Bucharest Film Awards ()

Festival start: 28 July 2021      Festival end: 31 July 2021

Bucharest Film Awards is a space designed for film professionals and film enthousiasts to foster creativity, expressivity and innovation in the cinematic field. Our mission is to create a platform where both experienced and new filmmakers can share their art, enhance their work and connect to diverse audiences.

Hosted in Bucharest, an iconic city for the Eastern Europe, with an efervescent cultural life, our festival will promote the best films from the online among a public avid to descovering new forms of contemporary art.

The film screenings will be held in 3 of the most inspiring venues in Bucharest:
Qreator by IQOS, Carturesti Verona & Cinema Elvira Popescu, well known among locals and foreigners for creating a favorable athmosphere for exploring promising artistic initiatives.

This year we put the emphasis on Innovation, integrating new forms of expressivity adapted to the 21st century film world. So, beside the film screenings, we have arranged a VR Cinema, Chroma Live Wall for Live CGI, Augmented Reality Screenings, Live Streaming shorts exclusively screened on smartphone platforms and many more!

Come along with us!

Submit now for the 2021 Film Competition!

More details on: www.bucharest-films.com

Bucharest Film Awards promotes short and feature films from around the world with 18 awards in 3 categories. Only films accepted in our Official Selection are eligible to screenings.

All submitted films will be reviewed by a jury of film professionals, that will look for creativity, talent, powerful ideas, quality and attention to details, regardless of the experience of those involved in the creation process and the budget of the submitted works.



The Film Competition will be a 3-day event that will include thematic workshops, live screening events, industry talks and networking cocktails.


In addition to the Film Competition, we created Spotlight with the aim of better promoting the best submitted projects. We will screen the best 10 films submitted in the first 6 months of the year.

Cash Prizes: 3,948€

The total Prize value is 3948$ for every edition.

There are 6 Nominations for ‘Bucharest Film Ambassad'or Award’ and 3 nominations for the ‘Category/Individual’ Awards.

Best Short-Film, Featurette, Feature Film and the Audience Award will each receive a BFA Custom Trophy along with 1yr Studio Licence (worth 299$), Professional Film Review, Official Screening during BFA Official Event and Award Certificates.

All category/individual winners and nominees will receive Award Certificates, Official Screening and Laurels along with BFA Laurels stating their performance in the festival.
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BUCHAREST FILM AMBASSAD'OR AWARD
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The highest ranked BFA distinction will be the 'Bucharest Film Ambassad'or Award'.
It will come with a customized BFA Trophy, one 1yr Studio Licence (worth 299$), a Professional Film Review, Official Screening during the BFA Screening Event and Award Certificates stating the outstanding performance.

CATEGORY AWARDS
BFA AMBASSAD'OR AWARD
WINNER - Custom Trophy + 1yr Studio Licence (worth 299$) + Film Review + Award Certificate + Official Screening

BEST SHORT FILM
WINNER - Custom Trophy + 1yr Studio Licence (worth 299$) + Film Review + Award Certificate + Official Screening
1st Runner-up - 3 months Studio Licence (worth 117$) + Official Screening + Award Certificate + Laurel
2nd Runner-up - 3 months Studio Licence (worth 117$) Official Screening + Award Certificate + Laurel

BEST FEATURETTE FILM
WINNER - Custom Trophy + 1yr Studio Licence (worth 299$) + Film Review + Award Certificate + Official Screening
1st Runner-up - 3 months Studio Licence (worth 117$) + Official Screening + Award Certificate + Laurel
2nd Runner-up - 3 months Studio Licence (worth 117$) Official Screening + Award Certificate + Laurel

BEST FEATURE FILM
WINNER - Custom Trophy + 1yr Studio Licence (worth 299$) + Film Review + Award Certificate + Official Screening
1st Runner-up - 3 months Studio Licence (worth 117$) + Official Screening + Award Certificate + Laurel
2nd Runner-up - 3 months Studio Licence (worth 117$) Official Screening + Award Certificate + Laurel
Audience award - Custom Trophy + 1yr Studio Licence (worth 299$) + Film Review + Award Certificate + Official Screening

Best student film - Custom Trophy + 1yr Studio Licence (worth 299$) + Film Review + Award Certificate + Official Screening

Best experimental - Award Certificate + Official Screening + Official Laurel

Best animation - Award Certificate + Official Screening + Official Laurel

Best documentary - Award Certificate + Official Screening + Official Laurel

Best music video - Award Certificate + Official Screening + Official Laurel

Best trailer - Award Certificate + Official Screening + Official Laurel

* For short, featurette and feature films, we will also award first and second runner-ups.

INDIVIDUAL AWARDS

Best director - Award Certificate + Official Screening + Official Laurel

Best screenplay - Award Certificate + Official Screening + Official Laurel

Best actor - Award Certificate + Official Screening + Official Laurel

Best actress - Award Certificate + Official Screening + Official Laurel

Best editor - Award Certificate + Official Screening + Official Laurel

Best cinematography - Award Certificate + Official Screening + Official Laurel

Best original score - Award Certificate + Official Screening + Official Laurel

*For featurette and feature films, we offer the Best supporting actor award and the Best supporting actress award.

SCREENPLAY COMPETITION -
WINNER - Custom Trophy + 1yr Studio Licence (worth 299$) + Screenplay Review + Award Certificate + Official Screening
1st Runner-up - 3 months Studio Licence (worth 117$) + Award Certificate + Laurel
2nd Runner-up - 3 months Studio Licence (worth 117$) + Award Certificate + Laurel

8 Quarter Finalists

4 Semifinalists

3 Finalists

Winner

SOUNDTRACK AWARD
WINNER - Custom Trophy + 1yr Studio Licence (worth 299$) + Soundtrack Review + Award Certificate

RULES - BUCHAREST FILM AWARDS

Submissions


You can submit a maximum amount of 2 film projects during a festival edition. We will allow you to resubmit the entry in the next edition if the specific project was not awarded in the previous one. Every film category comes with an entry fee that varies depending on the category and entry deadline. The entry fees are non-refundable.


Length


Short - up to 35 minutes
Featurette - 35-60 minutes
Feature - 60-140 minutes




Submissions format


WE PREFER SECURE ONLINE SUBMISSIONS IN HIGH DEFINITION. Not only is this a more environmentally friendly method for us, but it also allows your film to be reviewed by our screeners/reviewers as quickly as possible.

We only accept films released after 2010 that come in 720p or better resolution. Moreover, this is a compulsory requirement for accepting your film in our official screening.


Any genre and format is accepted.




Subtitles


All non-English language films must be subtitled in English (excepting music videos). We will require separate English subtitles from all the films selected for the Official Screening. The subtitles will need to come together with the screening file at least a week before the screening date.


Competition


'Bucharest Film Awards' is a competitive event and unless notified otherwise, all films officially selected are eligible for competition. For a list of competitive categories, please see our Awards page. All films are nominated and voted upon by a jury of film professionals, from an independent point of view.
All genres and formats are considered eligible for nomination at one or more competitive categories.


Quality is a requirement, this is why we will not accept films with a poor production standard (lack of sound quality, absence of subtitles/captions for non-English films, video resolution less than 720p HD).

All entries must be available for screening during the festival.

For films chosen to be screened at the Bucharest Film Awards, we require a download link to your submission or you must send a full quality 1080p/DCP file/35mm/Blu-ray/DVD no later than 1 week prior to the festival screening.


Events


Beginning with 2018, Bucharest Film Awards runs on a semestrial basis, with two events per year: Spotlight, an off-competition event that takes place in July and the Official Competition, in November.


The November Film Competition will be a 3-day event that will include thematic workshops, live screening events, industry talks and networking cocktails.


In addition to the November Film Competition, we created Spotlight with the aim of better promoting the best submitted projects. We will screen the best 10 films submitted in the first 6 months of the year. The films selected for Spotlight will be included in the Official Competition in November.




Awards and Prizes


There are 6 Nominations for ‘Bucharest Film Ambassad'or Award’ and 3 nominations for the ‘Category/Individual’ Awards.

Best Short-Film, Featurette, Feature Film and the Audience Award will each receive a BFA Custom Trophy along with Professional Film Review and Award Certificates.

All category/individual winners and nominees will receive Award Certificates along with BFA Laurels stating their performance in the festival.




BUCHAREST FILM AMBASSAD'OR AWARD


The highest ranked BFA distinction will be the 'Bucharest Film Ambassad'or Award'.
It will come with a customized BFA Trophy, a Professional Film Review from our critique board, fully-paid entry fees in any 3 film worldwide festivals listed with a maximum amount of 50$ per each entry fee, and Award Certificates stating the outstanding performance.




Film Review


We believe in the power of constructive critique, so we designed the option to receive a professional film review from our experts in order to provide you with a detailed feedback on your work. Filmmakers can request the professional review at the price of $39,99, which also includes the entry fee to our Official Competition. The review will be officially listed on our platform and made public through all our social media channels.


Screenplays


The screenplay competition runs on two seasons, winter and summer and will be available exclusively through. The competition is open to screenplays of any genre, up to 120 pages. Filmmakers can submit maximum two screenplays per edition and only one can receive the ‘Screenplay Award’. The entry fee is $49,99 and it includes a detailed professional review by our specialists. For those who just want to enter the competition, the fee is $24,99.
There will be quarter finalists, semifinalists and finalists out of which a winner, a runner-up and a second runner-up will be designated. The winner will receive an award certificate and our custom Bucharest Film Awards Trophy.


Disclaimer and rights


Submission of any entry provides Bucharest Film Awards with the permission to have excerpts of accepted work, including film trailers, shown in all promotional activities related to the festival.


We will not publish the whole film on our website, nor will we require exclusivity for our screening event.


Festival does not deal with any copyright issues. All copyright issues should be resolved by the film authors. 

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless us, our officers, affiliates, employees, and partners from any and all claims and liability arising out of entering or transmitting your film to the Bucharest Film Awards.


Filmmakers and screenwriters retain 100% all of the rights to their projects and materials that they submit to the Bucharest Film Awards.




Laurels


Filmmakers are allowed to use Bucharest Film Awards laurels on their winning/nominated/selected films ONLY. They can be used on posters as well as on other media available. The OFFICIAL SELECTION transparent laurel will be available on the website after the first selection will be published. Other laurels will be provided upon request.