COLLECTIVE CITY

Cities are contested territories, by their very nature spaces of negotiation, multiple and complex subjects, divergent rights, values, claims and conditions. To understand the city one needs to recognize and frame it as a physical and political construct, complicit in the right to housing, access to natural and social resources, transportation, political freedoms and justice, simultaneously pressured by the challenges of internal and global migration, climate change and increasing inequity.

This year the Seoul Biennale of Architecure and Urbanism tackles the overarching theme of ‘Collective City’, seeking to present both built projects and research that rethink, reclaim and interrogate the city as a collective project.

As part of the Biennale's month long exhibition screening programme and the curatorial team invites filmmakers to submit work that presents and introduces the theme of ‘Collective City’ from broad and wide ranging contexts. Film is a direct and powerful way of conveying collectives as the subject of our enquiry, as well as a critique on the urban environments within which they form and operate.

Awards & Prizes

5 films will be selected through the open call and receive the following prizes:
• First prize receives 2 million Korean Won
• Four runners up will receive an honorarium of 250,000 Korean Won.
• Films to be presented at the exhibition (the 2017 edition saw over 450,000 visitors and we expect to exceed this in 2019).
• Films will be mentioned in the printed catalogue accompanying the exhibition

Rules & Terms

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
As a guide, films might:
• Critically reflect upon the condition of contemporary cities (consider themes such as Heritage, Ecology, Domesticity, Infrastructure, Production)
• Question existing systems of governance, land ownership, rights to housing or natural resources
• Present the collective action of a particular community
• Explore a method or approach by which a community is collectivised
• Test and experiment with new forms of collectivity

FILM MAKERS TO SUBMIT
• A brief 100 word biography and a 150 abstract describing the intentions of the film in word document format.
• A film still in .jpg format
• Filmmakers can submit multiple films for consideration
• Films may of be any length
• Filmmakers responsible for crediting the use of any images or footage not their own.
• All films must be titled ‘YOUR NAME_FILM TITLE_SBAUOPENCALL’ and uploaded at minimum Full HD quality (1080p or greater).
• Questions to be sent to SBAUthematic2019@gmail.com, with ‘SBAU Open Call Submission’ in the subject line.

TIME FRAME AND PROCEDURE
• Films must be submitted before midnight 30th June 2019.
• Selection will be by the SBAU Thematic Exhibition curatorial team
• The Biennale runs 7th September until the 10th November
•Successful participants will be contacted, and instructions will be provided on how to develop, finalize, and transfer a digital file
•The process will be co-ordinated by Livia Wang, questions can be addressed to her and sent to SBAUthematic2019@gmail.com

ELIGIBILITY
This opportunity is open to contributors of all ages, at any point in their career, regardless of nationality, sexuality, gender identity or race. Both existing films and films which have never been screened before are eligible. Films will be selected based on their relevance to the curatorial brief, and their fulfilment of the submission requirements.

RIGHTS:
Participating filmmakers are responsible for crediting and obtaining permissions for any copyrighted material that might appear in their submissions, including text, images, art works, music, or other filmmakers’ work. Participants must have obtained permissions from all subjects or institutions that might appear in the film.

Once the curatorial committee selects a film, the participant grants the SBAU the right to display the film in part or in whole, including screen shots or film segments, at exhibitions, online, and any other media and location, and for marketing and promotional purposes, without any restrictions.

The SBAU will credit the participant whenever using the selected film, the participant will only announce the film’s selection by the Biennale, in any and all formats and media, after obtaining the Biennial’s written permission.