The Black Star International Film Festival (BSIFF) is an annual film festival that takes place in Accra, Ghana. The festival aims to promote and celebrate the works of filmmakers from Africa and the African diaspora, as well as to provide a platform for African films to be showcased on an international stage.

BSIFF was founded in 2016 by Juliet Asante, a Ghanaian filmmaker and actress, with the aim of creating a space for African cinema to be celebrated and recognized. The festival features film screenings, panel discussions, workshops, and networking opportunities for filmmakers, industry professionals, and film enthusiasts.

The festival accepts submissions of feature-length and short films in various categories, including fiction, documentary, animation, and experimental films. BSIFF also presents awards in different categories, including Best Feature Film, Best Short Film, Best Documentary, Best Animation, and Best Student Film.

BSIFF has become a prominent event in the African film industry, attracting filmmakers, actors, and industry professionals from across the continent and beyond. The festival has also played a crucial role in promoting the growth of the film industry in Ghana and Africa as a whole.

Our 8th edition will take place from September 19th-24th, 2022.

Join the movement, be a changemaker. Our home is Accra, the capital of Ghana and we offer the best cultural and film experiences to all our audiences home and abroad.

Award Categories for BSIFF include:

- Best Documentary Film: A non-fiction film of any length about real events and people, often transcending traditional narrative structures. Documentary [is] the creative treatment of reality .

- Best Feature Film: A film based on a fictional script that employs actors. Length more than 60 minutes and up to 120' mins.

- Best Short Fiction Film: The film must be less than 60 min.

- Best Student Film (The Inspire Award): This category is set to award student filmmakers thus, the film must be made entirely by students and without financial or technical support from broadcasters or production houses.. Evidence of a student card and an email confirmation from the Head of the department is a must and must be submitted to the Festival at the time of submission in order for the film to qualify.

- Best Women in Film: Film must have a predominantly female crew. Any three of the Producer, directors, cinematographers, and/or Writers must be women. Proof of this must be submitted to the Festival at time of submission.

- Best Animated Film: An animated film of any length from any part of the world.

- The ‘Odehye3’: To recognize the next generation of Ghanaian filmmakers. Films must have predominantly Ghanaian crew. Either the Producer, Director, Cinematographer, and/or Writer must be Ghanaian. Proof of this must be submitted to the Festival at time of submission.

- Best Music Film (Music Video): To recognize music videos worldwide that have strong story-telling, conceptualization, and film production. We accept music video submissions from all over the world. Music Videos must be under 10 minutes and from any year, regardless of budget, popularity, or language.

- Best Screenplay

- Best Cinematography

- Best Actor

- Best Actress

- Best Editing

ELIGIBILITY

To be eligible for consideration:

No film that has had any public screening in Ghana or is available on any online platform can be submitted to the festival. Your film must have a premiere status at BSIFF.
Premiere Status films are those films that have not had the first screening of any kind on TV, in theatres, or any other film festival in Ghana.

Films submitted must be completed between 2021-2023. Any film created before the year 2021 will not be accepted.

Non-English language works must have English subtitles at the time submitted. Dialogue lists will not be accepted.

Early-bird entry fee for projects submitted from now until January 15th 2023 is $20 (US dollars). After January 15th, submission fees will be $25 until February 28th, 2023.

Students can submit at an early-bird fee of $5.

Regardless of your method of entry, the Festival MUST receive all entry materials no later than the applicable deadlines referenced. The Festival reserves the right to disqualify any submission, without refund of any kind, if it is not completed in accordance with these Entry Rules and Regulations.

Note: It is your sole responsibility to ensure that your entry is properly submitted

Invited filmmakers will be notified by email or phone via the information provided on the submitted entry form. It is the filmmaker’s responsibility to make sure to update the Festival with new contact information.

The Festival reserves the right to rescind the invitation at any time without prior notice or obligation to the filmmaker.

If your work is selected, you must fulfill the following requirements by the date(s) designated by the Festival:

By submitting your film, you:

(i) accept responsibility for obtaining any and all permissions and clearances necessary to exhibit your film at BSIFF i.e., Music clearances, interview and location permits, clearances for news footage, photos, etc,

(ii) warrant that you have the rights necessary to exhibit your film at BSIFF

(iii) indemnify and hold harmless the Black Star International festival, its parent company, its affiliates, and subsidiaries, and any of their respective directors, officers, employees, and representatives against any claim arising out of the exhibition of your film.

You must provide a properly completed and signed official BSIFF "Film Information Form” including all press and publication assets as specified in the “Materials Checklist” (the “Film Information Form” and “Materials Checklist” will be provided by the Festival).

You must provide a downloadable DCP link of the final, completed film for Festival archives and internal purposes.

Films invited to participate in the BSIFF will be shown in the section determined most appropriate by Festival programmers, at their sole discretion.

AWARDS

Unless otherwise agreed by the Festival in writing, awards will be given to the winning film director (as identified in the Film Information Form) on behalf of the film (except for Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Editing) and will be fulfilled approximately 12-30 weeks after the closing date of the BSIFF.

Award eligibility is subject to any restrictions or conditions imposed by applicable laws and regulations (international, federal, state or otherwise), and the award recipient is responsible for all applicable taxes, customs, tariffs, insurance and similar charges or costs (if any).

IMPORTANT NOTICE:

Our partners include TV stations, distributors and platforms. Please indicate on the Submission form if you would like your film to be considered for any of the above opportunities and indicate the rights available.

*The above listed awards are from the Black Star International Film Festival, and are subject to change by the Festival in its sole discretion.*

All Press kits, links and MP4s (when required) must be sent to:
www.bsiffsubmissions.com

WhatsApp or call +233 506481853 for further enquiries.

Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Jordan Pennaneach

    Great festival by all standards. It has so much potential to be better than what it is currently. Met great people, learnt so much and I'm definitely signing up for their membership program.

    March 2023
  • Antonious Bassily

    It was a great experience. It will get better and better every year. Friendly, fun and professional

    October 2022
  • thank you very much fo everything

    October 2022
  • Ken Sagoes

    We are honored and deeply grateful that our film “The McHenry Trial – Don’t Judge a Kid by Their Hoodie,” was selected as an Honrable Mention in your festival. The festival is well-organized with great communication. May the festival continue to provide filmmakers a platform that fosters creativity and self expression.

    October 2021
  • Kevin Jackson

    I have never attended the festival but I did submit a film (A short animation) which was selected. This was back in 2019. I was contacted recently about a possible interest in distribution for my short through a third party BSIFF is connected to. This shows that BSIFF is really about the progress of the filmmaker. I really appreciate festivals like this. I will definitely submit again in the future and I can't wait for the day when I can actually go in person.

    February 2021