Vienna Shorts

SUBMISSION TERMS
VIENNA SHORTS 2024

I. GENERAL INFORMATION
II. FILM SUBMISSION
COMPETITIONS
NON-COMPETITIVE SECTIONS
SUBMISSION FEES & MATERIALS
PREMIERE RULE
III. SELECTION
IV. FESTIVAL PRESENTATION
V. RIGHTS & DATA PROTECTION

I. GENERAL INFORMATION

VIENNA SHORTS is the international short film festival in Vienna. The presentation of short films and the exchange about them are the main focus. The festival is organized by the association Independent Cinema and shows about 300 productions under 30 minutes. The competition is structured in four categories, for each of which separate entries can be submitted. Other sections include portraits and thematically curated programs.

VIENNA SHORTS 2024 will take place in cinemas in Vienna from May 28 to June 2, 2024. The festival presents short cinematic works in the cinema and online. (This is subject to regulatory requirements during this period or events of force majeure).

VIENNA SHORTS is a qualifying festival for the Academy Awards® (Oscars), the European Film Awards (EFA), the British BAFTA Awards as well as the Austrian Film Award and awards prize money of approximately EUR 29,000 annually.

The festival sees itself as a political and fair film festival, which is committed to responsible and transparent dealings with filmmakers and all those involved, as well as ecologically sustainable conduct. Details can be found in the festival’s compliance guidelines (https://www.viennashorts.com/en/downloads)

Should there be any short-term changes regarding the implementation, organization or structure of the festival or regarding the prize money, these will be communicated immediately via the festival's channels.

II. FILM SUBMISSION
For the VIENNA SHORTS 2024 competitions, films of all genres and formats up to 30 minutes in length and with a completion date after January 1, 2023 can be submitted if they have not been submitted to the festival before. (A re-submission is only possible if the film has been substantially altered).

Films can be submitted via the festival’s own platform Filmchief (via the website viennashorts.com) or via the submission platform FilmFreeway. Submitters from Iran who are restricted from making international payments can apply for a free submission through the Filmchief platform.

If the submitted film contains non-English language dialog or text, English subtitles must be provided. This also applies to German language films.

For the submission of films, working or raw versions of films are accepted—however, the image editing process should already be completed at the time of submission (picture-lock).

The regular submission deadline for the 21st festival edition is January 5, 2024 for all submissions.
The deadline for late submissions to the competitions (II.A) is January 31, 2024. No films will be accepted after the end of the extended deadline.

A. COMPETITIONS
Entries can be submitted in four competition categories: Fiction & Documentary is devoted to international short fiction and short documentary films, Animation Avantgarde to international animation and experimental film. The Austrian Competition is dedicated to national productions, the Austrian Music Video Award is given to the best national music video. On the festival website you can find mission statements for all four categories.

International productions can be submitted for the two competitions Fiction & Documentary and Animation Avantgarde. For the Austrian Competition and the Austrian Music Video Award, only productions by Austrian directors or producers or works that were (partly) produced in Austria or were mainly financed by Austrian institutions are eligible. The festival reserves the right to assign films to a different category than the one for which they were originally submitted.

The VIENNA SHORTS Awards are endowed with EUR 1.500,- to 6.000,- each, depending on the competition. Several prizes are awarded per competition. In addition, special prizes and audience prizes are awarded.

Prizes are awarded in all categories by expert juries. The juries consist of three film industry professionals, are international and diverse by category and gender. Their expertise is brought in upon invitation. All films are made available to the jury members for viewing in the best possible quality.

B. NON-COMPETITIVE SECTION
Entries are also possible for non-competitive festival sections. (All films that have already been submitted for a competition will be previewed for all festival categories and do not have to be additionally submitted in this category). Films are eligible for this category if they either do not meet the conditions of the competition categories, are not intended for a competition presentation and can be assigned to one of the following categories:
– Late Night Movies – Non-competitive Section
– International Music Videos – Non-competitive Section
– Films For Kids – Non-competitive Section
– Films For Young People – Non-competitive Section

The category Late Night Movies includes the genres of trash film (Très chic), horror film (Nightmares), and erotic films (Kinky Kino). The films in the category Films For Kids are aimed at people up to 12 years old, the films in the category Films For Young People are aimed at people over 12.

Films of all genres and formats up to a length of 45 minutes and with a completion date after January 1, 2022 are accepted.

C. SUBMISSION FEES & MATERIALS
In order to guarantee a high-quality selection process and a professional handling, VIENNA SHORTS charges an entry fee. This fee is EUR 15 (USD 17) for short live action films and short documentaries (Fiction & Documentary) and EUR 10 (USD 12) for animation and experimental films (Animation Avantgarde) during the regular submission period. For non-competitive films (Non-competitive Section) EUR 7 (USD 8) will be charged.

During the extended submission period (January 6 to January 31, 2022) the entry fee for all competition categories—including the Austrian Competition and the Austrian Music Video Award—will be increased by EUR 10 (USD 12) respectively.

The festival reserves the right to change the entry fee. Please note that the entry platform FilmFreeway as well as the payment platform PayPal may charge additional handling fees. A refund of the entry fees is not possible.

In addition to a preview copy and a film still, only the key data of the film will be requested during the submission process. In the case of an invitation to VIENNA SHORTS 2023, in a second step the completion of the data for the catalog, the website, the app and—in case of an online presentation—the streaming platform will be requested.

D. PREMIERE RULE
There is no strict rule for premieres. In order to guarantee the highest possible relevance of the competition entries for the audience and the guests, preference is given in all competition categories to those films that were neither shown in a Viennese cinema nor available online before VIENNA SHORTS in Austria. The festival reserves the right to show films otherwise not at all or only out of competition.

For public screenings in Vienna, an exclusivity clause also applies: If films are shown between January 1, 2024 and the end of the festival in front of an audience in Vienna, they can only run out of competition at VIENNA SHORTS. (The only exception are competition screenings at the animation film festival Tricky Women).

III. SELECTION
All submitted films will be viewed and evaluated by professional programmers and viewers. This process can partly be done outside of Austria and does not have to be done via the submission platforms.

By April 30, 2024 at the latest, all submitted films will receive a notification by email. Notification of the selection for the VIENNA SHORTS 2023 program will be sent out by March 31, 2023 at the latest. Please be patient, as the program selection will be carried out step by step due to the high number of submissions and will only be completed by this date.

A notification will be sent by email in any case. (Should the email not arrive due to technical reasons, e.g. spam filters, the status of the film can also be checked via the submission platforms from the beginning of May).

Should the submitted film be selected for VIENNA SHORTS 2023, the festival will communicate immediately thereafter the deadline for receiving the screening copy, request further data for catalog, website, app and/or streaming platform and contact the director/s regarding a visit to the festival. If a film is not selected, please understand that no further feedback is possible.

Once the film has been selected, the logo of VIENNA SHORTS and the text “Official Selection VIENNA SHORTS 2023” can be used for advertising purposes. This logo and the text will be transmitted in digital form. Films in non-competitive sections are also provided laurels.

IV. FESTIVAL PRESENTATION
The festival aims to present each selected film in the best possible form––both in theaters and online. For the theatrical screening, the festival aims to show all films in their original format and in the presence of the directors and film teams.

For all competition films, individual texts will be written and published in the catalog, on the website, in the festival app and/or on the streaming platform. The texts can also be used further with reference to the authorship (first name last name, VIENNA SHORTS).

The guest department will contact the director (or another representative of the creative team) in order to enable a personal presence at the screening in Vienna. The festival supports an environmentally friendly journey to Vienna.

The festival actively seeks to connect filmmakers with industry representatives, programmers and each other by organizing its own industry program, holding receptions and meetings, and providing guest lists with contact information (with the consent of the respective persons).

The festival pays a screening fee for the presentation of films outside the competition. VIENNA SHORTS cannot pay license fees for screenings within the competition. If the film has been submitted for a competition and is presented outside of the competition, screening or license fees will also be paid.

If the submitted film contains non-English language dialog or text, English subtitles must be provided for the presentation. This also applies to German language productions. Burned-in subtitles for the theatrical screening must not be in the black part of the film.

DCP, 35mm film and 16mm film are possible for cinema screenings. Film copies will be insured for the duration of the festival. The festival will not accept any deliveries that are subject to customs duties, taxes or shipping charges. In the case of an analog film copy, the festival will return the film (including shipping charges) to the original shipping address or to an address previously provided by the submitter.

For presenting the film in the video library for accredited professionals and in case of a screening on the festival's streaming platform, the festival requires a file upload. Specifications on digital formats for theatrical and online screenings will be communicated to submitters upon selection of the film.

V. RIGHTS & DATA PROTECTION
By submitting a film, the submitter guarantees that he/she owns all rights to the film (especially intellectual property) or is authorized to make the submission on behalf of the rights holder(s), and that no rights of third parties will be infringed upon by a screening or other use for the purposes of the festival. Should the rights of third parties nevertheless be violated, the festival will indemnify the submitter.

In the event of a selection, the submitted film may be shown several times (including reruns) during the festival period. If the film wins an award at VIENNA SHORTS 2023, the film may also be shown twice in the cinema or online in the framework of best-of programs following the festival. In this case the submitter will be contacted in advance.

With the submission of the film, the festival is allowed to use the film title, credits and the name of the director as well as film stills and film excerpts (max. 40 seconds) for general promotion in the context of reporting on the festival (incl. TV, web, cinema, showreel). The festival also reserves the right to grant representatives of the press or selected industry visitors password-protected access to the film.

All selected competition entries are automatically part of the video library, which is offered on the streaming platform for all accredited industry professionals. The video library is password-protected.

With the submission for VIENNA SHORTS, the festival is allowed to process the given data for the purpose of handling the festival and its archive. This consent is the legal basis for the data processing (according to the GDPR—General Data Protection Regulation of the European Union). The data will only be stored as long as necessary for the above mentioned purpose and will not be passed on to third parties. Further information on data protection and rights according to the GDPR can be found here: https://viennashorts.filmchief.com/shop/privacy-policy

The regulations for submissions to VIENNA SHORTS are published in German and English. In case of doubt, the German version will be decisive.

Please send all questions regarding the submission to the following email address: film@viennashorts.com

August 16, 2023