Lucca Film Festival & Europa Cinema

About the festival

Lucca Film Festival and Europa Cinema is an annual event that celebrates and promotes cinematographic culture. Through screenings, exhibitions, conferences and performances, the Festival has been able to captivate an ever-increasing audience with a program that ranges from experimental to mainstream films. Through the years, Lucca Film Festival and Europa Cinema has carved out a niche for itself, standing apart from the many other festivals thanks to its bold yet carefully studied programming. Over the years, great names of international filmmakers and well-known celebrities have attended Lucca Film Festival and Europa Cinema as invited guests; David Lynch, Oliver Stone, Jeremy Irons, Willem Dafoe, George Romero, Terry Gilliam, William Friedkin, Alfonso Cuarón, John Boorman, Rutger Hauer, Joe Dante and Peter Greenaway, just to name a few. At the same time, the Festival has offered retrospectives of “old” glories while unearthing new talents. To top it all off, breathtaking Lucca and beautiful Viareggio serve as a stunning backdrop to an event that has now firmly established itself, becoming a highly anticipated and not-to-be-missed appointment in Italy and in Europe: the Lucca Film Festival and Europa Cinema.

The 2020 will be the 5th edition of the Lucca Film Festival and Europa Cinema International Feature Film Competition. In the previous editions important personalities of cinema like Cristi Puiu, Rutger Hauer and Philip Groening had been part of the international jury.

The films shown during this competition are Italian premieres and last edition was won by "Dollhouse: The Eradication of Female Subjectivity From American Popular Culture" by American filmmaker Nicole Brending.

The 2020 edition of Lucca Film Festival and Europa Cinema (because of the Covid-19) will be held in September/October (dates may vary). The first call for entries has already been published and it is now possible to apply for the 2020 international feature competition.

Since its creation, the festival has always been committed to promoting contemporary films. Therefore, directors from all over the world can submit their films to the competitive section of the festival through the dedicated call for entries.

There are three awards: Best feature film prize (3000€), awarded by a jury of renowned guests from both the cinematographic and academic worlds; and Best feature film – university jury prize (awarded by an university jury), and Best feature film - Popular jury.
For those who are interested in this competition, the last day for submissions is August 10 2020, until midnight.

There are no limitations to the genre or topic of the films. The only requirements are the following: the films must be at least 60 minutes long and must have been produced in 2019. Moreover, they must be Italian premieres, so they cannot have been presented in any other Italian festival, shown on any online open platform or distributed in any other way in Italy.

For the 15th year in a row, it will take place the historic short films competition, whose winner will receive a 500€ prize. Every year, the selection committee of this competition receives more than 300 films to evaluate. Among the directors who took part in earlier editions, there are celebrities like Adan Jodorowsky, son of the famous Chilean filmmaker.
Even though the “free experimentation” is the fil rouge of this year's edition, the films have no limitations in genre and topic. The only requirement is that they cannot last more than 29 minutes. For the short films competition, the last day for submissions is August 31 2020, until midnight.

A list of the selected films will be sent published on the festival’s website before September 15 2020. During the festival the films will be shown in the cinemas taking part in the event.

Moreover, it has been reconfirmed the participation of the People's Jury and the University Students Jury for the feature competition.

The Lucca Film Festival and Europa Cinema, coordinated by Nicola Borrelli, is one of the key events organized and sponsored by the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Lucca.
The event's main sponsors are Banca Generali and Banca Pictet, whereas the exhibits are produced with the support of Banca Société Générale. The organization of the Lucca Film Festival and Europa Cinema has also been possible thanks to the funding from Funder35 and the support of Gesam Gas & Luce S.p.A Istituto Luce Cinecittà S.r.l., Fondazione Banca del Monte di Lucca, Baldini Vernici, Lucar S.p.A Lions Club Lucca Le Mura, Alleanza Assicurazioni S.p.A, Luccaorganizza, Il Ciocco S.p.A, MiBACT (the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Activities and Tourism), the Region of Tuscany, the City of Lucca, the City of Viareggio, the Province of Lucca with the collaboration and co-production of the Giglio Theatre in Lucca, Consociazione Nazionale donatori di sangue Fratres, Fondazione Giacomo Puccini e Museo Puccini – Casa Natale, Fondazione Carlo Ludovico Ragghianti, Fondazione Mario Tobino, Università degli Studi di Firenze, Martinelli Luce, CG Entertainment, Fondazione Centro Arti Visive e Fondazione UIBI. Thanks also to Lucca Comics & Games, Trenitalia Regional Management, Unicoop Firenze and to the Degree Course in Performing Arts and Civilization Department of Communication and Forms of Knowledge at the University of Pisa, Photolux Festival and App18 for their collaboration.

Come to the Lucca Film Festival and experience a full 360° immersion in both the cinema and the heart of Tuscany.

Best Short Film Jury Prize: 500 euros

Best Feature Film Jury Prize: 3000 euros

About

A list of the selected films will be sent published on the festival’s website before September 15 2020. During the festival the films will be shown in the cinemas taking part in the event.

Moreover, it has been reconfirmed the participation of the People's Jury and the University Students Jury for the feature competition.

Come to the Lucca Film Festival and experience a full 360° immersion in both the cinema and the heart of Tuscany.

Best Short Film Jury Prize: 500 euros

Best Feature Film Jury Prize: 3000 euros

Terms and rules

INTERNATIONAL FEATURE-LENGTH FILM COMPETITON

RULES AND REGULATIONS:

The final deadline for all submissions is August 10, 2020.

No more than one film per artist will be selected; however, each artist is permitted to submit more than one film.

The feature-length films shall last no less than 60 minutes.

The films shall be premieres in Italy. The application will be rejected if the film is available on the Internet, has been broadcasted, or has already been presented in an Italian film festival preceding the 2020 Lucca Film Festival and Europa Cinema.

The feature-length films, except for those which were never screened and distributed (in Italy and internationally), shall not date back to years prior to 2019.

Unfinished films will not be accepted: all entries must be complete in their entirety.

If the film is not in Italian or subtitled in Italian, it is mandatory to send - in addition to your submission, a copy of the dialogues in English. This is to enable the subtitling of all films.

Only private and/or password-protected online screeners are accepted for the preview copy. Public and other type of screeners will not be considered.

Press kit and advertising materials are not mandatory, but are recommended.

Only DCP or Blu-ray screening copies will be accepted.

Should your film be accepted in the 2020 Lucca Film Festival e Europa Cinema, you grant LFFEC the right to use an excerpt from any film submitted and accepted for exhibition at the Festival for promotional purposes.
All accepted films will be screened once during the festival, with the option of an encore screening for select films/shorts blocks. All scheduling is purely at the discretion of the LFFEC staff. LFFEC pays only for the return shipment of the DCPs. The Blu-ray files will be returned only upon request. Lucca Film Festival DOES NOT PAY SCREENING FEES. By submitting your film, you acknowledge that the festival will not pay to present your work.

SUBMISSION

The entry fee for each film is 22$ (earlybird) until October 31, 33$ until January 31 (regular) and 44$ until August 10 (extended) .

No refund will be given after the application has been submitted.

Once registered, the film can be withdrawn from the contest without any extra fee until August 10, 2020. After that date, the withdrawal of the film will still be possible, but only until August 15, 2020 at the latest. In this case, an extra payment of 700€ will be charged as a refund for the work made by the Festival. For no reason requests received after August 15, 2020 will be accepted.

SELECTION

The Organisation will announce the decisions of the Selection Committee to the participants by August 31 2020, on the Festival website (www.luccafilmfestival.it).

Jury Award for the Best Feature-Length Film: 3000 euro
Student Jury Award for the Best Film
Popular Jury Award for the Best Film

AUTHORISATION

- The application implies the acceptance of the Rules and Regulations in all its parts, the authorisation of public screenings, for which the artist will not be entitled of any royalties and fees. The signatory, with this application, is committed to ensuring the veracity and accuracy of all the required information submitted.

COPYRIGHT & LEGAL TERMS By entering your film for consideration to the 2020 Lucca Film Festival and Europa Cinema, you authorize that your work is cleared for festival exhibition and accept full legal responsibility for the intellectual property therein. The submitter and all filmmakers associated with the project shall indemnify and hold harmless the Lucca Film Festival and Europa Cinema, Associazione Vis(s)ta Nova and any representative or affiliates from and against any and all claims, liabilities, losses, damages, and expenses (including but not limited to attorney's fees, and costs of the court) which may be incurred by reason of any claim involving copyright, trademark, credits, publicity, screening, and loss of or damage to the entered screening videos.

For any information, please email featurecompetition@luccafilmfestival.it

INTERNATIONAL EXPERIMENTAL SHORT FILM COMPETITION CALL FOR ENTRIES

- The recruitment will be open until August 10, 2020.
- Each film maker may not enroll more than 4 works and in any case no more than one work each.
- Short films should not last more than 29 minutes.
- Short films, except for those which were never screened and distributed (in Italy and/or internationally), shall not date back to years prior to 2018.
- Works and related equipment can be shipped in hard copy (DVD, Blu-ray, USB pen) at the following address: to the attention of Rachele Pollastrini, Via dei cucchi n°275 San Pietro A Vico CAP 55100 Lucca (Italia).
Otherwise they can be shared by video-link at the following e-mail address: competition@luccafilmfestival.it
- If the film is neither spoken nor Italian subtitled, it is required to send by (papery or digital) attachment an English transcription of the dialogues, in such a way as to allow the film subtitling.

ENTRY
The Lucca Film Festival & Europa Cinema 2020 Edition will see the confirmation of an entry fee to the International Short Film Competition.

- The entry fee amounts to: 10 euros for 1 short film; 15 euros for 2 short films; 25 euros for 3 short films; 30 euros for 4 short films.
- Payment could be made by bank transfer to the following address: MONTE DEI PASCHI DI SIENA IBAN: IT 45 O 01030 13710 000000117654
Or else, via paypal at: https://www.paypal.me/luccafilmfestival .
In both cases, it is required to specify in the description of payment: “Short film competition entry”.

SELECTING WINNERS
The organization is undertaken to communicate the selection committee’s decisions to the participants, via notice on the Festival’s website and/or Facebook official Festival's page ( www.luccafilmfestival.it,https://www.facebook.com/luccafilmfest/ ), by August 31 2020.

For any information, please email competition@luccafilmfestival.it

Ratings & Reviews

Categories and fees

International Short Films Competition

Entry fees

Early Bird (12th September, 2019) $11

Regular (31st January, 2020) $11

Late (31st August, 2020) $11

Description

The festival, with the international short films competition, aims to give its prominence to the contemporary production of short films, both in the context of emerging authors and of the more established ones. The path of the Lucca Film Festival & Europa Cinema has grown over the years to support the less known cinema to open up to the great authors and great events.

International Feature Film Competition

Entry fees

Early Bird (12th September, 2019) $22

Regular (31st January, 2020) $33

Late (31st August, 2020) $44

Description

Since 2016 the festival has introduced the feature film competition, that has been growing exponentially in three years. Cristi Puiu, Rutger Hauer, Philip Groening had been members of the international jury during previous editions.