Festival Internacional de Cine de Xilitla (2)

Festival start: 27 November 2024      Festival end: 01 December 2024

The Xilitla International Film Fest aims to promote nationally and internationally the cinema of the fantastic genre.

The most surreal site in Mexico proudly presents the second edition of its International Film Festival of Xilitla, also known as Xilitla Film Fest.

Located in the magical town of the Sierra Madre Occidental, with its lush tropical forest, this place captivated Edward James, who built his surrealistic garden here, a monument to boundless imagination.

In 2024, this festival dedicated to the fantastic genre—fantasy, horror, magical realism, science fiction, experimental, and its derivatives—will be held once again.

The festival is organized by the James Center, James Brewery, and the Edward James Museum, with the support of the Arts Center S.LP, the Municipality of Xilitla, and the State Tourism Secretariat of San Luis Potosí; in partnership with the Ibero-American Festival Network. As part of the festival, there will be competition screenings, showcases, tributes, professional training workshops, and holistic activities.

The call for submissions will be open from May 15th to September 30th, 2024.
The festival will take place from November 27th to December 1st, 2024, and will feature two sections: showcase and competition, as well as workshops, lectures, and tributes aimed at fostering the film industry.

The Xilitla Film Festi will award the “James” award in different categories, in addition to some gifts given by sponsors.

The award categories will be:

- Best fiction feature film
- Best fiction short film
- Best documentary project (this genre is free and does not have to be fantastic)
- Best horror short film
- Best animated short film.
- Best local project (documentary, fiction, experimental)
- Best screenplay
- Best music video.
- Press Award
- Audience Award

The selected projects will be exhibited on a big screen in different spaces in Xilitla such as the James Brewery, the Edward James Museum, the Leonora Carrington Xilitla Museum and the Edward James Sculpture Garden. There will be honorable mentions from the jury and the winning projects will tour different venues of the Xilitla International Film Festival in 2024, in states such as Puebla, Oaxaca, Mexico City and Guanajuato.

- The duration of the works must be between 2 and 30 minutes for short films and between 60 and 120 minutes for feature films.

- The technical sheet and the movie trailer must be submitted.

- The final exhibition formats will be exclusively in digital format, with Spanish subtitles (if available). Once selected, technical guidelines for exhibition will be provided.

- Works in any language will be accepted, as long as they are subtitled in Spanish.

- The official selection will be communicated via email to the selected participants.

- Selected films cannot be publicly available online at any time before the festival.

- Works participating in the competition categories must have been produced between January 1, 2021, and the present year.

- Awards will be presented during the festival.

Films and short films will be selected by a jury composed of film and culture professionals, whose decision will be final. Any situation not covered will be resolved by the jury.

- Works must be submitted by their directors, producers, and/or distributors and will be subject to a fee.

- Accommodation and meals will be provided during the event for selected feature films premiering at the festival.

Works cannot be withdrawn from the competition once accepted.

- Selected films and short films may be included in other festival venues throughout the year, as well as online platforms, upon signing an authorization for this purpose.
- The festival may use trailers or excerpts from the works for promotional purposes on social media and online platforms.
- Once selected, participants must send a signed letter accepting the terms and conditions and an authorization letter for the screening of the work.