Festival Nacional de Cine Rural (7)

Festival start: 22 September 2025      Festival end: 28 September 2025

VII NATIONAL RURAL FILM FESTIVAL OF AYACUCHO

The Rural Film Festival was created in 2016 as an initiative presented by Lic. Emilio Quiroga to the Department of Culture of the Municipality of Ayacucho, with the goal of promoting audiovisual production in our city.

Every year, we launch an open call at the national and international level for short films of fiction and non-fiction that address the concept of "RURAL" through their form and/or content. Our intention is to explore the perspective of this concept and enrich ourselves with productions from other places in our country and the world.

The Festival offers training programs and support with theoretical and practical audiovisual production tools to those who join this initiative locally. This includes teachers and students from schools and educational institutions, community centers, organizations, or simply groups wishing to participate and residing in the city of Ayacucho.

These are some of the central concepts we have implemented over the years and will continue to develop in this space:

Short film production as a powerful educational tool that strengthens cognitive skills, creativity, problem-solving, and teamwork, while motivating students in an innovative way.

Basic audiovisual production training, workshops for teachers on how to guide students in creating short films. This includes teaching them the basics of planning, shooting, and editing videos. Many teachers have no previous experience in these areas, so the training helps them lead these projects.

Integrated evaluation of student-made short films across different subjects, so that teachers recognize the relevance of these projects beyond their specific area of expertise.

Collaborative projects where teachers from different disciplines (such as arts, history, literature, science, and technology) work together to create an interdisciplinary short film. This could include combining thematic areas to address a common issue from different perspectives.

Online educational resources or YouTube tutorials for teachers on how to apply film to various subjects. This may include how to shoot a scene, how to light it correctly, or how to work with sound, all at a level accessible to educators with no cinematic experience.

Access to simple editing software or online platforms (such as InShot or CapCut) that students can use at home or in the classroom to edit their projects. They can also use sound recording tools or simple effects to help with content creation.

Scriptwriting talks and courses or storyboard models that teachers can adapt to their subjects. This helps students follow a proper structure when writing their scripts, ensuring that their stories are more consistent, regardless of the area in which they are working.

We promote and encourage the cinema room in our city and other alternative screening spaces.

We foster cooperation between rural and urban schools.

We generate socio-educational projects in schools, institutes, and training centers.

We offer talks, courses, and training open to the community.

We produce audiovisual content and resources for the departments of the Municipality of Ayacucho.

We produce local short films that address fiction stories and rural documentaries, as well as other themes of interest to filmmakers.

This experience has become a phenomenon that grows each year, surpassing its initial expectations. We are motivated to make our identity known, promoting the value of Ayacuchense culture and that of our country. We emphasize human relationships and the bonds that arise from this encounter for mutual benefit.

We strengthen alliances between our community and people and groups who come to the city of Ayacucho from nearby towns, other provinces, and cities across our country, drawn by the social event and the values that the Rural Film Festival represents.

It is necessary, through our intervention, to guarantee access to a symbolic language, which is essential to navigate the world around us and construct the images and sounds of our time. This is a fundamental task for the development of society, the strengthening of democracy, equity, and access to work. We approach audiovisual media as an object to be thought about and constantly transformed.

The jury of the National Official Competition will award the following prizes: Best Short Film and Best Direction. The jury may propose special mentions, though no more than three.

The jury of the Local Competition will award the following prizes: Best Short Film, Best Direction, Best Performance, Best Screenplay, Best Production, Best Cinematography, Best Soundtrack.

The jury may propose special mentions. No film can receive more than two awards.

GENERAL RULES
2025 EDITION

VII NATIONAL RURAL FILM FESTIVAL - AYACUCHO, BUENOS AIRES

ORGANIZERS AND DATES
The 7th National Rural Film Festival of Ayacucho – FNCR – will take place in September 2025. The event will be organized by the Municipality of Ayacucho, EMEAI, and the festival’s production team.

ELIGIBILITY
Applications for both the National Competition and the International Showcase are intended for short films, both fiction and non-fiction, that explore the concept of "rural" based on an open definition of this term, where meanings and explorations can be linked in a transversal manner to the festival's theme.
In the diversity of this programming, we aim to clarify a common point that will allow us to build this concept.
The duration of short films should not exceed fifteen (15) minutes for both the National Competition and the International Showcase. All productions must have been completed after January 1, 2023. The Festival prioritizes national premieres of the short films. Films previously shown in Argentina will not be given priority. The duration for Local Shorts should not exceed ten (10) minutes, and the theme is open.

SECTIONS
The Festival's programming will include competitive and non-competitive sections. The selected films will be placed in the section deemed appropriate by the selection committee.

REGISTRATION
Registration for short films is free of charge. The producer who holds the rights must notify the Festival of their intention to participate by submitting the completed registration form before July 1, 2025. Once signed, this form will be considered a sworn declaration, indicating that the participant understands and accepts these rules.

PARTICIPATION
Participation in the Festival implies acceptance of these rules. Once registered and selected, the short film cannot be withdrawn from the Festival’s program. It also cannot be shown in any other venue in Argentina before its official screening at the FNCR. Individuals associated with the selected films agree not to disclose their participation until the Festival's program is announced by the organization in a press conference.

OFFICIAL COMPETITIONS
The Festival’s selection committee programs the different competitive sections. The program includes two Official Competitive Sections to promote new filmmakers and national productions: National Official Competition and Local Official Short Film Competition, where both fiction and non-fiction short films will participate.

NON-OFFICIAL COMPETITIONS
The selection committee reserves the right to create additional parallel sections.

JURY
The Festival’s selection committee appoints the members of the jury. Individuals with interests in the production and/or exploitation of films presented in competition cannot be part of the jury. The votes of the jury will be secret, and decisions will be made by a simple majority. A Festival representative may attend the jury deliberations but without voting rights. Jury members commit to not expressing their opinions publicly regarding the films under consideration before the official announcement of the awards.

AWARDS
The jury of the National Official Competition will award the following prizes: Best Short Film and Best Direction. The jury may propose special mentions, though no more than three. The jury of the Local Competition will award the following prizes: Best Short Film, Best Direction, Best Performance, Best Screenplay, Best Production, Best Cinematography, Best Soundtrack. The jury may propose special mentions. No film can receive more than two awards.

REQUIRED MATERIALS
The producer who holds the rights must send the following by email to the Festival: A completed and signed registration form; A copy or link to the film spoken or subtitled in Spanish. The link for download or online viewing must be submitted, and the film title, director’s name, duration, subtitling (if applicable), and a contact address should be included in the comments or details.
Send the download link through wetransfer.com (maximum file size 1GB) to cineruralayacucho@gmail.com, indicating in the email subject: Film for pre-selection / 7th Rural Film Festival.

SUBMISSION DEADLINES
To be eligible, short films must be registered online by July 1, 2025, without exception. The selection committee is not obliged to review films submitted after the deadline.

SELECTED SHORT FILMS
To properly prepare the catalog, for each selected film, the Festival must receive a completed registration form and the following materials: film synopsis, director’s biography and filmography, a photo from the film, and a list of technical and artistic credits. The required materials must be sent as soon as possible once the film’s invitation to the Festival is accepted, and respecting the deadline that will be communicated in due course. The Festival is solely responsible for editorial decisions regarding the catalog’s content. None of the materials submitted for selection will be returned.

PRESS MATERIAL
If available, posters, postcards, and press materials must be sent for use by the Festival's press office.

PROMOTIONAL FRAGMENTS
The Festival may use fragments of films, up to a maximum of three, for promotional purposes. If the fragments are not provided by the producer, the Festival may copy one or more fragments for promotional use during the Festival. To promote the programming and each selected film, the Festival may use photos and digital clips (less than 3 minutes) from the films on its website.

VIDEO LIBRARY / PROFESSIONAL AREA
Selected films will be available in the Festival’s online Video Library for a predetermined period. The video library will be accessible exclusively to press and accredited guests of the Festival. By accepting participation in the Festival, the rights holders grant permission for their film to be included, unless they specify otherwise in the registration form. For this purpose, producers of selected films will be asked to provide copies in the requested format. The Festival’s programming grid and the dates and times for each film's screening are determined by the Festival's organization.

SCREENING FORMATS
All digital and video formats are accepted for displaying works during the Festival. Presentation of video formats or systems requires authorization from the Festival. Once the screening format is informed to the Festival organization, it cannot be changed.

IMPORTANT
Any conflict (organizational or operational) not foreseen in these rules will be resolved by the Festival organization.
For any questions or inquiries, please email us at cineruralayacucho@gmail.com, and we will respond as soon as possible.