COMPETITION REGULATIONS 2025

THE FESTIVAL

  1. The 47th Cinéma du Réel International Documentary Film Festival will be held in Paris, in the venues associated to its programming, from 22 to 29 March, 2025. Cinéma du Réel is organized by the Bibliothèque publique d’information (Public Information Library), the Association Les Amis du Cinéma du réel, the Centre Pompidou, with the support of the French Ministry of Culture (General Directorate of Media and Cultural Industries and General Directorate of Heritage and Architecture), the Centre national du cinéma et de l’image animée (National Film Centre-CNC), the Ile-de-France Regional Council, the City of Paris, the Procirep Television Commission, the Société civile des auteurs multimédia (LaScam Authors’ Society), the Société des Auteurs, Compositeurs et Éditeurs de Musique (Sacem),  the Institut français, the Fondation Clarens pour l’humanisme (Clarens Foundation for Humanism) and France Télévisions.
  1. Cinéma du Réel reflects the diversity of documentary film genres and approaches. Through its various programmes, the festival aims to create a dialogue between contemporary creation and the history of documentary film. We nevertheless insist on the fact that the festival does not aim to present news broadcasts, documentaries of a journalistic nature, promotional or corporate films. We invite you to familiarize yourself with its editorial project by checking the selections and programmes of previous years on the festival’s website.
  2. The festival’s artistic direction has full discretion in selecting films for the competition, which includes French and international films, short and feature films, first films.
    It also reserves the right to programme films, entered in the call for entries, in sections other than the competition (special screenings, Première fenêtre section, Front(s) populaire(s) section, thematic programming).

CONDITIONS OF PARTICIPATION IN THE COMPETITION

  1. The films submitted must have been completed after 15 January 2024.
  2. To be eligible for the competition, international films must be available as French premieres, i.e. never screened publicly in France, broadcast on French television or broadcast on the internet on platforms accessible from France. Films that do not fit this description will not be taken into consideration. Priority will be given to films never screened anywhere in the world (world premieres) and to films never screened outside of their production country/countries (international premieres). French minority coproductions are considered international films in this respect.
  3. To be eligible for the competition, French films must be available as world premieres, i.e. never screened publicly, broadcast on television or broadcast on the internet anywhere in the world. Films that do not fit this description will not be taken into consideration. French majority coproductions are considered French films in this respect.
  4. All films sent to the festival must be submitted by completing the online submission form available on its website. The festival entry fee is €10 until October 15 and €20 from October 16. Submissions will be closed on November 15. No waivers will be granted. Registrations are considered complete only once the fee has been received by the festival.
  5. The information given in this form will be used to publish the technical details of the films on the festival website, press kit and printed programme. If the film is selected, this information will not be accessible or updatable later than mid-February. If the film is selected, we strongly invite you to reread this information and modify it if necessary, before mid-February.
  6. Deadlines
    1. Films completed between 15 January  and 31 July, 2024: online submission duly completed and viewing material to be sent by 30 September, 2024.
    2. Films completed after 31 July, 2024: online submission duly completed and viewing material to be sent by 15 November, 2024.
    3. Films still under completion on 15 November, 2024: online submission duly completed by 15 November, 2024 and viewing material to be sent by 30 November, 2024.
    4. There is no guarantee that films registered or sent after the above-mentioned deadlines will be taken into consideration.
  7. Viewing formats
    1. The preferred medium for viewing films at the time of selection is a downloadable private link (preferably Vimeo). If it is impossible to make the film available on the Internet, we also accept DVD shipments (on DVD-R if possible) to the address indicated on the submission confirmation email. DVDs will not be shipped back.
    2. Films sent for consideration must be in their original version and subtitled either in English or in French (if spoken in another language).
    3. The sender assumes mailing costs for the DVDs, as well as any related duties, charges and fees, notably shipping and customs charges. For DVDs sent from abroad, we advise you to include the following on the envelope: “No commercial value. For cultural purposes only”.
    4. The festival keeps the viewing material for the sole purposes of documentation, promotion and viewing by professionals on its premises for a maximum period of 6 months, except for films included in the festival’s video library.

SELECTION

  1. Filmmakers whose films have been selected for the festival will be contacted personally, and will be responsible for informing all their producer(s), in case these are not known to the festival.
  2. By mid-February 2025, the official selection will be published on the festival website.
  3. The filmmakers and rights holders of the selected films agree not to withdraw the films from the festival programme after it has been announced mid-February 2024. The filmmakers and rights holders also agree not to screen or broadcast the film in France or abroad without the agreement of the festival, until after the end of the festival.
  4. The blurbs on the films in competition are written by the festival programming team, at its discretion. Directors of films in competition are invited to take part in interviews conducted by students under the supervision of the artistic direction coordinator. These interviews will be published on the festival’s blog and website, and may also be published in a paper edition distributed during the festival.
  5. The rights holders of films premiering at Cinéma du Réel commit to including the laurel-wreath logo mentioning their participation in the 2025 edition at the beginning of the film, whenever it is screened, broadcast or edited as a DVD.
  6. The rights holders of other films presented at Cinéma du Réel are invited to include the laurel-wreath logo mentioning their participation in the 2025 edition at the beginning of the film, whenever it is screened, broadcast or edited as a DVD.
  7. Each film in competition is presented a maximum of three time during the festival. At least one of these screenings is followed by a Q&A session. The presence of the directors is imperative. The festival contributes to their travel and accommodation costs.
  8. In the context of its participation in the edition of the Cinéma du réel festival, the co-contractor graciously authorizes the reproduction of its image or its voice (without this being an obligation) by means of a sound recording or photographs featuring it or its representatives, taken by the Bpi during the holding of the event for the purposes of information and promotion of the activities with which the Bpi and the Cinéma du réel festival are associated — in particular on any website including that of Cinéma du réel (cinemadureel.org) and of the Bpi (bpi.fr), or on any web publication by the Bpi, in the context of web radio broadcasts, and also on social networks (including without limitation Facebook, Instagram, X).
  9. Participating in the festival involves letting the festival use the promotional material related to the film (technical sheet and credits, stills, clips) on all its publications (printed programme, website, social media).

AWARDS

  1. The films in competition compete for the following awards:
  • the Cinéma du Réel Grand Prix (Grand Prix Cinéma du réel), funded by the Bpi with the support of Procirep
  • the International Award (Prix International), funded by Cinéma du réel
  • the CNAP French Film Award (Prix CNAP du film français), funded by the CNAP
  • the Loridan Ivens First Film Award (Prix du premier film Loridan-Ivens), funded by Capi Films 
  • the Short Film Award (Prix du Court Métrage), funded by the Bpi
  • the Tënk Award (Prix Tënk), funded by Tënk
  • the Youth Jury Award – Ciné+ (Prix des Jeunes – Ciné+), funded by Ciné+
  • the Library Award (Prix des Bibliothèques), funded by the Direction générale des médias et des industries culturelles, Ministry of Culture and Communication
  • the Intangible Heritage Award (Prix du Patrimoine culturel immatériel), awarded and funded by the Heritage Directorate of the Ministry of Culture and Communication
  • the Sacem Award (Prix de la Sacem), funded by the Sacem and awarded to the composer of the original music for a feature film
  • the Bois d’Arcy Prisoners’ Award (Prix des détenus de la maison d’arrêt de Bois d’Arcy).
  1. All the films in the programme (in competition and out of competition) may be preselected to compete for the Clarens Foundation Award for Humanism, endowed by the Clarens Foundation. The rights holders of the winning film must allow the Clarens Foundation or its partners to organize one or two screenings free of charge, within two years after the prize was awarded, in France or abroad.
  2. The festival reserves the right to modify the list of awards at any time.
  3. The attribution of mentions is entirely left to the discretion of the individual juries.
  4. The award amounts are paid to the filmmakers, with the exception of the Tënk Award, the Youth Jury Award – Ciné+: these awards are distributed in the form of the purchase of rights and are therefore paid, depending on the price, to the producer or distributor of the film. The festival can not be held responsible for, or be involved in any further financial agreement resulting from the filmmakers’ contractual obligations.
  5. The rights holders commit to including the laurel-wreath logo corresponding to any awards received at the beginning of the film, whenever it is screened, broadcast or edited as a DVD, and on all promotional documents (posters, flyers, invitations, etc.) and press kits published after the festival, in the context of a theatrical release or a presentation at a festival in France or abroad.

PRINTS AND SCREENING FORMATS

  1. The festival is equipped to screen DCP and digital files (for further information, please contact the festival staff). Blu-rays will only be accepted as back-ups. The festival prefers the original exhibition format of the completed work. Only good-quality prints and files will be accepted.
  2. The screening material of the films must reach the festival by 15 February 2025 at the latest. No modified versions of the films will be accepted after this date.
  3. The submitter is responsible for shipping costs and import fees to the festival. We will only assume the return expenses of the selected films, as well as storage and insurance expenses of the films from the time they are received until they are sent back. In case of loss or damage during this period, the festival will assume responsibility only for the replacement value of the print at the current rate.
  4. The films in competition are provided to the festival free of charge.

SUBTITLES AND VERSIONS

  1. All films in competition must be accessible to French- and English-speaking audiences:

    International films: 
    – If the language of the film is French, the production company will be asked to provide the festival with an English-subtitled print.
    – If the language of the film is English, the production company will be asked to provide the festival with a French-subtitled print or with an .srt or .stl French subtitle file.
    – If the language of the film is neither French nor English, the production company will be asked to provide the festival with a print subtitled in one of these languages and an .srt or .stl subtitle file in the other language.

    French films:
    – If the language of the film is French, the production company will be asked to provide the festival with an English-subtitled print.
    – If the language of the film is English, the production company will be asked to provide the festival with a French-subtitled print.
    – If the language of the film is neither French nor English, the production company will be asked to provide the festival with a print subtitled in one of these languages and an .srt or .stl subtitle file in the other language.

    All subtitle material must be sent in its final version, matching the print due to be screened. The elements needed for the electronic subtitling of the films must reach the festival on 15 February, 2025 at the latest.

ONLINE SCREENINGS

  1. Films selected in competition will be included in the festival’s secured online video library, accessible to professional accreditation holders, and only during the event, upon the rights holders agreement.
  2. The festival also has VoD partners. Film rights holders will be offered the possibility for their films to be part of these VoD programmes.
  3. If it is impossible to organize the festival in situ, the festival reserves the right, with the agreement of the rights holders, to program the films online on its dedicated CANALRÉEL channel or on a partner platform.

OTHER SCREENINGS

  1. The films in selection may also be part of Cinéma du Réel programmes in France or abroad, during or after the festival, free of charge, upon the rights holders agreement.
  2. The rights holders of the awarded films must agree for their films to be shown, free of charge, as part of a rerun of the awarded films, when it is organized by the festival, either online or as part of screenings in France or abroad.  
  3. The artistic direction will offer the rights holders of some of the films in competition (around six) the opportunity to participate in the Circulation organized in collaboration with Images en Bibliothèques and the Cinémathèque du Documentaire GIP which will retribute the rights holders. In order for the programmers who are interested to confirm their participation, Cinéma du Réel will make the films in question available to them, after watermarking them. This Circulation will take the form of screenings organized throughout the Cinémathèque du Documentaire and Images en Bibliothèques networks between April and June 2025.
  4. Films in competition may be examined by the National Commission for Documentary Films, organized by Images en Bibliothèque, which offers recently completed films the opportunity to be acquired by one of the three partner catalogues (Images de la culture – CNC, Les yeux doc – Catalogue national de la Bpi, and ADAV) and thus to be widely distributed in the network of libraries in France. After the festival, Images en bibliothèque will contact the rights holders of the films in competition to offer them to register their film with the National Commission for Documentary Films.
  5. An entry for each French film entered and for each international film selected will be generated on the documentary film referencing website www.film-documentaire.fr. This database for professionals and the general public is a not-for-profit tool that gathers over 59,000 films. Data access only.

FINAL DISPOSITION

  1. Registrations involve the full acceptance of the terms and provisions in the present Rules and Regulations. Should any litigation arise, only the French version of the Rules and Regulations shall prevail.

Paris, August 2024