Festival Internacional de Cortometraje UVAQ (17)

Festival start: 10 June 2024      Festival end: 14 June 2024

OPEN CALL
We invite you to participate in the seventeenth edition of the Festival Internacional de Cortometraje UVAQ, that will take place from June 10 to 14, 2024 with a hybrid model (online and in person) in the city of Morelia, Michoacan, Mexico.

We advise you to read the entire call before registering your short films.

Registration and participation in the 17th edition of this festival implies full acceptance of these regulations.

All selected works will receive official selection laurels and winning works will receive winner laurels, award and certificate.

The categories to be awarded are:
- Best documentary short film.
- Best fiction short film.
- Best animation short film.
- Best experimental short film.
- Best Conciencia UVAQ short film.

There will be a unique and unappealable winner in each of the categories and if the award committee considers it so, there will be honorable mentions.



The jury will have the power to declare some category as deserted.

1. Participants must accomplish the following requirements to be accepted in the different categories.

2. The registration period for the 17th edition will be from January 32, 2024, until April 12, 2024.

3. Participants may submit in the following categories:

- Documentary short film:
Facts taken from reality with informational or didactic character.
Maximum duration: 15 minutes (including credits). *

- Fiction short film:
Imaginary events and characters.
Maximum duration: 10 minutes (including credits). *

- Animated short film:
2D, 3D, Stop Motion, Claymation, and other techniques.

Maximum duration: 10 minutes (including credits). *

- Experimental short film:
New ways to express experiences, feelings or emotions.
Maximum duration: 10 minutes (including credits). *

- Conciencia UVAQ short film:
Environmental and social problem.
Maximum duration: 10 minutes (including credits). *

* At the discretion of the committee of selection exceptions may occur.

4. The registration of short films is exclusively online in Festhome platform.

5. If you are a student, send an email to ficuvaq@uvaq.edu.mx with a copy of your student ID (current). You will receive a (unique) code, with which your movie will be registered for free.
Make sure to specify on which platform the short film will be registered.

Subject of the mail: "(name of the short film) – student code request”.

6. Students and teachers of any academic level that belong to the Universidad Vasco de Quiroga can participate in the Festival Internacional de Cortometraje UVAQ.

In the case of teachers, they can register short films to be selected only out of competition; they are not eligible to win in any of the categories. To register, you must send a photograph of your valid ID that accredits you as part of the UVAQ to receive a free registration code via email from ficuvaq@uvaq.edu.mx; without this requirement, you will not be able to participate unless you cover your registration fee by paying 100% corresponding to the date of your registration.

7. Short films from all countries are accepted.

8. Incomplete projects are not accepted.

9. Productions made from 2022 and forwards may participate.

10. There’s no restriction of the original format of the film (from smartphone to any type of camera).

11. There’s no limit of work’s registrations by producer or distributor. However, each of the works must be registered separately.

12. Each of the films must be registered in a single category.

13. Short films that have participated in other editions of this festival cannot be registered.

14. Video clips or other work that has commercial or propagandistic content will be banned.

15. To be selected it’s not required for the short film to be a premiere in Mexico; short films that have already been exhibited at other festivals, may participate.

16. Registration of the short film doesn’t guarantee acceptance at the festival.

17. For the selection process, all registered short films, whose language is different from spanish, must have subtitles in spanish or english.

18. The organization committee will make the official selection for each category based on the following criteria: concept, interpretation, technical and artistic excellence, originality and innovation.

19. The authors of the selected works will be contacted by email, and will also be notified on the registration platform.

20. The official selection will be announced on May 16, 2024, on the official website and social networks of the festival.

21. Once the short films have been selected, the filmmakers will have a deadline, notified by email to rectify their information.

22. All selected films must provide:
- Short film (Full HD with minimum resolution of 1080p - H.264).
- Synopsis (in english and spanish).
- Technical specifications (short film credits; city, state or province & country; year of production and duration of the film).
- Poster (JPG 300 DPI).
- 3 frames of the film (JPG 300 DPI).
- Director’s photo (JPG 300 DPI).
- Short film trailer (optional).
- Press kit (optional).

23. For the exhibition at the festival, selected films spoken in a different language than spanish, must have subtitles in spanish (included in the file). Films spoken in spanish, must have subtitles in english (included in the file). Those responsible for production undertake to turn in an exhibition copy with these requirements.

24. The awards committee (qualifying jury) will be integrated by three experts.

25. The decisions of the selection and award committees are not subject to appeal, and within the criteria of the experts in the committees, for this reason no explanation will be given to the filmmakers or producers of the non-selected films.

26. The selected films may be part of an activity organized by the Festival Internacional de Cortometraje UVAQ during 2024 and early 2025 (before the 18th festival) without profit or cost of any type for attendees and venues.

27. The material sent from the selected works will be used for dissemination and promotion of the festival. An extract from the short film, no more than 20% of the total duration of the film, will be used in case of not having a promotional trailer.

28. The organization committee of this festival will establish the dates, times and places of exhibition of each selected film. They will be announced on the official website and social networks of the festival.

29. All selected films will be retained by the committee as part of the film collection on the Festival Internacional de Cortometraje UVAQ.

30. No short film may be withdrawn from the festival program after the its official selection. We recommend reading the entire call before registering your short films.

31. The festival will not pay for the screening fees of any material.

32. The short film must be registered by a headline (preferably producer or director), this, in case of winning, the prize will be awarded with the name of registration.

33. Registration holders are responsible for the rights of their works.

34. According to the legislation in the matter, elements of the short film such as soundtrack, script, characters and others, must be original, unless the acquisition of the corresponding rights is proven. Any case of plagiarism will be automatically disqualified.

35. We point out plagiarism in two situations: a reproduction without authorization; or, essentially incorporating content of a work into another to attribute a creation that’s not own.

36. By registering, you declare and guarantee you have full legal right and authority to present the project for consideration by Festival Internacional de Cortometraje UVAQ and all the necessary consents, licenses and approvals have been obtained. In the event that the film is accepted by the festival, it grants the rights to use the material for non-commercial promotional purposes of this festival, without limitations.

37. In any case distribution or broadcast will be made only for commercial purposes.

38. The holder of the registration will indemnify the organizers of the Festival Internacional de Cortometraje UVAQ against claims, demands, costs, damages, expenses (including legal fees), procedures and losses resulting from the screening of the film at the festival or third-party claims.

39. All selected works will receive official selection laurels and winning works will receive winner laurels, award and certificate.
The categories to be awarded are:
- Best documentary short film.
- Best fiction short film.
- Best animation short film.
- Best experimental short film.
- Best Conciencia UVAQ short film.

40. There will be a unique and unappealable winner in each of the categories and if the award committee considers it so, there will be honorable mentions.



41. The jury will have the power to declare some category as deserted.

42. The list of the winning projects of the 16th Edition of the Festival Internacional de Cortometraje UVAQ will be published in the official website and social networks for the knowledge and consideration on June 13, 2024.

43. Any prizes awarded that isn’t received at the closing ceremony may be withdrawn at the Universidad Vasco de Quiroga (UVAQ) in the city of Morelia, Michoacán, Mexico. Once the festival is over, delivery dates will be notified by email.

44. In case of not being able to collect the statuette, the shipping cost is responsibility of the person who registered the film.

45. Any situation not foreseen in this call, will be resolved by the organization committee of this festival.

46. Registration and participation in the 16th edition of this festival implies full acceptance of these regulations.

For more information please contact us: ficuvaq@uvaq.edu.mx