Announcement: Summer 2024 Award Winning films streaming now on VisualcontainerTV!
https://www.visualcontainer.tv/pebbles-underground-summer-2024-award-winners-winter-2024-award-winners/ If you didn't watch the official selection of Summer 2024 screening, here is your chance to at least see the films that won awards!

OPEN CALL DESCRIPTION

ONLY EXPERIMENTAL FILMS AND VIDEO ART!

Pebbles Underground film and video art is an online platform focused on showcasing experimental, avant-garde, underground, and no-to-low budget moving image projects by artist-humans from all over the world. If you're making absurd, uncanny, witty, humorous, queer, political, slow film, performance, dance films, or something no one has the name for yet – we're here for you!

The selection process is continuous, we don't want for the last day to watch all the submissions, we watch them as they come in.

FORM/GENRE CRITERIA:
-Experimental, avant-garde, underground, surrealist films, animation, cgi, video art, and mixed techniques (any topic)
-Experimental documentaries, including mockumentaries (any topic)
-Web-based experimental and/or interactive projects; e.g. interactive films/videos, games (any topic)
-Screendance, experimental dance, video performance (any topic)
-Experimental works 30 minutes and over, any of the above mentioned category (any topic)

SCREENINGS AND NOTIFICATION OF RESULTS:

In 2025 we'll be hosting Summer and Winter Screenings, each encompassing multiple curated programs.
-Summer Screenings will be streaming from June 14 to 22
-Winter Screenings will be streaming December 14 - 22.

If you send work before the Summer Screenings' final deadline you will be notified about the selection result on May 15th, 2025 the latest.

If you send work before the Winter Screenings' final deadline you will be notified about the selection result on December 6th, 2025 the latest.

Selected - your film is selected and will be included in the online screening (after receiving your permission)
Semi-Finalist - your film was not selected to be included in the online screening, but it was competing to be in the final selection.
Not selected - this makes us just as sad as you, but...

The artists selected for the programs keep ALL the rights, and we ask for permission again to include the film in an online screening.

Attention! We will never include your work in the screening without your permission. If your work is selected, you will receive a lengthy email containing details regarding the program, and asking for your permission to screen the work.

SPECIAL TOPICS

In addition to the regular open theme programs described above, we would like to extend a call to curators working with video artists and experimental filmmakers and wishing to suggest online programs on environmental issues, or issues of indigenous and minority rights and armed conflicts oppressing minority populations (anywhere in the world, not just Americas). This category is password protected, write us an email if you're reading this, and have something in mind. In the email, please include: description of the program and its focus, titles and links to the films in the program. In addition, please include your curatorial statement.

DRM ENCRYPTED ONLINE FORMAT

We are using a video hosting service with DRM encryption, to prevent illegal download of your art films during our online screenings. We are not using youtube, or vimeo.

ADDITIONAL INFO

All online programs will be FREE TO WATCH, so get ready for a delicious explosion of art!

If you are a filmmaker from Palestine, Georgia, Iran, Armenia, Syria, Lebanon, Belarus, North Korea, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, South Sudan, Ukraine, Ethiopia, please write us for a submission discount or a fee waiver code. In your email, please include the link to the work you are planning to submit.

For questions: pebblesunderground@gmail.com
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Pebbles Underground is an independent project not funded by any government or corporation, and we intend to keep it that way. Main source of funding is personal donations from humans organizing the project, who are artists themselves, and the main drive of the project is formed by the energy and involvement of the organizers, and the public.

All selected works are considered part of the Official Selection, and will be included in the Summer and Winter Screenings of 2025 edition. If selected, your films will automatically enter the competition for Jury Award and Audience Award, to be granted for each program in the course of a screening.

REQUIREMENTS

-premiere status is not necessary, the work does not have to be recent

-all works in languages other than English MUST have English subtitles; please avoid barely readable fonts. We understand the aesthetic struggle artists are going through while making subs, but believe it or not, subs need to fulfill their purpose!

-if we select the work, we would ask you to send a screening copy, preferably 1080p. We don't need ProRes or archival copies, but at least a h264 copy with best possible quality settings, and 48kHz audio would be much appreciated; depending on the shooting equipment of the selected work, we can also accept 720p and 44kHz

-include a short bio of the artist (it will be published it if the work is selected)

-include a short description/ director's statement about the work (it will be published it if the work is selected)

-include description/synopsis of the work

EACH APPLICANT CONSENTS TO THE FOLLOWING:

-application does not guarantee selection, and fee is not refundable;

-the festival is unable to pay the screening fee at this time;

-if the work is selected, the festival has a right to present it online, as well as in a physical space;

-if the work is selected, the festival has a right to use a still or an extract of under 5 seconds from it for promotional purposes (all credits will be included in the video excerpt or still);

-after the season is finalized, the festival has no right to screen the selected films online or in a physical venue without additional permission from the artist;

-the selected films will remain in the archive of the festival;

-the artist keeps all the rights to the work;

-the artist/submitter must have the copyright to their work (no plagiarism), Pebbles Underground is not liable of any copyright infringement;

-if the work is submitted by a distributor, or any other third party, the latter must be given the permission to do so by the artist;

-submissions are accepted only through the online submission platform.

Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • lovely people and festival, so delighted for Suzy Moxhay and myself to have our experimental film THE TOWER included, it means a lot. D

    January 2025
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    Response from festival:

    Dear David, it's a pleasure to discover your art, we were happy to host "Call of the Sí" and "The Tower" in various editions. Hoping to see more of your skillful and meditative work in the future!

  • Absolutely loved this video art festival - I make super short poetry films and this was amazing! Great opportunity to participate and also very happy my project was a semi-finalist @ Experimental, avant-garde, underground, surrealist films, animation, cgi, video art, and mixed techniques <3 thank you!!!

    December 2024
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    Response from festival:

    Dear Maria, thank you for your kind words, we're happy to know that the semi-finalist status was useful to you. Hope to see more of your work in the future!

  • How amazing! I won the audience award, I really wasn’t expecting it! The other shorts from the Sharp Teeth group were great, and I thought I had no chance… But instead: thank you, audience! And thanks to Pebbles for always being there and on time! A truly well-organized festival.

    December 2024
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    Response from festival:

    Dear Matteo, your PASSAGE was an important part in the Sharp Teeth of Thalia program. The muse of comedy is pleased :D ... Thank you for your kind words!

  • Mathieu Samaille

    I was impressed by the quality of this festival and the kindness of the team. Great communication and a lot of care taken in the selection of the films. I thank you all for your implication and for the Jury Award my video-poem Incarnations received. À la prochaine fois !

    December 2024
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    Response from festival:

    Dear Mathieu, thank you so much for your kind words, we are happy that you've had a good experience. Thank you for creating INCARNATIONS!

  • Awesome curation! Honored and grateful to have been included. My film "Phantom Requiem" got a Special Jury Mention. It was fascinating to see how other films landed/how eclectic the selections were curated; I would absolutely submit again!

    December 2024
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    Response from festival:

    Thank you for creating the PHANTOM REQUIEM and see you soon at the award winner screening in January!