HOW TO:
The Festival requires that the first 2 episodes of your series must be submitted via Fimfreeway for the Official Competition 2023. This streaming link must include a downloadable version of both episodes. Please prepare this link. Note: Submissions may be work-in-progress form; however, episodes that are not final cuts must be clearly labeled Work in Progress (“WIP”) or Rough Cut with an indication of what will change or what is missing in writing.
For any question regarding rules and regulations, please send an email to and only: entries@tvseriesfestival.com
KEY (NEW) DATES SUBMISSION - Festival: JUNE/JULY, 2023
▪ SEPT 30th, 2021 – Submissions open
▪ April 30th , 2022 Submissions close – all entries must have been completed and received by the festival at this time.
▪ June 10th Official selection announced
▪ BERLIN SERIES Awards Ceremony: tab
ELIGIBILITY To be eligible for consideration:
1. You must fully comply with these Entry Rules & Regulations, including all deadlines, episode duration, entry material and other requirements.
2. Non-English language works must have English subtitles at the time of submission (except for series in the German language). Dialogue lists will not be accepted.
3. The series must have a minimum of a “German Premiere status”.
4. All series must have been produced in 2022/2023
5. For series that have already premiered in the Country of Origin, to be eligible for the Official-Competition, the premiere date must have been after November 30th 2022 - due to the pandemic there are exceptions - please email us through entries@tvseriefestival.com
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EPISODE DURATION: 25min - 60min for Drama Series / Comedy Series / Docu Series.
Short Films: 5min - 38min.
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TV SERIES: All submitted series must consist of episodes intended to be at least 25 minutes in length. The festival will screen the first 2 episodes for series that exceed 40 minutes of length per episode, including credits. For series that run under 40 minutes, including credits, the festival will screen the first 3 episodes. Not longer than 1 hour, including credits.
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SHORTS:
All submitted shorts must not to be longer than 38min minutes in length. The festival will screen the short film including credits. We accept shorts across all genres, from animation, docu-short to fiction. The rule of our diversity norm in this specific section applies:
At least one actor/actress from an underrepresented racial or ethnic group must be cast in a significant role. At least one person of the general ensemble cast must be from underrepresented groups (women, racial, ethnic, LGBTQ+, or people with disabilities).
At least one person of the other departmetns behind the camera must be from underrepresented groups (women, racial, ethnic, LGBTQ+, or people with disabilities).
We want more representation in film, and WE WILL SHOW IT. Your films have the POWER to make it happen. We encourage the creators to have a social impact by using their talents to tell stories that matter.
THE FESTIVAL SECTIONS
Series invited to participate in the Berlin International TV SERIES FESTIVAL will be shown in the section determined most appropriate by festival programmers and is up to their sole discretion. In 2022, the festival sections will include the following categories:
IN COMPETITION
Drama Series
Comedy Series
Docu Series
Short Film
Animation
Official Competition World Premieres section: the series must not have been screened in any international festival nor have been broadcast in their country of origin before June 2nd 2022. Exceptions for local previews or market screenings in festivals in the country of origin and certain Partner Festivals may be considered.
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OUT OF COMPETITION TV SERIES
The series must not have been screened in any German Festival. The priority will be given to German premieres.
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!!! NEW SECTION !!! SHORT FILMS
DIVERSITY STANDARDS for more exposure as it must be the NORM! We are showcasing the power of diversity. Projects with underrepresented groups and people in front and behind the camera will be reviewed and selected. The standards are designed to encourage equitable representation ON and OFF screen in order to better reflect the diversity of our global population.
RULES:
At least one actor/actress from an underrepresented racial or ethnic group must be cast in a significant role. At least one person of the general ensemble cast must be from underrepresented groups (women, racial, ethnic, LGBTQ+, or people with disabilities).
At least one person of the other departmetns behind the camera must be from underrepresented groups (women, racial, ethnic, LGBTQ+, or people with disabilities).
All independently produced drama & mixed genre SHORTS will be considered. The short Film must not have been screened in any German Festival, nor have aired on a streaming services in Germany before June 2nd 2021. The priority will be given to short movies with diversity standard proof in front & behind the camera. In order to meet the standard, the Short Film must have either at least 1 leadership position or head from underrepresented groups, and at least one actor/actress must be from an underrepresented racial or ethnic group. The standards are designed to encourage equitable representation on and off screen in order to better reflect the diversity of our global population.
Short films that premiered exclusively in their home country, or with exceptions at certain festivals may also be submitted.
Submissions are accepted through FilmFreeway only. Links via email will not be considered. All submitters must be 18 + years old.
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VIRTUAL SCREENINGS ONLY (SERIES & SHORT FILMS)
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CULT & CLASSICS/Retro section & special screenings for FANS.
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AWARDS: Official Competition- The international jury will award: (SEE ABOVE)
FESTIVAL SCREENINGS
The screenings of the selected series will be held at the Cinestar (Kulturbrauerei/Cultural Center) during the festival period in June/July, 2023 and other theaters (tba). The screenings will be presented by a specialist, a representative of the series, or a member of the festival programming team and can sometimes be followed by a Q&A session.
The festival reserves the right to communicate on the selection ahead of the festival. The synopsis for each series will be written internally by the festival’s team. The right’s holders will be required to submit a 60-seconds sequence for communications purposes that the festival may use for trailers and promotional clips/videos.
SCREENINGS SUPPORTS
Public screenings: all the series will be screened in High Definition, in its original version with English or German subtitles. The right’s holders should provide the festival high definition supports in their original language and with English subtitles. The deadline to provide the required material is May 14th, 2023.
For any question regarding rules and regulations, please send an email to and only: entries@tvseriesfestival.com
All independently produced drama & mixed genres series will be considered.
Submissions are accepted through FilmFreeway only. All submitters must be 18 + years old. The entry fees are not refundable and do not guarantee a placement in our festival screening schedule.
Additional Info Out of Competition Program:
Every series may participate, no matter when it was created or distributed.
At least two episodes have to be completed at the time of submission to qualify as a series. If only one episode exists, you are not allowed to submit your series, as it is non eligible. All submissions must contain "English Subtitles" if the original is in a different language. The running time of each individual Series episode should not exceed 60 minutes. The episodes to be screened will be selected by the festival team. For each series we can only guarantee 60 minutes of screening time. The submission must contain full episodes. Trailers are not allowed. Each applicant may submit more than one series, but not more than two. They must be submitted separately.
All festival selection, nomination and award decisions made by the festival team and the international jury are final.
All submission must be the intellectual property of the submitter, or submitters must have permission for use of all content rights including music contained in their series.
„Berlin International TV SERIES FESTIVAL “ reserve the rights to use submitted content (including name, logo, posters and video clips) of the selected series for screening, presentation of awards and promotion.
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Participants of „Pitch-Your-Pilot Contest“ / Co-Pro Market & Submissions agree to not hold the festival, its employees, directors and representatives responsible for any losses, damages, rights, claims and actions of any kind in connection with the contest and event or resulting from acceptance, possession or use of any prize.
