Zurich Film Festival

Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland, Europe

24 Sep, 2020 - 04 Oct, 2020

Category

Feature

Zurich Film Festival logo
Zurich Film Festival

Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland, Europe

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About the festival

The Zurich Film Festival began in October 2005 and became firmly established upon the national and international festival landscape within a very short period of time. The festival has continued to grow rapidly since that inaugural edition: in 2019, the ZFF attracted approximately 117’000 cinemagoers and more than 600 accredited journalists and 600 media professionals from around the world.
It provides a platform for the most promising filmmakers from around the globe. It aims to promote exchange between emerging directors, successful film workers, the film industry and the general public. Every autumn, the ZFF presents the year’s greatest discoveries and most anticipated films.

A Golden Eye, the main prize of the festival, will be awarded in each category by a separate international jury. The Golden Eye is endowed with a 25'000 CHF cash prize (International Feature / Documentary Film / Focus).

Audience Award: The public chooses its favourite film from all of the competition entries by giving votes to every film. The best voted film will receive the Audience Award from the festival.

Ecumenical Film Award: 2017 saw the first 'Film Award of the Churches of Zurich', which carries a CHF 10’000 cash prize offered by the reformed and catholic churches of the canton of Zurich. It is awarded by a separate jury to a film in the ‘Focus: Switzerland, Germany, Austria’ section.

About

The Zurich Film Festival began in October 2005 and became firmly established upon the national and international festival landscape within a very short period of time. The festival has continued to grow rapidly since that inaugural edition: in 2019, the ZFF attracted approximately 117’000 cinemagoers and more than 600 accredited journalists and 600 media professionals from around the world.
It provides a platform for the most promising filmmakers from around the globe. It aims to promote exchange between emerging directors, successful film workers, the film industry and the general public. Every autumn, the ZFF presents the year’s greatest discoveries and most anticipated films.

A Golden Eye, the main prize of the festival, will be awarded in each category by a separate international jury. The Golden Eye is endowed with a 25'000 CHF cash prize (International Feature / Documentary Film / Focus).

Audience Award: The public chooses its favourite film from all of the competition entries by giving votes to every film. The best voted film will receive the Audience Award from the festival.

Ecumenical Film Award: 2017 saw the first 'Film Award of the Churches of Zurich', which carries a CHF 10’000 cash prize offered by the reformed and catholic churches of the canton of Zurich. It is awarded by a separate jury to a film in the ‘Focus: Switzerland, Germany, Austria’ section.

Awards & Winners

There are no winners yet for this festival

Terms and rules

1.1 Organisation
The 16th Zurich Film Festival is organised by Zurich Film Festival AG.

1.2. Selection procedure
Deadline for arrival of the entry form is June 30, 2020. The festival organizers will choose and invite the films to be shown in the Zurich Film Festival program. The film cannot be withdrawn after the applicant has accepted and confirmed the invitation for his/her film to participate in the Zurich Film Festival competition and program. Zurich Film Festival reserves the right to remove a film from the program and/or demand restitution of CHF 10,000 should a film be withdrawn from the festival.

The films will be generally shown in 4 Public Screeninggs and 1 closed Press& Industry screening at the festival.

1.3. Invitation of the competition film directors
Directors whose films are selected for participation in one of the competition sections will be invited to Zurich during the festival. Zurich Film Festival will pay for the directors accommodation in a hotel (three nights) chosen by the festival organisers. It will also pay for an economy round-trip ticket (train or plane, depending on the distance) to the festival from the country of origin for one person. The festival will only cover a transportation fee up to CHF 1500. In the case of a co-direction, the festival will cover the costs for one director only. Zurich Film Festival is not bound to issue an invitation.

1.4. Jury
Each competition section is reviewed by a separate jury. All juries consist of a minimum of three film industry professionals. All jurors will be invited by Zurich Film Festival. Any person in any way involved in the production of one of the films in the competition is not allowed to be a member of the jury. The festival reserves the right to exclude any film from the program if, after the film has been chosen for the competition by the festival, it is later discovered that a jury member has any connection with the film whatsoever.

1.5. Winners/Credit to Zurich Film Festival
The winning film in each main competition category (Focus Competition, Feature Film Competition, Documentary Competition) will be chosen by separate juries and awarded the Golden Eye, which is endowed with a CHF 25,000 cash prize.

The cash endowment is to be shared equally between director and producer of winning films in all three categories. Winning films with Swiss distribution further profit from P&A contribution for a theatrical release in Switzerland.
The prize cannot be awarded ex aequo (to two films). The jury must choose one single winning film. In the case of a co-directed film, the prize money will be split as follows: equally between the directors (total 50%) and the producer (50%).

The three main prize winners of Zurich Film Festival’s “Golden Eye” must ensure that all promotional material (official posters, flyers etc.) contain correct reference to Zurich Film Festival and their prize. The same applies to the opening credits of the respective film at all screenings taking place in cinemas after Zurich Film Festival.

Ratings & Reviews

Categories and fees

International Feature Film Competition
Early Bird (15th February, 2020) $55
Regular (30th June, 2020) $80
Late (31st August, 2020) $55

The International Feature Film Competition consists of films from across the globe. Submissions to the competition must fulfill the following criteria: • Director’s 1st, 2nd or 3rd feature-length film • Film must be at least 60 minutes long • Projects completed after October 1, 2019 • Minimum status requirement: Swiss Premiere at ZFF Films that have been shown in Swiss cinemas before the festival, or have already been screened in another Swiss festival or broadcast on German-speaking television/VoD before the beginning of the festival are not eligible. Rough cuts and works-in-progress are eligible for submission. Please label “Rough Cut” and specify what is missing (i.e. temp sound, needs color correction, etc). Submitted materials will not be returned. Please do not send film prints, master tapes or other originals. All entrants will be notified of their status on or around August 31, 2020 via e-mail.

International Documentary Film Competition
Early Bird (15th February, 2020) $55
Regular (30th June, 2020) $80
Late (31st August, 2020) $55

The International Documentary Film Competition consists of films from across the globe. Submissions to the competition must fulfill the following criteria: • Director’s 1st, 2nd or 3rd feature-length film • Film must be at least 60 minutes long • Projects completed after October 1, 2019 • Minimum status requirement: Swiss Premiere at ZFF Films that have been shown in Swiss cinemas before the festival, or have already been screened in another Swiss festival or broadcast on German-speaking television/VoD before the beginning of the festival are not eligible. Rough cuts and works-in-progress are eligible for submission. Please label “Rough Cut” and specify what is missing (i.e. temp sound, needs color correction, etc). Submitted materials will not be returned. Please do not send film prints, master tapes or other originals. All entrants will be notified of their status on or around August 31, 2020 via e-mail.

Focus Switzerland, Germany, Austria Competition (Feature Films and Documentary Films)
Early Bird (15th February, 2020) $55
Regular (30th June, 2020) $80
Late (31st August, 2020) $55

The competition section Focus Switzerland, Germany, Austria consists only of films from Switzerland, Germany, and Austria. Submissions to the competition must fulfill the following criteria: • Director’s 1st, 2nd or 3rd feature-length film • Film must be at least 60 minutes long • Projects completed after October 1, 2019 • Minimum status requirement: Swiss Premiere at ZFF Films that have been shown in Swiss cinemas before the festival, or have already been screened in another Swiss festival or broadcast on German-speaking television/ VoD before the beginning of the festival are not eligible. Rough cuts and works-in-progress are eligible for submission. Please label “Rough Cut” and specify what is missing (i.e. temp sound, needs color correction, etc). Submitted materials will not be returned. Please do not send film prints, master tapes or other originals. All entrants will be notified of their status on or around August 31, 2020 via e-mail.

International Series Competition
Early Bird (15th February, 2020) $55
Regular (30th June, 2020) $80
Late (31st August, 2020) $55

The International Series Competition is endowed with a 10’000 CHF cash prize. Series of all genres are eligible for the competition as along as they comprise the following criteria: • a minimum of four episodes at 40-60 minutes per episode • Projects completed after October 1, 2019 • Minimum status requirement: Swiss Premiere at ZFF Series that have been shown in Swiss cinemas before the festival, or have already been screened in another Swiss festival or broadcast on German-speaking television/ VoD before the beginning of the festival are not eligible. Rough cuts and works-in-progress are eligible for submission. Please label “Rough Cut” and specify what is missing (i.e. temp sound, needs color correction, etc). Submitted materials will not be returned. Please do not send film prints, master tapes or other originals. All entrants will be notified of their status on or around August 31, 2020 via e-mail.

Out of Competition
Early Bird (15th February, 2020) $55
Regular (30th June, 2020) $80
Late (31st August, 2020) $55

Documentary and fiction films can be submitted to the following sections: • Gala Premieres • Special Screenings • Border Lines • Window to the World • ZFF for Kids Out of Competition Requirements Submissions to the Out of Competition sections must fulfill the following criteria: • Films must be at least 60 minutes long • Projects completed after October 1, 2019 • Minimum status requirement: Swiss Premiere at ZFF Films that have been shown in Swiss cinemas before the festival, or have already been screened in another Swiss festival or broadcast on German-speaking television/ VoD before the beginning of the festival are not eligible. Submitted materials will not be returned. Please do not send film prints, master tapes or other originals. All entrants will be notified of their status on or around August 31, 2020 via e-mail.

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