Regulations TIFF.18

Transilvania International Film Festival 

18th edition | May 31—June 9, 2019 | Cluj-Napoca

 

General issues

Transilvania International Film Festival (TIFF) is organized by the Romanian Film Promotion and the Association for the Transilvania Film Festival and is the first and most prestigious competitive feature film festival in Romania. 

The primary objective of TIFF is to promote cinema as an art form by presenting some of the most significant films of the moment—films endowed with originality and free expression, exhibiting unconventional uses of cinematic language, or expressing emerging cutting-edge currents. 

TIFF is an annual event whose 18th edition will take place in Cluj-Napoca, in Transylvania, between May 31—June 9, 2019. Each film selected will be screened at least twice. The screenings take place both in traditional movie theaters and in unconventional locations. A representative selection from the 2019 TIFF program will be subsequently shown in Bucharest, Sibiu, and Oradea. 

 

Sections

Official Competition

Representative for the most recent output in world cinema, this section is open to first or second-time feature filmmakers. Only national Romanian premieres are considered. 

Romanian Days

Competitive section for Romanian shorts and features produced in 2018 and 2019. National premieres have priority in this section. Minority co-productions with Romania are shown outside competition. 

Supernova

Noncompetitive showcase of the most significant features of the year, including titles awarded in major international festivals, works by renowned auteurs, national box-office leaders, and audience hits, meant for TIFF’s open-air screenings. 

Shadows

Showcase for fantasy, thriller, and horror genre features and competitive section for fantasy and horror shorts under 25 minutes.  

No Limit

Noncompetitive section dedicated to features that are provocative, controversial, experimental, transgressive, and innovating in both form and content.

What's Up, Doc?

Noncompetitive section for documentaries over 60 minutes  released after May 1st, 2018.

In addition to the sections above, TIFF’s 18th edition includes special events, conferences, workshops, masterclasses, a thematic competitive section (FIPRESCI), non-competitive sections (national showcases, best-of selections, auteur retrospectives, etc.), media education and cinematic arts programs for children and teenagers, concerts, photo exhibits, book launches, etc. 

 

Awards

Main awards in the official competition

The Transilvania Trophy for best film in the Official Competition (EUR 15,000, divided 50-50 between director and majority producer; cannot be awarded ex-aequo).

Best Director in the Official Competition (EUR 5,000, going towards the director).

Special Jury Prize (EUR 1,500, going towards the director). 

Best Performance (EUR 1,000, going towards a male or female actor or ensemble) .

The Official Competition Jury may award two special mentions.

 

Other TIFF awards:  

FIPRESCI Award, offered by a jury of members of the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI) to a feature in a thematic section designated each year by the artistic director TIFF. 

Audience Award, decided by audience vote among the films in the Official Competition.  

Excellence Award, dedicated to an outstanding figure of Romanian cinema. 

Lifetime Achievement Award, dedicated to an outstanding figure of world cinema. 

Best Shadows Short Award for best feature in the Shadows competitive section, going towards the director.
Romanian Days Award: Feature Film (divided 50-50 between director and majority producer).

Romanian Days Award: Short (going towards the director).

Romanian Days Award: Debut (going towards the selected winner).

 

Eligibility

1. Release (world premiere) dates for films selected in the competitive programs of the festival must be after May 1, 2018.

2. Foreign and Romanian entries in the Official Competition must not have been screened in Romania. 

3. National premieres have priority in the Romanian Days section. 

4. Screening materials must be on DCP or HD files. 

5. As films are presented in the original language with Romanian and English subtitling as necessary, selected films must provide an English (or, in exceptional cases, French) dialogue list in a customary electronic format (.srt, .stl, .sub, .ssa, etc, but not .pdf or .xls) which includes time codes.
6. The festival does not provide screening fees for films in the competitive sections of TIFF (the Official Competition, Romanian Days, FIPRESCI, and Shadows Shorts).

 

Submissions

Screening rights-holders (producers or distributors) must fill in the submission form on the Eventival.eu platform. TIFF regulations and submission forms can be found at: https://vp.eventival.eu/tiff/2019. Online screener links including usernames or passwords can be inserted in the submission forms.

Please note that national Romanian premieres are given priority in the selection process in all sections.

Applying producers or distributors are responsible for the information provided in the submission form. 

 

Deadlines

February 1st, 2019 for submissions for the Official Competition, Shadows (shorts and features), Supernova, No Limit, and What's Up, Doc? sections.

March 1st, 2019 for Romanian Days submissions (shorts and features).

Submission fees

International features: EUR 20.00

International shorts in the Shadows section: EUR 5.00

Romanian films have no submission fee.  

 

Selection

The official selection for TIFF will be announced one month before the festival opening. 

The official program (scheduling and locations) will be set by the festival organizers. 

The festival is open to the public as well as to the large number of accredited journalists and distributors attending the festival. 

Directors whose films are selected in the Official Competition will be invited to attend the entire duration of the festival. TIFF will cover travel and lodging at the festival. 

The winner of the Transilvania Trophy will have up to two additional screenings, with no screening fee, during the satellite events organized by TIFF in Bucharest, Sibiu, or Oradea in 2019. 

Producers and distributors who hold screening rights for shorts selected in the Romanian Days section will allow additional screenings of their films in TIFF events in Bucharest, Sibiu, or Oradea in 2019. 

Producers and distributors who hold screening right for features selected in the Romanian Days section will grant TIFF priority to screen their films at TIFF Chişinău, Oradea, and Sibiu in 2019.

Acceptance to participate in the festival implies compliance with the regulations herein. 

 

Print traffic & press kits

Screening materials and 10 posters for each films will be sent by May 4, 2019 to: 

Romanian Film Promotion
Str. Popa Soare nr. 52, et.1, ap.4, 

Sector 2, Bucharest 023984

 

Return print transport costs will be covered by the film distributor or producer. 

While the screening materials are in TIFF custody, TIFF shall take on all responsibility for damages relating to storing and exploiting said materials and shall take on insurance covering the unlikely eventuality of such damages. 

 

Press kits and publicity materials for all selected films must reach the same address or be received electronically at [email protected] by May 4, 2019. 

Press kits and publicity materials must contain: 

  • press notes 
  • film stills 
  • photos of the creative principals (director and main cast members) 
  • director’s filmography 
  • dialogue list (in English or, in exceptional cases, French,  in a customary electronic format with time codes like .srt, .stl, .sub, .ssa, etc, but not .pdf sau .xls) 
  • film trailer, and 
  • technical specifications.