Official Regulations UltraShort
Short Film Contest Organized by UltraLove Fest
July 23-25, 2025 Catania (Sicily - Italy)
Article 1 - Purpose of the Festival contest
The UltraShort short film contest, organized as part of the UltraLove Fest, aims to celebrate creativity, freedom of expression, and cinematic art in the context of human sexuality. Through the cinematic language, the festival seeks to explore the many facets of intimacy, relationships, and desire, promoting an authentic, conscious, and respectful artistic vision. The event aims to stimulate an open and inclusive cultural reflection, providing a space for emerging and established talents to engage, with the goal of enriching the contemporary artistic landscape.
Article 2 - Participation Requirements
Eligible short films: Audiovisual works - fiction, documentaries, animation - produced after January 1, 2022. The festival also accepts out-of-competition films released in the past.
Film duration: Each work must have a maximum duration of 10 minutes.
Theme: Short films must explore themes related to sexuality, desire, relationships, intimacy, and pleasure with an artistic, original, and creative approach. The short films must contain implicit or explicit erotic scenes that provide a new or unusual vision of sexuality. The festival favors independent productions and does not accept material intended for the pornography industry.
Authors: Professional and amateur filmmakers of any nationality may participate.
Minimum age: All participants and actors involved must be at least 18 years old at the time of the short film's production.
Copyright: The authors must ensure that the works are original and that the rights to images, sounds, and music have been duly acquired.
Italian, European, and world premieres will be given priority.
Article 3 - Exclusion Criteria
The following works will be automatically excluded:
• Works containing violent/discriminatory content that promote hate, racism, homophobia, transphobia, or other forms of intolerance and abuse against people or animals.
• Works that do not respect the dignity of the people represented and that show non-consensual content.
• Works that violate national and international laws on copyright and actor consent.
Article 4 - Registration Procedure
Registrations must be made through the FilmFreeway platform by June 1, 2025, at 11:59 PM.
Each participant may submit an unlimited number of works in one or more contest categories.
Registration for the competition requires a fee. The registration fee is €2, payable via the FilmFreeway platform, and does not include rental costs or taxes borne by the festival.
For each short film, the following must be provided:
• A complete technical sheet
• Signed releases from all actors involved, compliant with current regulations on image rights and privacy protection
• A short synopsis in English and, if available, also in Italian (max 200 words)
• A full synopsis in English and, if available, also in Italian (max 1000 words)
• A complete credit list
• Three frames from the film for promotional purposes
• A poster or promotional image in HD in 16:9, 9:16, and 4:5 formats
• English subtitles in .srt format and, if available, also in Italian. The screening file must be free of subtitles, which must be sent in a separate .srt file.
By registering and accepting the festival's regulations, participants authorize the festival to publish the content related to the selected films - even following editing adjustments for festival visual consistency - on the event's website, social media, and printed materials, and to use parts of it (e.g., short trailers or image excerpts) for press and promotional purposes.
By completing the registration form, all present rules are accepted.
Article 5 - Selection and Jury
The short films will be evaluated by a jury selected by UltraLove Fest, composed of experts in the film, artistic, and cultural fields.
The selection of short films will be communicated through the FilmFreeway platform by June 30, 2025. If the required materials or part of them are missing, the festival reserves the right to contact the authors privately. Failure to respond, even after a reminder, may result in the exclusion of the film from the competition.
The screening format of the selected films will be agreed upon with the author(s), and the digital copy must be sent to the festival immediately after the agreement.
The list of selected works will be published on the official UltraLove Fest website by July 10, 2025.
Article 6 - Awards and Recognitions
The following awards will be assigned:
• Best Italian Short Film
• Best International Short Film
• Audience Award (voted by festival attendees).
The awards consist of physical trophies crafted by local artisans.
The festival reserves the right to grant special mentions and establish new awards during the event.
Article 7 - Screenings and Rights
The authors of the selected works agree to grant screening rights during the festival and for any related events organized by UltraLove Fest in the current and upcoming years, ensuring that the material will not be used for commercial purposes without prior consent.
The authors grant the festival the right to keep the works in its archive for cultural and documentation purposes, unless otherwise requested by the author.
All screenings will be restricted to audiences 18 years and older.
Article 8 - Privacy and Releases
All participants commit to respecting the privacy of the actors and authors involved.
The organizers reserve the right to request additional documentation to ensure that all releases comply with regulations.
Article 9 - Regulation Amendments
The organizers of UltraLove Fest reserve the right to modify this regulation for organizational needs or regulatory adjustments, with prior communication to participants. The festival's artistic committee reserves the right to make final decisions on any matters not covered in this regulation, in compliance with current laws. FilmFreeway is the designated platform for voluntary film submission. The FAQ page and all information available on the website and social media channels should be considered as supplementary information. Participants are invited to regularly check the festival's website, social media profiles, emails, private messages, and FilmFreeway for deadlines and competition updates.
Article 10 - Acceptance of the Regulations
Registration for the festival competition implies full acceptance of this regulation.
