Regulations Bif&st 2022 – Cinema&Fiction

Bari, March 26 – April 2

 

The Festival

The 13th Bif&st – Bari International Film&TV Festival will be held from March 26 to April 2, 2022 – in compliance with all health guidelines – in Teatro Petruzzelli, Teatro Piccinni, Teatro Kursaal, Teatro Margherita, and will be promoted by Apulia Region. The major aim of the Festival – under the High Patronage of the President of the Italian Republic and promoted by Apulia Region with the Ministry of Culture and the City of Bari – is to present, spread and highlight the best Italian and international cinema and, starting this year, also the best Italian and international tv works. Felice Laudadio is Bif&st creator and director, film directors Margarethe von Trotta and Ettore Scola are honorary presidents.

 

The program

The essential outline of Bif&st 2022 program is available at www.bifest.it. These Regulations only apply to the non-competitive section “Cinema&Fiction”, to be hosted in Teatro Kursaal Santalucia in Bari.

 

“Cinema&Fiction” presents selected tv works of fiction (in the five categories TV Movie, Miniseries, Continuing Series, Sit-com, TV Docudrama) commissioned or produced by/for television, made by Italian and international production companies.

Except for TV Movies and TV Docudrama, two episodes must be submitted: they must be a representation of the series, and have a completed storyline.

Documentaries, animation works, short works, advertisements, telenovelas and soap operas are not eligible.

 

 

Regulations

 

1. Submissions

Submissions are free of charge. Italian works are eligible only if fiction, and absolute world premieres at Bif&st until April 2, 2022. International works may have been presented at international festivals or broadcast in other countries except Italy.

Eligible works, limited to TV Movies, Miniseries, Continuing Series, Sit-com, TV Docudrama produced after January 1st, 2021, must be mandatorily submitted by February 28th, 2022 with:

  • online Entry Form Fiction, also available at www.bifest.it
  • private link for online preview, to be sent to fiction@bifest.it with password valid until the end of the festival.

 

By sending the link the submitters accept these entire regulations and irrevocably agree, in case of selection, to the screening at Bif&st 2022.

 

2. Selected works

Submitters of selected works will receive by email an official invitation letter, which must be accepted by the deadline indicated by festival direction.

Submitters of non-selected works will receive a brief communication by email. Bif&st direction is not compelled to disclose the non-selection reasons.

 

Submitters of selected works must provide the festival office with all the materials necessary for their participation in the official festival program, as detailed hereunder.

 

Bif&st will not cover any fee for the screening copy. Should any cost be requested, the work will be cancelled from the program.

 

The artistic director of the festival is entitled to decide the screening schedule, considering the general programming of the festival and of authors and cast; submitters and rights holders will be officially informed as soon as possible.

 

3. Availability of clips and trailers of the selected work, in accordance with international copyright laws, is kindly requested by Bif&st to the producer or the broadcaster, for promotion on festival websites and on accredited tv networks.

 

4. Works which are selected and included in the program cannot be withdrawn.

 

5. Subtitles

All selected works – if spoken in any language other than English – must be presented in their original language version and with English subtitles on the screening copy. The festival will provide Italian electronic subtitles (off-screen), if not already available. Italian works must be preferably English subtitled by their producer or broadcaster.

Submitters of selected works must provide all necessary materials for the realization of the Italian electronic subtitles:

  • dialogue list in the original language
  • for non-English spoken films: 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 no later than March 7th, 2022.

 

6. Materials for festival website and catalogue/program

For the promotion of all selected works on the official Bif&st website www.bifest.it and on other festival media, the following materials must be emailed no later than March 7th, 2022:

  • link to the work’s official trailer (if available) and/or to the work’s official website
  • English pressbook (max 3Mb)
  • film poster if available, .pdf or .jpg format, light version for the web
  • 3 photos of the work, .jpg format, minimum 300 dpi

to the addresses: fiction@bifest.it and 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 of screening copies

Roundtrip shipping expenses of the physical screening copies will be borne by the festival.

All screening copies of selected works – thoroughly checked by producers or distributors or other senders before their shipping, under their own responsibility – must arrive at the official Bif&st international courier in Italy, which will be indicated in the invitation letter, no later than March 11th, 2022.

 

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.

 

8. Screening formats

Submitters will receive a technical form, to be mandatorily filled in online by the date communicated by the festival, in order to provide all details of the screening copy.

 

 Screening format for selected works:

 

  • DCP – Digital Cinema Package (fully DCI/SMPTE compliant)
  • Blu-ray disc
  • File Mp4 / Full HD – H264
  • File Mov
  • File Avi
  • File ProRes 422

 

If the DCP is encrypted, it is mandatory that submitters 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.

 

Overlay logos or trademarks or networks bugs, any eventual black frames meant for commercials breaks, copyright spoilers are not allowed and they will prevent the show from being programmed and screened.

If there is a second or a following episode, no recap and/or opening credits are allowed and they should be edited out of the screening copy.

 

 

9. Insurance of screening copies

The festival will cover the insurance costs against all risks for the screening copies of selected works, 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.

 

10. Antipiracy

The artistic direction expressly commits not to duplicate selected works, nor to present them out of the official venues of the festival.

If requested, Bif&st will adopt all standard antipiracy measures – with a professional, well-experienced and trusted service agency – in Teatro Kursaal.

Should submitters of selected works prefer an anti-piracy service agency of their own choice, the festival will not take charge of the related costs.

 

11. Press and promotional materials

Submitters of selected works 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 USB drive:

  • Pressbook (preferably English)
  • 5 to 10 stage photos of the work (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
  • Secure link of the film

All above promotional materials and any additional ones of selected works may be sent by courier – with no cost for the festival – labelled “Promotional material for Bif&st 2022” not before March 21st, 2022 to the following operative offices of the festival:

  • Direzione BIF&ST – c/o Hotel Oriente, Corso Cavour 32, 70122 Bari, Italy

 

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.

 

12. General Rules

Submission and participation of a tv work to the selection in Bif&st Cinema&Fiction section imply full acceptance of the present regulations and of the Artistic Direction’s decisions regarding selection and programming. May any dispute arise, the final decision is to the Artistic Direction. The signed entry form will be considered proof of acceptance of regulations, participation in the festival and ownership of rights. Should any controversy arise regarding the interpretation of these Regulations, the Italian version is binding. The Court of Bari is the Competent Court.

 

13. Bif&st cannot be held responsible should the festival be cancelled due to pandemic or force majeure and/or similar events.

 

14. Contacts

Bif&st Artistic Direction

Via Donatello 50 – 00196 Roma

tel.: +39 06.45595943

email: segreteria.direzione@bifest.it