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Rules

ITALIAN HORROR FANTASY FEST is the new name of the Festival organized by Lu.Pa. Film in Rome, which holds all the rights to the title and logo of the event.

Previously known as ITALIAN HORROR FILM FESTIVAL and ITALIAN HORROR FEST, the name change was officially confirmed for the 2021 edition, embracing the fantasy genre in all its variations.

The festival aims to draw attention to the finest expressions of Italian and international horror, thriller, and fantasy cinema, celebrating and paying tribute to both the great masters whose works have contributed to spreading Italian cinematography worldwide and the young authors continuing this glorious artistic tradition. Simultaneously, the festival intends to be a meeting and discussion point for various genre cinematographies.
This idea is implemented by the artistic director, producer and film director Luigi Pastore, who coordinates the harmonization of the program and makes use of an expert commission appointed by him. Based on respective delegations, Pastore assigns responsibility for specific sections to each member of the commission

From March 1st to April 30th, 2024, filmmakers can submit feature films and short films, both national and international, through dedicated festival platforms (accepting the current regulations in all its articles). The festival welcomes all works produced from 2021 until the last eligible day for submission, even if they have participated in other film festivals.

Authors and owners of registered works not only fully accept the regulations but also grant the organization the right to publicly showcase their registered film through the streaming platform linked to the official website.

All registered short films and feature films will be uploaded to the festival streaming platform, overlaying the event’s logo and other graphic elements to protect the works without allowing downloads. The works registered for the Festival can be viewed free of charge only and exclusively by the accredited public, who after filling out the form as a juror, will receive a secret access password via email for viewing. The works will remain online until the end of the Festival.

All horror, thriller and fantasy genre works received no later than 30 April 2024, in Italian or foreign languages with subtitles in Italian or English, which must be related with the Festival’s theme, will be considered.
The submission of a work implies full and unconditional acceptance of the regulations regarding the work’s selection and its potential inclusion in the Festival’s program. In case of disagreement, the decision of the artistic direction will prevail. The registration will be considered a document proving the total acceptance of the regulation by the person who registered the film and of participation in the event.. Registration fees will not be refunded under any circumstances, even if the work is withdrawn from the competition.

RELEASE:
The owners of the rights to the submitted works in and out of competition are legally responsible for the published content. By accepting the regulations and registering the work, they grant the release for public viewing within the activities of the festival. After registration, the release form template will be sent by the Festival's secretariat and must be filled out and submitted via email to the following address: italianhorrorfantasyfest@gmail.com.

Additionally, the release guarantees and absolves the festival from any liability regarding unauthorized video and audio content copyright violations.

POPULAR JURY:
Registered users will be able to express their preferences through a voting system on the platform which will be active from 1 to 10 May 2024

On May 13th the titles of the five feature films and the five short films finalists will be announced on the official website.

From that moment on, it will no longer be possible to view the works registered for the Festival on the streaming platform.

OFFICIAL SELECTION AND SCREENING:
After an initial selection by the registered public on the platform, the five most voted and commented short films and five feature films will be nominated. The artistic direction reserves the right to select one or more deserving works for nomination that did not gain popular consent. The announcement of the Official Selection will be made public on May 13, 2024.

OUT OF COMPETITION:
The artistic director has the authority to invite films and exclusive premiere’s, which are not included in competition. All registered films and short films will be stored in the Festival’s archive.

FORMATS FOR SELECTION:
For platform upload, video files in the following formats are accepted: Mpeg4, H264, ProRes LT with a resolution of 1920x1080. The enrolled film must be made immediately available for download, along with the subtitled trailer, official poster and banner.

Alternatively, the download link for the files can be sent to the Secretariat address: italianhorrorfantasyfest@gmail.com

SUBTITLES:
In addition to the video file, providing SRT format subtitles in English for Italian films and in Italian or English for international films is mandatory.

SCREENING FORMATS:
Finalist short films and feature films must be delivered by May 31, 2024, in DCP Cinema format compliant with screening standards. In case this format is unavailable, to ensure perfect screening quality, files can be sent to the Festival’s partner post-production laboratory. The cost of the service will be covered by the participant. For foreign language finalist works, the subtitle file in Italian will be required.

EVENT:
The event will take place from 13 to 16 of June at Stardust Village in Rome.

HOSPITALITY:
The Festival organization will invite finalist directors to the gala evening concluding the event but will not cover travel and accommodation expenses. Each participant acknowledges that accredited media partners and other media partners will be present at the Festival, which may conduct television shoots, interviews, radio broadcasts, social media live streams, etc. By accepting to participate in the Festival and signing this regulation, each participant recognizes the media partner's right to conduct any type of shooting, even in the presence of sponsor brands, and freely assigns any broadcasting image rights, allowing the media partner to use such footage as needed, even with interruptions of advertising messages, and may potentially transfer them to third parties.

QUALITY JURY:
A quality jury is planned within the Festival, composed of personalities from the cinema and culture, who have not collaborated in any way with the creation of the competing works. The Jury, at its incontestable discretion, will choose one short film and one feature film from the finalist works. The Jury President has the authority to cast a decisive vote in the event of a tie or disagreement with other jurors, also considering the opinion of the artistic director if a decision on the winners is not reached.

NOTES:
This regulation may undergo modifications and/or integrations.

AWARDS & PRIZES:

The President will announce the winning film and short film during the Festival’s concluding evening, to which the ITALIAN HORROR FANTASY FEST 2024 award will be presented.

FLAT PARIOLI AWARD:

During the Festival, Flat Parioli will present a prize called "Flat Parioli Award", intended for the author who has most distinguished himself in innovating the language of his reference genre.  In addition to the "Flat Parioli" plaque, the prize includes coverage of the costs necessary for the post-production, carried out within his own laboratory, of a work that the author himself will direct in subsequent years.: www.flatparioli.com

SPECIAL AWARDS:
In addition to the official award for the best short film and feature film, the Festival's artistic direction will present the SPECIAL BRUNO MATTEI AWARD as recognition to an author or artist who has particularly distinguished themselves in the horror, thriller or fantasy genre. Other special awards will be granted by the Festival's partners and sponsors.

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