ANIMAL Film Fest (5)

Festival start: 03 October 2024      Festival end: 05 October 2024

We invite you to participate in the fourth edition of ANIMAL Film Fest, which will take place on October 3, 4 and 5, 2024 with a hybrid model (online and in person) in the city of Morelia, Michoacan, Mexico.

We recommend reading the entire call before registering your short films. Registration and participation in the 5th edition of this festival implies full acceptance of these regulations.

OPEN CALL
ROT Movie Makers invites general public, as well as independent and professional filmmakers, film students, communication, animation, visual arts, multimedia and careers related, to participate in the ANIMAL Film Fest 5th edition, which will take place on October 3, 4 and 5, 2024, in the city of Morelia, Michoacán, Mexico.

AFF is a ROT Movie Makers’ production.

All selected works and winners will receive official selection and/or winner laurels, respectively. A Award will be granted per category and in case of honorable mentions, a special certificate could be granted:
- Best Michoacan short film.
- Best Mexican short film.
- Best international short film.
- Best actress.
- Best actor.
- Best cinematography.
- Best makeup.
- Better visual effects.
- Best character.
- Better film editing.
- Best art design.


There will be a unique and unappealable winner in each of the categories and if the Award Committee considers it so, will be honorable mentions.



The Jury will have the power to declare some category as deserted.

1. Participants must accomplish the following requirements to be accepted in the different categories.

2. Registration for the ANIMAL Film Fest 4th edition will be from January 5, 2024, until July 28, 2024.

3. Participants may submit in the following categories:
- Michoacan short film.
- Mexican short film.
- International short film.

Horror, terror, suspense, thriller: fiction short films, documentaries, animations, experimental and student projects will be accepted, as long as they are of the genre. Maximum duration: 30 minutes (including credits). *
* The committee of selection may make exceptions.

4. The registration of short films is online in Festhome.

5. Short films from all countries are accepted.

6. Incomplete projects are not accepted.

7. Productions made in any year will be considered.

8. There’s no restriction of the original format of the film (from smartphone to any type of camera).

9. There’s no limit of work’s registrations by producer or distributor. However, each of the works must be registered separately.

10. Each of the films must be registered in a single category.

11. Short films that have participated in other editions of this festival cannot be registered.

12. Video clips or other work that has commercial or propagandistic content will be banned.

13. All films must provide:
- Short film: digital format for Full HD (High Definition) projection with minimum resolution of 1080p (1920×1080 pixels in progressive frames) H.264.
- Synopsis (required): in english and spanish.
- Technical specifications (required): short film credits; city, state or province & country; year of production and duration of the film.
- Poster (required): 300 dpi in .jpg format.
- 3 frames of the film (required) 300 dpi, in .jpg format.
- Director’s photo (required): 300 dpi in .jpg format.
- Short film trailer (optional): Full HD – 1080P – H.264.
- Press kit (optional): PDF file.

14. Films spoken in a different language than spanish will be submitted with subtitles in this language (spanish) embedded in the file.

15. Films spoken in spanish will be submitted with english subtitled, embedded in the file.

16. Registration doesn’t guarantee acceptance at the festival.

17. To be selected it’s not required to be a premiere in México; short films that have already exhibited at other festivals, may participate.

18. The selected short films will be contacted by email with which they were submitted on the registration platform.

19. The official selection will be announced on August 26, 2024, on official website animalfilmfest.com and social networks of the festival (Facebook, Instagram and
X-Twitter).

20. The official selection will be made by the organization committee.

21. The awards committee (qualifying jury) will be composed of three experts.

22. The decisions of the organization and/or award committees are not subject to appeal, and within the criteria of the experts in the committees, for this reason no explanation will be given to the filmmakers or producers of the non-selected films.

23. Once the short films have been selected, the filmmakers will have a deadline, notified by email to rectify their information.

24. The selected films may be part of the LIMBO exhibition organized by ANIMAL Film Fest during 2024 and 2025 (before the 6th festival) without profit or cost of any type for attendees and venues.

25. The material sent from the selected works will be used for dissemination and promotion of the festival. An extract from the short film, no more than 20% of the total duration of the film, will be used in case of not having a promotional trailer.

26. The organization committee of this festival will establish the dates, times and places of exhibition of each selected film. They will be announced on our social media.

27. All selected films will be retained by the committee as part of the film collection on the ANIMAL Film Fest.

28. No short film may be withdrawn from the festival program after its official selection.

29. ANIMAL Film Fest (AFF) will not pay for the exhibition rights (screening fees) of any material.

30. The short film must be registered by a headline (preferably producer or director), this, in case of winning, the prize will be awarded with the name of registration.

31. Registration holders are responsible for the rights of their works.

32. According to the legislation in the matter, elements of the short film such as soundtrack, script, characters and others, must be original, unless the acquisition of the corresponding rights is proven. Any case of plagiarism will be automatically disqualified.

33. We point out plagiarism in two situations: a reproduction without authorization; or, essentially incorporating content of a work into another to attribute a creation that’s not own.

34. By registering, you declare and guarantee you have full legal right and authority to present the project for consideration by AFF and all the necessary consents, licenses and approvals have been obtained. In the event that the film is accepted by the festival, it grants the rights to use the material for non-commercial promotional purposes of this festival, without limitations.

35. In any case diffusion will be made for commercial purposes.

36. The holder of the registration will indemnify the organizers of the ANIMAL Film Fest against claims, demands, costs, damages, expenses (including legal fees), procedures and losses resulting from the screening of the film at the festival or third-party claims.

37. All selected works and winners will receive official selection and/or winner laurels, respectively. A Award will be granted per category and in case of honorable mentions, a special certificate could be granted:
- Best Michoacan short film.
- Best Mexican short film.
- Best international short film.
- Best actress.
- Best actor.
- Best cinematography.
- Best makeup.
- Better visual effects.
- Best character.
- Better film editing.
- Best art design.

38. There will be a unique and unappealable winner in each of the categories and if the award committee considers it so, will be honorable mentions.

39. The jury will have the power to declare some category as deserted.

40. The list of the winning projects of the 4th edition of the ANIMAL Film Fest will be published in our official website and social media for the knowledge and consideration on October 6, 2024.

41. Any prize awarded that isn’t received at the closing ceremony may be withdrawn at the ANIMAL Film Fest office, in the city of Morelia, Michoacan, Mexico. Once the festival is over, you have a month to take up statuettes and certificates. All details will be notified by email.

42. In case of not being able to collect the statuette, the shipping cost is responsibility of the person who registered the film.

43. Registration and participation in the 5th edition of this festival implies full acceptance of these regulations.

44. Any situation not foreseen in this call, will be resolved by the organization committee of this festival.

For more information: animalfilmfest@gmail.com