IFF – INTEGRAZIONE FILM FESTIVAL

Inclusion – Identity – Interculture

2025 COMPETITION ANNOUNCEMENT

Art. 1 – The Ruah Cooperative announces the 19th edition of IFF-Integrazione Film Festival, an international competition of short fiction and documentary films dealing with the theme of integration between people of different cultural backgrounds. Sponsored by the Ruah Cooperative in collaboration with Lab 80 film and a network of other organizations, it will be held in Bergamo from May 13-17, 2025.

Art. 2 – The types of films that can be entered:

  • Those that positively document aspects of realities that may be multicultural, multilingual or multi-religious;
  • Those that portray experiences of coexistence, made possible by an open dialogue, based on a shared understanding of one another and capable of existing despite any dissension.
  • Those that represent:
    • Inclusion experiences that take into account the multitude of existing points of view and give space to the will of individuals and communities to self-determine, recognising and valuing their own being, their culture, their traditions and those of others;
    • Mixed identities insofar as they are the result of multiple belonging (cultural, linguistic, religious, gender, generational, etc.), but also exist as a whole in order to be a protagonist subject;
    • Intercultural Interactions and intersectionality, i.e. meeting each other, recognising the value of each person, in an active effort to learn, recognise, respect and accept those we consider different from us in our environment.

In our logo, 3 immovable dots meet on the letter “I” of Integration, the key-word and the heart of the Festival. Around it, the space to develop all the nuances of a complex and long-term process.

Art. 3 – The 19th edition of IFF-Integrazione Film Festival is divided into the following sections:

  • Competition for documentaries with a maximum runtime of 60 minutes.
  • Competition for works of fiction of all genres with a maximum runtime of 30 minutes.
  • Competition for original serial screenplays (not produced or under contract). You are required to submit a video pitch of maximum 120 seconds and the first 10 pages of your pilot episode. The screenplay must be originally written in Italian.

Works must be completed after January 1st 2022 to be admitted. The Committee reserves the right to consider works completed before January 1st 2022 and to include them in the “Out of competition” programme. Works that have been presented in other national or international Festivals will be accepted. Works entered in previous editions of the Festival will not be admitted. Admission to the Contest is decided unquestionably by the Festival Management.

Authors and/or producers will be notified of selection or exclusion by the end of February 2025.

Art. 4 – Works admitted to the International Contest will be judged by an especially appointed Juries that will award the following Prizes:

  • For fiction short films: 1000 euros to the Best Short Film.
  • For documentaries: 1000 euros to the Best Documentary.
  • Prize of 250 euros to the Best Serial Screenplay (only in Italian).

The juries reserve the right to assign special mentions. The juries also reserve the right not to award the aforementioned prizes.
Audience Award: The audience will also be invited to express their preference. The winner wil be awarded the IFF-Integrazione Film Festival plaque.
Best Acting: the juries will assign a prize for the best performance of an actor/actress in the films in competition.

Art. 5 – Films must be submitted for selection to IFF-Integrazione Film Festival no later than January 31st 2025, through https://filmfreeway.com/IFF-IntegrazioneFilmFestival.
Submission fees are as follows:

  • 5€ for films submitted by November 30th 2024 (early bird)
  • 10€ for films submitted by January 31st 2025 (regular deadline)

For Italian films, please insert the information on Film Freeway in Italian.

Art. 6 – Registration to the festival entails the following authorizations:

  • To screen the work during the live event and, in case, on the Festival’s online streaming platform on the same days as the lives screenings from May 13-17, 2025;
  • The use of excerpts of the selected works for a maximum length of 2’ (or 10% of the entire length for short films) for television broadcast or streaming exclusively for promotional and not commercial purposes;
  • To screen the work for non-profit educational and cultural activities organized by IFF-Integrazione Film Festival and Ruah Cooperative.

Art. 7 – The owners of the selected works must make a screening copy available (formats: DCP, Blu Ray, File HD) to the Festival no later than March 14th 2025:

For all non-Italian language films, an English or Italian subtitled version must be provided, accompanied by the dialogue list in text format (.srt).

Art. 8 – The selected films at the 19th edition are invited to include the official logo of the Festival selection – and eventually the Award’s one – in the end credits, on promotional materials and on websites. The official logo will be sent by email.

Art. 9 – Submitting an application to enter the Festival entails the acceptance of all the rules in these Regulations. It is the responsibility of authors, producers, distributors or other individuals who present the film to be legitimately authorized to register the film at the festival. The participants are responsible for the quality and intactness of the file sent, as well as the legitimate ownership of the images and soundtracks used, or of the use of them in compliance with the law. The Artistic Director has the right to resolve all cases not provided for by these Regulations, as well as to derogate in the event of particular cases that are properly justified. For any objections on the meaning of the single articles of the Regulations, the original Italian text shall be exclusively considered legally binding. The Court of Bergamo is the competent court of jurisdiction for any disputes.

For registrations: https://filmfreeway.com/IFF-IntegrazioneFilmFestival
For information: [email protected]