Giffoni Macedonia Youth Film Festival (12)

Festival start: 03 October 2024      Festival end: 08 October 2024

Giffoni Macedonia Youth Film Festival has four competitive sections for feature length films (Juniors +10; Cadets +13, Seniors +16); two competitive section for short films (fiction and animated ) and Student films .

International juries are composed of approximately 600 youngsters in 3 sections from more than 10 countries to meet and discuss about themes of screened films that affect the lives of young people. Masterclass and workshops.

The Giffoni Macedonia Youth Film Festival was started in 2013 as an initiative of Claudio Gubitosi, artistic director and creator of Giffoni Film Festival with bilateral treaty with Macedonian Film Agency and gave the trust to start new festival under the Giffoni brand in Macedonia. Lack of young audience in cinema theaters in Macedonia was essential motivation to make youth festival, but festival become much more important for young people than anyone expects on the beginning.

Award for the Best Feature Film and Best Short film in each of the sections.

Awards for the best student films.

INTRODUCTION - Organization

The Giffoni Macedonia Youth Film Festival is organized by the independent non-profit Association “Planet-M” – Skopje Macedonia. The festival is under patronage of Association “Ente Autonomo Giffoni Experience” from Italy and co-financed by the Film Agency of the Republic of North Macedonia and City of Skopje. Other associations, organizations, institutions and private sponsors also support the Festival.

OBJECTIVES

The Festival represents the ideal place for discussions and opinion confrontations of young people from different countries inspired by the films in the program and also provides a bridge between the film production universe and its target audience. The Festival also aims to promote the knowledge and circulation of products of high artistic value, capable of contributing to the formation and cultural growth of a mature critical conscience in young people.

1. OFFICIAL SECTIONS

• Juniors (+10) - competitive section for feature length films (fiction and animation) for audiences from 10 to 13 years of age.

• Cadets (+13) - competitive section for feature length films (fiction and animation) for audiences from 13 to 16 years of age.

• Seniors (+16) - competitive section for feature length films (fiction and animation) for audiences from 16 to 18 years of age.

• Short films competitive section for short length films (fiction and animation) for audiences above 10 years old.

• Student Short films competitive section for short length films (fiction and animation) made by students who are under the age of 18 years.

• Parental Experience - a non-competitive section made up of fiction short films and feature films revolving around childhood but targeting older audience.

Preferred formats: DCP, Blu-ray, File H264HD or Apple Pro-res format.

Preferred films: dedicated to youth, where the main characters are 10-20 years old, as our main target audience.

2. THE JURIES AND AWARDS
For the Juniors (+10) competitive sections the Jury is to be composed of local children (around 120) who will award the best feature film for Young audience;
For the Cadets (+13) and Seniors (+16) competitive sections the International Jury is to be composed of teenagers from all over the world (around 200-250 circa per section) who will award the best feature film for Young audience;

The Juries’ decisions are unquestionable.

3. REGISTRATION PROCEDURE

1. Terms and conditions for the admission to the selection. Films produced after January 2017 will be considered for selection and priority will be given to previously unedited films.

The deadline of DVDs, files or links submission to be included in the pre-selection is the 31st of August 2023.
The shorts must be submitted mandatory through the platform Festhome.

The following step is to upload the films and provide all the required data. For any further information please contact us at info@giffoni.mk.

Materials for inclusion in the pre-selection must be sent at the expense of the participants. The DVDs of the Feature Length Films will be returned only if a specific request is made by the sender.

2. Selection terms. The selection will take place under the unquestionable judgment of the Festival’s Staff who will communicate the results exclusively to the production or distribution companies of the films selected, no later than the 20th of September 2024.

3. Materials. On receiving official notification of the film’s inclusion in competition, absolute priority must be given to the dispatch of the following materials:
- DVD or File of the entire film with English Subtitles
These DVD/file shall be used for Macedonian subtitling if necessary; therefore screeners with watermarks are OK.
- Entry form (to be completed online on the platform Film Freeway, direct link provided on our website)
- Biography, filmography and photograph of the Director (by e-mail info@giffoni.mk)
- Complete list of dialogues in English and/or a list of subtitles (by e-mail info@giffoni.mk)
- Slides or photographs from the film (by e-mail info@giffoni.mk)
- Posters, Brochures, Flyers
- Trailer (only for feature films) (by ftp or we transfer or similar platform)
DVDs, brochures and posters should be sent exclusively via courier to the following address:

Giffoni Macedonia Youth Film Festival
Helsinki 35a -2
1000 Skopje
North Macedonia

Note: In order to promote the film in competition, it is essential that the production company give their authorization for a maximum of 2’ (max. 30” for short films) of scenes taken from the film to be broadcast on television.

IMPORTANT

4. Shipments. Any copies (both feature films and short films) for the official screening must be sent exclusively via courier service to the same address (see above) and the prints must arrive in the Festival’s office no later than the 21st of September 2023.

- All shipments must be accompanied by a pro-forma invoice indicating for customs purposes only, a value of no more than $10USD for feature films and $ 5USD for short films and indicate clearly in writing the following “NO COMMERCIAL VALUE, FOR CULTURAL PURPOSES ONLY”.

At the same time the sender must ensure that an e-mail containing the title of the film, the number of packages, the date and coordinates of the shipment (AWB number) is received in the Office of the Festival’s Staff.

- All the films in competition will be screened in original language with the addition of hard coded or electronic English subtitles and/or with the addition of electronic Macedonian subtitles.
- The prints must be subtitled in English if they come from non-Anglophone countries.
- The official copy must be identical to the DVD copy submitted for pre-selection.
- In the case of DCPs please consider the time needed to carry out tests and download or upload it. The copy must arrive within September 21st 2024. In the case of encrypted DCPs, a valid KDM must be sent for the following time frame: October 1 - 10 2024.
- Any file for the official screenings can be sent to info@giffoni.mk by 21st of September 2024.

4. COSTS AND COMMITMENTS
- The Giffoni Macedonia YFF foresees no cost for admission to the pre-selection.
- Shipment costs for films in pre-selection are to be covered by the participants.
- All shipment expenses for the films selected for competition, as well as those incurred for their return to their country of origin, will be covered by the Giffoni Macedonia YFF. In case the copy of the films is shipped from/to another Festival, we shall cover the cost of only one track.
- Travel Insurance. We recommend insurance of the prints during shipping. The expedition insurance of the prints to and from Giffoni Macedonia YFF is to be covered by applicants. The Festival takes care of insurance for the period of the goods’ stay in Skopje. The insurance value will not be higher than the cost of re-printing a copy.

5. FINAL MEASURES
- Entrance into one of the Festival’s competitive sections entails unconditional acceptance of the Festival’s regulations. It is strictly the producers, distributors or any other subjects’ responsibility to guarantee that they are authorized to submit the films at Giffoni Macedonia YFF.
- This list of regulations has been drawn up in both the Macedonian and English language. If problems of interpretation should arise the version in Macedonian will prevail.
- The management of the Festival is allowed to take decisions that are not foreseen in the above regulations and to change the regulations in special cases.
- The Court in Skopje will be considered as the competent authority for any controversy.