Out of Bounds is an independent event, in Puglia, southern Italy.

In the 1945 the U.S. army landed in the south of Italy for the "liberation" campaign and suddenly went through Molfetta, our base town. During their stay the allies marked down few street quarters as "OUT OF BOUNDS" because of the "social dangerousness" of the people who lived there. In the first two editions, 2013 and 2014, our festival was held in two squares, Piazza San Michele and Piazza delle Erbe, near the areas still considered by many as "out of bounds", in Molfetta.

The choice of an open air cinema event in these squares is related to our social vocation, aimed at encouraging the use and and enjoyment of a certain 'quality cinema'. Next editions were held in the cloister of San Domenico church, in the harbor area of the town.
During Out of Bounds events, about one to three thousand visitors enjoy it each year.

The latest editions of the "Out of Bounds film festival" were held in the ancient arena of the Barletta castle, a suggestive and historical medieval place.

The open-air cinema “Out Of Bounds” event is run by filmmakers and focuses on empowering the very best indipendent artists and encouraging all aspects of independent film making. We're after the unconventional, the unusual, the underground, the intuitive, the innovative and the true.

The special section chosen for the 2023 edition, will be "Film Student Short"

This year the Festival will host the final step of the third edition of the Out of Bounds Film School, a film school supported by the Ministries of Culture and Education

The main awards that will be given to the winning films are:

Best Film Award
Best Director Award
Best Cinematography Award
Best Film Student Award
Best Animation Award
Best Actor Award
Best Actress Award
Two of more Special Mentions.

For every award there will be five nominations with special laurels.

1) All genres are accepted. Foreign language films must be subtitled in English or Italian.
2) Maximum film duration: 52:00 minutes (including credits).
3) All genre films will accepted.
4) Filmmakers competing in festivals that require they not to show their films online.
5) By submitting to the Festival you confirm that you own the rights of the film and you agree to allow your project to be shown in Out of Bounds Film Festival. Your name and information about your project may be used for promotion.
6) Filmmakers must be at least 16 years old to enter.
7) Submissions in languages other than Italian must be subtitled in English or Italian
8) The film production could be from any year.
9) The festival has the right to disqualify or remove any winning film for any reasons. Explanations will be given to the submitter.
10) The Festival reserves the right to make any necessary changes in regulations or scheduling.
11) The Festival reserves the right to shut the festival at any time without any notification
12) Any Film, selected or not selected, will be a decision of selection panel which is final and accepted by all.
13) The decision of jury members will be final and accepted by all.
14) By Submitting the film, you agree to our GENERAL AGREEMENT FOR PARTICIPATION Out of Bounds 2021 and that you have read our Rules and Regulations
15) Any of the works that subscribe could have the chance to be screened in other contexts by the festival organisation for educational and cultural purposes only, informing the authors if them work is chosen and why. For the purpose, all the films selected as above will be mentioned in the festival's archive.
16) The jury reserves the right to select particularly deserving works, even if they exceed 52 minutes
17) Every film selected in each edition of the "Out of Bounds film festival" gives authorization to the festival association to use up to 30 seconds of film and soundtrack for promotional purposes of the same Festival.

SUBMISSION FORMAT:
WE PREFER SECURE ONLINE SUBMISSIONS IN HIGH DEFINITION. Not only is this a more environmentally friendly method for us, but it also allows your film to be reviewed by our screeners/reviewers as quickly as possible.

AFTER SUBMISSION ACCEPTANCE:

In order for your title to be included in the Festival, you must agree to provide the following materials within 14 days of acceptance:

1. One screen shot of a scene within the project and key art/ poster (if available). Image must be in JPG or PNG format and AT LEAST 300 dpi resolution.

2. A trailer of the film emailed to us in .MOV format to promote your project on our website and social media.

3. Exhibition format of your project no later than 14 days after acceptance.

4. Copies of press releases and additional press materials after acceptance ONLY, please do not send with submissions before you're accepted.

5. If you are available to attend the festival with crew and/or talent, please let us know. Once accepted into the festival, we will also send you an online form asking you who will be attending.

Submitting your film does not guarantee festival acceptance or screening.

Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Gargantua Film Distribution

    Thanks for the awards for our short films!
    Hope to be able to be back at your festival soon

    October 2022
  • Very glad to had my film screened at the festival. Charming and quick communication of the team. Will send my next film here for sure!

    September 2021
  • Out of Bounds is a very nice festival organized with a lot of love by Gruppo FARFA. We were happy to be there and meet the team behind the festival and other directors and even surprised by receiving a special mention of the jury.

    The selection was great, with even winners of Cannes between the films shown. Hopefully, we can be there again with our next film!

    September 2019
  • Gaetano accettulli

    Cultural event of great value.

    September 2019
  • A sincere, well organized and delightful festival with a friendly staff and a great audience. Communication and hospitality are top! Moreover, Molfetta is really beautiful! As a distribution company, we strongly raccomend it!

    August 2019