Versilia Film Festival (1)

Festival start: 04 September 2027      Festival end: 07 September 2027

The Versilia Film Festival (VFF), organized by APS Form.Art.E, is a film festival and competition with a strong cultural identity. It gathers the experience and legacy of the Camaiore Film Festival (of which it is the successor), proposing itself as a space for artistic expression and social reflection, promoting works that tackle highly current themes with original, innovative, and courageous cinematic languages.

The festival unfolds as a multi-stage journey, culminating in a final event featuring public screenings and collective participation.

It is also structured as a widespread festival across time and the local area, featuring cultural and educational activities that accompany the public throughout the entire year. The goal is to bring independent cinema back to the center of the region's cultural life and create opportunities for meetings, discussions, and participation among authors, the audience, and the community.

Notable guests from past editions (Camaiore Film Festival) include Steve Della Casa as the director of the technical jury, Alessandro Aronadio, Paolo Hendel, Saverio Guarna, Massimo Bonfatti, Ferruccio Marotti, GianMarco Tognazzi, Riccardo Rossi, Anna Pavignano, Salvatore Veca, and Franco Giubilei.

DATES AND DURATION
Event series: April – July 2027

Screening of competing short films and final ceremony: September 4-5-6, 2027

Medium-length or Arthouse Film series: Autumn 2027

COMPETITIVE SECTIONS
The Festival is open to Italian and international directors to submit short films of any genre produced after January 15, 2025, in accordance with the 4 designated sections:

FICTION SHORT FILM: Fiction short films of any genre from all over the world; maximum duration 20 minutes (credits included).

"CORTISSIMO" (Very Short Film): Short films of any genre from all over the world with a maximum duration of 5 minutes (credits included).

INCLUSION, LEGALITY, AND CIVIC SENSE: Short films of any genre addressing the themes of inclusion, disability, legality, and civic duty (reportage, investigations, community stories, portraits of people with disabilities, documentaries on legal proceedings, civic campaigns, material aimed at social change or raising justice issues...); maximum duration 15 minutes (credits included).

"HORIZONS OF KNOWLEDGE" (EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH AND GROWTH): Short films dedicated to educational outreach, education, science, culture, and personal growth (explainers, scientific or philosophical mini-documentaries, video lessons, research-based educational storytelling, educational products created for the web...); maximum duration 10 minutes (credits included).

Cash Prizes: 1,300€

AWARDS AND RECOGNITIONS:

Alongside the awards for the best short films voted by the audience, there will be awards assigned by one or more juries of film industry experts appointed by the Festival Direction.

Awards (technical jury):

Best Short Film (from any category): €500

Best Fiction Short Film: €200

Best "Cortissimo" (Very Short Film): €200

Thematic Focus Award ("Inclusion, Legality, and Civic Sense"): €200

"Horizons of Knowledge" Award: €200

Best Directing (plaque/artifact)

Best Cinematography (plaque/artifact)

Best Editing (plaque/artifact)

Best Original Soundtrack (plaque/artifact)

Best Performance

Audience Award (popular jury):

Plaque or original VFF artifact

The Absolute Festival Award (Best Short Film) is cumulative with section awards as an artistic recognition; however, the cash prizes are not cumulative, unless otherwise determined by the Artistic Direction or the Jury.

The Festival's artistic direction is free to add or modify the aforementioned awards and also reserves the right to assign any special mentions.

N.B.: The cash prize is considered gross of the 25% withholding tax pursuant to art. 30, paragraph 2 of Presidential Decree 600/73 and is intended for the director of the winning short film. If the prize is to be collected by third parties (production or distribution), it will be necessary to present a waiver from the director.

A cash prize that has been notified but not claimed by the winner cannot be collected after one year from the notification.

GENERAL REQUIREMENTS:

• All film genres are accepted.

• Works already presented at other festivals are accepted.

• Self-produced works are accepted.

• The original language is open, but foreign works must be subtitled in Italian.

• Each work can only be submitted to one section.

• Selected films must be provided in digital format (.MP4 or .MOV with H.264 codec) with a minimum Full HD resolution (1920x1080).

SUBMISSION METHODS:

To submit your short film to the Festival, you must follow the procedure using the two alternative methods no later than January 15, 2027.

Works can be sent via Festhome.

The films will become part of the Festival's archive, which may use them for potential free screenings for educational, research, or other purposes, in various venues and contexts related to the Festival, but always and exclusively on a non-commercial basis.

SELECTED FILMS:
The authors of the selected films will be contacted by the Festival's organizing secretariat and must send the requested materials upon notification of their selection, by the established deadlines. The selection of films is carried out at the sole and unquestionable discretion of the Festival's Artistic Direction.

The schedule and screening times are arranged by the Festival's Artistic Direction and will be communicated once the program is finalized.

GENERAL RULES:
Each author is responsible for the content of their works.

Participants in the competition authorize the Festival to use their name and associated email address for all purposes related to the event.

The information provided in the submission form will be made public in the event's catalog and on the Festival's website.

Participation in the competition implies full acceptance of these rules.

These rules are written in Italian and English. In the event of interpretation issues, the Italian version shall prevail.