To be considered for selection, kindly read the following rules thoroughly before submitting. Flouting any of the Eligibility Rules & Terms below may lead to a disqualification of your work. Please read before submitting:
General Rules
* BSIFF accepts films in the following forms: Features, shorts and episodic series.
* Feature-length, short films and episodic series must be at minimum Ghana premieres. This means, you should not have been screened publicly in Ghana prior to the 2024 Festival.
* Features and short films including episodic series must not be available online in any form, for any period of time at the time of submission.
* All films must be in English, subtitled in English or English versioned. Non-English language works must have English subtitles at the time submitted. Dialogue lists will not be accepted. Films that do not comply will be immediately disqualified.
* All films submitted must have been completed after January 2022. Any film created before the year 2022 will not be accepted.
* All films must not have submitted to the Festival previously in any stage of completion (i.e. films that were submitted in previous years will not be reconsidered. If you have questions, please contact bsiffsubmissions@gmail.com.
* If you are a student or representing a film school, you have to submit a soft copy of your Student ID or submit proof (an email confirmation from the Head of the Department of the film school via bsiffsubmissions@gmail.com ) that you are currently a student at that school.
* It is the sole responsibility of the applicant to secure clearance from all copyright holders of materials included in the submitted film. BSIFF will not be held responsible for the unauthorised inclusion of copyrighted materials within or relating to the submitted film. BSIFF reserves the right to disqualify any film with unauthorised copyrighted materials.
* You will be required to provide a properly completed and signed official BSIFF "Film Information Form” which will be provided by the Festival upon selection.
*Submission Categories*
Submissions to the Festival are divided into seven categories:
* Ghanaian Showcase (Odehye3): All fictional films (feature-length, short or episodic series) produced in Ghana and/or directed by Ghanaian filmmakers. The director must currently reside in Ghana or be able to provide proof of Ghanaian citizenship. If the film is co-directed, at least one of the directors must meet this criteria.
Please note: Animated films are not acceptable in this category. If you have an animated film, submit into the Animated Film category
* Africa Rising Showcase: All films (feature-length, short or episodic series) produced in Africa and/or directed by African filmmakers. The director/producer must currently reside in an African country. If the film is co-directed/produced, at least one of the directors/producers must meet this criteria.
Please note: Animated films are not acceptable in this category. If you have an animated film, submit into the Animated Film category.
* International Showcase: All fictional films (feature-length or short) produced outside of Ghana and Africa and/or directed by non-Ghanaians/non-Africans. Please note: Animated films are not acceptable in this category. If you have an animated film, submit into the Animated Film category.
* Documentary: A non-fiction film of any length about real events and people, often transcending traditional narrative structures. Documentary is the creative treatment of reality.
* Film School/Student category: Film must be made entirely by students in a film school with technical support from the school but without financial or technical support from broadcasters or production houses.
Please note: For this category, evidence of a student card and/or an email confirmation from the Head of the Department of the film school is a must and should be submitted to the Festival at the time of submission in order for the film to qualify. Failure to submit proof warrants an automatic disqualification.
* Animated Film: An animated film of any length (feature-length, short or episodic series) from Ghana, Africa and any part of the world.
* Music Film (Music Video): A music video with strong story-telling, conceptualization, and film production from any part of the world. Please note: Music Videos must be under 10 minutes and from any year, regardless of budget, popularity, or language.
*Fees*
BSIFF is a non-profit organization. Submission fees support administrative expenses related to cataloguing and previewing each film and for programming consideration.
Kindly note the submission fees into BSIFF:
* Early-bird entry fee = $25 dollars [December 15th - February 15th]
* Late submissions = $30 dollars [February 16th - April 30th]
* Film Schools/Students = $5 dollars
* Submission fees are non-refundable.
Programming Consideration
* BSIFF accepts Ghanaian, African and international films of all lengths and subject matter.
For the purposes of eligibility and program consideration, BSIFF uses the following definitions:
Feature-Length: 60 minutes or longer
Short: Less than 60 mins
Episodic Series: Episodic Series: Long-form fictional films that can't be told within the framing of a feature-length film and is therefore broken into episodes. No set runtime.
Programming Decisions
* All BSIFF screening programs are curated and all submissions will be considered by our programming team.
Applicants will be notified of programming decisions via email by August 2024. Final programming, categorization and slotting of films will be determined by the Festival programming team. Their decision is final.
*BSIFF is under no obligation to provide comments or feedback regarding the submitted film to the applicant or any other representative of the submitted film.
*BSIFF reserves the right to determine which award category and program the film will reside in if selected.
