Biografilm Festival (21)

Festival start: 06 June 2025      Festival end: 16 June 2025

Biografilm is known internationally as the cinematic event entirely dedicated to life stories and to quality cinema. Biografilm is organised by the Fanatic About Festivals association, under the Artistic Direction of Chiara Liberti and Massimo Benvegnù.

Biografilm promotes growth, development, knowledge, dialogue and inclusivity through the use of the cinematic language in all its forms, like art, entertainment and industry. By telling real lives and stories, it aims to create a free, democratic space with no distinction.

For the upcoming 21st edition of Biografilm we are pleased to officially launch the call for both national and international films to participate in the Festival, in Bologna, 06-16 June 2025.

For more detailed information regarding the event, programmes from previous editions, news about the upcoming edition and about Biografilm’s activity throughout the year, we kindly invite you to visit the Festival’s website: www.biografilm.it/en/

FESTIVAL SECTIONS AND PRIZES

The main Festival sections are: International Competition, Biografilm Italia, Contemporary Lives, Beyond Fiction - Oltre la finzione, Biografilm Art & Music, Biografilm Teen.

INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION

We welcome all international and Italian documentary films that are completed after the 1st of January 2024 which tell and outline a life story, a strongly biographical portrait. The minimum running time of the film must be 50 minutes. Italian premiere is required.

BIOGRAFILM ITALIA

We welcome documentary films that are Italian productions or co-productions and completed after the 1st of January 2024. Stories that tell about Italy and its talents today, in a dialogue between Italian and international productions and co-productions. The minimum running time of the film must be 50 minutes. Italian premiere is required.

CONTEMPORARY LIVES

This section welcomes all international and Italian documentary films with contemporary topics from a collective and community point of view, that invite the audience to reflect on topics and issues of our world today. The films in this section compete for the Biografilm Manifesto award, assigned by a selection of associations and NGOs active in social sector at a local level. The films must be completed after the 1st of January 2024. The minimum running time of the film must be 50 minutes. Italian premiere is required.

BEYOND FICTION - OLTRE LA FINZIONE

Biografilm dedicates this section to the best of international cinema which focuses on the search for the boundary between reality and fiction, questioning points of view and enhancing the dialogue between truth and staging, documentary and fiction. We welcome documentary and fiction films completed after the 1st of January 2024. The minimum running time of the film must be 50 minutes. Italian premiere is required.

BIOGRAFILM ART & MUSIC

This section celebrates art and music in all forms. We welcome all international and Italian documentary and fiction films that are completed after the 1st of January 2024. The minimum running time of the film must be 50 minutes. Italian premiere is required.

BIOGRAFILM TEEN

This section includes all international and Italian documentary films that deal with contemporary issues from the point of view of teenagers. The films must be completed after the 1st of January 2024. The minimum running time of the film must be 50 minutes. Italian premiere is required.


This is a list of the awards of the 21st edition of Biografilm:

Best Film Award | International Competition | Biografilm 2025
Jury award to the best film in the International Competition.

Hera “Nuovi Talenti” Award | International Competition | Biografilm 2025
Jury award to the best first or second film in the International Competition.

Best Film BPER Award | Biografilm Italia 2025
Jury award to the best film in the Biografilm Italia Competition.

Hera “Nuovi Talenti” Award | Biografilm Italia 2025
Jury award to the best first or second film in the Biografilm Italia Competition.

Manifesto Award | Biografilm Contemporary Lives 2025
Prize awarded by a jury composed of representatives of some realities of the territory that stand out for the value of their projects, to the best social impact film in Contemporary Lives.

Young Critics Award | Biografilm 2025
Prize awarded by a young jury composed of students from the CITEM degree program of the University of Bologna to the best film in the International Competition.

Bring The Change Award | Biografilm 2025
Prize awarded by a young jury composed of a group of young beneficiaries of the inclusion projects managed by Cooperative Arca di Noè, by the 2RMM class and by the Metropolitan Poetry Slam group of the Aldini Valeriani Higher Education Institute of Bologna to the best film out of a selection of films from the program.

Tutta un’altra storia Award | Biografilm 2025
Prize awarded by a young jury composed of a group of girls from the Oikos Community and a group of boys from the “Pietro Siciliani” Juvenile Detention Institute in Bologna to the best film out of a selection of films from the program.

Ucca Award - l’Italia che non si vede | Biografilm Italia 2025
Distribution award “L’Italia che non si vede. Rassegna Itinerante di Cinema del Reale” and 1000 € to the best film in the Biografilm Italia Competition awarded by a special jury of Arci Ucca.

TOP DOC Award - The Beauty of Documentary | Biografilm Italia 2025
12 months digital distribution award on TOP DOC Prime Video Channel, awarded to the best film in the Biografilm Italia Competition by a special TOP DOC jury, composed of content creators.

DocPoint Helsinki Award | Biografilm Italia 2025
Selection of a film from the Biografilm Italia section to be included in the programme of the 2026 edition of DocPoint Helsinki Documentary Film Festival, and the director invited to present it.

Audience Award | International Competition | Biografilm 2025
Awarded to the best film in the International Competition.

Audience Award | Biografilm Italia 2025
Awarded to the best film in the Biografilm Italia Competition.

Audience Award | Biografilm Contemporary Lives 2025
Awarded to the best film in Contemporary Lives.

Audience Award | Biografilm Art & Music 2025
Awarded to the best film in Biografilm Art & Music.

Audience Award | Biografilm Beyond Fiction - Oltre la finzione 2025
Awarded to the best film in Beyond Fiction - Oltre la finzione.


Biografilm reserves the right to add/change/remove any awards (including naming) or sections prior to the 21st edition of the Festival.

FILM REGISTRATION

Applications to submit feature length documentaries and fiction films are invited if the film meets the following eligibility requirements:

A running time of 50 minutes or longer;

Completion after the 1st of January 2024;

The film has not been screened or released in Italy (public screenings, other festivals or events, digital releases, etc).

Short or medium length films (with a length of less than 50 minutes) will not be accepted.

It is at the absolute discretion of the Artistic Directors of the Festival, and only in exceptional cases, that films that do not adhere to the guidelines mentioned above will be accepted.

A submission is only deemed valid once it is confirmed that the rules and regulations of the call have been adhered to, the link for the screener has been uploaded, all of the requested information has been provided and the subscription fee (in euros) has been paid via the online portal FESTHOME:

https://festhome.com/festival/biografilm-festival

When loading a screener to FESTHOME, VIMEO links are preferred.

All films submitted to the call that have dialogue in languages other than english or Italian must by uploaded with english subtitles.

DVDs will be accepted, but they cannot substitute in any form an online link.

The Festival is unable to return DVDs.


FEES AND TIMINGS

More than one film can be submitted by the same person.

The submission fee in euros is required for each film submitted and must be paid by the methods indicated on the FESTHOME portal.

Please note that in addition to the festival submission fee, the payment of an additional service fee will be required by FESTHOME in order to use the platform and the service fee may vary depending on the type of user that you have or create on the platform.

Documentaries

1st deadline: Thursday 12 December 2024, Submission Fee: 30 EUR (+ FESTHOME service fee)

2nd deadline: Wednesday 05 February 2025, Submission Fee: 50 EUR (+ FESTHOME service fee)

Final deadline: Wednesday 19 March 2025, Submission Fee: 80 EUR (+ FESTHOME service fee)

Fiction Films

1st deadline: Thursday 12 December 2024, Submission Fee: 30 EUR (+ FESTHOME service fee)

2nd deadline: Wednesday 05 February 2025, Submission Fee: 50 EUR (+ FESTHOME service fee)

Final deadline: Wednesday 19 March 2025, Submission Fee: 80 EUR (+ FESTHOME service fee)

Students may submit their films by paying a Submission Fee of a fixed price of 30 EUR (+ FESTHOME service fee) throughout the duration of the call (i.e. even after the deadline of the 12th of December 2024), by contacting the Programming Office of Biografilm directly before submitting the film.


SELECTED FILMS

Biografilm reserves the right to select films for each of the main festival sections (International Competition, Biografilm Italia, Contemporary Lives, Beyond Fiction - Oltre la finzione, Biografilm Art & Music, Biografilm Teen) or any new sections created for the 21st edition of Biografilm. The selection of films will be made under the undisputed direction of the Festival Directors.

Selected films will receive an official written communication with full details regarding participation. Applicants must respond to the letter accepting the invitation within five working days of receiving the mail. Selected films must be available for the entire duration of the public screenings of the Festival and for one or two press and industry screenings during Biografilm.

The programme and screening times for the public, press & industry screenings will be released at the discretion of the Programming Office and will be communicated as soon as they are available.

The Festival team will create a Festival catalogue for the public of the films presented during the festival.

For all selected films, any form of promotion after the official announcement of the programme will indicate the film’s participation at the 21st edition of Biografilm with the official festival logo – which will be provided by the Programming Office of the Festival. For this, active engagement will be expected from the rights holders of the selected film.

Producers and Distributors related to films presented at Biografilm are required to ensure that the official Festival logo is included in promotional material for the film (including poster, trailer, social media and web activity) and in the copy of the film for screenings, indicating the participation of the film at the Festival and, if awarded, the prize received, using the official award graphics provided by the Programming Office of the Festival.

PROJECTION FORMATS

Selected films will be screened in their original language with Italian subtitles; for some screenings there will also be english subtitles.
If the film's original language is not Italian and the film has no Italian subtitles, Biografilm will take care of the translation and sync. In this case we kindly ask for these materials to be submitted:

• List of definitive subtitles (all dialogues, graphics, captions) with timecode. The list of subtitles must be in either: Word, RTF, XML, stl, txt or srt, with timecodes such as in this example: IN 00:00:05:02 OUT 00:00:07:04. (hour/mins/secs/frames for both IN and OUT). Timecodes must match the ones on the DCP.

• Definitive video file of the film, 100% identical to the final version of the DCP, (mp4 with low bitrate), maximum size 2 GB, in order to proceed with the translation and check the subtitles sync.

For the purposes of the realization of the Italian subtitles it’s necessary to send exactly the materials indicated above, to avoid the risk of compromising the screening of the film.

The rights of the subtitles produced by Biografilm are owned by the subtitles department, with some exceptions. In case of interest, the contacts to refer to in order to purchase the rights can be requested from the print traffic office.

For screening purposes, only the following formats are accepted:

- DCP clean version (without subtitles printed in the copy but with the original graphics and captions) not encrypted

- DCP with Italian subtitles printed in the copy (if the film is not in Italian) not encrypted

- Blu-ray with selectable english subtitles

- Quicktime ProRes 422 HQ clean version (without subtitles but with the original graphics and captions)

The delivery of the various files related to the selected film takes place mainly through digital delivery, via a dedicated server managed by the laboratory used by Biografilm.

Once the film is selected, the organization will disclose which of the above formats will be required to be sent to the Festival.

Technical Form

Each Hard Disk Drive must be accompanied by the DCP TECHNICAL FORM which indicates parameters as:
Image Structure Container, Image Aspect Ratio (e.g., 2:39, 1:85, 16:9, etc.), Audio Channel Count, CPL(s) UUID, in addition to all the general information that is typically provided for films (title, duration, subtitles, language, etc.)
The screening material of the selected film, other than in exceptional cases authorised by the Biografilm Programming Office, must be available for the whole duration of the Festival and must arrive in Bologna, before and not after, the 28th of April 2025. Further information regarding the submission of screening materials will be sent in the official selection communication.


REQUIRED MATERIAL

Selected films must send the following communication material related to the film within five working days of receiving the official selection letter. Failure to meet the deadline risks exclusion from the Festival programme (unless otherwise communicated at the discretion of the Festival):

- Spotting list
- subtitles list in original language and english (with timecode in and out)
- Press book in english
- High res poster (.jpg or .tiff, 300 or more dpi)
- High res photo (.jpg or .tiff, 300 or more dpi with dimensions of 1000 pixels or more per side)
- Digital head shot photo of the director
- Biography and Filmography of the director in english (and in Italian where available)
- High resolution trailer of maximum 3 minutes (via digital delivery)
- High resolution video clips for TV of maximum 2 minutes (via digital delivery)
- online screener (i.e. Vimeo link, with a password that must remain valid until the end of the Festival) with english subtitles if the film is in any other language than english.
- Synopsis in Italian (optional for non-Italian films) and in english (max 700 characters each)
- Confirmation whether the film is a debut or second film
- Information regarding the premiere status of the film
- Information regarding the film’s participation at other festivals and, where relevant, details of previously received awards
- Country(s) of production / co-production (please specify the main co-producer)
- Main credits of the film (main crew and leading actors)

The link for the online screener should be available for internal use until the end of the festival. Once the film’s participation at Biografilm has been confirmed, the Communications Team reserves the right to use the online screener to present the film to certain selected journalists.

Furthermore, once the participation of the film at Biografilm has been confirmed, the Communications Team reserves the right to use extracts of the film of a maximum of 3 consecutive minutes for promotional use both nationally and internationally. The festival also reserves the right to include short clips of the film in the festival’s trailer; the festival’s trailer is only for promotional and non-commercial purposes and it will be used before all the screenings, in our website/socials and in communications.

Once the official selection invitation has been accepted, a selected film cannot be removed from the official programme.

Biografilm does not take responsibility for any eventual errors or mistakes in the material that it receives to accompany the film.


RIGHTS

It is the responsibility of producers, distributors and other persons who present the film, to guarantee that they are authorised to submit the film to Biografilm.

By submitting the film through the current call, participants declare themselves as the rights holder of the film (also on behalf of other co-filmmakers who do not intend to participate); this also includes any copyrighted material included in the film.

Biografilm cannot be held responsible for the unauthorised insertion of material protected by copyright that is included in or related to the film that is to be presented. Biografilm reserves the right to disqualify films containing any unauthorised material that is protected by copyright.


GENERAL NOTES

Submitting a film to the call and participating in Biografilm entails the unconditional acceptance of this regulation. In unspecified cases, the final decision is entirely at Biografilm’s discretion.

The Festival Directors may take decisions on matters that are not covered by these rules and regulations. Any controversy is under the jurisdiction of the Court of Bologna


CONTACTS

For further information, we invite you to contact the Programming Office of Biografilm, who is available to respond to any queries:

Biografilm | Programming Office
Via della Zecca 2, 40121 – Bologna (Italy)
E-mail: programma@biografilm.it , assistantprogrammer@biografilm.it
www.biografilm.it/en/