SunChild International Environmental Festival (12)

Festival start: 13 October 2023      Festival end: 18 October 2023

The SunChild 12th International Environmental Festival will take place from the 13th to the 18th of October 2023, screening over 40 newest best environmental films from all around the world. On a planet that faces complex issues that threaten to tear us apart, we hope to provide a platform to find the connection to sustain life․ SunChild IEF is a celebration of nature, creating space for people to come together, learn and create solutions.

About the Festival

SunChild International Environmental Festival, established by the Foundation for the Preservation of Wildlife and Cultural Assets (FPWC), is the first and the only environmental festival in the South Caucasus region. More than 780 films from 150 countries of the world were screened over the last 15 years of existence. The film festival includes various activities such as carnival marches, dozens of workshops, conferences, and exhibitions. Besides being rich in content, all events are eye-catching due to their colorful and unique approaches. The festival travels in the regions of Armenia throughout the whole year, involving a large number of children and youth, facilitating identification and creative solutions to community environmental issues by organizing thematic film screenings, discussions, and other initiatives, and encouraging and supporting taking action locally. The festival aims to bring nature, wildlife, and the environment into the focus of public attention and increase knowledge about issues among citizens and especially among children and youth.

Theme: Biodiversity: The Fabric of Life

Each year SunChild IEF highlights different environmental topics to raise awareness and become a platform for discussion. For the 12th edition of the festival, we chose Biodiversity Conservation as a central theme, and all our events will any way or another unveil the complex nature of biodiversity conservation challenges in Armenia, the South Caucasus Region, and the world. Biodiversity is the rich tapestry of life on Earth, a canvas of diverse forms and colors. Conserving it is crucial for maintaining the balance and stability of our ecosystems. But this tapestry is under threat by habitat destruction, pollution, over-exploitation, and climate change. Our responsibility is to protect vulnerable species, and habitats, and implement sustainable practices. By raising awareness, we can ensure this tapestry remains vibrant for future generations.

SunChild 12th International Environmental Festival has 4 nominations

• Feature-length Documentaries about Biodiversity Conservation

This program is dedicated to promoting public awareness of Biodiversity Conservation stories, issues, and challenges in the world. Conserving Biodiversity is crucial for maintaining the balance and stability of our ecosystems. Our responsibility is to protect vulnerable species, and habitats, and implement sustainable practices.

Documentaries released after the 30th of July, 2022 are welcome to be submitted for this competition.

The film may run between 60 minutes and 3 hours. To have a longer film considered, please contact SunChild IEF.

• Short Films about Biodiversity conservation

This program is dedicated to promoting public awareness of Biodiversity Conservation stories, issues, and challenges in the world.
Short films of any genre released after the 30th of July, 2022 are welcome to be submitted for this competition. The film may be 5-45 minutes in length.

• Youth and Children about Environmental Conservation

Films about environmental issues made by children and youth, released after January 1, 2022. Age range: 10-25 years.

• John Burton Conservation Award: Films about Young Conservationists

Films about Young Conservationists from all around the world.
Named after conservationist John Burton, this award will spotlight films about nature conservation with a strong directorial vision.
With this award, SunChild IEF wants to honor the memory of John Burton, who died in May 2022.
The award will be granted to the best conservation films about young individuals, who strive to make a change in the world. John Burton was a revolutionary, visionary, and inspirational conservationist whose creative thinking saved over 300,000 hectares of threatened habitat from damaging development. He challenged the usual approaches to preserving wild creatures and their habitats. Sir David Attenborough described him as “a truly wonderful man, more altruistic, more energetic, braver and more original than almost anyone I have known.”

Films released after the 1st of January, 2022 are welcome to be submitted for this competition.

And Non-Competition Films’ Section for the Educational/Informational program.

In this Non-Competition Program, we welcome films about environmental issues and challenges from all around the world.

Films of any genre released after the 1st of January, 2022 are welcome to be submitted for this competition.

The film may run between 60 minutes and 3 hours. To have a longer film considered, please contact SunChild IEF.

Cash Prizes: 7,500€

SunChild IEF winners will receive the following:

- unique handmade trophies symbolizing SunChild IEF

- certificates

- monetary prize:

• Feature-length Documentaries about Biodiversity Conservation - 3000 USD

• Short Films about Biodiversity conservation - 1500 USD

• Youth and Children about Environmental Conservation - 500 USD

• John Burton Conservation Award: Films about Young Conservationists - 2500 USD

• Journalistic Investigation: Multimedia stories about Environmental issues in ARMENIA (only) - TBD (more details at the Festival's website coming soon).

RULES AND GUIDELINES FOR 2023 SUBMISSIONS

The following is an explanation of the Rules and Guidelines governing film submissions to the 2023 SunChild International Environmental Festival (12th Edition). Compliance with these Rules and Guidelines is necessary to participate in the Film Festival. Submission of a film implies unconditional acceptance of the Rules & Guidelines, therefore, please carefully read through the Rules before submitting your film. If you have any questions, please contact us at film@fpwc.org or +37410585884 or +37477009460 on WhatsApp.

The SunChild International Film Festival accepts submissions for films in the following categories:

• Feature-length Documentaries about Biodiversity Conservation (over 60 min)
• Short Films about Biodiversity conservation (from 5 to 45 min)
• Youth and Children about the Environmental Conservation
• John Burton Award: Films about Young Conservationists
• Non-Competition Films’ Section for the educational/awareness-raising program.
*Learn more about each Film Category in the Event Description

Eligible for competitive sections - films that had their first public screening after July 31, 2022

1. The Entrant/s submitting the film must hold all legal rights for the submission, as well as all necessary clearances for public exhibition. The Filmmaker/s retain/s all submission and intellectual property rights.

2. Entries submitted by post, email or any form other than online are not eligible for the festival.

3. The deadline for preselection submission is May 31, 2023.

The Festival reserves the right to refuse later submissions.

4. Upon confirmation of the film to the competition or non-competition sections of the Festival, the applicant agrees to:

- Provide a trailer of the film online by a non-expiring link or HD resolution file;
- Provide materials for localization (dialogue lists in English, spotting list, screener, and poster artwork);

5. Materials must be delivered digitally to film@fpwc.org stating the local and English titles of the film in the email subject line. The Festival does not accept deliveries on hard drives, USBs, or any other physical carriers.

6. Filmmakers are allowed to submit more than one film for the Festival provided that each film is submitted separately and meets SCIEF guidelines.

7. The final selection is made by the Selection Committee, and its decision is not subject to appeal.

Unfortunately, we cannot leave feedback in case your film is not selected.

8. Entrants may contact us to find out if the Festival received the submission at film@fpwc.org. Filmmakers submitting through Festhome can check their status through the website.

9. SCIEF accepts DCP and non-DCP films for screening. Based on scheduling and circumstance. Each film will receive specific communication about what is needed for film delivery.
We encourage feature films to have a DCP for specific venues.

10. Each film can have no more than three screenings at the Festival. In case the film wins an award, the organizers shall run one extra screening on the last day of the Festival.

11. All films must be submitted in English or with English subtitles (if in a different language). All films in the competition will be screened at the Festival in their original languages with English and Armenian subtitles.

12. SCIEF reserves the right to use images from films selected in the Festival for marketing purposes.

13. The final decision of the Selection Committee will be announced by June 30, 2023.

Applicants acknowledge that SCIEF reserves the right to change the nature of screenings and events due to circumstances related to public health and welfare or at the direction of local, state, or federal authorities. In such cases, no submission refunds shall be issued.