festival server, depending on the agreement with the organizer. The festival will cover the cost of transporting the projection copy in one direction, unless otherwise agreed.
The festival is tasked with completing all customs procedures for entering a screening copy of the film that physically enters the country.
Copies of all films will be returned no later than four weeks after the festival closes. The festival will respect the wishes of the participants to the maximum extent regarding the return of screening copies of their films. If the film needs to be returned to an address other than the address from which it was sent, this must be clearly indicated, and it is necessary to indicate the address to which the film should be returned, as well as the desired date of return.
A copy of the film is insured from the moment it is taken over by a delivery company in Novi Sad. Insurance lasts until the film returns. Unless otherwise agreed, in the event of damage or loss of the screening copy of the film during the Festival, the Festival is obliged to cover the costs of a new projection copy of the film according to the current price list of film laboratories.
Damage to the copy must be reported to the Festival in writing no later than one month after the return of the copy, and before the next screening of the film. All claims will be considered based on the reported state of the film copy.
5. Conclusion
Consent to participate in Novi Sad film festival is also considered acceptance of the obligation to respect all the above mentioned rules and criteria. The organizers of Novi Sad Film Festival reserve the right to decide on all disputed issues that are not explicitly regulated by the current festival rules and regulations.