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You are in: Home > 2023. 71st Edition  > Film registration > Rules and regulations > Horizontes Latinos Rules and Regulations
Horizontes Latinos Rules and Regulations
71st edition - 2023

The San Sebastian International Film Festival has its main offices at the following address:

FESTIVAL DE SAN SEBASTIÁN
TABAKALERA - Centro Internacional de Cultura Contemporánea
Plaza de las Cigarreras, 1, 2ª planta
20012 Donostia – San Sebastián (España)
Tel.: +34 943 481212
ssiff@sansebastianfestival.com

Detailed information can be found on the official Festival website: www.sansebastianfestival.com, which also explains how to contact the Festival and its different departments.

The Public Limited Company FESTIVAL INTERNACIONAL DE CINE DE DONOSTIA-SAN SEBASTIÁN S.A. consists in equal parts of the San Sebastian City Council, the Basque Government, the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa and the Spanish Ministry of Culture, Education and Sport. Its chairmanship is held by the Mayor of San Sebastian. The San Sebastian Festival organisation is headed by its Director, José Luis Rebordinos.

The San Sebastian International Film Festival is accredited by the International Federation of Film Producers Associations, FIAPF www.fiapf.org, in the "competitive film festivals" category.

ARTICLE 1

The San Sebastian International Film Festival seeks to make a positive contribution to the development of the film culture and industry.

ARTICLE 2

The 71th edition of the San Sebastian International Film Festival will take place in the city of San Sebastian from 22th to the 30th September 2023.

ARTICLE 3

All films presented at the 71th San Sebastian International Film Festival will be selected by the Festival Selection Committee. The Committee is chaired by the Festival Director and is advised by a network of international delegates consisting of professionals, specialists in the world of film and in film festivals.

ARTICLE 4

All films selected for the 71th edition will receive a certificate of participation from the San Sebastian Festival Management.

ARTICLE5

The Horizontes Latinos Section of the San Sebastian International Film Festival consists of a selection of the year's most interesting Latin American feature films not yet released in Spain.

All films in the Horizontes Latinos Section compete for the Horizontes Award.

The Horizontes Award carries €35,000 for the director and distributor of the film in Spain.

ARTICLE 6

The San Sebastian International Film Festival seeks with its Horizontes Award to foster knowledge of feature films produced totally or partially in Latin America, directed by filmmakers of Latin origin and set in or focused on Latin communities across the world.

ARTICLE 7

The Horizontes Award carries a cash prize of €35,000, of which €10,000 will go to the director of the winning film and the remaining €25,000 to the distributor of the film in Spain.

In the event that the film does not have a Spanish distributor in theaters, the entire Prize will be handed over to the director of the film.

The deadline to notify that the film has a Spanish distributor is of one month from the end of the edition.

ARTICLE 8

The Horizontes Latinos Section is open to feature films that:

  • Are over 60 minutes in length.
  • Have been completed in the 12 months prior to the start of the Festival.
  • Have not participated in any Spanish film festival taking place prior to their presentation at the San Sebastian Festival.
  • Have not been commercially released or publicly screened in Spain prior to their official presentation at the Festival.
  • The inclusion in VOD platforms of films participating in the Horizontes Latinos Section is not allowed, with the exception of cases where their use is strictly professional and with restricted access.
  • The format accepted for films in the Horizontes Latinos Section is exclusively: DCP.

The Festival's technical department will send the server certificate for the generation of DKDM to the producers or representatives of the film. Only this type of encryption will be accepted and it must be sent together with the film in order to generate from the Festival the necessary keys for quality controls, technical tests and projections.

ARTICLE 9

All of the films selected by the Festival must be presented in their original version.

  • With subtitles in Spanish if the original version of the film is not in Spanish.
  • With subtitles in English if the original version is in Spanish and/or Basque.

If the original version of the film is in Basque, the Festival will provide additional subtitling in Spanish.

The cost of subtitling the copy will be paid by the producers or representatives of the film.

When the original version is not in English, the Festival will provide additional electronic subtitling in English for films subtitled in Spanish. To do this, we will require a DVD of the final original version of the film with subtitles in English and the corresponding list of subtitles in English (online and downloadable) which will be for the internal use of the Festival and completely confidential.

The screening of this electronic subtitling will be carried out by the subtitling company hired for this purpose by the Festival.

ARTICLE 10

Participation in the Horizontes Latinos Section of the Festival implies:

  • Acceptance of these Rules & Regulations.
  • Due completion of the online submission form, which can be found on our official website: www.sansebastianfestival.com.
    The producers or representatives of films with Spanish production or co-production must directly contact the film department films@sansebastianfestival.com before completing the online submission form.
  • The fee for each film submitted for pre-selection by the Festival is:
    1. Short and/or medium-length films (up to 59'): €70 (including 21% VAT)
    2. Feature-length films (more than 60'): €100 (including 21% VAT)
    3. DCP in physical format (2.5 hard drive, CRU or similar): €150 (including 21% VAT) or
    4. DCP submitted digitally (Signiant Media Shuttle or similar): €200 (including 21% VAT), no matter what the runtime. In case of choosing this option the Festival will provide with its Signiant Media Shuttle account for the uploading without extra cost.

Said fee will be payable in euros during the film submission process and can be paid either by credit card (Visa, American Express or Mastercard) or via paypal.

ARTICLE 11

Once a film has received an official invitation from the Festival Director, and prior to the event, the producers or representatives of the selected films must confirm their attendance by duly completing and returning the online submission form to the Festival no later than 1 August 2023.

The Festival will recognise the person who signs this confirmation as the sole representative in negotiating all aspects related to participation of the film in the event and as the sole responsible as opposed to other companies or individuals to have participated in producing the film.

Confirmation by the producers or representatives of the selected film means that they cannot withdraw their film from the programme and that they irrevocably accept all regulations established by the Festival Management.

ARTICLE 12

The invitation made to each film selected by the San Sebastian International Film Festival will remain strictly confidential between the Festival Management and the producers or representatives of the invited film until such time as the Festival decides to make an official announcement in this regard.

The complete San Sebastian International Film Festival programme and all screening times are exclusively decided by the Festival Management Committee.

ARTICLE 13

The documentation required by the Festival for its press releases, official catalogue and website (synopsis, technical and artistic credits, bio-filmographies, pictures of the director/s and film stills) will be extracted from the online submission form, which must be duly completed no later than 1 August 2023.

All promotional material for the selected films requested by the different Festival departments must be sent promptly by their producers or representatives.

ARTICLE 14

The producers or representatives of invited films must send the selected copies to be screened at the Festival, 15 days prior to date on which the event is due to begin, to the Festival film department at its main offices:

Donostia Zinemaldia – Festival de San Sebastián
Departamento de películas
TABAKALERA Centro Internacional de Cultura Contemporánea
Plaza de las Cigarreras 1, 2ª Planta
20012 DONOSTIA – SAN SEBASTIÁN
Tel.: +34 943 481212
films@sansebastianfestival.com

The producers or representatives are free to send the Festival as many copies of the film as they wish.

The Festival Management reserves the right to reject copies found during control by its Technical Department to be unsuitable for screening. In the event of irregularities in the copies, the Festival Management will issue the film owners or representatives with the corresponding technical report.

ARTICLE 15

The transport and insurance costs of the copies of selected films will be paid by the participants until their arrival at the Festival offices or at the premises of its customs agent.

The San Sebastian International Film Festival will insure the copies from the moment of their arrival at the Festival offices or at the premises of its customs agent, until such time as they are returned.

The cost of generating KDMs will also be the responsibility of the producers or representatives of the film.

The cost of returning the copies of films selected by the Festival will also be paid by participants. Returns will only be made after the Festival closing date.

In the event of damage to a copy during the event, the Festival limits its responsibility to the cost of having a new standard copy made at current laboratory rates.

ARTICLE 16

The Horizontes Award will be decided by a specially constituted jury appointed by the San Sebastian Festival Management.

The Horizontes Award Jury must meet the following conditions:

  • Minimum of 3 professionals from the worlds of film and culture.
  • No member of the Horizontes Award jury can have interests in the production and/or exploitation of films presented in the Horizontes Latinos section.

ARTICLE 17

The Horizontes Award cannot be declared void or be conferred on more than one film.

ARTICLE 18

The Horizontes Award will be announced and presented at the Festival Closing Gala.

Other awards decided by juries other than the Horizontes Jury for the different sections in the Festival programme will also be presented at the Closing Gala.

ARTICLE 19

The Spanish distributor will receive the Horizontes Award cash prize on furnishing proof to the effect that the winning film has been released in commercial cinemas in at least two Spanish towns and cities within a deadline of one year from the Festival end date.

ARTICLE 20

The producers of films winning an award undertake to mention the award in question on all press material and advertising. They will respect the exact wording of the Jury decision and will use the Festival logo to be made available in several languages on the official Festival website: www.sansebastianfestival.com

ARTICLE 21

Accredited industry professionals attending the Festival will receive special attention at Industry Department. Here, a team of professionals will provide them with all possible means and contacts to facilitate their work, including film viewings in its film library after having obtained the corresponding written authorisation from their producers.

ARTICLE 22

In the event of disagreement (related to organisation or running of the event) or failure to comply with these rules and regulations, the Festival Management reserves the right to the final decision based on the FIAPF regulations for international film festivals.

In the event of discrepancy in the interpretation of these rules and regulations, the Spanish version will apply.

All doubts arising from the interpretation of these rules and regulations will be solved by the San Sebastian Festival Management.

 

FAQ - Film registration

General

Festival dates

The 71st edition of the San Sebastian International Film Festival will run from 22-30 September 2023.


Submission dates
  • General: January 16, 2023 - June 19, 2023
  • Culinary Zinema: January 16, 2023 - June 19, 2023
  • Nest: June 1, 2023 - July 3, 2023
  • WIP Latam: June 1, 2023 - July 3, 2023
  • WIP Europa: June 1, 2023 - July 3, 2023
  • Europe-Latin America Co-Production Forum: April 14, 2023 - June 15, 2023
  • Zinemaldia Startup Challenge: April 17, 2023 - June 1, 2023
  • Ikusmira Berriak: July 1, 2023 - September 1, 2023 

Can I submit a documentary?
The Festival makes no distinction between fiction and non-fiction and both options will be considered for all of its sections.

Can I submit a short or medium-length film?

Yes, but only for the Zabaltegi-Tabakalera section.

  • Full-length film More than 60’
  • Medium-length film From 30’ to 59’
  • Short film Up to 30’

If you have a short film made at your school, you can participate in Nest.


¿Can I submit a Project under development?
If you have a project under development, you can register it in the Europe-Latin America Co-Production Forum or Ikusmira Berriak residence program, as long as you meet the registration requirements.

Can I submit a film/short film to more than one section?
With the exception of the specific sections (indicated above), short films and medium-length films, all others can be submitted to any of the Festival sections. The Festival Committee will then decide which section is most suitable for the film submitted.

Pre-Selection

What formats do you accept for pre-selection?
  • Link/Screener with password
  • DVD
  • Blu-ray
  • DCP

Does my film have to be subtitled?
Films whose original version is Spanish, Basque, English or French do not require subtitles. All other languages must have subtitles.

Can I submit a work in progress?
Yes.

Can I submit a trailer?
No. We don’t accept trailers as pre-selection material.

What do you understand by premiere status?
  • World premiere
    The film has never been officially screened before an audience.
  • International premiere
    The film has been screened in cinemas or at a national festival in its country of origin, but in no other country.
  • European premiere
    The film has been screened or released in cinemas outside Europe, but has never been screened in a European country.
  • Spanish premiere
    The film has never been screened in Spain.
  • No premiere
    The film has been screened and/or premiered in cinemas including Spain. In this case its only option is inclusion in the Made in Spain or Zinemira Panorama sections.

Can my film participate if it has been released in DVD or Blu-ray?
Yes, but only in the Made in Spain or Zinemira Panorama sections (the latter only in the case of Basque productions).

Can my film participate in the Festival if it has been released in VOD?
Yes, the film can participate in the different Festival sections according to the rules on release corresponding to each section.

Submission Fee

How much is the submission fee?

The fee for each film submitted for pre-selection by the Festival is:

  • Short and/or medium-length films (up to 59'): €70 (including 21% VAT)
  • Feature-length films (more than 60'): €100 (including 21% VAT)
  • DCP in physical format (2.5 hard drive, CRU or similar): €150 (including 21% VAT) or
  • DCP submitted digitally (Aspera, Media Shuttle or similar): €200 (including 21% VAT), no matter what the runtime.

Said fee will be payable in euros during the film submission process and can only be paid by credit card (Visa, American Express or Mastercard) or PayPal.

The submissions for WIP Latam, WIP Europa and Nest is free.

The projects submission in the Europe-Latin America Co-Production Forum or Ikusmira Berriak residence program is for free.


Do I get my money back if the film is not selected?
No.

How can I pay if I don’t have a credit card or PayPal?

If you don’t have a credit card you can pay by bank transfer. In this case, please contact us at films@sansebastianfestival.com for instructions.


I’m a student, do I qualify for a discount?

No, students do not qualify for a discount on the submission fee. However, if you have a short film made at your school you can submit it free of charge to Nest.


Communication

When will I know if my film has been selected?

Films will be considered during the pre-selection process. Films not selected will be informed of the decision by email.


Will I receive feedback?
No. The Festival receives more than 2,500 films every year and does give the reasons for its decision.

Selection

When will the announcement that my film has been selected go public?
The calendar for announcing the films will be decided by the Communication Department, which will first of all inform the person responsible for its submission.

What is the deadline for sending the DCP?

The deadline for receiving the final DCP is 1 September 2022.


I want to correct the information I initially provided on the form, how can I do it?

In the event of wishing to change any of the details provided you can contact us at films@sansebastianfestival.com, telling us what you want to change.



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