Regulation Off17
XVII Edition. 06-12 July 2025
- ABOUT THE FESTIVAL
Organized by Sa.Li.Rò. ORTIGIA FILM FESTIVAL will take place on July 06-12, 2025, in Syracuse. OFF’s mission (acronym for Ortigia Film Festival) is to propose itself as a meeting place between directors and emerging young filmmakers, but also to promote and spread the different forms of audiovisual.
- SECTIONS
Competitive:
- Italian First and Second Feature Film Competition
- International Documentary Competition
- International Short Film Competition
Non-Competitive:
- Cinema Women
- Cinema & Musica
- The Voice of the Sea (AREA MARINA PROTETTA)
- FEATURE FILM COMPETITION
Italian filmmakers’ first and second fiction feature films completed after January 1st 2024 are eligible for this Competition.
The films will be selected with the final decision of the Artistic Director and a Selection Committee of the festival. Applications will be submitted by the deadline of April 24th, 2025, by filling in the entry form on Filmfreeway.
A Jury of professionals in film industry will be nominated by the festival to assign the following Awards:
- OFF17/2025 Best Film Award
- OFF17/2025 Best Actor Award
- OFF17/2025 Best Screenplay
The jury reserves the right to award any special mentions.
- OFF17/2025 Audience Award for Best Film
The Audience Award will be assigned by the audience at the screenings.
- INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION
International documentaries (Italian and foreign) that are finished after January 1st, 2024, are admitted to the competition. The selection of the films in competition takes place under the responsibility of the artistic director and the selection committee of the festival.
Applications will be submitted by the deadline of April 24th, 2025, by filling in the entry form on Filmfreeway.
The Festival Direction will nominate a jury made up of industry experts to assign the following Awards:
- OFF17/2025 Best Documentary Award CSC “Sebastiano Gesù”
The jury reserves the right to assign any special mentions.
- OFF17/2025 Audience Award for Best Documentary
The Audience Award will be assigned by the audience at the screenings.
- INTERNATIONAL SHORT FILM COMPETITION
International short films (Italian and foreign) that were completed after January 1st, 2024, are admitted to the competition.
The selection of the films in competition takes place under the responsibility of the artistic director and the selection committee of the festival. The maximum length is 20 minutes..
Applications will be submitted by the deadline of April 24th, 2025, by filling in the entry form on Filmfreeway.
A Jury of professionals in film industry will be nominated by the festival to assign the following Awards:
- Premio Miglior Cortometraggio OFF17/2025
Il corto vincitore del Premio Miglior Cortometraggio OFF17 vince anche il Premio Laser Film OFF17 che consiste in un pacchetto di postproduzione video di color correction per 8 ore presso i laboratori Laser Film di Roma.
La giuria si riserva di assegnare eventuali menzioni speciali.
- OFF17/2025 Best Short Film Award
The Audience Award will be assigned by the audience at the screenings.
- NON – COMPETITIVE SECTIONS
- Cinema Women
An overview of young international women filmmakers who give voice to social and gender issues.
- Cinema & Music
Section dedicated to the blending, interdependence, influence and dialogue between cinema and music
- The Voice of the Sea
In collaboration with the Marine Protected Area Plemmirio and dedicated to awareness and respect for the ecosystem. The section that embodies the city of Syracuse and the island of Ortigia.
International (Italian and foreign) feature films, documentaries and short films are admitted to the out-of-competition sections. The selection of films is carried out by the artistic direction and the selection committee of the Festival.
Applications must be submitted by the deadline of 24th April 2025 via the platform Filmfreeway.
- SUBMISSIONS
- Filmfreeway.
- The submission includes a festival registration fee of 10,00 euros for fiction feature films and documentaries in competitive and non-competitive sections. 5,00 euros for short movies)
To submit a film to the festival, please include the following material:
- Synopsis (Italian-English)
- Description of Film and Credits
- Poster and photo of the film in high resolution jpg, tif or pdf format
- Biography and Filmography of the filmmaker (Italian-English)
- For the Feature Films: The Press Kit
- Stream movie link with password
- Italian and english subtitles
The link to watch the movie in streaming must be valid until the end of the festival.
- TERMS AND SHIPPING DETAILS
The registration containing the requested material must be made no later than 11.30 pm on April 24th, 2025, the receipt of the email will be considered valid.
For more info: video@ortigiafilmfestival.it
- SCREENINGS and SCHEDULES
The screenings schedule will be communicated by ORTIGIA FILM FESTIVAL
9.1 REQUESTED MATERIALS FOR SELECTED FILMS:
Producers and/or filmmakers invited to participate will be notified by the festival and must be sending the requested materials ASAP (film stills, text, dialogue list, posters, trailers, clips, subs etc.).
The material may be used in the Festival Catalogue, Festival Program, Festival Website, and may be made available to the Press for the purposes of promoting the film. Films must be received in DVD, HD or Blu-Ray no later than June 20th, 2025.
For screening purposes, we require the DVD to be in PAL format. Due to technical incompatibility, NTSC formats will not be screened.
- TERMS AND CONDITIONS
9.1 9.1 The producers or filmmakers invited to the festival are responsible for the submitted film and declare to have fulfilled any obligations towards third party Copyright holders.
9.2 The producer or filmmaker is responsible for all costs associated with sending the DVD to the Festival. By sending the DVD the producer or filmmaker accepts these Regulations in full, and, if they are invited, irrevocably agree to the screening of the film at the 2024 edition of OFF.
- OFF will only pay the out-bound freight for films invited to the festival
9.4 By submitting the film and sending the DVD the producers or filmmakers agree with these Regulations.
In the case of disputes which cannot be resolved by the application of these Regulations, the Festival Artistic Director reserves the right to make the final decision. The Italian version of these Regulations is the Official version. The competent court is the Foro di Siracusa, Italy.
For enquiries or for further information, please contact the Festival’s Administration Office at: video@ortigiafilmfestival.it
(please do not use this email to submit applications).
For applications: https://filmfreeway.com/OrtigiaFilmFestival
