The Women's Lens International Short Film Festival (WLISFF) will begin its journey in 2022. With the slogan, ‘Her Voice, Her Vision,’ the goal of this festival is to provide a cross-cultural platform to a diverse array of talented women filmmakers from Bangladesh and abroad. In a bid to champion diversity and inclusivity, the platform is dedicated to portraying the different dimensions and styles of filmmaking among women directors from all around the world and celebrating the growing arena of independent women filmmakers.

The ‘Call for Entry’ of the first edition of WLISFF will start on March 9, 2022. The deadline for submission is April 30, 2022.

The festival is divided into two segments-
(i) Live Action (maximum duration: 20 minutes)
(ii) Animation (maximum duration: 20 minutes)

1. Call for entry: The Call for Entry of the first edition of WLISFF will start on March 8, 2022, and conclude on April 15, 2022. Any participant can submit a maximum of two films for an entry fee of $10. For Bangladeshi filmmakers, the entry fee has been set at 500TK.

2. Hybrid Screenings & Webinars: The top 100 short films from the 1st WLISFF will be screened in both online and offline formats over the course of the festival.

Webinars relating to the unique experience of women filmmakers will be held as well, featuring prominent female scholars, juries, journalists, activists, and film personalities. A number of interactive sessions, ranging from one-on-one conversations to panel and round-table discussions will be held throughout the festival.

3. Jury Screening: Screenings for the honorable jury members will take place from May 1 to May 5. The Jury board will consist of renowned filmmakers, film scholars and film-critics from Bangladesh and abroad. Members of the board will be announced after the initial selection of the short films.

4. Award Announcement: The award winners’ list will be published on May 8, 2022.

5. Souvenir Publication: A festival publication, ‘Souvenir,’ will seek to provide the highlights of the 1st WLISFF as well as feature write-ups from participants, partners, and organizers of the festival.

Awards & Prizes

1. Best Live Action Short Film Award – This award, including a crest, certificate and prize money of $200, will be given to the best live action short film of the festival.

2. Best Animation Award – This award, including a crest, certificate and prize money of $200, will be given to the best animated short film of the festival.

Disclaimer: The Prize Money must be collected in person or through paypal. Crest and certificate must be collected in person or the winner has to pay the shipment charge in accordance with the current DHL/FedEx rate.

Rules & Terms

1. By submitting a film, the entrant ensures that he or she has obtained consent from any and all owners, creators, writers, producers, and/or other authorized representatives of the film and has read, understood, and agreed to the terms.

2. The director has to be a woman and in case of student projects directors must submit the proof of studentship if their projects make it to the official selection list.

3. By submitting the film to WLISFF 2022, the applicant and copyright owners hereby warrant and represent that the film is wholly original and is not copied from and does not include any other work that is the subject of copyright or other protection unless such work is in the public domain or the submitting parties have obtained any and all consents, releases, licenses and we the festival team take no responsibility in this matter.

4. The submitted film must not defame any person or violate the common law or statutory rights, including, without limitation, the rights of privacy and publicity or any other right of any person.

5. There are no restrictions on the theme, topic, or genre.

6. Any single entrant can submit a maximum of two films in each category.

7. Submitted films must not be made available in any open access streaming site (e.g.- YouTube, Facebook) during the competition period.

8. For promotional purposes, clips from the selected shorts will/might be published in online platforms ONLY by the Festival Authority with the participant's consent.

9. Films earlier screened in other festivals (in any country) are eligible. The entrant has to mention the names of the festivals where the film has been screened.

10. All accepted films may be screened more than once, and are scheduled at the discretion of the festival authority.

11. All entries must submit embedded English subtitles with the film. Dialogue lists are
not accepted.

12. The festival authority may accept late submissions at its sole and absolute discretion.

13. By submitting their films in the competition, entrants allow the screening rights to Dhaka University Film Society (DUFS). Selected films will be screened in public sessions and DUFS holds the right to screen the films in selected festival venues.

14. The WLISFF authority reserves the right to rule in its sole discretion, on cases and situations not foreseen by these terms.

15. The festival authority reserves the right to disqualify any submission if they notice any violation of the terms and conditions. They can ask for proof of authenticity anytime.

16. Please keep us informed of any changes regarding your contact information by emailing womenslensisff@gmail.com

SUBMISSION DEADLINE:
April 15, 2022

OTHERS:

After completing the registration process we will cross-check your status and send a confirmation email shortly.

After the Judgment procedure, we will announce the list of officially selected short films.

Renowned film society activists, film personalities, film scholars, film activists and filmmakers from Bangladesh and other countries will be the honorable judges of the
resulting shortlist.

The Top Official Selections will be published by April 20, 2022

The Top Official Selections from all categories will be screened in several festival venues across the country and overseas.
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  • Woodyan Zoveidavi

    Hello. Im woodyan.blowing in the wind was my short film.I'm glad I participated in this experience. Festivals for women are always unique. Good luck and thank you for your choice

    May 2022
    Helpful