Regulatory texts

CONDITIONS FOR FILM REGISTRATION AND SELECTION 28th EDITION OF FESPACO

A.   REGISTRATION

The 28th Edition of the Pan-African Film & TV Festival of Ouagadougou (FESPACO) is scheduled to take place from 25 February to 04 March 2023.

Registration of films for the Pan-African Film & TV Festival of Ouagadougou (FESPACO) is open to all films worldwide.

Registration is limited to a maximum of three (03) films by director, and can be effected by director or producer.

Registration of films by African Cinema Schools shall be effected by the Management of such schools.

Films shall not be aged more than two (02) years as of 31 December 2022, nor have been showed at a previous FESPACO edition. Deadline for registration of films is 31 October 2022.

Registration shall be effected by 31 October 2022 the latest at: https://form.jotform.com/220462146349050

Registration material (in French and English) shall include:

  • a (01) technical and artistic sheet;
  • a (01) synopsis;
  • a (01) bio-filmography of director;
  • a (01) poster of the film;
  • a download and view link of the film or the first episodes for TV series in MPEG-4 (H.264) format;
  • a (01) passport size photograph of director;
  • pictures and images of the film.

B.   SUB-TITLING

Films shall be sub-titled in French or English.

Films in languages other than French or English shall be sub-titled or dubbed in either language.

C.   OFFICIAL SELECTION

The Management of FESPACO shall be responsible for the official selection of films, and make decision on the category in which any film may be accepted.

Categories of the official competition are as follows:

  • fiction feature films;
  • fiction short films;
  • feature documentary films;
  • short documentary films;
  • fiction or documentary films by African cinema schools;
  • TV series;
  • Animated films.

The official competition is open to African and Diaspora films.

Out-of-competition sections include:

  • Panorama;
  • FESPACO Classics;
  • FESPACO Sukabè (kids);
  • Focus;

These sections are open to films by any filmmakers worldwide.

The Management of FESPACO is sovereign and reserves the right not to justify its decisions.

Films accepted into the official selection cannot be withdrawn in the course of the festival.

Directors or producers of accepted films shall be informed via official mail.

1.     FORMATS

Regardless of shooting formats, only the following shall be prevail:

Selection copies:

  • MPEG-4 (H.264) digital file.

Screening copies and number of copies:

  • For the official feature fiction and documentary competition: a (01) DCP SMPTE (JPEG 2000 Server) and an external hard drive with the MPEG-4 (H.264) digital file.
  • For the official short fiction and documentary competition: a digital file and an external hard drive with the MPEG-4 (H.264) digital file.
  • For the other sections of the selection: a digital file and an external hard drive with the MPEG-4 (H.264) digital file.

Screening copies shall be sent to FESPACO no later than 15 January 2023.

Copies of films not sent to FESPACO by the above date shall be withdrawn from the official selection.

NB: FESPACO shall not be charged for the screening of films in the official selection.

2.     SENDING / RETURN OF COPIES

Sending and return of film copies shall be the responsibility of producer or director.

Parcels shall be marked “For Cultural Use Only” and “Without Market Value”.

Transport fees and possible customs duties and taxes for any parcel sent by an express carrier must have been entirely paid for. Otherwise, FESPACO shall reserve the right not to consider such parcel.

FESPACO shall not assume responsibility for errors in shipment or damages resulting from the sending of film copies.

Furthermore, FESPACO shall not be liable for damages resulting from the initial poor condition of copies.

DCP copies shall be submitted in hard drive format together with the screening Key Delivery Message (KDM).

Films accepted for the official selection of FESPACO may be subject to three (03) public screenings at the most during the festival.

However, FESPACO reserves the right, as part of the promotion of the films selected, to publicly screen such films twice (02) at the most after the festival.

3.     LENGTH OF FILMS

Depending on the categories, length of competing films shall be:

  • fiction feature: minimum length of 60mn;
  • fiction short: length between 1mn and 35mn;
  • feature documentary: minimum length of 60mn;
  • short documentary: length between 1mn and 35mn;
  • fiction or documentary by African cinema school: length between 3mn and 15mn;
  • TV series: two (02) consecutive episodes of 52mn each or three (03) consecutive episodes of 26mn each or six (06) consecutive episodes of 13mn each;
  • animated films: length between 1mn and 35mn.

Registration implies in adherence to the selection conditions and regulations herein.