READ THE FOLLOWING RULES & REGULATIONS CAREFULLY
Silk Road International Film Festival is held annually in Dublin, Ireland
Silk Road International Film Festival is held annually in Dublin, Ireland
SRIFF celebrates world cinema where we discover new films and voices from around the world.
SRIFF screens an exclusive array of world cinema showcasing a rich diversity of features, animations, documentaries, shorts and student films.
SRIFF identifies emerging international talent and connects them with audiences and industry.
1 – GENERAL ELIGIBILITY
Unless a Special Waiver is granted by SRIFF
Films must have been produced during the production years 2022, 2023, 2024
The festival presents international films.
2 – ELIGIBILITY FOR THE SILK ROAD INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL AWARDS
The 2024 edition of SRIFF will present The Silk Road International Film Festival Awards in following categories:
The 2024 edition of SRIFF categories:
• FEATURE
• DOCUMENTARY
• ANIMATION
• SHORT (Live Action, Experimental, Music, Animation, Documentary)
• STUDENT FILM
The 2024 edition of SRIFF will present The Silk Road International Film Festival Awards in following categories:
A – FEATURE
Best Feature
Best Director
Best Actor
Best Actress
B – DOCUMENTARY
Best Documentary
Best Director
C – ANIMATION
Best Animation
Best Director
D – SHORT
Best Short Live Action
Best Short Documentary
Best Short Animation
Jury Special Mention
Best Director
Best Actor
Best Actress
E – STUDENT FILM
Best Student Film
F – STUDENT FILM INTERNATIONAL
Best Student Film International
Best Student Animation
Best Student Documentary
G – HONORARY AWARD
Irish Film & Television Academy (IFTA) Awards officially recognised film festival.
IMDb Qualifying Film Festival.
BRFFA
One Irish Feature film will win an award under the Belt & Road Film Festival Alliance* (BRFFA) *Belt and Road Film Festival Alliance (BRFFA)
The “Belt and Road Film Festival Alliance” (BRFFA) was established at the 21st Shanghai International Film Festival.
BRFFA facilitates the bilateral panorama of films; encourage the mutual recommendation of film festival judges and event guests; strengthen the exchanges and cooperation in film production and distribution; and establish and implement the film information sharing mechanism among contracted parties. The BRFFA is a platform to show films, to communicate & to create opportunities for further cooperation among our film industries and other related fields.
3 – ELIGIBILITY BY CATEGORY
Feature Live Action: To submit to this category, your film must be a scripted or improvisational work of fiction with a running time of 50 minutes or more, including films that are shot in a “mockumentary” style. In order to qualify as an Feature Film, the submitted project must be either scripted or improvisational fiction.
Feature Animation: To submit to this category animation must be any frame-by-frame animated video or film made for the cinema, television, video, internet and the mobile phone may be entered with a running time of 50 minutes or more.
Documentary: To submit to this category any non-fiction film with a running time of 50 minutes or more, with the exception of entirely scripted or improvised fictionalizations of actual events are accepted. If your documentary contains some dramatization of actual events, you may submit to this category, but we will ultimately decide which program is best suited for your project, if accepted.
Short: To submit to this category, your project must be a narrative fiction, documentary or animation with a running time of less than 50 minutes, including credits.
Student Film: Films, animations, documentaries made by Students attending Universities/Film Schools internationally.
***Student films: Must state what school, college and university which you are attending in the submission. *** Will not accept previous submissions
Music Video: running time less than 12 minutes, all forms accepted.
*Exceptions require an authorization of the festival.
4 – SELECTION COMMITTEE & JURY
Selection Committee: SRIFF will solely appoint selection committees to review all submissions. The committees will decide on the official selections.
5 – SUBMISSIONS
To submit your film to the Silk Road International Film Festival, you will have to complete the online submissions form at http://silkroadfilmfestival.com/submit-film/.
Alternatively you can submit through FilmFreeway (https://filmfreeway.com/) & for all Chinese film production submissions through Sfilmmaker only (https://www.sfilmmaker.com/)
All films must be submitted via one of three accepted formats: Digital upload via Silk Road International Film Festival website, FilmFreeway, Sfilmmaker or a Vimeo link entered directly on the submission application, or mailed to us on a single disc (Blu-ray or DVD). We do not accept links via e-mail! If you choose to provide a Vimeo link on your submission application, please ensure that you select “Anywhere” under the “Where can this video be embedded” section of your video’s privacy settings.
Physical discs may be submitted to us in three formats: Blu-ray disc, DVD, or dual-layer DVD. Please refrain from submitting multiple films on a single disc. If you do so, we will only view the first film on the disc. You do not need to include menus, trailers, production stills, or any other video clips on your disc. Our preference is to receive a Blu-ray or DVD that starts playing your film as soon as it is inserted. We would prefer that discs be sent in a simple paper sleeve in order to cut down on waste. It is of the utmost importance that you ensure that your film plays all the way through regardless of which submission format you select! Digital uploads should be viewed in their entirety before they are attached to your submission application. Please ensure that physical discs play all the way through in a standard Blu-ray or DVD player before mailing them to us! Discs must be authored as a standard Blu-ray or DVD; do not simply burn a video file to a disc as data. If you choose to upload your film or provide a Vimeo link via the FilmFreeway Secure Online Screener system or Sfilmmaker Secure Online Screener system, please do not send in a physical disc!
For DVDs, it is highly preferred that you send us an NTSC, region 2 or region free (region 0) DVD when submitting to us, but we will accept other formats as well (such as PAL). If you are sending a DVD that has a region code other than 0 or 2, and/or a format other than NTSC, please mark this CLEARLY on the face of the disc and on the DVD sleeve or case. If you choose to submit your film on Blu-ray, we ask that you ONLY submit a disc formatted for region B! Due to region coding issues with the format, most of our Blu-ray players will not play discs that are formatted to regions A or C. Please write or print your project’s title and tracking number directly on the face of the disc.
Please review the Rules and Regulations carefully prior to completing your application form.
SUBMISSION FEES
In order for your film to be considered you have to pay a registration fee as per FilmFreeway or Sfilmmaker.
Please enter in your full name and name of your film when making a payment.
Deadlines: Entries must be submitted online before the late deadline submission September 1st 2023. Online Submission Form must be completed in English. Submissions and/or material must be postmarked on/or before September 1st 2023.
Submitted Material: If the original version of the film is not in English, the submitted DVD(s) or link must be subtitled in English. The submitter must label the cover of the DVD(s), with the following details:
Title of the film;
Online Submission receipt ID#;
The full name of the Director(s);
The duration of the film;
The original language(s) of the film;
Date of completion of production.
Submission Shipping: All shipping costs of the submitted material must be borne by the submitter/sender (Please note that it is recommended to use a courier for shipping submissions as regular post does not guarantee any expected arrival date). For the avoidance of doubt, the Submitted Material will not be returned to the submitter/sender. All submissions should be sent directly to the hereunder address with “For cultural use only” and “Without commercial value” clearly marked on the envelope.
SRIFF ADDRESS:
Attention: Submissions Manager
Silk Road International Film Festival
Ground Floor
71 Lower Baggot Street
Dublin
D02 P593
IRELAND
NOTE ON ENVELOPE:
[film name] [online submission ID #];
“For cultural use only” and “Without commercial value”.
Submission of Works in Progress:
It is possible to submit a working copy of a film. When filling out the SRIFF Submission Form as well as when labelling the DVDs copies, the submitter must make sure that it clearly identifies the submission as a ‘work-in-progress’. However, the final title of the film should be listed and not the working title. For the avoidance of doubt, all other terms related to submissions shall be herein applicable (i.e. submission of the work in progress DVD shall take place on or before August 1st 2023). If selected, SRIFF must receive a DVD of the final version of the film by no later than September 1st 2023.
Storage of Submissions:
SRIFF retains the right to keep all submissions as well as associated materials for its internal use. SRIFF reserves the right to transfer submissions to a master hard drive digital library, building a digital reference archive (“SRIFF Permanent Digital Library”). SRIFF will not theatrically or publicly screen for commercial purposes any films without the express written consent of the appropriate rights holder(s).
Please see Terms of Use and Privacy Policy
6 – SELECTED FILMS
The Selection Committee will at its own discretion select the SRIFF categories selections. If a film is selected for the SRIFF Awards, SRIFF will send an official selection letter by e-mail in October 2024 and will advise of further requirements and next steps. It is imperative to understand that SRIFF hereby reserves the first right to announce the list of films included in its Final Lineup. The submitter shall in no case, prior to the announcement by SRIFF of its Final Lineup, publicly confirm that the submitter’s film is part of SRIFF.
The final SRIFF programme selection will be announced by end October 2024. If a film has not been selected, SRIFF will inform by e-mail within one week of the announcement of the final SRIFF Programme selection. For the avoidance of doubt, SRIFF is not obliged in any way whatsoever for providing any justification and/ or comments regarding the reasons for non-selection of a film.
FINAL SCREENING MATERIAL:
The final screening copy of the film can only be submitted in one of the following formats: (a) 35mm print; (b) HDCAM tape; (c) Digital Betacam PAL tape; (d) Betacam SP PAL tape; (e) Pro Res Digital File: (f) H 264 Digital File or (g) DCP* (h) BLU RAY Disk or protected link.
The submitter must label the cover of the screening copy, with the following details:
Title of the film;
The full name of the Director(s);
The duration of the film;
The original language(s) of the film + subtitles (if applicable);
Aspect ratio;
Tape speed for HDCam only.
If the original language(s) of the film is not in English, the final screening copy must be subtitled in English.
It is SRIFF’s general policy to screen all non-English language films in their original language version with English subtitles. Exceptions to this general rule will be made on a case by case basis.
Selected films should be submitted with an Electronic Press Kit (“EPK”) of the film including but not limited to a high resolution copy of the trailer used for promotional purposes. For the avoidance of doubt, SRIFF shall be entitled without prior notice to use the trailer online and on broadcast TV for periods of time to be solely decided by SRFF.
Deadlines:
SRIFF must receive the SCREENING COPY of the film on or before 30th October 2024. The screening copy of the film must be received in good condition and SRIFF reserves the right to refuse screening copies if found to be not in good condition and request the submitter to re-submit a new copy. In the event that the submitter fails to submit a screening copy suitable for screening and in good condition, SRIFF reserves the right to cancel the selection of the film without any liability whatsoever.
Additional Terms:
For the avoidance of doubt, once a film is selected, the submitter will not be able to withdraw nor change the Premiere status of the film at any given time before it is screened at SRIFF unless accepted by SRIFF in writing. In the event that the submitter is found to be in violation of any condition of the Rules and Regulations, SRIFF at its sole discretion may chose to cancel and eliminate such film from the selection or the Final Lineup and SRIFF Programme.
Print Shipping:
The participants have to cover the costs for transport, insurance and customs. SRIFF undertakes to return the screening copy (only upon request & paid returned envelope) within 3 weeks of the end of SRIFF. Print Insurance: Prints of all films selected for the SRIFF Programme will be insured throughout the period in which they are in the festival’s custody and until it is shipped back to the submitter. In the case of loss or damage during SRIFF, SRIFF will be responsible only for the replacement value of the print, if the said print was originally received by the festival in good condition.
Screenings & Scheduling:
At the discretion of SRIFF, the film may be screened prior to the festival an additional time for accredited press and industry members. SRIFF will at its sole discretion decide on the dates and order of the screening(s) of each film and should it be selected for an online or physical screening.
Screener(s):
SRIFF will make a digitized copy of the final subtitled DVD screener of the film for media screening purposes. For the avoidance of doubt, said digitized copy will only be viewed by media accredited delegates during the period of the festival and on a closed internal circuit. The digitization process is secure and no copy or duplication of the Film can be made by third parties.
7 – ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND UNDERTAKING
Submission and participation in SRIFF Programme implies acceptance of the Rules and Regulations. The submitter hereby represents and warrants that he/she holds all rights in and to the film and its related materials and that he/she has the authority and capacity to submit the film and its related material for the SRIFF Programme. Except as stated in the Rules and Regulations, the submitter acknowledges that SRIFF shall not be held liable or responsible in any manner whatsoever for any loss or damage of whatever type or nature incurred as a result of the submission, acceptance and/or screening of the film and/or its related material.
Furthermore, the submitter undertakes to indemnify and keep SRIFF indemnified against all liabilities, claims, demands, actions, costs, damages or loss arising out of the submission, acceptance and/or screening of the film and/or its related material. The submitter also understands and acknowledges that the SRIFF Submission Form and the present Rules and Regulations form a consolidated and unified document and that therefore the SRIFF Submission Form shall be considered as incorporated herein by reference.
8 – ADDITIONAL TERMS
Censorship: No editorial cuts or changes to any film will be made at any time by SRIFF for any reason or under any circumstances.
Anti-Piracy Precautions: SRIFF undertakes to take all possible anti-piracy precautions. All prints and associated copyrighted materials will be securely stored while on SRIFF premises. Access is limited to SRIFF’s nominated staff only and all movement of prints will be strictly monitored. No duplication or loaning is permitted and no prints will ever leave the custody and care of SRIFF or its authorized agents during SRIFF.
Festival Management’s Discretion: SRIFF will decide in its discretion on all issues and matters not foreseen by these Rules and Regulations. SRIFF further retains the right to permit exceptions to the application of these Rules Regulations at any time in its discretion. Including if the festival decides to hold an online only event.
Promotional Material: All SRIFF selected films including SRIFF Awards winners undertake to include, in a clear and visible manner, on the Home Video release of their film (i.e. DVD. Blu Ray, online availability…) and on any and all promotional material (including but not limited to posters, banners, EPK’s, websites…) a specific logo to be provided by SRIFF.
Rights Holder:If you have any reason to believe you hold any rights regarding a videos, please contact us with support of your claim.
Please note once submissions have been made the festival is unable to provide a refund under any circumstances.
You agree to all all Rules & Terms upon submission to the festival.