Conditions for submitting films
Submitted films must have a clear relevance to queer people or the queer community (LGBTIQA+). Both long and short films can be submitted. All short films submitted with a maximum length of 20 minutes will automatically be considered for the PRIDE PICTURES PRISM - The City of Media Arts Queer Short Film Award. Specific conditions apply to the awarding of the short film prize, which are listed below.
The year of production of the film must not be more than 2 years ago. German premieres will be prioritised in the festival's programme selection. The deadline for submitting films is May the 30th of the respective festival year. All contact persons of a submitted film will be informed of the final decision and, if applicable, selection of their film by the beginning of October at the latest.
Films can be submitted to the festival as follows:
• via FilmFreeway
• by e-mail to submission@pridepictures.de (specifying a contact person and access to an online screener)
Films that are not submitted by the deadline will not be considered by the festival.
Costs
The submission of films is generally free of charge. For submissions via FilmFreeway, a one-time submission fee of 5 euros will be charged to cover the festival's expenses for the platform.
Submitted screeners
Upon submission, a screener of the submitted film must be made available to the festival so that the film can be considered in the film selection. The screener can be made available online.
All screeners must be submitted in their original version with English subtitles, unless the original version of the film is English. Films in German can be submitted in their original version without subtitles. In the event of selection for the festival, German or English subtitles will be required and must be submitted at a later date.
By submitting a screener, the submitting person agrees that the festival will keep it for organisational purposes until the end of the current festival edition (until: 31 October 2025).
The submitting person has to be the owner of all rights of use required for the submission and use of the film (in the context of participation in the festival) and can effectively grant these rights to PRIDE PICTURES. PRIDE PICTURES reserves the right to demand appropriate proof of these rights and to reject the submission if this is not provided.
In the event of damage or loss of a screening copy, either during the selection process or at the festival itself, the festival will only cover the cost of making a new copy in accordance with the current rates for ordering a standard screening copy.
Selection of the films
The selection of films for the festival is carried out by a committee for the curation of feature-length and short films. Their decision cannot be contested; there is no legal claim to the participation of a submitted film in the festival.
The result of the selection process will be communicated by e-mail to the contact persons specified in the film submission as soon as a final decision has been made.
In order to participate in the festival, the submitting person has to accept the festival's invitation in writing, submit the final festival version of the film by the deadline and provide the festival with additional documents, media and information (see: Press and promotional material).
When a film is selected for the festival, stills in high-resolution format may be submitted for use on the festival website and in the festival programme. In addition, PRIDE PICTURES is authorised to use the submitted screeners for the creation of still images and other internal festival preparations.
In the case of an official film selection, PRIDE PICTURES is granted permission to create a festival trailer with excerpts from the film and, if applicable, may create German subtitles for the film.
In case of a selection for the festival, German or English subtitles are required, these must be provided as srt-file or in an open DCP.
Programming of the films
The programming of the selected films is carried out by the artistic director of the festival or the film committees and cannot be contested. Each film may be screened up to three times during the festival. Furthermore, the participants may authorise additional screenings of the selected film during the festival.
Once the film selection has been published, the films may neither be removed from the festival programme nor screened elsewhere in Germany before the end of the festival, in the case of a German premiere.
Press & promotional material
For each film selected, detailed press and promotional material must be provided to the festival by 15 June of the year of the festival. This must include at least the following material:
• Press kit and production information
• Film stills (high resolution)
• Film and biography of the director and producer
• Portrait picture of the director (portrait and landscape)
The participant must ensure that the official festival laurel is clearly visible on all advertising and promotional measures for the participating films.
Promotion of the festival selection
After accepting a festival invitation, the festival will send the corresponding laurels to the film submitters to promote the selection of the film at PRIDE PICTURES. It is expected that these laurels will be used as a promotional tool for the screening at the festival using the festival's specified hashtags and social media accounts.
Right to participate
Participation in the festival is subject to fulfilment of the regulations listed here. It is the responsibility of producers, distributors or other organisations submitting a film to ensure that they are legally entitled to submit a film to the festival. The festival reserves the right to regulate all cases not provided in the conditions of participation and to allow exceptions to the conditions in special, justified cases. There is no legal claim to the participation of a submitted film in the festival.