Rules and Regulation
Submission to the Russian Indie Film Festival implies understanding and acceptance of the following Rules and Regulations.
About the festival
Russian Indie Film Festival (RUIFF) is the annual international film festival, which aim is to show the best indie short films from all over the World to the 5-million city of Saint-Petersburg, Russia.
Our inaugural festival took place with great success on the 6th and 7th of October 2018 in one of the most popular, modern and famous places in Saint-Petersburg - ALEXANDRINSKY THEATRE'S NEW STAGE.
The screenings were overcrowded by the audience.
Here are the photos from the event
https://www.facebook.com/pg/RUIFFEST/photos/?ref=page_internal
Here are the videos from the Awarding ceremony
https://www.facebook.com/pg/RUIFFEST/videos/?ref=page_internal
RUIFF has Screenplay competition with cash prize.
RUIFF is non-profit, non-governmental event without:
– any support from the government;
– any discrimination of films and filmmakers on any basis (nationality, residence, profession, sex, age, faith, politics, theme of the film and so on).
RUIFF principles
1) Everybody is equal in front of the arts.
2) No internet screenings – only live screening of the films.
RUIFF competition
Competition is open to the:
– fiction (narrative) short films from any country;
– short animation (any style) from any country;
- screenplays from any country.
Films eligibility
Only films that satisfy all points written below can participate in the competition of the RUIFF:
– short fiction (narrative) films, completed not earlier than January 2017 with running time (including credits) no more than 26 minutes;
– short animation films, completed not earlier than January 2017 with running time (including credits) no more than 15 minutes.
We prefer Russian premiers, but Saint-Petersburg premier is mandatory.
Films mustn’t be available in Internet in public free access (private access – private links, links with password, e.t.c. is OK), or shown in Saint-Petersburg before the RUIFF (no matter – commercial, free screenings, any screening at any festival in Saint-Petersburg). VOD, any screening (theatrical or TV) outside Saint-Petersburg is OK.
We don’t accept into the competition:
– documentaries;
– WEB-series;
– music videos;
– commercials;
– experimental films;
– video-art.
Screenplays eligibility
Screenplays of any genre (fiction and animation) and budget from any country made in standard publication style and format, under 25 pages. We accept only unproduced screenplays.
Submission category
You should submit in one of these categories:
– fiction;
- Russian fiction (only for directors from Russia, foreign submissions to this category will be disqualified!)
– animation;
- Russian animation (only for directors from Russia, foreign submissions to this category will be disqualified!);
- screenplays.
Submission process
All submissions should be made only through the platforms:
FilmFreeway
We don’t accept submissions in any way besides the platforms above, so, please, don’t send us submissions by e-mail or mail.
All submitted films should have burned-in English subtitles, if the language of the film is not English.
All screenplays should be in English or Russian.
Important! You should be able to allow us to download your film (screenplay) from the platform for the selection process.
There is a fee for submission. Fee is nonrefundable.
Entry fee is paid via submission platform.
You can submit as many films (screenplays) as you want, but each film (screenplay) should be submitted separately with the appropriate entry fee for each film (screenplay).
Only final version of the film can be submitted.
RUIFF will not revise submitted films and screenplays. RUIFF will not answer letters with the questions about the selection process, of non-selection and so on.
All applicable licenses and waivers of copyrights, moral rights, trademarks and other such intellectual property rights have been secured by the submitter.
The festival keeps the viewing material in the festival archive for the sole purposes of documentation, and viewing by professionals on its premises.
Waivers
All fees will be spent for the technical purposes: translation, subtitling and so on. So we can’t give any fee waivers or refund entry fees in any circumstances except listed below.
We can give special offers for film distributing companies, film schools and so on for the multiple submissions. Feel free to write us ruiffestival@gmail.com to receive your special offer.
Selection
All submissions are evaluated by RUIFF Selection Committee. All submitted films will be watched by not less than 3 different persons. All submitted screenplays will be read by not less than 3 different persons. Their reports and decisions are final and confidential.
Submitters of all accepted films and screenplays will be informed by e-mail in November 2020.
The list of selected films and screenplays will be published on the festival’s website and at the festival’s Facebook group and page in November 2020.
Submitter of the accepted film should send by e-mail ruiffesival@gmail.com no later than 30.11.2020:
– projection copy (downloadable link) of the film (25 FPS, FULL HD (1920*1080), H264, MP4, no more than 2 Gb), if your film needs subtitling in Russian we need to have projection copy WITHOUT subtitles (or you can also send us the copy with Russian subtitles);
– if your film needs subtitling in Russian – file with English subtitles and time-codes in .SRT format;
– press-kit: trailer, poster, stills of the film, synopsis, photo/biography/filmography of the director, screening/award history of the film, premier status of the film (World, International, European, Russian, Saint-Petersburg).
The authors and-or right-holders of selected films cannot withdraw the accepted submission.
Once a film is selected, the right-holder automatically authorizes RUIFF:
– to screen it in the Festival program. The right-holders of the films selected for competitive or non-competitive sections of the festival agree to the screenings of the film FREE OF CHARGE, and will not request a screening fee;
– use a maximum of 10% of video from the film offline and online to promote the film and the festival;
– publish press-kit and the film trailer offline and online to promote the film and the festival;
– to screen selected films in the RUIFF extended promotional screenings during the 12 months from the end of the festival free of charge.
RUIFF make final selections and determine in which section selected films are presented. Designation of a selected film’s program category, exhibition date(s), time(s), and location(s) is at the sole discretion of the Festival.
Jury RUIFF
RUIFF will have a separate international jury for fiction, animation and screenplay competitions. Exact persons will be announced in 2020.
Awards of RUIFF:
– Peter the Great Award
– Gran-Prix
– Audience Choice Award
– Best Fiction Film
– Best Animation
– Best Russian Fiction Film
– Best Russian Animation
– Best Director
– Best Screenplay
– Best DOP
– Best Actor
– Best Actress
– Best Sound Design
– Best Art Direction
– Best Editing
– Special mentions (diplomas)
Awards of RUIFF screenplay competition:
– Grand-Prix – cash prize – 200 $ and Award
– The 1st Runner-Up (diploma)
– The 2d Runner-Up (diploma)
– Special mentions (diplomas).
RUIFF has the right to change awards categories. Final awards categories will be announced in 2020.
The winners of RUIFF will receive unique beautiful crafted awards. If the winner can’t attend the ceremony, prizes will be sent to such winner by regular post at the expense of the winner.
RUIFF has Screenplay competition with cash prize, which will be paid to the winner only by PayPal.
We’ll try to find sponsors for cash prizes for fiction and animation competitions, but right now we can’t guarantee any cash prizes in these competitions.
Place and dates of RUIFF
RUIFF 2020 will take place in Saint-Petersburg, Russia in December 2020 in the main cinema hall in Saint-Petersburg – Kinocentr Rodina. The venue can be changed due to the unseen circumstances.
Attending RUIFF
We will be glad to meet filmmakers at our festival. We will give each filmmaker 2 (two) free tickets to the festival screenings.
We also will give information support to receive FREE electronic visa to Saint-Petersburg.
Sorry, but we can’t hold or refund any travel or accommodation expanses of filmmakers.
Submission to the RUIFF implies full acceptance of the terms and provisions of the present Rules and Regulations with all changes, which will be published on the site of the Festival and in its group, page in Facebook.