RULES
Art. 1 – ORGANIZATION
BABEL FILM FESTIVAL is a film competition promoted and organised by the Società Umanitaria – Cineteca Sarda in Cagliari, the cultural association Babel, Terra de Punt and Areavisuale, which together make up the BabelFF Directorate. This regulation concerns the ninth edition of the Festival which will take place within the month of June 2025.
Art. 2 – AIMS
BABEL FILM FESTIVAL aims to enhance and promote film productions that are an expression of linguistic minorities and the uniqueness of their stories, their culture and their language; to encourage comparison and cultural exchange between communities that identify with a linguistic minority; to offer all filmmakers the opportunity to give visibility to their films and a voice to their languages. The competition is reserved for films whose dialogues and texts are, in whole or in part, in a minority language, dialect, slang, dead language and in sign language.
Art. 3 – DEFINITIONS
A) With “Minority or Regional Languages” we mean the ones that are: 1) traditionally spoken by people living in an area of a Country, who are numerically inferior to the rest of the people of said Country, and 2) are different from the official language/s of that Country; this/these does/do not include the language/s and dialect/s spoken by migrant people.
B) With “area in which a regional or minority language is spoken” we mean a geographical area where the language is historically and traditionally present;
C) With “languages lacking a territory” we mean those languages, spoken by citizens of a Country, that are different from the language/s spoken by the rest of the citizens living in the same Country but that, even if they are traditionally spoken in the Country, are not linked to a precise geographical area (European Chart of the Minority or Regional Languages, 1992).
For the purposes of this competition:
a) we are open to all minority languages and dialects spoken by people whose languages do not have a Country of their own, i.e. they are not official languages of Countries other than those in which the film is shot;
b) dialects and sign languages are also considered minority languages.
Art. 4 – THEMES AND CHARACTERISTICS OF THE FILMS
Participation is free and open to all works without any constraint as to year of production, genre, theme, format or technique, whether distributed in cinemas or on the home-video market in Italy or abroad, whether published or unpublished. The only conditions for participation are the language of the texts and dialogues, which must be an expression of a linguistic, cultural or social minority. The minority language must be present in at least 50% of dialogues and texts for the Official Section (see art. 5).
If the minority language is present in less than 50%, the film may be admitted, at the sole discretion of the BabelFF Commission, to the Collateral Sections (see art. 5).
In the Official Section and in the Collateral Sections the following distinctions will be recognised:
– Fiction short film (not longer than 45 minutes).
– Documentary short film (not longer than 45 minutes).
– Feature film both documentary and fiction (longer than 45 minutes).
Works that present hybrid characteristics between documentary and fiction will be assigned, at the discretion of the BabelFF Commission, to the type of documentary or fiction.
The works must be subtitled preferably in Italian or alternatively in English. Films not subtitled in Italian must be accompanied by srt files of the dialogues in English, French or Spanish.
Art. 5 – SECTIONS
The Babel Film Festival is organized in two sections: “Official Section” and “Collateral Sections”. The assignment of films to the collateral sections is established by the BabelFF Commission (see art. 8).
OFFICIAL SECTION
The official section consists of films selected by the BabelFF Commission and submitted to the judgment of the official jury – called Babel Jury – for the awarding of the three main prizes, called “Mistral Prizes”. Only films in which the minority language is present for at least 50% of the dialogues and texts (see art. 4) can participate in this section. The Babel Jury will award the following prizes (see distinctions defined in art.4):
– Mistral” award for best feature film;
– Mistral” award for best documentary short film;
– Mistral” award for best short fiction film.
COLLATERAL SECTIONS
The side sections are sections made up of specific juries that may also evaluate films in which the minority language is present in less than 50% of the dialogues and texts (see art. 4).
The allocation of films to the side sections is decided by the BabelFF Commission (see art. 8).
The juries of the side sections will award the following:
– DIRITTO DI PAROLA Prize, assigned by high school students in Cagliari;
– ITALYMBAS Prize, assigned by popular juries of Italian linguistic minorities to films spoken in minority languages protected by Law 482/1999;
– UNICA Città di Cagliari Prize, assigned by the students of the University of Cagliari;
– ONE WOR(L)D Prize, assigned by a delegation of migrants present in Sardinia;
– MY CULTURE Prize, assigned by the MyCulture+ team;
– UMANITARIA Prize, assigned by the members of the Società Umanitaria offices in Italy;
– OSTANA / SCRITTURA IN LINGUA MADRE Prize, assigned by a jury of members chosen by the school itself;
– FICC Audience Prize, assigned by the jury composed of the FICC Film Clubs;
– AAMOD Prize, assigned by the Archivio Audiovisivo del Movimento Operaio e Democratico of Rome;
– FEDIC Prize, assigned by the Cineclub Fedic of Cagliari;
– DIARI DI CINECLUB Prize, assigned by the jury of the online magazine Diari di Cineclub.
Art. 6 – HOW TO PARTICIPATE
Participation in the competition is free and open to all, without limits of age or nationality. Each author can send more than one work for each section, by filling in the On-Line Entry form and release Form for each one.
Participation in the competition automatically implies full acceptance of these regulations.
For the purposes of correct and complete participation, it is necessary to fill in the On-Line Form on the website www.babelfilmfestival.com.
The On-Line Form constitutes only a pre-registration to the Festival. Registration must be completed by sending the following files to info@babelfilmfestival.com:
a) Entry Form/release form signed with autograph or digital signature.
b) Downloadable film in HD version for screening via server (e.g. wetransfer, Myairbridge or similar or Vimeo or similar). Films sent in a format not suitable for screening will not be considered.
For films not subtitled in Italian it is mandatory to produce the srt file with subtitles in English, French or Spanish.
c) Press-Book of the film, with more in-depth information than what is included online (bio-filmographies, director’s notes, synopsis, full cast & credits, additional photos) and the trailer or excerpts of the film.
The email must have the following subject: CONCORSO BABEL FILM FESTIVAL – “film title”.
Information material on the linguistic minority represented in the film is welcome.
All material submitted will not be returned and will become part of the archive of the “CINEMA DELLE MINORANZE LINGUISTICHE” BABEL FILM FESTIVAL, set up at the Società Umanitaria – Cineteca Sarda for the exclusive purpose of studying and promoting the competition and the activities of the Festival.
What is indicated in points b) and c) can be sent to the Babel film Festival in downloadable format through the Film Freeway platform, with registration conditional on the payment of 1 euro, through the website https://filmfreeway.com/BabelFilmFestival.
Art. 7 – ADMISSION AND REGULARITY OF WORKS
Only films regularly registered through the on-line form filled in by the deadline and regularly received, of which the screening file and the Registration/release Form have been sent, will be admitted to the selections.
The deadline for sending materials is December 31, 2024.
For the material sent, the date of sending will be taken as proof.
Admission is decided, at the sole discretion, by the BabelFF Commission on the basis of the regularity of the documentation submitted.
Participation in the Festival may be refused to films that are technically not capable of guaranteeing a good public screening, lacking the required documentation and the necessary releases. The Festival does not recognize rental fees to distributors and producers for the screening scheduled during the Festival of the films admitted to the competition. It will be the responsibility of the BabelFF Commission to inform the authors of the works admitted and not admitted to the competition and in which section of the competition (official or collateral) they will participate. A film can be evaluated by one or more juries.
In case there is a non-competition section, the signed Release Form allows the screening of the film also out of competition.
Participation in the Babel Film Festival competition entails acceptance of all the conditions indicated in these regulations and all decisions of the selection commission.
Art. 8 – SELECTION COMMISSION
The BabelFF Commission, established by the Babel Film Festival Direction, has the task of building and managing the different phases of the Festival programme. The decisions of the commission are unquestionable. Its tasks are as follows:
1) Evaluate the eligibility of applications for the Festival;
2) To choose or supervise the composition of the juries of the different sections of the Festival;
3) To select the films to be assigned to the juries of the Official Section and the Collateral Sections;
4) Evaluating and defining the type (documentary or fiction) of works with hybrid characteristics;
5) The films that after the first selection are not assigned to the Official Section may be assigned by the commission to one or more juries of the Collateral Sections;
6) Organise the programme and oversee all organisational moments of the Festival.
Art. 9 – JURIES
The Babel Jury of the Official Section is composed of five members chosen by the BabelFF Commission among directors, film professionals, critics, intellectuals, authors and experts in the field of cinema and minority language studies.
The films selected for the Official Section will be forwarded to the jury for evaluation.
The films assigned to the side sections by the BabelFF Commission will be viewed by the specific juries for the awarding of each prize. The ONE WOR(L)D, UNICA Città di Cagliari, DIRITTO DI PAROLA awards will be assigned by the respective juries during the Festival. The ITALYMBAS, MY CULTURE, UMANITARIA, AAMOD, PREMIO OSTANA – SCRITTURA IN LINGUA MADRE, FICC, FEDIC, DIARI DI CINECLUB prizes will be awarded to the respective juries before the festival takes place, according to organizational procedures studied together with each partner. The films included in the side sections may be screened publicly in the weeks preceding the official Festival, at venues identified by the partners in Sardinia or outside the island.
The films selected for the official section will all be screened in the
week of the Festival indicated in art.1.
The assignment of the film to the collateral juries does not guarantee public screening during the week of the Festival. Some films may be screened before the indicated week, in different locations (in the regional and national territory).
Some collateral juries may reserve the viewing of films for limited reference groups (members, members, specific juries).
Art. 10 – PRIZES
The following prizes will be awarded for each section and special mentions may be given.
OFFICIAL SECTION
“Mistral” prize for Best Feature Film, assigned by the Babel Jury: € 5.000,00;
“Mistral” prize for best short documentary film, assigned by the Babel Jury: € 2,500.00;
“Maestrale” prize for best fiction short film, assigned by the Babel Jury: € 2,500.00;
COLLATERAL SECTIONS
– UNICA Città di Cagliari Prize, assigned by the students of the University of Cagliari: € 1.500,00;
– DIRITTO DI PAROLA Prize, assigned by Cagliari high school students to the best fiction short film: € 1.000,00;
– ITALYMBAS Prize, assigned by popular juries of Italian linguistic minorities to films spoken in minority languages protected by Law 482/1999: € 1,000.00;
– ONE WOR(L)D Prize, assigned by a delegation of political asylum seekers present in Sardinia: € 1,000.00;
– MY CULTURE Prize, assigned by the MyCulture+ team, consists of the distribution of one of the feature films in competition in at least four cinemas;
– FICC Audience Prize, assigned by the jury composed by the FICC Film Clubs to the best documentary: € 1.000,00;
– UMANITARIA Prize, assigned by the jury composed by Società Umanitaria in Italy: € 1.000,00;
– AAMOD Prize, assigned by the Archivio Audiovisivo del Movimento Operaio e Democratico of Rome, consisting in the possibility to use for free 3 minutes of Archive films;
– FEDIC Audience Prize, assigned by the Cineclub Fedic of Cagliari;
– OSTANA / SCRITTURA IN LINGUA MADRE Prize, assigned by a jury of the Ostana prize;
– DIARI DI CINECLUB Prize, assigned by the jury of the online magazine Diari di Cineclub.
The prizes will be awarded exclusively to the subscriber of the Entry/release form certifying that the film has been entered in the competition.
The artistic direction reserves the right to make changes to the structure of the former if objective conditions (restrictions due to the pandemic or other) prevent the constitution of a jury, forcing the cancellation of the prize or other organizational changes.
Notification of the prize awarded will take place in the days immediately preceding the Festival in order to guarantee the winner’s presence at the Award Ceremony. The winner is obliged to keep the news confidential and avoid any communication, particularly to the media. Any publication of the news before the award ceremony will result in the withdrawal of the prize.
Cash prizes will be delivered within six months after the award date after receipt of the original signed invoice.
Art. 11 – RELEASES AND USE OF FILMS
With the signed On-Line Form and Release Form the author allows:
a) The free screening of the film within the Festival programme;
b) the publication of the texts and photos sent in the catalogue and on the website of the competition and on all the official social pages of the Competition and of the Festival partners
c) publication of the film trailer on the competition website and on all the official social pages of the competition and of the Festival’s partners.
They may also allow, if authorised from time to time, as indicated in the Release Form:
d) Screening rights within the Festival.
They may also allow, if authorised from time to time, as indicated in the Release Form:
e) the televised airing of the film within a format owned by the BABEL FILM FESTIVAL within a regional Sardinian channel owned by the Babel Association;
f) the use of the film solely for cultural, non-commercial purposes by the Competition Organisation and the Cineteca Sarda of Cagliari, including the screening of the films in the “Babel on tour” events promoting the Festival.
g) the publication of the film on VOD platforms (with limited access and registration) owned by the BABEL FILM FESTIVAL;
h) distribution through the international platform Myculture.plus (with distribution contract to be stipulated separately).
The schedule and times of the screenings will be published on the competition website. Films will be presented in their original version with Italian or English subtitles.
If the selected films are in film, the competition organisation will agree with the production company or the author on how to send the copy.
The winning films, in subsequent screenings at the BABEL FILM FESTIVAL, will have to bear the indication of the prize received: e.g.:
“I am the winner”:
BABEL FILM FESTIVAL 2025
“Mistral” Award, Best Documentary / Curtzumetràgiu…
“Mistral” Award, Best Documentary / Feature film / Short film…
“Mistral” Award, Best Documentary / Feature film / Short film…
Art. 12 – RESPONSIBILITY
By signing the Entry Form/release the author declares:
– that the submitted work does not violate any applicable laws and regulations or the rights of third parties;
– that he/she is the owner of all rights to use the work and the music (also providing adequate documentation);
– to relieve the organisation from all losses, damages, liabilities, costs and charges of any kind that may be incurred due to the content of his work and its public screening;
– to irrevocably renounce any claim and any action, request or recourse against the organisers of the competition, the Società Umanitaria – Cineteca Sarda, the members of the Jury, and all persons involved in any way in the competition and relieve them as of now of any responsibility in this regard;
– to be the legitimate winner of the eventual prize and to relieve the organization of the Festival from any possible controversy concerning the awarding.
Art. 13 – ARBITRATION CLAUSE
Any dispute that may arise in relation to the relationships covered by these regulations shall be referred to the judgement of a board of arbitration, made up of three members, of which: a) one, acting as chairman of the board of arbitration, appointed by the competition organisation; b) one appointed by the competitor; c) one appointed by common consent by the parties referred to in points a) and b) above or, in the absence of agreement, by the President of Cagliari Court.
Art. 14 – FINAL CLAUSE
For any exceptions not covered by these regulations, the Competition Organisation reserves the right to make final decisions. These regulations are written in Sardinian, Italian and English. In case of interpretation problems, the Italian version shall prevail.
