2023 Regulations

Documentaries (31’ or more), Feature films (70’ or more), Short and Animated films (31’ or less) of any nationality may be submitted for the selection process, provided that they were completed after January 1, 2021.

If selected, the format for the projection of the film may be:

• Unencrypted DCP
• Blu-ray DVD
• Apple ProRes File
• File H264

Other formats must be approved by the Festival Management.
Screening fees may not be requested and will not be paid for the contests.

Films in any language other than Italian must be subtitled in English or Italian and, if selected for the final phase of competition, they must be sent to the festival with the requested presentation materials and the English dialogue list.

Films to be presented in the Short film and Animated film sections must be shorter than 31 minutes or they will be excluded.

No screening fees can be requested by the representatives of the films submitted for the contest.

The Festival may choose to invite selected films into the contest.

Some of the films not selected for the short film and animated film contests may be selected for a non-competitive section.

Two juries composed of influential figures in Cinema and Culture, will award the following prizes (except for the Audience Award):

FICTION FEATURE FILM SECTION

* The Audience Award 

DOCUMENTARY SECTION

* “Il Faro”, (‘The Lighthouse’) Award for Best Documentary (€1,000 grant offered by Arpa Sicilia).

* AAMOD Award, consisting of a plaque and the free use of 3′ of audiovisual material by the Labor Movement Archives (value of approximately € 3,000)

* “Human Rights Award” by Amnesty International Italy and SiciliAmbiente

* “Environment Award” by Greenpeace Italy

SHORT FILM SECTION

* “Il Faro”, (‘The Lighthouse’) Award for Best Short film (€ 500 grant offered by Arpa Sicilia).

* “Special TTPIXEL Award”, consisting of 4 sessions of color correction + the production of a dcp master. Total value of € 3,000.

ANIMATED FILM SECTION

* “Il Faro”, (‘The Lighthouse’) Award for Best Animated film (€ 500 grant offered by Arpa Sicilia). 

The monetary awards will be transferred to a representative (director or other) indicated by the right-holders of the film no later than 10 months from the date of the award ceremony. In case of dispute, Festival Management reserves the right to request documentation attesting the identity of the right-holders of the film.

The filmmakers and/or producers of the selected films will be notified by June 10th, 2023.

No notification will be provided for the excluded films.

The selection, the general program and the showing schedule are under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Festival Management.

Participants may apply online at https://www.festivalsiciliambiente.it/iscrizioni/?lang=en, or by clicking on the “Sign Up” section at www.festivalsiciliambiente.it.

Or on the following online platforms: FilmFreeway, Clickforfestivals, Festhome.

To register for the competitive sections, payment of an entry fee is required. 

The entry fee for registration by March 6th, 2023 is:

• € 25 for the fiction feature film contest
• € 20 for the documentary contest
• € 15 for the short film and animated film contests

The entry fee for registration from March 7th to April 21th 2023 is:

• € 30 for the fiction feature film contest
• € 25 for the documentary contest
• € 20 for the short film and animated film contests. 

Payment instructions (online payment or bank transfer) will appear after completing the online entry form.

Failure to pay the entry fee will result in the film being excluded.

The film can be submitted by providing a link and password to view the film online in the entry form, or by sending a DVD/pen drive/hard disk by mail or courier.

Materials sent by mail or courier must be shipped by April 21^th, 2023 (postmark date will serve as proof) after filling out the online entry form. Postal expenses for the required documentation are to be paid by the participant. If you are sending your material from abroad, for customs purposes, remember to write the following note on the parcel: “Senza valore commerciale, per soli scopi culturali”/ “NO commercial value, for cultural purposes only”. The Festival will not cover the postage for the return of DVDs/pen drives/hard disks.

Materials sent by courier (DVD, pen drives, hard disks) must be sent to the following address:
Demetra Produzioni
Via Rosa Raimondi Garibaldi n. 44
00145 Roma
Italy

Authors and/or Producers are responsible for the content of their films and, upon registration to the Festival, must declare that all obligations towards third parties deriving from copyright laws and related to the use of copyright material have been fulfilled.

Registration is subject to a binding agreement that all received materials be deposited in the SiciliAmbiente Archive and that authorization for their use be granted for cultural and educational purposes, for research and promotion, also in places and contexts other than this Festival, excluding any commercial use in order to safeguard filmmakers’ and producers’ interests. The Festival will act as an intermediary between the holders of the rights and distributors.

INVITATIONS AND SHIPPING

Every selected or invited film must include:
-completed online entry form;
– all accompanying documentation requested at the notice of selection/invitation.

The screening copies of films selected for screening must arrive no later than June 20^th, 2023 or they will be excluded, at the following address: 

Demetra Produzioni
Via Rosa Raimondi Garibaldi n. 44
00145 Rome
Italy

If choosing to send  HD files online, file transfer must be arranged with Festival management by writing to copies@festivalsiciliambiente.it.

Postal expenses and Customs clearance are to be covered by the sender. SiciliAmbiente will cover Postal expenses and Customs clearance for return shipping. If, after the screening at this Festival, a copy is requested for another festival, Postage and Customs clearance will be at the expense of the party making the request. In any case, SiciliAmbiente will cover the charges relative to no more than one shipment of the copy.

DONATION TO THE ARCHIVE

The donation of one copy of the film (Blu-ray DVD or Apple ProRes File format) for the Archive would be greatly appreciated. The copy will be used for research purposes, for the preservation and promotion of documentary cinema, and will be excluded any commercial use.

If an Author or Producer decides to withdraw a film from the Festival that has already been included in the program after its selection, a sum of €1,000 must be paid to compensate for damages.

The Festival provides comprehensive insurance coverage (spanning the entire chain of custody, from pick-up to delivery) for copies of the films included in the program. In case of loss of or damage to a copy, SiciliAmbiente’s responsibility will be limited to the reprinting costs of the copy, calculated according to corresponding Italian prices.
Participation in the selection implies acceptance of the above Regulations, available also in the original Italian version. In case of mis-interpretation of these rules, the Italian version of the Regulations is to be considered valid.