Visioni Fantastiche ()

Festival start: 13 March 2024      Festival end: 23 March 2024

VISIONI FANTASTICHE (Fantastic Visions) is a film festival addressed to schools of all types and levels focusing on fantastic cinema and all its declinations, ranging from sci-fi to fairy-tale, mystery, adventure, fantasy, using specific languages depending on targeted ages. As specified by Plan Mic – MIM, the purpose of VISIONI FANTASTICHE is to contribute contrasting iconic illiteracy through a Festival project where the educational, formative and spectacular elements find their point of conjunction.

Cash Prizes: 1,000€

AWARDS AND JURIES

As mentioned at point 1.5 of this Regulation, Festival Juries are integral part of the Festival itself.

Jury Competition 6+ will be composed by no more than 270 students who will assign an award voting through voting cards.

Jury Competition 8+ will be composed by no more than 270 students who will assign an award voting through voting cards.

Jury Competition 11+ will be composed by no more than 270 students who will assign an award voting through voting cards.

Jury Competition 14+ will be composed by no more than 270 students who will assign an award voting through voting cards.

Jury Competition 16+ will be composed by no more than 270 students who will assign an award voting through voting cards.

SHORT AND FEATURE FILMS COMPETITION AWARD
Feature Film and Short Film compete together.

The first three film selected will receive a prize money distributed as follows:
first prize: 500,00€; second prize: 300,00€; third prize: 200,00€

Any other award raffled off by Institutions or Sponsors shall be assigned according to the rules established by their respective patrons. All decisions of the jury are final.

1. GENERAL RULES

1.1 AIMS AND PURPOSES
VISIONI FANTASTICHE (Fantastic Visions) is a film festival addressed to schools of all types and levels focusing on fantastic cinema and all its declinations, ranging from sci-fi to fairy-tale, mystery, adventure, fantasy, using specific languages depending on targeted ages. As specified by Plan Mic – MIM, the purpose of VISIONI FANTASTICHE is to contribute contrasting iconic illiteracy through a Festival project where the educational, formative and spectacular elements find their point of conjunction.

1.2 PROMOTERS
VISIONI FANTASTICHE is organized by Start Cinema and is part of the initiatives realized under the National Plan of Cinema for School promoted by Mic and MIM.

1.3 LOCATION AND DATES
The Festival will be held in Ravenna from Wednesday 13th to Saturday 23rd March 2024
Organizational unit:

Visioni Fantastiche Via Canala, 43
48123 Ravenna, Italy
www.visionifantastiche.it / info@visionifantastiche.it

1.4 SECTIONS
The Festival is dived into the following sections:

- International Competitions for Short and Feature Films
- Special events and projects
- Meetings

1.5 ADMITTED CATEGORIES International Competitions, divided into five categories clustered by age group, conceive and accept Short and Feature films, both fiction and animation, with a greater concentration of Shorts, mainly animated, for the Competitions intended for younger students and, as age increases, longer durations and a greater variety of genres, being always attributable to fantasy cinema and all its declinations.

International Film Competition 6+: includes Short Film programming of a 15 minutes maximum duration, mostly animated, with very simple dialogues or no dialogues at all. In case of films screened in their original languages, they can be understood with the help of an actor dubbing live with a voice over system. What type of films will be presented? Protagonists of these stories are of the same age of the jurors, making identification process and engagement in narrated stories, easier. Different film genres are proposed, including fantasy, adventure, fairy tale and sci-fi. These films often revolve around family conflicts, complex relationships with peers, how children look at adult world, small and big adventures that test kids’ ability to move independently in everyday life and to focus on reality.

International Film Competition 8+: includes Short Film programming of a 15 minutes maximum duration, mostly animated, with very simple dialogues or no dialogues at all. In case of films screened in their original languages, they can be understood with the help of an actor dubbing live with a voice over system. What type of films will be presented? Films selected for these students try to show common difficulties faced in this peculiar moment in life, using the language of fantastic cinema. Common realities interfacing at different cultural and social levels show how young people deal with same problems, have same interests and same feelings. Potential subjects faced in this section are therefore infinite: relationships with peers, the way different cultures face such a complex period, rites of passage establishing entry into adulthood, different interests youngers cultivate. How to grow up in today’s world and how directors succeed in analyzing future generations? Our aim is to show the side, sometimes comic and sometimes dramatic, of individual growth, knowing from the beginning that there are no unique answers.

International Film Competition 11+: includes Short Film programming of a 30 minutes maximum duration. Despite having a consistent presence of animated Short films, this section begins to show a greater selection of Fiction films. Films are in Italian or without dialogues or, if screened in their original language, subtitled in Italian. What type of films will be presented? The 11+ film programming does not follow pre-established themes, but the best of world production of Fantastic cinema dedicated to young viewers. Our aim is to present stories able to of satisfy every type of audience, stories that touch our deepest feelings. These films represent the realization of a project dedicated to the complex coming-of-age period where individuals cannot consider themselves either kids or adults. Each film survives in the memory of the beholder until its magic endures in the words of those who enjoyed it, even long after the screen light fades away.

International Film Competition 14+: includes Short Film programming of a 30 minutes maximum duration as well as Feature films. Despite having a consistent presence of animated Short films, this section begins to show a greater presence of Fiction films. Films are in Italian or without dialogues or, if screened in their original language, subtitled in Italian. What type of films will be presented? These are articulate and brave films, hard to categorize. Stories proposed in section 14+, always implying the fantastic or magic element, are selected as they face themes of particular generational interest. languages and distances grow longer and the looks blend into worldviews, just as different as they are complementary, causing infinite dialectical exchanges, emerging during the film analysis or during the conversations with the authors. Section 14+ gives the opportunity to overcome narrow cultural borders and to appreciate diversity. Countless versions and visions of the same form arise from the films, and young viewers can identify with the main character, and learn how to relate to them through Visioni Fantastiche’s debates. Their imagination can therefore spread out and tie various aspects of reality putting all together in a single perception. If truth is in the eye of the beholder, at Visioni Fantastiche young people universe never crystallize, but it expands and transforms, becoming more and more immersive and open to new forms of diversity.

International Film Competition 16+: includes Short Films programming of a 30 minutes maximum duration as well as Feature Films addressed to students attending last year of high school and university. This section is composed mainly of Animation, Fiction and Documentary. Films are in Italian or without dialogues or, if screened in their original language, subtitled in Italian and english. What type of films will be screened? It is the most composite Festival section where films and themes screened are more adult and deeper. These films fully reflect psychological richness so that even the fantastic, allegoric and science fiction element further become more elaborate. The look adopted by these films is disenchanted as it tries to investigate unstable relationships between different generations composing today’s families. This section offers to young jurors the chance to face each other’s opinion. Mothers and fathers, facing the challenge of being parents and mentors, trying to raise children that are almost in full possession of their psychophysical attitudes, while young adults feel more and more overwhelmed by contemporary world with all responsibilities and powers determined by their choices. This dialogue, often undertaken, often interrupted, represents one of the main themes of section 16+.

1.5.1 Important : if submitters want to ask for a specific age group to which their films are addressed to we invite them to let us know directly through the submitting platform or via email at info@visionifantastiche.it.

Please note : regardless of the film submission made by the director, the producer or the copyright holder, the final assignment for one of the five categories of the International Competition will be decided by the Festival Direction.

2. REQUIREMENTS AND deadlineS

2.1 INTERNATIONAL COMPETITIONS
VISIONI FANTASTICHE is a Film Festival screening both Short and Feature Films focusing on Fantastic Cinema in all its declinations using International Competitions, retrospectives, special events, meetings, forums, workshops and readings. Being by now outdated the traditional division among pre, primary, middle and high schools, and adopting the guidelines of Festivals that have been working with schools for many years, the International Competition will be divided into five sections, whose films will be selected through the double channel of public call and films invited by the Festival Direction. Short and Feature films from all nations, either Fiction, Animation or Documentary, have to explore fantastic cinema in its broadest sense and be addressed to an audience of young viewers aged between 6 and 19 years old. They must be highly educational and effectively encourage both stylistic and thematic renewal of cinema and have to be ended after May 20th , 2022.

2.2 Submission request to the Competition must be sent via platform, accordingly to what is specified in point 3.1 and 3.2 of this Regulation. Directors who wish to participate to the Competition have to provide the Festival with a film online screening by February 18th, 2024. Only Films specifically invited by the Direction can participate at the Competition. Participation to the Festival can be denied to movies unable to ensure high quality public screening.

2.3 Short Films should not be longer than 30 minutes and this is the general rule. Exceptions can be considered according to the unquestionable judgment of Festival Direction.

3. awards AND REGISTRATIONS TO PRESELECTION PHASE OF THE COMPETITION

3.1 REGISTRATION OF FEATURE FILMS
Registration of Feature Films must be done only using the following platforms by February 18th, 2024
FESTHOME: https://festhome.com/f/VisioniFantastiche

3.2 REGISTRATION OF SHORT FILMS
Registration of Short Films must be done only using the following platforms by February 18th, 2024:
FESTHOME: https://festhome.com/f/VisioniFantastiche

3.3 awards AND JURIES
As mentioned at point 1.5 of this Regulation, Festival Juries are integral part of the Festival itself.
Jury Competition 6+ will be composed by no more than 270 students who will assign an award voting through voting cards.
Jury Competition 8+ will be composed by no more than 270 students who will assign an award voting through voting cards.
Jury Competition 11+ will be composed by no more than 270 students who will assign an award voting through voting cards. Jury Competition 14+ will be composed by no more than 270 students who will assign an award voting through voting cards. Jury Competition 16+ will be composed by no more than 270 students who will assign an award voting through voting cards.

3.4 SHORT AND FEATURE FILMS COMPETITION AWARD
Feature Film and Short Film compete together.
The first three film selected will receive a prize money distributed as follows:
first prize: 500,00€; second prize: 300,00€; third prize: 200,00€
Any other award raffled off by Institutions or Sponsors shall be assigned according to the rules established by their respective patrons. All decisions of the jury are final.

4. SCREENINGS

4.1 Screening schedule shall be defined by Festival Organizers. Films will be screened several times in various theatres, depending on the needs.

4.2 Foreign movies shall be presented in their original version with Italian subtitles. As for movies in a language other than english, the copy provided to the Festival must be english-subtitled.

4.3 Allowed screening formats are streaming DCP. Other formats are possible but will be agreed in advance with the Festival Direction.

5. SHIPMENT

5.1 Film copies shall be delivered by March 1st, 2024, and shall remain at Festival disposal until March 30th, 2024. In exceptional circumstances and for well-founded reasons, the shipment deadline can be extended.

6. PROMOTION

6.1 The Festival Direction will contact authors admitted to the selection of all International Competition by March 1st, 2024.

6.2 In order to enable the drafting of the Festival General Catalogue and to implement promotional initiatives, authors of selected films must send by March 5th, 2024 the material listed below (if they have not already sent it) to info@visionifantastiche.it

- complete technical and artistic specifications
- detailed synopsis
- short synopsis in english (max. 500 characters)
- DCP Clean version with english subtitles (SRT) or PRO RES or any other file in High Definition
- SRT File in english
- complete biography and filmography of the author
- various stills of the movie in high definition (whose free publication has been authorized) that are going to be added to the Festival
Catalogue and made available to the press
- 1 photograph of the director in high definition
- posters, advertisements and any other promotional material
All the above mentioned documents shall be sent to: info@visionifantastiche.it

6.3 In connection with promotional purposes related to the Festival and at its discretion, Visioni Fantastiche reserves the right to disseminate trailers (max 5 min) of selected works on Internet, on both Festival Official Website and connected platforms (Vimeo, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram).

6.4 Festival Visioni Fantastiche would like to thank all authors, producers and distributors that will include Logo of the Festival on the opening credits and on all promotional material.

7. PROCESSING OF PERSONAL DATA
By participating to the competition, authors authorize processing of personal data (law 675/96) contained in their works and complementary material; they authorize storage of presented works at the premises of the event organizer that commit to catalog and make them available for all screenings, events and communications promoted by the same organizer, or in collaboration with other Festivals, for cultural and nonommercial purposes (unless otherwise specified at the moment of submission). Participation to the competition implies the integral acceptance of the exposed conditions.

8. UNFORESEEN EVENTS AND CONTROVERSIES
This Regulation has been drafted in both Italian and english. In case of divergent interpretations, Italian version shall apply. Accepting the invitation to participate in Visioni Fantastiche implies the unconditional acceptance of this Regulation. All issues that are not mentioned in this Regulation shall fall within the competence of Visioni Fantastiche’s Board of Directors. Ravenna Law Courts shall be the competent authority for any potential controversy.