IDF2020·IDF Pitching | Call for Entry

The 4th West Lake International Documentary Festival“IDF Pitching” Call for Entry








This announcement is an open call for entries of documentary projects for “IDF Pitching” of the 4th West Lake International Documentary Festival (IDF2020).

Introduction

01 | West Lake International Documentary Festival (IDF)

West Lake International Documentary Festival (IDF) is a high standard platform for the arts and the humanities that promotes documentaries through competition, pitching, screenings, forums and workshops, which is held by the side of West Lake, Hangzhou during every golden autumn.

IDF stands for “I-Documentary-Fact” and aims to explore the relationship between documentary creation subjects, objects and methods. The festival is centered on “discovering documentary subjects, designing experiments for youth, holding high the will of the people, and reshaping the poetry of oriental culture”. Furthermore, IDF promotes the values associated with honest observation and humanitarian responsibility. IDF encourages reflection on human existence, especially in the natural world, through the lenses of documentaries. Through this form of record, we can also think about the inheritance of culture through changing times, about the artistic expression of oriental poetry in a pluralistic society, and about initiating the return of documentary to its authentic core, returning us to the positive values of humanistic care. 

The 4th West Lake International Documentary Festival will be held in Hangzhou from 17th October to 19th October 2020 with the theme of “Life, Lives”.

02 | Annual Theme - Life, Lives

“People can’t live without water and fire”; the ancient Chinese thinker Mencius once said. 

Through the annual theme, ‘Life, Lives’, we try to unfold a view of not only individual life, but the myriad of lives and their daily life in which they live, and for which they fight. 

The spring of 2020 is long and difficult for everyone. This worldwide calamity which we are facing together, caused a huge pain in everyone’s mind, while we also realize deeply that we, as a whole, share a common present and future and this connection will not be constrained by time and distance. 

There are thousands of great works of art and literature being created in the time of crisis. For documentary filmmakers, the setbacks and difficulties brought by changing circumstances are, on the other side, a turning point for self-promoting, strengthening will-power and re-examining life. 

Where there is a living, there is a life. Embracing that modest attitude to explore the essences of life and living, IDF hopes to record the image which tells the life stories of thousands of lives, for the next ten years.

03 | “IDF Pitching”

“IDF Pitching” is the IDF's way of supporting documentary filmmakers, providing a chance for international documentaries to go through an incubation process, encouraging them to create quality films as a form of art, telling the stories of Chinese society and documenting the lives of Chinese people. “IDF Pitching” looks to support documentaries in the production or post-production stage, including feature-length documentaries (60 minutes and above) and documentary series (two or more related episodes). 

The program committee shall pre-evaluate the collected proposals. Afterward, the academic committee will review and vote, selecting the most promising projects for “IDF Pitching”. During the pitching session, every nominee will have 20 minutes to pitch and answer questions. The judging panel of the IDF Pitching Session is made up of international and local scholars, directors and producers, all invited by the academic committee. The panel votes for IDF Most Potential Development Plan (one plan) and IDF Outstanding Proposal (two proposals). IDF will track the progress of the productions, granting them the priority of entering IDF “Glory of Documentary” Screening Section. 

04 | Entry Qualification

IDF2020 openly calls for Chinese documentary projects, includes feature-length documentaries and documentary series. Entries must satisfy the following conditions:

1）Chinese documentary projects;

2）Documentary projects in the production (more than 50% of the shooting has been completed) or post-production stage;

3）Open to the feature-length documentary (60 minutes and above) and documentary series (two or more related episodes);

4）The entrant must be the copyright holder or representative of the copyright owner of the work;

5）The project which has been selected in the previous “IDF Pitching”, cannot be participated in again with the competition;

6）The project shall comply with the regulations of the 4th West Lake International Documentary Festival and shall not conflict with the laws and regulations of the People's Republic of China.

05 | How to Enter

The documentary projects must be entered online at the official website of West Lake International Documentary Festival ( www.westlakeidf.com ). No entry fee is required. Please fill in the entry form carefully, once the information uploaded, the entrant can not re-edit it.

IDF Awards

Prizes are totaled 350,000 yuan (RMB)

1) IDF Most Potential Development Plan | One Plan | 150,000 yuan (RMB)

2) IDF Outstanding Proposal | Two Proposals | 100,000 yuan (RMB) each

* Pre-tax.

Entry Requirements

01 | Deadline for Entry

Entry for the 4th West Lake International Documentary Festival is open from now on. The deadline for entry is 30th July, 2020. The documentary projects submitted beyond this deadline will not be included in the evaluation process.

02 | Entry Process

The documentary projects must be entered through the official website www.westlakeidf.com of West Lake International Documentary Festival. Please read the Announcement of The 4th West Lake International Documentary Festival “IDF Pitching” carefully, fill in the required information, submit the requested materials, upload the teaser or the rough cut according to the requirement, and complete the entry. 

If you prefer to submit the hard copy, please send the Blue-ray Disc or Mobile Hard Disk Drive to IDF Office (Please mark “IDF Pitching”, project title, name of the entrant and the contact number).  

If you send cross-border materials through international express, please fill in customs declaration value within 10 dollars, and mark “only for cultural purposes” and “no-commercial value” on the mail parcel. 

All sent materials must have paid the mailing fee and customs duties, otherwise the organizing committee has the right to reject the parcel. You can also deliver the hard drive to IDF Office in person (Please contact the organizing committee in advance to check the office hour).

All submitted materials will keep in the archive and won’t be returned.

The organizing committee shall not bear the mailing cost and the insurance cost of the materials, nor shall it bear the responsibility for loss, error or damage of the materials caused by the mailing process or other irresistible factors.

* Mailing Address:

West Lake International Documentary Festival Organizing Committee 11/F, Building 7, China Academy of Art, NO.352 XiangShan, Hangzhou, P. R. China

Postcode: 310024

Contact: Xiaoan SHI

Mobile: 0086 - 15868110424

Tel: 0086 - 571 - 87200617

Fax: 0086 - 571 - 87200617

Email: [e-mail]

03 | Required Materials

1) “IDF Pitching” entry form (Online)

2) Proposal of the documentary project (Online: synopsis, director’s statement, production plan, budget, etc.)

3) Poster and stills, JPG format (the pixel shall not be lower than 300 dpi)

4) A recent photo of the director, JPG format (the pixel shall not be lower than 300 dpi)

5) Teaser or rough cut (project in production: 5-10 minute teaser, project in post-production: 20-30 minute rough cut, MOV or MP4 format, resolution no less than 1920*1080, with Chinese subtitles).

Please upload the required materials on IDF official website www.westlakeidf.com within the submission period. The entrant will receive the notification email from the organizing committee after processing the materials. Otherwise, it means the submission has not been completed (including incomplete information, missing required materials or uploading failure, etc.) After the application process, documentary projects that have been submitted shall not be withdrawn or quit from the competition for any reason.

04 | Legal Liability Statement

The entrant must be the copyright holder or representative of the copyright owner of the work and will guarantee that the materials used in the documentary project, including but not limited to music, recordings, videos, images or other works and materials, are original or have been authorized by the copyright owner according to law. If there are other people’s portraits, the entrant will guarantee to obtain the shooting license and the right of portrait of the photographed person. Once there are any legal disputes, including intellectual property disputes, arising from the above-mentioned reasons, the entrant shall take all legal liabilities, including entire liability for intellectual property right infringement and liability for compensation. The organizing committee reserves the right to refuse the documentary project when the documentary project involved in any copyright disputes or portrait right infringement.

Selection and Pitching

All the documentary projects of the "IDF Pitching" selected at the first-round will enter into the second-round evaluation after which the academic committee of West Lake International Documentary Festival will decide the shortlist for “IDF Pitching”. The organizing committee will formally notify the entrant by e-mail and announce the official shortlist. 

The team of the shortlisted project will be invited to attend the IDF Pitching Session of the 4th West Lake International Documentary Festival. The organizing committee will cover the expense of round-way transportation and accommodation for one invited delegate for each project. The director or the producer of the selected project must be present for the pitching session, otherwise, it will be regarded as an automatic waiver of finalist qualification. Three projects will be awarded after final evaluation by the jury committee according to the proposal, pitching and Q&A. The final result will be announced at the closing ceremony of the 4th West Lake International Festival.

Information and stills of the shortlisted documentary projects will be presented in the IDF catalog, official website, online and offline promotional materials. The organizing committee has the right to edit and make public use of the received material of shortlisted and awarded projects for the purpose of promotion. If the project information cannot be disclosed, please inform the organizing committee in advance. 

For all award-winning projects, the organizing committee will provide the corresponding laurel. The laurel with the logo of West Lake International Documentary Festival must be presented in the credit of the documentary and subsequent promotional materials.

Right to Interpret

By submitting the application, the applicant shall be deemed to have read, understand and agreed to all provisions of this announcement.

The organizing committee of the 4th West Lake International Documentary Festival (IDF 2020) reserves the right to amend this charter, rules, terms or other related conventions. If there are any revisions or matters not mentioned in this announcement, the IDF Committee will promulgate it separately. The IDF organizing committee owns the final right to interpret on this charter without public discussion.

The Organizing Committee

of the 4th West Lake 

International Documentary Festival

April, 2020

Click the "READ MORE" to enter the official submission website of IDF