1. The Festival
The 11th Bif&st – Bari International Film Festival, promoted by Apulia Region with the support of Mibact and the collaboration of the City of Bari, and organized by Apulia Film Commission Foundation, will be held from March 21st to March 28th, 2020 in Teatro Petruzzelli, Teatro Piccinni, Teatro Margherita and other Bari film theatres. The major aim of the Festival – under the High Patronage of the President of the Italian Republic – is to promote, spread and highlight the best Italian and international cinema. Bif&st, created and directed by Felice Laudadio, is chaired by Margarethe von Trotta. Ettore Scola is honorary president.
2. The program
The essential outline of Bif&st 2020 program is available at 2019.bifest.it. This English version of the Regulations only applies to the following non-competitive and competitive sections.
3. International Premieres – out of competition
Non-competitive section dedicated to Italian and international fiction feature films, with minimum running time of 70 minutes, produced in 2019-20, preferably world premieres or absolute Italian premieres. Selected films – with a gala evening screening at 9.00 p.m. in Teatro Petruzzelli from March 21st to March 28th – may have been presented at other major international festivals, excluding Italian ones.
4. International Panorama – competition
Competitive program – with afternoon screenings in Teatro Petruzzelli – reserved to 12 fiction feature films with minimum running time of 70 minutes, produced in 2019-20, absolute Italian premieres. Italian films must be world premieres. Selected non-Italian films may have been presented and also awarded at other major international festivals, excluding Italian ones. An international jury will confer the following awards:
- Bif&st International Award 2020 for the best director
- Bif&st International Award 2020 for the best actor
- Bif&st International Award 2020 for the best actress
5. Submissions
Submissions are free of charge. Deadline is February 21st, 2020. To submit:
- fill in the online entry form, also available at 2019.bifest.it
- send a private link for online preview. Please allow at least three viewings, with password valid until the end of the festival. Links must be sent to g.lavolpe@bifest.it.
As an alternative, a screener of the film – only on DVD or Blu-Ray – can be sent by February 21st, 2020 (postmark) to:
- Bif&st Director Felice Laudadio
Lungotevere Flaminio 44, pal. VI, sc. C, int. 7
00196 Rome
Italy
For customs matters, shipments from non-EU countries must be marked: “FOR CULTURAL PURPOSES ONLY – NO COMMERCIAL VALUE”. Their declared value for customs should not exceed € 10.
DVDs or Blu-Rays sent for pre-selection will be returned only upon specific request and at the submitter’s charge.
By sending links or screeners the submitters accept these entire regulations and agree, in case of selection, to the screening at Bif&st 2020.
Films already submitted and not selected in previous editions of the festival will not be considered.
6. Selected films
Submitters of selected films will receive by email an official invitation letter, which must be accepted by the deadline indicated by festival direction. Submitters of non-selected films will receive a brief communication by email. Bif&st direction is not compelled to disclose the non-selection reasons.
Producers or distributors of the selected films must provide the festival office with all the materials necessary for their participation in the official festival program, as detailed hereunder.
The artistic director of the festival is entitled to decide the screening schedule, considering the general programming of the festival, and commits to officially inform submitters and rights holder as soon as possible.
6.1 Subtitles for International Premières and International Panorama sections
All selected films for the International Premières and International Panorama sections – if shot in any language other than English or Italian – must be presented in their original language version and with English subtitles on the screening copy provided by producers or distributors. The festival will provide Italian electronic subtitles (off-screen), if not already available.
Producers or distributors of selected films must provide the festival office with all necessary materials for the realization of the Italian electronic subtitles:
- dialogue list in the original language
- for non-English spoken films, also the list of English subtitles, with spotting list (time code in/out).
- a secure link for the download of the film, with English subtitles if needed, with definitive editing and identical running time of the screening copy, exclusively for Italian subtitling work.
Dialogue/subtitles lists and the link must be sent by email not later than February 28th, 2020.
As an alternative, two DVDs or Blu-Rays, with English subtitles if needed, with definitive editing and identical running time of the screening copy, must be sent by courier to the following address no later than February 28th, 2020, to:
- Bif&st Director Felice Laudadio
Lungotevere Flaminio 44, pal. VI, sc. C, int. 7
00196 Rome
Italy
For customs matters, shipments from non-EU countries must be marked: “FOR CULTURAL PURPOSES ONLY – NO COMMERCIAL VALUE”. Their declared value for customs should not exceed € 10.
6.2 Materials for festival website and catalogue/program
For the promotion of all selected films on the official Bif&st website 2019.bifest.it and on other media, the following materials must be emailed by February 28th, 2020:
- link to the film’s official trailer (if available) and/or to the film’s official website
- English pressbook (max 3Mb)
- film poster, .pdf or .jpg format, light version for the web
- 3 photos of the film, .jpg format, minimum 300 dpi
to the address: catalogue@bifest.it
As an alternative, an official link can be provided, for the download of the above materials (trailers will not be downloaded).
7. Shipping and film formats
7.1 Shipping of the screening copies
Shipping expenses of the screening copies of selected films from and to their countries of production, if not by different agreement, will be borne by the festival. If screening copies are coming from, or are bound for other festivals, Bif&st will only take charge of a one way shipping (either inbound or outbound). There will be no exception to the present rule; with regards to this issue, submitters must make specific arrangements with the other festivals involved. For Italian films, the festival will take charge of shipping expenses only in the country of Italy.
All screening copies of selected films – thoroughly checked by producers or distributors or other senders before their shipping – must arrive to the official Bif&st international courier in Italy, which will be indicated at the appropriate time, not later than February 28th, 2020.
For customs matters, shipments from non-EU countries must be marked: “FOR CULTURAL PURPOSES ONLY – NO COMMERCIAL VALUE”, and must enclose proper pro-forma invoices.
7.2 Screening formats
All details related to the screening copy must be provided by filling in a specific online technical form, which will be sent to submitters of selected films.
As to the films selected for the International Premières and International Panorama, the only accepted screening format is Digital Cinema Package – DCP (fully DCI/SMPTE compliant).
If the DCP is encrypted, it is mandatory that that producers or distributors provide KDMs for all the festival servers. KDMs must be sent well in advance considering the test screening (in Bari only), and the official festival screening. KDMs of selected films will be at the submitter’s charge.
8. Insurance of screening copies
The festival will cover the insurance costs for the screening copies of selected films against all risks, for the entire period they will be in care of the festival, between their arrival in Bari and their departure from Bari. Should a screening copy undergo any damage on the festival’s responsibility, Bif&st’s insurance will only cover the material costs of the damaged copy, based on average laboratory costs, and according to standard values.
9. Antipiracy
The artistic direction expressly commits not to duplicate selected films, nor to present them out of the official venues of the festival.
Bif&st will adopt all standard antipiracy measures, also with a professional, well-experienced and trusted service agency, in Teatro Petruzzelli and in Teatro Piccinni.
Should producers or distributors of selected films prefer an anti-piracy service agency of their own choice, the festival will not take charge of the related costs.
10. Press and promotional materials
Producers or distributors of selected films are invited (not mandatory) to separately ship to the Press Office of the festival, the following promotional materials for Bif&st accredited press and distributors, on paper or DVD or USB drive:
- Pressbook (preferably English)
- 5 to 10 stage photos of the film (high resolution 300dpi) with no embargo date nor distribution deadline
- 3 promo clips with maximum running time of 3 minutes, in Full HD tv format, maximum 250 Mb
- 2 film posters (on paper only), to be displayed in theatres
All above promotional materials and any additional ones (flyers, gadgets, etc.) of selected films may be made available to the festival by courier shipping with the label “Promotional material for BIF&ST 2020”– starting from March 15th, 2020 – to the following operative offices of the festival:
- Bif&st Direction
c/o Spazio Murat
Piazza del Ferrarese
70122 Bari, Italy
All costs related to shipping of the promotional materials, must be at sender’s charge.
For customs matters, shipments from non-EU countries must be marked: “FOR CULTURAL PURPOSES ONLY – NO COMMERCIAL VALUE”.
Each Festival participant and/or guest acknowledges that Bif&st will be covered on tv and radio by accreditated television stations and other media partners. By accepting the Bif&st invitation, each participant agrees that broadcasting rights will be free of charge, that the media partners may use such materials as they seem fit, and that Bif&st will be granted an automatic authorization.
11. General rules
The film participation and the shipment of the screening copy to the festival imply full acceptance of the Italian version of the present regulations. Producers, distributors or any other submitter guarantee to have the legal rights to submit the film to Bif&st. May any dispute not covered by these rules arise, the final decision is to the artistic director of the festival. Should any controversy arise regarding the interpretation of these Regulations, the Italian version is binding. The Court of Bari is the Competent Court.
14. Contacts
Direzione artistica Bif&st
Lungotevere Flaminio 44, pal. VI, sc. C, int. 7
00196 Roma
tel. 06.45595943
e-mail: segreteria.direzione@bifest.it
2019.bifest.it