No Fee
Submissions deadline
31 May 26
0€
32nd Festival International Nature Namur
Regulations 2026 – Amateur Films Contest
32nd Festival International Nature Namur
From 10th to 18th October 2026
Amateur Films Category
Agenda
The 32nd edition of the Festival International Nature Namur will be held from 10th to 18th October 2026.
It will show a selection of films dedicated to nature and wildlife in public sessions.
Aims
Raise awareness among the public about knowledge of and respect for wild nature.
Raise awareness among officials at all levels about the protection of wild nature and the environment.
Encourage the production of amateur films devoted to Nature and the Environment by awarding prizes in competition and broadcasting them on a large screen to a very wide audience.
Show films in the best possible conditions: cinemas equipped with a large screen and the latest audio-visual technologies.
Promote meetings between amateur filmmakers and the public.
Show
The Amateur Film Awards Gala evening is hosted by professional presenters, in the presence of prestigious guests from the political, audiovisual, naturalist and media worlds.
The directors of the awarded films are invited to express themselves a few minutes before and after the screening of their film. Thereafter, an award ceremony crowns the winning films.
This Gala evening will be held on Saturday 17th October 2026 in Namur.
The selected films will also be shown on Sunday 18th October in the afternoon (this schedule could change).
The selected films will also be shown during the five days dedicated to schools, introduced by Benoit Marenne, an expert in school animation.
Regulation of the Competition
Amateur Films Category
Article 1: Amateurs Category
The Festival International Nature Namur, Amateur Films Category, is open to non-professionals (*) filmmakers, sound engineers and film editors: individuals, associations, clubs, classes.
(*) A videographer is considered as non-professional when his income from the activities mentioned in this article does not exceed 50% of his total income.
Article 2: Subject
Amateur films dedicated to discovery, observation, protection and wild nature conservation are welcome.
All nature subjects are to be exploited.
Here, for example, are some themes that have been photographed during the 30 years of the Festival:
The wild fauna and flora of all countries.
Peculiar and rare behaviours of animals from home and abroad.
The natural environments of all countries and their management.
The interactions between animal and plant species.
Fauna and flora managed by humans (fish farming, forest management, agriculture, rehabilitation centres, hunting, invasive species, zoo).
Human activities in nature and/or the threat of these activities on nature (human-nature cohabitation, purification and uses of water, transhumance, gardens, oceans, rivers, forests, quarries, deserts, hedgerows, industrial wastelands, nature discovery activities).
The evolution of the environment.
Animal welfare.
The subject can be treated in the form of a documentary, report, interview, poetry, fiction, etc.
Originality, rhythm and script should be favoured.
By participating in this competition, the filmmaker demonstrates his interest in nature and the environment and shows a respectful behaviour towards animal and plant species.
The originality and beauty of the shots as well as the scenario (story and comments) will mainly be taken into account, but the classical criteria (framing, taking natural sounds, mastery of editing) and environmental criteria (no destruction, nor disturbance caused by the shots, respect for the environment) will of course also be appreciated.
We can help you find contacts and facilitate access to particular areas: quarries, brownfields, Natura 2000 areas.
Article 3: Registration
Registration for the competition is free and will be taken into account only if all sections are correctly completed.
Each participant is allowed to submit one or more films.
The required duration of films is 1 minute minimum and 5 minutes maximum.
Each film must be the subject of an entry.
We ask you to allow 5 seconds of black before the first image (not counted in the total timing).
Registration is done online using one of the possibilities described below:
On the online submission service "Festhome" (festhome.com)
By completing the online form on the website www.festivalnaturenamur.be
and sending a copy of the film, known as the selection, to the Festival office as a data file in .mp4 or .mov format, by one of the following media:
The WeTransfer+ account of the Festival (preferably)
Sending an external hard drive or USB key to the postal address of the Festival
Internet download (Vimeo, YouTube, FTP, Dropbox)
The copy of films can be slightly compressed for selection but without altering the quality of vision which could therefore penalize their selection.
The USB keys and external hard drives will be returned within 3 months after the event.
Note: you can send several films on the same medium.
Article 4: Calendar
Registrations are open from November 1, 2025.
Each registration file must be completed by midnight on Friday, May 1st, 2026.
Article 5: Coaching Committee
A coaching committee, set up by the Video Nature Academy and the Festival Nature Namur, will view, upon request, the films or film projects that have been submitted by midnight on March 15, 2026.
This committee will propose advice to improve the film or film project with a view to the final submission scheduled for May 1st, 2026 (see Article 4).
This opinion/advice will be sent to the participants by Wednesday, April 1, 2026, at the latest.
Article 6: Office
Please send any physical materials to the following address:
ASBL Festival Nature Namur
À l’attention de Maximilien Triantafylou
Rue du réemploi, 4
5020 Suarlée
Belgique
Information: +32 (0)81 432 419 | info@festivalnaturenamur.be
Website: www.festivalnaturenamur.be
Regulation of the contest available in French and in English.
The Festival cannot be held legally responsible in case of loss, theft or depredation of the shipments.
Article 7: Selection
All films are viewed by a selection committee, composed of image professionals and scientists. This committee chooses the films admitted participating in the competition.
Only one film per participant may be retained. The decisions of this committee will not be motivated, unless the participant expresses the written request.
Are excluded from the selection:
films whose registration is incomplete
films which do not meet the acceptance criteria laid down in Articles 1 and 2
Participants in the competition will be personally notified of their selection.
In this case, it will be imperative to provide the following data and information:
Original digital file in Full HD (1920x1080)
In Apple ProRes 422 or in H264
Frames/second: 25p
Mixed in stereo
Minimum 3 photos of the film and at least 1 photo of the director
The synopsis
Non-French-speaking films are shown dubbed or subtitled in French; the costs related to this translation are covered by the organizers.
The following elements must accompany the original digital file of non-French-speaking films:
The audio track(s) of the international mix (containing all sounds except comments and dialogue) in stereo
The complete script with the time code in accordance with the dialogues and comments
The list of Latin names of all animal and plant species mentioned in the script
Article 8: Copyright, Author Rights and Dissemination
The author retains the intellectual property of the film but authorizes the use of the film and the images it contains by the Festival International Nature Namur and its public partners for the edition of the annual USB key and for educational purposes or to promote the Festival in the Belgian territory as well as abroad.
A use of the whole film can be organized for the decentralization of the Festival. The Festival’s decentralisations are screenings organised in some towns of Belgium and abroad, allowing audiences who were unable to attend the Festival to discover the films that were screened there.
The films selected by the Festival will be broadcast on RTBF, including the Auvio platform, and on community channels (Bouké Media). They can also be broadcast in the show "Le Jardin Extraordinaire" on RTBF and on TV5 Monde. To do this, the soundtrack of the film can be modified.
For music and sounds composed by other authors present in the film, the participant ensures compliance with international copyright laws, ensures that he is in order regarding rights of use, and mentions the names of the authors in the credits.
For the screening of amateur films during the Festival sessions and at the events specified above, the organizers assume responsibility for the broadcasting rights that would be due to Sabam. For broadcasting by television channels, the channels also cover copyright due to Sabam.
The author undertakes not to take any legal action against Festival Nature Namur ASBL or its public partners for any use of the film or its images made by third parties. In this context, the Festival undertakes never to grant itself the right of such use outside these conditions.
Article 9: Category & Price
The official Jury, composed of a president, image professionals, wildlife photographers and videographers, media personalities and scientists, determines the awards.
The Jury awards several prizes in the following categories:
The Grand Prix
The Image Prize
The Script Price
The Pedagogy Prize
The Sound Illustration Award
The "Cine Solo" Award (awarded to a director who has completed his/her film without outside professional assistance for framing, sound recording, mixing, editing and calibrating)
The jury reserves the right not to award one or more prizes and to award one or more special mentions.
The prizes are not cumulative except for the Public Prize.
In addition to these prizes awarded by the jury, the Audience Award is given to the film that collects the most votes from the audience during the Gala evening.
Article 10: Invitations
The selected directors (accompanied by a person of their choice) will be invited to the Gala evening on October 18, 2026, to present their film and receive their eventual award.
Article 11: Personal Data
The information provided by the participants may be used in the context of the Festival’s film competitions.
In accordance with European laws and directives in force and the European regulation entered into force on May 25, 2018, participants have a right of opposition, access and rectification of data concerning them.
Consequently, all participants have the right to access, query, oppose, rectify and delete their data with the Festival, upon request to:
info@festivalnaturenamur.be
None of the information provided may be marketed.
Article 12: Application of the Regulation
Registration and participation in the Festival International Nature Namur implies acceptance of the rules.
A film not selected in a previous edition can be submitted again in a later edition.
In the event of a dispute as to the meaning of the stipulations of these rules, only the French text will be valid. All cases not expressly provided for will be subject to an unappealable deliberation by the Festival’s executive committee.
These rules are also available on the Festival International Nature Namur website:
www.festivalnaturenamur.be
