Final Cut in Venice 2021
The ninth edition of the FINAL CUT IN VENICE workshop will take place from September 5 to 7, 2021 during the Venice Production Bridge of the 78th Venice International Film Festival (Lido di Venezia, 1 – 11 September 2021).
The Festival’s purpose is to provide concrete assistance in the completion of films from Africa and from Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine and Syria; and to offer producers and directors an opportunity to present films still in the production phase to international film professionals and distributors in order to facilitate post-production and promote co-production partnerships and market access.
3.1 Workshop
The workshop consists in three days of activities, in which the working copies of a maximum of 6 selected films (see articles 5 and 6) are presented to producers, buyers, distributors and film festival programmers. Networking, encounters and meetings will allow directors and producers to interact directly with the workshop participants. One-to-one meetings between the selected film teams and professionals are organized on Sept 7, 2021.
3.2 Screenings
The workshop also includes screenings of material of the selected films in the presence of the directors and producers. Only Industry pass holders will be allowed to attend the screenings: producers, distributors, operators, buyers, festival programmers, representatives of the institutions and others invited in advance by the Festival management.
Final Cut in Venice will end with the awarding of prizes in kind or in cash, the purpose of which is to provide economic support for the post-production phase of the films.
The following is the list of prizes:
· For the fifth year in a row, La Biennale di Venezia will offer a cash prize of € 5,000 to the best film in post-production; the Premio La Biennale di Venezia will be awarded by a jury composed of three members designated by the Festival Director. The other prizes offered by supporting companies – which include, among the many services, colour correction, sound mixing, the creation of a DCP master and subtitles – will be awarded by final and irrevocable decision of the Festival Director, in conjunction with the supporting companies and the heads of the Institutions involved.
· € 15,000 for the colour correction of a feature-length film offered by Laser Film (Rome) for up to 50 hours of work (technician included);
· € 15,000 offered by Mactari Mixing Auditorium (Paris) for the sound mixing of a feature length film (up to 12 days of work, sound mixer not included);
· For a feature-length fiction film a $10,000 MG or for a feature-length documentary a $3,000 MG for marketing, publicity and distribution in the Arab World offered by MAD Solutions for one Arab project (except for projects already funded by MAD Solutions);
· Titra Film (Paris) will offer up to € 5,000 for colour-grading; up to € 3,000 for the production of a DCP master, or the creation of i-Tunes, Google or Netflix files; up to € 2,000 for French or English subtitles (translation not included);
· up to € 7,000 for the creation of the DCP master with Italian or English subtitles, offered by Sub-Ti Ltd. (London);
· up to € 7,000 for the accessible contents of the film for audiences with sensory disabilities: subtitles for the deaf and hearing-impaired and audio description for the blind and visually impaired, including audio subtitles in voiceover, in Italian or English (the subtitles and the audio-described soundtrack for the DCP will be provided) offered by Sub-Ti Access Srl (Turin).
· € 5,000 for the purchase of two-year broadcasting rights by Rai Cinema;
· $ 5,000 awarded to an Arab project and an invitation to participate in the CineGouna Platform offered by the El Gouna Film Festival;
· “Coup de cœur de la Cinémathèque Afrique” Prize, offered by Cinémathèque Afrique of the Institut Français (Paris). The prize consists in the acquisition of the non-commercial and non-exclusive broadcasting rights for 7 years for a value of € 4,000 – € 6,000 depending on the genre and length of the film and the number of available territories;
· participation in the production costs of a DCP (€ 2,500), offered by the Festival International du Film d’Amiens;
· participation in the production costs of a DCP (€ 2,500), offered by the Festival International de Films de Fribourg;
· one of the selected projects will benefit from the Eye on Films label, which will present the film to distributors and festivals affiliated with EoF and will contribute to the communication of the film for a value of € 2,500 on the occasion of its world premiere in an A-category festival.
5.1 Eligibility criteria of the films
All works submitted must be in post-production and made exclusively by filmmakers from countries as specified in Art. 2. Only feature fiction or feature art-house documentary films (expected min. length of each film: 60 minutes) will be considered.
It is preferable to send a complete working copy of the film. Should the film still be in an initial editing stage, a series of edited sequences will be accepted (totalling at least one-third of the overall anticipated length of the film), accompanied by the director’s statement of intent and a film treatment.
5.2 Subtitles
Should the language spoken in the film not be Italian, French or English, the copy to be submitted should be subtitled in one of these languages.
5.3 Subsequent submission
Each film may participate in only two editions of the “Final Cut in Venice” workshop, and may participate the second time only if substantial progress in the production of the working copy has been achieved, and if the film was not awarded in the previous edition.
5.4 Submission to other sections of the Festival
Submission to the “Final Cut in Venice” workshop precludes submission to any other official section of the Festival that same year. However, it is possible to submit the film to official sections of the Festival the following year. Moreover, upon the discretion of the Festival Director, a film in post-production that was submitted to the official sections of the Festival but was not selected may be submitted to the workshop the same year.
6.1 Selection
The Festival Director, assisted by a staff of experts, is responsible for selecting the films; his decision is final and irrevocable.
6.2 Selection results
The selection results will be communicated to the submitted films by 12 July 2021.
7.1 Materials to be sent for the selection
In order to be considered for selection, by June 20, 2021, applicants must:
a) fill out the Final Cut in Venice SELECTION ENTRY FORM, in acceptance of the present regulations;
b) send two copies of the film (accepted formats: DVD, Blu-ray disc), or a link with the password (valid at least until 12 July 2021) for online viewing to finalcut@labiennale.org.
Mailing address to which the two DVDs must be sent:
La Biennale di Venezia – Cinema Department
FINAL CUT IN VENICE
78th VENICE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
Palazzo del Cinema, Lungomare Marconi, 30126 Lido di Venezia
Tel. +39 041 5218878 – Fax +39 041 5218854
7.2 Informational material about the film
Informational material about the submitted film must be sent exclusively in electronic format to: finalcut@labiennale.org.
7.3 Return of the films sent
The Festival is not required to return the films submitted for the selection process.
8.1 Entry form
Invited films will receive an Entry form, which must be filled out and returned by 12 July 2021. The Festival’s reception of the completed and signed form implies the legal acceptance of the invitation on the part of all those to whom it is sent; acceptance is considered final and binding.
The film’s invitation to participate in the workshop must remain completely confidential until the Festival program has been officially announced; failure to comply will result in the film’s exclusion from participation.
8.2 Copies and materials
The representatives of the invited films must send by and no later than 12 July 2021 all informative material required for the catalogue and the Venice Production Bridge -VPB (synopsis, statement of intent, crew and cast list, director’s biography and complete filmography, photographs of the director and cast and scenes from the film in b/w or in color). It must be labeled “Material for VPB” and sent to finalcut@labiennale.org.
The screening copies in DCP, DVD or Blu-ray, in the original version with English subtitles, must be sent by and no later than 17 August 2021. A working copy that is further along with respect to the version submitted in DVD to the selecting commission may be sent:
- 2 copies in DCP, DVD or Blu-ray, in the original version with English subtitles;
- 1 DVD in original version with English subtitles, for the exclusive use of the Festival’s internal services, should the screening copy be different from the selection DVD copy.
Only in special cases, which must be authorized in writing by the Director, can the deadline of 17 August 2021 be extended; however, should the copies of the film not arrive by 27 August 2021, the screenings will be cancelled.
8.3 Shipping costs
The full cost of sending the material, including customs expenses, to the Festival headquarters, as well as their return freight, will be borne by the applicant.
The Festival will cover trip expenses and accommodations for one producer, for each of the selected films, for four nights (4 to 8 September 2021), if the conditions regarding the development of the pandemic will allow it.
Films which are selected and awarded one or more workshop prizes must indicate the authorized logo and the phrase “With the support of the Final Cut in Venice workshop” in the opening credits of the film (if other film partners appear in the opening credits), in the poster’s logos block and in all promotional material. As a binding condition, in the closing titles the authorized logo and the phrase “With the support of the Final Cut in Venice workshop” must appear in the foreground, with the logos of the workshop partners who gave the prizes smaller in the background. The film that will be awarded the Venice Biennale Prize has to display alongside the logo of the Festival also the sentence ‘La Biennale Prize Final Cut in Venice 2021’. The films selected for Final Cut in Venice and not awarded will have to report on the credits the logo of the Festival with the phrase "The film took part in the workshop Final Cut in Venice".
Participation in the Final Cut in Venice workshop constitutes unconditional adherence to these Regulations. The producers, distributors or other subjects submitting the film must ensure they are legitimately entitled to enter the film.
The Festival Director reserves the right to settle any case not covered by these Regulations, and to waive the Regulations in special and well-motivated instances. In case of dispute regarding the interpretation of the single articles of the Regulations, the original text written in Italian is to be considered final.
