Festival Internacional de Cine del Gran Santander FICGS (1)

Festival start: 17 June 2025      Festival end: 20 June 2025

The Greater Santander International Film Festival (FICGS) is a space that unites filmmakers, artists, and film lovers through a platform for exhibition, discussion, scholarship, and cultural exchange in the departments of Santander and Norte de Santander. Our mission is to strengthen the Colombian and regional audiovisual industry by promoting and showcasing the talent of young filmmakers from Santander and Colombia.

Objective:

We seek to promote film culture and film production from various discussion forums, inviting constructive and creative dialogue among Santander society, its ecosystem and artistic universe, its schools, universities, foundations, private companies, public institutions, etc. It will also be a critical space for the Colombian audiovisual industry, encouraging the creation and exhibition of national and international film projects.

Specific Objectives:

• Promote the development of new talent in the audiovisual sector in Santander.

• Provide access to cinema for vulnerable communities and educational sectors.

•Promote local film production through calls for proposals and workshops.

•Create exhibition and dissemination spaces for national and international audiovisual projects.

•Promote social inclusion through film, including the participation of incarcerated individuals.

•Strengthen the regional film industry through strategic alliances and academic activities.

Expected Impact:

• Strengthening of film culture and film production in the region.

• Inclusion of vulnerable populations in the audiovisual process.

• Generation of new talent in the film industry.

• Connection between different actors in the film industry.

Cash Prizes: 49,000,000$

The Festival has established the following cash prizes in Colombian pesos for the different categories. The awarding of prizes will be determined by the invited juries for each competitive section. These prizes may be increased in value, but not reduced, prior to the festival:

1. Los Santanderes Official Short Film Competition $5,000,000 COP
2. Colombian Official Short Film Competition $5,000,000 COP
3. International Official Short Film Competition $5,000,000 COP
4. Colombian Official Feature Film Competition $10,000,000 COP
5. Ibero-American Official Feature Film Competition $10,000,000 COP
6. Fiction and Documentary Series Official Competition (FUTIC) $10,000,000 COP
7. Los Santanderes Official Music Video Competition $2,000,000 COP
8. Colombian Official Community Film Competition $2,000,000 COP

Note Important:
*Costs incurred by transactions required for prize payment, or legal withholdings, will be borne by the winners or, where applicable, deducted from the prize value.

The Gran Santander International Film Festival (FICGS) will feature the following showcases and competitive sections, developed through this public call:

Official Short Film Competition of Los Santanderes

Official Colombian Short Film Competition

Official International Short Film Competition

Official Colombian Feature Film Competition

Official Ibero-American Feature Film Competition

Official Fiction and Documentary Series Competition (FUTIC)

Official Music Video Competition of Los Santanderes

Official Colombian Community Cinema Competition

CONSIDERATIONS

1st Consideration: FICGS will take place from June 17 to 20, 2025, in the cities of Bucaramanga (Santander) and Cúcuta (Norte de Santander) as the main venues. There will also be academic and cinematic programming in intermediate cities within both departments, which will be confirmed in early June 2025.

2nd Consideration: The call for entries for films and/or series will be open from April 10, 2025, until May 12, 2025, at 11:59 p.m. (Colombian time).

3rd Consideration: Submitting a film or series to the festival is free of charge and must be done exclusively through the Festhome platform (https://festhome.com/festival/festival-internacional-de-cine-del-gran-santander). However, please note that Festhome may charge producers a fee for using their platform.

4th Consideration: Only for the Official Colombian Community Cinema Competition, submissions must be sent by email to direccionartistica@festivalficgs.com with the following information included in the body of the email: Private viewing link with password / names of the filmmakers / contact mobile phone number / place and date of production / brief account of the process behind the submitted short film. Please use the subject line: "Competencia Cine Comunitario" followed by the “film title”.

5th Consideration: Without exception, the production date of all submitted films must be after January 1st, 2024. The production date for series funded by FUTIC must be after June 1st, 2023.

6th Consideration: All films submitted to the 1st edition of FICGS will be selected by a curatorial committee led by the festival's artistic direction and composed of film professionals and specialists.

7th Consideration: FICGS will explore all formats, techniques, and cinematic genres in each section; therefore, we accept fiction, non-fiction, animation, experimental works, and any audiovisual project with socio-cultural and/or artistic value—either in form or content—as deemed relevant by the festival’s curatorship.

8th Consideration: Films and series submitted to the competition must not have been previously released or made publicly available on streaming platforms (e.g., YouTube, Netflix, RTVCPlay, etc.).

9th Consideration: National and regional premieres will be prioritized during the selection process. Nevertheless, all eligible films and series are welcome, provided they meet the following requirements:

Feature films must have a minimum duration of 60 minutes.

Short films must not exceed 25 minutes.

Series must include 3 to 6 episodes, each 20–30 minutes in length.

10th Consideration: The exhibition format for selected feature films will be DCP only. The festival’s technical department will contact the production team to confirm encryption and delivery details. If physical shipment is required, associated costs and insurance will be the responsibility of the producers. For short films and music videos, the exhibition format will be coordinated directly with the selected producers. In all cases, the minimum required resolution is HD (1920 x 1080 px).

11th Consideration: For the Short Film Competition of Los Santanderes, the director or producer must be a native of Santander or Norte de Santander, or prove at least five years of residence in one of these departments. Additionally, the short film must have been shot entirely in one of these two departments. Films must not exceed 25 minutes in length.

12th Consideration: For the Colombian Short Film Competition, the director or producer must be a Colombian national or prove at least five years of residence in the country. The short film must have been shot entirely in Colombia and must not exceed 25 minutes in length.

13th Consideration: For the Colombian Feature Film Competition, both the director and the producer must be Colombian nationals or prove at least five years of residence in the country. The film must have been shot at least 70% in Colombian locations, as verified in the final cut. The film must not have premiered in Colombian commercial cinemas, except in specific cases deemed relevant by the festival’s editorial committee, considering the current challenges in Colombian film distribution.

14th Consideration: Films and short films whose primary language is not Spanish must include Spanish subtitles. All translation and subtitling costs are the responsibility of the producers.

15th Consideration: A film or series may only be submitted to one competition or showcase category. In case of multiple submissions, only the first one (chronologically) will be considered.

16th Consideration: By submitting a film to the festival, the producer/distributor authorizes the use of excerpts and promotional materials for FICGS’s promotional activities. Submission also implies acceptance of all rules and conditions of this call for entries.

17th Consideration: The festival’s management will appoint the juries for each category, composed of qualified professionals from the cultural, academic, and artistic sectors of Los Santanderes and Colombia. No juror may have been involved in the production or selection of the films. Jury deliberations will be confidential and decisions made by simple majority. The artistic director may attend jury meetings as an observer, without intervening.

18th Consideration: The “Official Fiction and Documentary Series Competition (FUTIC)” aims to showcase and evaluate the best national series—both fiction and documentary—produced with support from the MinTIC’s FUTIC fund, whether by public broadcasters or private producers through the Abre Cámara call. Eligible series must have been produced after June 1st, 2023, meaning productions from the two years preceding FICGS will be considered.

19th Consideration: Any additional questions may be addressed via email at: info@festivalficgs.com