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Victoria Film Festival (26)

Deadlines

31 Mar 2020
Call for entries

24 Jun 2020
Early deadline

22 Jul 2020
Standard deadline

26 Aug 2020
Late deadline

26 Aug 2020
Festival closed

06 Jan 2021
Notification date

05 Feb 2021
14 Feb 2021

Address

1215 Blanshard Street, V8W3J4, Victoria, BC, Canada

Festival description

Short film festival >1'

Feature film festival

Festival requirements

Film festival

Fiction

Documentary

Animation

Fantastic

Terror

Experimental

Music Video

Other

Any Genre

Any Theme

Has submission fees

International Festival

Physical Location

January 2019

Production countries: Any

Shooting countries: Any

Director nationalities: Any

Debut Films

School projects

Short Films >1'

Feature Films

Any language

Subtitles
English

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English

Festival description (Edition: 26)

Festival start: 05 February 2021 Festival end: 14 February 2021

One of MovieMaker magazine's Top 50 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee for the last 6 years.

Since 1995, The Victoria Film Festival has brought the best in narratives, documentaries and shorts every year to Victoria and Vancouver Island during its ten day celebration of film. Eclectic and inspiring, the Festival hosts an array of guests that includes film directors, producers, distributors, festival and TV programmers.

Prizes and qualifications

Best Feature Film
Best Canadian Feature
Best Canadian First Feature C$1000
Best Documentary
Best Short Animation
Cineplex Entertainment Audience Favourite
Audience Favourite Short Film C$500
Cultural Currents Award (Capturing the essence of a unique society) C$1000

Rules

Deadline & Fees for Entries

Earlybird postmark deadline: June 24, 2020
Regular postmark deadline: July 22, 2020
Late postmark deadline: August 26, 2020

VFF is now only accepting entries digitally. If submission by DVD is desired, please contact the programmer before submitting.

All cheque or money orders payable to Victoria Film Festival.
All funds must be in Canadian or US Dollars.
If paying via cheque/money order, include the name of the film being submitted on the payment.

Submissions

1. May be fiction, documentary, animation or experimental of short or feature length. Virtual or augmented reality projects will also be considered.

2. Only films completed in 2019 or 2020 will be considered.

3. Films which have received television or theatrical exposure in the Victoria, B.C. area prior to the festival are not eligible.

4. Films available on the internet are not eligible.

5. Please include two film stills and a director's head-shot with your entry. These can be emailed or included with submission.

6. VFF now accepts only online screeners for preview purposes. Entries should be submitted by secure password-protected internet link. The link must NOT be visible to the public.

7. If submitting via DVD is desired, please contact the programmer before submitting.

8. If selected for the festival, exhibition prints may be presented via Blu-Ray, DCP or QuickTime compliant file. Filmmakers must deliver final format as indicated for festival screening. No exceptions. Shorts will be compiled into programs for screening. Titles may be delivered to the festival digitally.

9. Virtual or augmented reality projects are exempt from some of these requirements as outlined in their category rules.

Screening Access

The Festival will provide a complimentary Guest Pass for two representatives from each feature (75+ minutes) presented and six complimentary tickets to one screening of the film. Short filmmakers will receive one complimentary Guest Pass and two complimentary tickets to one screenings of their film.

Program Selection

Entries will be reviewed by a Selection Committee appointed by the Festival Director. The Selection Committee will provide a list of those film and video works which it feels should be part of the Festival and will provide a short list of nominees for Festival awards. Entrants will be notified of the decisions of the Festival by January 6, 2021.

Upon Acceptance

1. All shipping costs to Victoria must be paid by the participant.

2. The Festival will pay the cost of outbound shipping.

3. For international films, our print traffic coordinator will contact you with specific instructions.

4. Promotional materials of selected films become the property of the VFF and can be used to promote the Festival and the programs of the Festival in all mediums.

5. At the Festival, filmmakers will be able to sell copies of their work if desired. Contact the Festival for further details.

Insurance

The Victoria Film Festival will make every effort to ensure the safe keeping of all films and videos submitted for exhibition. However, the applicant in applying to the Festival agrees to release the Festival, its Officers, Directors and other representatives from any and all claims arising in any way from the submission of materials by or on behalf of the Applicant, whether film, video or otherwise to the Festival. If you wish to insure your film, please make arrangements with the programmer. You accept these conditions by submitting to us.

Release

Your submission implies that you have the legal right to represent and submit this film for consideration along with your acceptance of The Victoria Film Festival regulations. By submitting this form, you also agree to allow the festival the use of your film and its publicity materials for promotional purposes. Please agree below.

You accept these conditions by submitting to us.

Narrative - Short

Short and Feature Films 69'<

Fee

-8%

Early 15$ 13.8$ 24 Jun 20

Standard 35$ 32.2$ 22 Jul 20

Late 45$ 41.4$ 26 Aug 20

Submissions deadline
26 Aug 20

Save up
2.8$

Submit

Looking for live-action shorts of a narrative nature.

Experimental

Short and Feature Films

Fee

-8%

Early 15$ 13.8$ 24 Jun 20

Standard 35$ 32.2$ 22 Jul 20

Late 45$ 41.4$ 26 Aug 20

Submissions deadline
26 Aug 20

Save up
2.8$

Submit

Experimental films of all lengths Works submitted to this category should be well outside the range of traditional narrative, documentary or animation forms although they may contain residual elements of them. Additionally, they may be considered if they fall within the scope of classical structural-materialist or visionary schools of experimental art. Works submitted to this category that do not qualify as either will be required to re-submit. If you are at all unsure about your work, please feel free to reach out to us before submitting and we will be happy to provide guidance. Please ensure that you include an artistic statement with your entry as it will be used in jurying. It can be included in your director's statement.

Documentary - Short

Short and Feature Films 69'<

Fee

-8%

Early 15$ 13.8$ 24 Jun 20

Standard 35$ 32.2$ 22 Jul 20

Late 45$ 41.4$ 26 Aug 20

Submissions deadline
26 Aug 20

Save up
2.8$

Submit

For short documentaries of any style

Documentary - Feature

Feature Films >70'

Fee

-8%

Early 15$ 13.8$ 24 Jun 20

Standard 35$ 32.2$ 22 Jul 20

Late 45$ 41.4$ 26 Aug 20

Submissions deadline
26 Aug 20

Save up
2.8$

Submit

This category is for feature length documentaries of any style.

Narrative - Feature

Feature Films >70'

Fee

-8%

Early 15$ 13.8$ 24 Jun 20

Standard 35$ 32.2$ 22 Jul 20

Late 45$ 41.4$ 26 Aug 20

Submissions deadline
26 Aug 20

Save up
2.8$

Submit

This category is for feature length narrative works.

Animation

Feature Films

Fee

-8%

Early 15$ 13.8$ 24 Jun 20

Standard 35$ 32.2$ 22 Jul 20

Late 45$ 41.4$ 26 Aug 20

Submissions deadline
26 Aug 20

Save up
2.8$

Submit

This category is for animations of any style or length.

BC Made - Shorts

Short and Feature Films >1' 69'<

Fee

-8%

Early 15$ 13.8$ 24 Jun 20

Standard 35$ 32.2$ 22 Jul 20

Late 45$ 41.4$ 26 Aug 20

Submissions deadline
26 Aug 20

Save up
2.8$

Submit

A category for BC-based filmmakers of all the types of short films (narrative, experimental, documentary and animation).

Indigenous filmmakers, even if BC-based, are encouraged to submit to the Indigenous Made category

BC Made - Features

Feature Films >70'

Fee

-8%

Early 15$ 13.8$ 24 Jun 20

Standard 35$ 32.2$ 22 Jul 20

Late 45$ 41.4$ 26 Aug 20

Submissions deadline
26 Aug 20

Save up
2.8$

Submit

A category for BC-based filmmakers of all the types of feature films (narrative, experimental, documentary and animation).

Indigenous filmmakers, even if BC-based, are encouraged to submit to the Indigenous Made category

Indigenious Made

Short and Feature Films

Fee

-8%

Early 15$ 13.8$ 24 Jun 20

Standard 35$ 32.2$ 22 Jul 20

Late 45$ 41.4$ 26 Aug 20

Submissions deadline
26 Aug 20

Save up
2.8$

Submit

This category is for works made by North American Indigenous filmmakers only.

For this category, the following special rules apply:
- Works may be of any length or type.
- Only works by North American Indigenous filmmakers are eligible.
- Works submitted to this section will be curated by an Indigenous curator and be eligible for our Indigenous Perspective section
- Regardless of content, works by non-Indigenous filmmakers should be submitted to another category.

Virtual & Augmented Reality

Short and Feature Films

Standard Fee 5$
-8% 4.6$

Submissions deadline
26 Aug 20

Save up
0.4$

Submit

VFF is now happy to be accepting VR and AR projects for consideration and special rules apply for this category:

- Works can be made at any time (unlike other categories)
- Works may have been shown in Victoria prior to submission but please indicate this for clarity
- Short 2D video samples can be used to represent longer works BUT
- you may be asked to show a complete work if requested AND
- complete works will give us a better sense of the full project
- A list of the gear required for your VR or AR project or a complete list of supported platforms must be included with your submission
- A creative statement from the creator or team lead should also be included.
- Projects which are not VR or AR in nature, will be automatically disqualified and no refunds will be issued.

Please feel free to contact us before submitting and we will happily provide context and answer any questions.

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