SERILE FILMULUI GAY International Film Festival ()

Festival start: 08 May 2020      Festival end: 17 May 2020

SFG (Serile Filmului Gay / Gay Film Nights), the only LGBTQ International Film Festival in Romania, reaches its 14th edition. The event will take place in Cluj-Napoca, between the 8th and 17th of May 2020. The entry to all the screenings is free for the public.

Every year, the festival invests a lot of effort into bringing together international cinematographic productions with an LGBT+ theme, while also creating the opportunity for some other related events to take place under the scope of the festival. Among those cultural events, we mention video production workshops, photography and painting exhibitions, environmental actions, flash mobs, “Living Library”-type of workshops, “Show & Tell” exhibitions, social events intended to attract strong media exposure, as well as debates, lectures, and dialogues about the situation of LGBTQ people in Romania, and last but not least, events focused on health related aspects, such as the HIV infection rate among the LGBT+ community in the country.

While most initiatives in Romania that focused their attention on LGBTQ+ issues during the past few years have shifted their approach towards a more hands-on type of involvement, seeking to reduce the levels of social stigma and discrimination by accentuating the necessity of supporting LGBT+ rights, The SFG International Film Festival follows a different approach. Starting from the premise that mainstream media is flooded by rather incorrect and misleading messages, contaminated by obvious prejudice and stereotypes, this festival is meant to act as an outlet of communication by means of culture and openness towards society. This ambitious aim can be achieved by exposure to appropriate media content and by sending out correct messages through each of the events that make up the “spinal cord” of the official festival program.

Over the course of the past decade, The SFG International Film Festival has been constantly growing. From humble beginnings with only a few films projected in a couple of consecutive evenings to a mature festival, lasting an entire week, with several film screenings taking place simultaneously in different locations and a diverse array of related events.

We are proud to announce that with each edition, we are able to deliver a selection of over 50 selected films, pertaining to three categories: short films, feature films and documentaries. Each of these films places an emphasis on various aspects of the lives of LGBT people. It has often been the case that the directors or producers of the films are present at the screenings as special guests, engaging in an interesting conversation with the public, sometimes starting from the intention of finding similarities between both the positive and the negative aspects of LGBT life in the film’s country of origin and in Romania.

Best Short Film - Jury Award
Best Documentary - Jury Award
Best Feature Film - Jury Award
Best Short Film - Audience Award
Best Documentary - Audience Award
Best Feature Film - Audience Award
Special Award of the Jury
PRIDE Award - offered by PRIDE Romania for promoting tolerance, inclusion and respect for diversity

We strongly encourage you to review the following carefully. By submitting your project, you acknowledge that you have read and agreed to all of the following rules and terms. All projects that have been submitted by our final deadline and that adhere to the following terms will be considered for inclusion in the 2020 edition of Serile Filmului Gay (Gay Film Nights).


If you have any further questions, please contact us at office@serilefilmuluigay.ro


1. SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS


Each submission must include a final screener version of the film, accompanied by the cast list, stills, the synopsis and a YouTube link to the trailer, in order for the film to be taken into consideration by our selection team. Once we have all necessary materials, the submission will be marked “In Consideration”. It is the submitter’s responsibility to make sure that all requirements are met.


2. SCREENERS


All projects must be submitted via secure online screener - either as a password protected Vimeo link attached to your submission, or uploaded directly to Festhome. The submitter is responsible for ensuring that their screener link and password are active through at least May 31st 2020. In the event of a password or URL change after submitting, email us immediately. If we discover an error with the screener, we will attempt to email the submitter for an update. Online screeners must be available to stream. We do not accept any films that must be downloaded.

We DO NOT accept DVD or Blu-Ray screeners. In addition, we cannot accept screener links via email, they MUST be attached to your submission.

We only accept 2D films.


3. SUBTITLES


All foreign-language films must be submitted with English subtitles. If we discover a submission is missing subtitles, we will attempt to email the submitter for an update. Failure to provide working subtitles by the final submission deadline will result in disqualification.


4. WORKS IN PROGRESS


Works-in-progress are NOT eligible for submission.


5. DEADLINES


Please keep track of the deadlines closely. There is a regular deadline: December 15th 2019, and a late deadline on February 1st 2020. Submissions postmarked after the day mentioned above will be taken into consideration for the next edition of the festival.


6. ACCEPTED FILMS


The download links must be available permanently until May 31st 2020 for inclusion in the festival.

Should your film be accepted in the 2020 edition of Serile Filmului Gay / Gay Film Nights, you grant SFG the right to utilize an excerpt from any film submitted and accepted for exhibition at the festival for promotional purposes.

All accepted films will screen multiple times during and after the festival, with the possibility of an encore screening for select films/shorts blocks when appropriate. All scheduling is purely at the discretion of the SFG staff.

By entering your film to be considered in Serile Filmului Gay / Gay Film Nights International Film Festival you offer the organizer the right to broadcast the film not more then 5 times before, during and after the festival, in the name of promoting the festival.

Films and videos should be of interest to lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, intersex and/or transgender people. We seek feature, narrative and documentary films.


7. SCREENING FEES


Serile Filmului Gay / Gay Film Nights DOES NOT PAY SCREENING FEES for submitted films. By submitting your project, you acknowledge that SFG will not pay to present your work.


8. OTHER FEES


Serile Filmului Gay / Gay Film Nights DOES NOT PAY transport, accommodation and any other EXPENSES that film directors or other staff of the production company will incur if they will have the possibility to come to Romania during the festival.


9. COPYRIGHT & LEGAL TERMS


By entering your film for consideration to the Serile Filmului Gay / Gay Film Nights International Film Festival, you authorize that your work is cleared for festival exhibition and accept full legal responsibility for the intellectual property therein. The submitter and all those associated with the project shall indemnify and hold harmless PRIDE Romania, 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 court costs) which may be incurred by reason of any claim involving copyright, trademark, credits, publicity, screening, and loss of or damage to the screening videos entered.