1. ORGANIZATION AND PROMOTION
SENTIERO FILM FACTORY is organized by Black Oaks Pictures and Materiali Sonori Cinema. For its communication channels, the festival can use the images of the selected films for: catalog of the festival, flyers, press review, website, social network, etc.
An extract of less than 30 seconds of the selected short films will be used in social networks, websites or video monitors for the promotion of the event.
The acceptance of the terms & rules of the festival implies the acceptance of these rules
2. DATE AND DURATION
The 5th edition of SENTIERO FILM FACTORY will be in Florence, in SEPTEMBER 2025.
3. SECTIONS OF THE FESTIVAL
The Festival has five sections:
• #SENTIEROFILMFEST: international short films competition
• #SENTIEROFILMSCHOOL: short films competition for film school students
• #SENTIEROFILMPITCH: Italian short movie scripts competition
• #SENTIEROFILMMUSIC: music and experimental videos competition
• #FUORISENTIERO: debut or second feature films competition
4. THE COMPETITIONS
-> SHORT MOVIES COMPETITIONS: SENTIERO FILM FEST, SCHOOL and MUSIC:
These sections are open to short films of any genre, maximum running time 30 minutes (credits included), made after January 1, 2022.
The owners of the short movies must send the materials requested in article 5 by June 1, 2025. In case of selection, the file for the screening (not less than HD) must reach the Festival no later than AUGUST 10, 2025.
The selection is carried out by and at the sole discretion of the Festival's Artistic Direction, who is also in charge of the honorable mention “Sentiero Award”.
The Festival Direction and its collaborators will nominate a Jury of qualified professionals - directors, actors, journalists, film critics, producers, distributors,
for the awarding of the following prizes:
Best Short Movie (750 € artistic contribution), Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Performance, Best Screenplay, “Luciano Del Sette Award" for Best Soundtrack, Best Student Short Film, Best Music Video (300 € artistic contribution).
-> SENTIERO FILM PITCH
This section is open to original Short scripts by Italian screenwriters still looking for a production. The authors must send the materials requested in article 5 by JUNE 1, 2025.
The selection of the scripts is carried out by and at the discretion of the Festival's Artistic Direction. The authors of the selected screenplays will be invited to pitch their projects during the Festival. The authors cannot exempt themselves from this presentation under penalty of exclusion from the Festival.
The Festival Direction will nominate a Jury of qualified professionals - directors, journalists, film critics, producers, distributors - for the awarding of the following prizes: Best Screenplay or Project (750 € artistic contribution) and “Writing Monkeys Award”.
-> FUORI SENTIERO
This section is open to debut or second feature films of any genre, made after January 1, 2022. The owners of the movies must send the materials requested in article 5 by June 1, 2025.
In case of selection, the file for the screening (not less than HD) must reach the Festival no later than AUGUST 10, 2025.
The selection is carried out by and at the sole discretion of the Festival's Artistic Direction, who is also in charge of the honorable mention "Fuori Sentiero Award".
5. APPLICATION MATERIALS
All submissions to the festival must be accompanied by the following materials:
-> SENTIERO FILM FESTIVAL, SENTIERO FILM SCHOOL, SENTIERO FILM MUSIC, FUORI SENTIERO:
FilmFreeway entry form properly filled (under penalty of exclusion from the competition)
Fill the credits related to Director, Producer, Screenwriter, DOP, Costume Designer, Set Designer, Editor, Composer and Sound Designer on FilmFreeway
Screener link - VIMEO is recommended - available on FilmFreeway
-> SENTIERO FILM PITCH
FilmFreeway entry form properly filled (under penalty of exclusion from the competition);
Synopsis (max 1 page)
Script (max 20 pages)
Additional material (e.g. moodboard) optional
6. SELECTED FILMS/PROJECTS AND AWARD CEREMONIES
Selected FILMS from all the competition sections must send supplementary material when contacted by the festival management. All films will be screened during SENTIERO FILM FACTORY screening events in Florence.
For the competition SENTIERO FILM PITCH, 10 SCRIPTS will be selected. The authors will be invited to present their work during a live Pitch session of 10 minutes each. A jury of Screenwriters, Producers, Distributors, Directors will assign the award.
In order to access the award, participation at the Live Pitch is mandatory. The festival will offer each author a Pitch Training Session right before the Live Pitch event.
The Award Ceremony will take place in Florence during the Festival.
7. FILM SCREENINGS
The calendar and times of the screenings are decided by the Festival Artistic Direction, which will publish a general catalog of the works presented once the selection and call are closed.
The selected works will be screened in a compatible format as per regulation.
8. COLLATERAL EVENTS
The submitted films (excluding those included in the Fuori Sentiero section) can be used by the organization for collateral events and screenings, always under the Sentiero Film label. The rights holders agree to participate in these events without having anything to claim from the organization, only and exclusively for a first screening. For any subsequent screenings, the organization will have to contact the rights holders and agree on a screening fee. The organization must communicate the date and place of the screening to the rights holders.
