Planet On - Festival Internacional de Cine Ambiental (9)

Festival start: 18 September 2025      Festival end: 28 September 2025

REGULATIONS AND CALL FOR ENTRIES
IX PLANET ON INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL FILM FESTIVAL
September | 2025

DESCRIPTION

Colombia becomes the stage for discussing current environmental issues. For this purpose, Planet On proposes a dialogue between filmmakers, scientists, industry, and the public through cinematic works and a short film competition. It aims to provide a necessary space where people can narrate, from their perspective, the various environmental challenges humanity faces.

Planet On seeks to find the best stories about illegal wildlife trade and the protection of fauna in Latin America, as well as any other environmental issues participants wish to address.

The IX edition of the Planet On International Environmental Film Festival will be the ideal place where we will gather to reflect on the impact these issues have on our lives and, of course, to celebrate the best audiovisual works.

The Festival considers creativity and the free expression of artists as fundamental elements for understanding reality. For this reason, Planet On will require the participating works in the different categories to meet the relevance, quality, and environmental and cinematic importance.

The call is open for both national and international short films and feature films.

Call for Entries Dates

Opening:
December 1, 2024

Deadline:
April 30, 2025

Announcement of Selected Works:
June 2025

All sections available on the FestHome platform will receive projects until 24:00, Colombian time, April 30, 2025.

NOTE: Participation in the call does not imply the acceptance of works as part of the official selection or as winners of benefits and/or prizes until selected by the Planet On Curatorial Committee.

CONTACT AND MORE INFORMATION
info@planeton.co

AWARDS

PLANET ON will schedule the winning short films and feature films as part of the Official Selection 2025.

Award Conditions

I. The winner of the category must be the rights holder to receive the award.

II. Each winner will be selected by a jury chosen by Planet On.

III. Short films must have musical rights, image usage, among others.

IV. If the chosen winner does not meet the requirements stated here and others considered by the committee and jury, the award may be declared void.

Description of Selection Categories

The selection of short films will be open to works produced between 20223and 2025, with a maximum duration of 10 minutes excluding final credits. These films should focus primarily on the environment, presented in a free narrative. The selection will consist of a maximum of five (5) short films produced in Latin America.

The selection of feature films will be open to works produced between 2024 and 2025, with a maximum duration of 120 minutes excluding final credits. These films should focus primarily on the environment, presented in a free narrative. The selection will consist of a maximum of ten (10) feature films produced in any country.

1. Fiction

Fiction: This category will include works that reflect an imagined context or situation created by the authors. While they can reference concrete aspects of the real world, this category allows authors to determine and play with the rules of reality. Stories with invented characters, imagining a utopian or ideal world, or even reflecting reality from an unusual point of view (e.g., an animal or a biome) will be considered.

Sub-genres such as short story, drama, novel, experimental, comedy, among others, will be welcome here. Ultimately, this category provides participants with many creative freedoms and a vast space for imagination.

To participate in this category, short films must have a maximum duration of 10 minutes, and feature films must be 120 minutes excluding final credits. The works should address environmental issues or solutions to them (e.g., biodiversity, climate change, endangered species, deforestation, pollution, etc.).

The narrative and concept of the short film will be given more importance during evaluation, compared to technical aspects like sound and aesthetics. However, they must meet the minimum quality standards in technical and visual aspects.

2. Non-Fiction

This category will include works that represent a specific aspect of the real world. It is an opportunity to reflect reality, concrete facts, or real stories, with the experience (and participation, if desired) of the true protagonists.

Sub-genres such as documentary, essay, biography, chronicle, reportage, ethnography, among others, will be accepted in this category. This category vividly highlights individual and community experiences, using interviews, statistics, and verifiable data to strengthen the narrative.

To participate in this category, short films must have a maximum duration of 10 minutes, and feature films must be 120 minutes excluding final credits. The works should address environmental problems or their potential solutions (e.g., biodiversity, climate change, endangered species, deforestation, pollution, etc.).

The narrative and concept of the short film will be given more importance during evaluation, compared to technical aspects like sound and aesthetics. However, they must meet the minimum quality standards in technical and visual aspects.

The categories aim to stimulate and promote audiovisual proposals from individuals with no prior experience. Students, amateurs, and industry professionals are all welcome to participate. The only essential condition is that the story must address the problem and/or propose a solution to the illegal wildlife trade or any other environmental issue.

All techniques (animation, stop-motion, experimental narratives) are welcome to participate.

Curatorial Criteria

The Planet On International Environmental Film Festival will include different film genres where the environment is the central theme in any submitted piece via the website www.festhome.com.

The following genres will be accepted through the application:

• Short films and/or feature films
• Documentary (authorial, essay, experimental, ethnographic)
• Animation
• Drama
• Comedy
• Science Fiction
• Experimental

The curatorial committee of the IX edition of Planet On will consist of three judges who will select the works that satisfactorily meet technical and creative requirements such as importance, duration, originality, budget, and CO2 emission reduction certificate*, among others.

*This certificate is not mandatory to participate in the call.

THE FESTIVAL, TERMS, LEGALITIES

A call for entries is a contract by association, and anyone who submits a film to any of the sections proposed by Planet On on this platform agrees to the terms published here.

It is understood that the contract is binding, in accordance with Article 1602 and subsequent articles of the Colombian Civil Code. By submitting your film, you agree to the conditions established in this call and the regulations governing cinematic activity (Law 397 of 1997, Law 814 of 2003, Decree 1080 of 2015, and Resolution 1021 of 2016).

The Planet On International Environmental Film Festival reserves the right to make modifications, additions, deletions, or any adjustments to the initial conditions outlined in this call. These adjustments cannot be subject to subsequent claims by third parties, according to the Colombian Civil Code and the specific regulations governing cinematic activity in Colombia.

GENERAL CONDITIONS

All works, without exception, must adhere to the following general rules:

1. Comply with the condition of being short films, either fiction or non-fiction, as required by the call for entries.

2. Submit the film for the curatorial committee's consideration, which will decide whether the film fits the appropriate category (fiction or non-fiction) according to the requirements.

3. Submit to all decisions made by the curatorial committee, whether it involves including the short films in a specific section or not including them in any section of the VI edition of Planet On. The committee has the authority to redefine the category of participation.

4. All films or audiovisual works must have a DCP projection copy with Spanish subtitles or dubbed in Spanish.

5. Only films or audiovisual works produced and/or premiered worldwide between 2024 and 2025 will be considered.

6. The cultural nationality of the films or audiovisual works will be decided by the committee based on the criteria it considers relevant.

7. The decisions made by the curatorial committee to include, exclude, reclassify, schedule in multiple sections, or not include films will be final and non-appealable.

8. The committee consists of film enthusiasts and experts who share criteria with the general direction and are responsible for evaluating and deliberating on which films will be included in the program.

9. language and subtitles: films not spoken in Spanish must have subtitles or a transcript of dialogues in Spanish (SRT format).

10. All films or audiovisual works must be submitted via Festhome (www.festhome.com). Films sent via email or physically will not be accepted.

11. The programming team of the IX Edition of the Planet On International Environmental Film Festival will communicate the curatorial committee's decision on films submitted through the Festhome platform for inclusion in the different sections.

12. If, after the call's closure, the committee deems that the submitted titles do not meet its expectations, it may freely invite films or audiovisual works to be included in the various sections and special programs, even if they were not registered through the Festhome platform.

13. In exceptional cases, due to the relevance of the films, the committee may invite films produced before 2023 and 2025 for screenings it deems appropriate.

14. The person submitting the film for consideration must be the holder of the rights or have explicit authorization to exhibit the film at the festival if selected. Otherwise, Planet On will be indemnified from third-party claims.

SPECIFIC CONDITIONS

In the sections proposed on this platform for Planet On 2025, all short films may be created using real images or any form of animation and will have complete freedom in terms of perspective and form, as long as the focus is environmental.

CONTACT AND MORE INFORMATION
info@planeton.co