East Asian Experimental Competition Application guidelines

The Image Forum Festival is a festival of moving image art that brings together for screening works with a high degree of expression, artistry, and creativity. We are seeking submissions from the East Asian region, including Japan, for works to be included in the East Asian Experimental Competition.

【 Name 】

Image Forum Festival 2023

【 Purpose 】

Our purpose is to present new and truly creative moving image works, and contribute to the development and dissemination of a rich moving image culture.

【 Application period 】

January 27th (Fri) to April 21st (Fri), 2023

【 Application section 】

East Asian Experimental Competition

【 Submission requirements 】

1)The submitted film must have been made after January 1st, 2022.
2)The creator or submitter must own the film’s copyright. The creator or submitter must also hold the copyright or have obtained permission from the copyright holder for all copyrighted material (music, photographs, moving images, etc.) included in the film. 3)Creators do not have to meet any qualifications, but the festival is limited to filmmakers who were born or currently reside in the following countries: Japan, China (including Hong Kong and Macau), Taiwan, South Korea.
4)There are no requirements concerning content, but we are looking for moving image works with a high degree of authorship, artistry, creativity, and experimentation.
5)As a basic rule, please provide Japanese or English subtitles if your work includes a language other than Japanese or English.
6)As a basic rule, works that have already been commercially screened, broadcast, sold or distributed on the Internet are ineligible for selection.

【 Application process 】

Please use the online form found on our official website or directly submit the following three items to our head office.
1)Application form
2)¥1,000 submission fee
3)Work to be submitted 
※The ¥1,000 submission fee is required for each submitted work. If you apply using the online form, please follow the instructions for online payment. If you submit the application form by mail, please include ¥1,000 in Japanese stamps. If you hand in your application in person, please pay in cash.
※There is no limit to the number of times a single individual can apply. But we ask that you fill out a separate application form for each work and record and submit each work on separate media. Please do not include any moving images/sound not directly related to the work being submitted.
※Applications cannot be canceled, and the submission fee will not be refunded.

【 Format of submitted works 】

There are no constraints on content or duration. However, to be accepted works must be moving images in a single/multichannel format displayable or projectable on screens or monitors.
1)Online preview
Please upload the work to a video sharing website such as Vimeo or YouTube as a password protected (restricted access) file and give us the link.
※You cannot apply by attaching a video file directly to your email.
※Works that are publicly accessible are ineligible for consideration. Please use a restricted access setting or password.

2)Blu-ray or DVD
If you are unable to upload an online preview, you can apply using a Blu-ray or DVD.
※Please record the video in a format that can be played by a regular home player.
※Submitted Blu-rays and DVDs will not be returned. Please submit a copy.

3)If your work was shot on film, please submit a telecine version using either method 1) or 2) described above.

【Evaluation process】

The results of the first and second rounds of evaluation will be released on our official website by the end of June, 2023. The works that make it through both rounds of evaluation (approximately twenty-five) will be screened at the festival as nominated works. The final (third) evaluation will be conducted during the festival in Tokyo beginning on September 30th, and the winners of the seven prizes will be announced at the Award Ceremony.

●Grand Prize (1): ¥300,000 + Prize certificate
●Terayama Shuji Prize (1): ¥100,000 + Prize certificate
The Terayama Shuji Prize is awarded to a young filmmaker. It aims to ensure the ambitious spirit of Terayama Shuji, who helped early Japanese experimental films gain traction and made film after film without submitting to existing ideas, is passed on to future generations without being forgotten.
●SHIBUYA SKY Prize (1): ¥100,000 + Prize certificate
●Excellence Prize (3): ¥30,000 + Prize certificate
●Audience Prize (1): Prize certificate

《Final evaluation jury》
ENDO Maiko (film director and artist)
HOSAKA Kenjiro (director, Shiga Museum of Art)
Mark TOSCANO (curator, film preservationist, and educator)

【 Use of nominated works 】

Applicants agree that nominated works may be copied and used in the promotion of this festival free of charge. If still photographs from these works are not provided by the applicant they may be made and used free of charge.
In addition, in order to increase opportunities for the nominated works to be screened both domestically and internationally, preview links may be shared with film festival organizers both in Japan and overseas. If we receive an inquiry from a film festival regarding a particular work we will notify the creator.

【 The right to screen nominated works 】

From notification of nomination to the end of all Image Forum Festival 2023 events, the Image Forum Festival Office has first right to the use of all nominated works in Japan, and if the creator would like to use the work in Japan during that time he or she must obtain permission from this Office. However, the copyright of these works remains with the copyright holder. The 2023 Image Forum Festival will be held in Tokyo, Nagoya, and other cities. The venues will be announced on our website as soon as they have been decided.
Please be aware that depending on the state of the Covid-19 pandemic the dates of the festival may be changed or it may be held online.

【Application address / Contact information】

Image Forum Festival 2023 Office
2 Chome-10-2 Shibuya
Shibuya-ku, Tokyo-to
150-0002
tel: 03-5766-0116  fax: 03-5466-0054
ask2023@imageforumfestival.com

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