Film entry regulations
73rd Trento Film Festival
April 25-May 4, 2025
Article 1
The cultural association “City of Trento” International Film Festival of the Mountains and Exploration, established by CAI – Club Alpino Italiano, the Municipality of Trento, the Municipality of Bolzano and the CCIAAs (Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Trades and Agriculture) of Trento and Bolzano, is organising the 73rd edition of Trento Film Festival, which will be held in Trento from 25 April to 4 May 2025.
Trento Film Festival represents an opportunity to present and promote films of every nationality, genre and duration dealing with the mountains and mountain cultures.
Article 2
It is possible to submit films that:
- contribute towards increasing knowledge and protecting the mountains and tablelands by highlighting their symbolic value and depicting related human, historic and social aspects;
- portray the most significant cultural and technical aspects and human adventure involved in mountaineering;
- promote environmental protection and sustainable development in the mountains;
- extend and promote knowledge of geographical areas, peoples and cultures;
- illustrate mountain sports, including modern evolution of various disciplines.
Article 3
The film programme of Trento Film Festival is divided into the following sections:
- International competition
The competitive section for full-length documentaries and short films of any kind. Full-length works are intended as those with a duration of over 50 minutes. The films compete for the official prizes – the Gentians – awarded by an international jury.
- Premières
A showcase for narrative film set in the mountains, from the main international film festivals.
- Special screenings
Special events, tributes and restored films, ranging from silent movies to contemporary experimentation.
- Highlands
The section dedicated to the present and future of mountain areas and communities around the world.
- Alp&ism
The section dedicated to mountaineering, climbing, adventure and mountain sports disciplines.
- Near Horizons
The section reserved for films made by filmmakers born or working in Trentino Alto-Adige, by production companies or organisations based in the region, or which feature places, figures and themes regarding the region. A première in the province of Trento is required.
- MuSeDoc
A selection of thematic documentaries in cooperation with MuSe, Trento Science Museum.
- T4Future
The section reserved for children and families, teachers and pupils, to encourage the interest of new generations in subjects related to the mountains, nature and sustainability, through the language of film.
Article 4
Participation in the selection process for Trento Film Festival is free of charge.
Registration takes place by completing the official form at the website:
https://trentofestival.it/en/2025-submissions/
Copies of the films to be assessed by the selection committee should preferably be sent via a link to be indicated directly in the registration form. Alternatively, a hard disk copy may be sent to the following address:
Trento Film Festival
c/o Centro S. Chiara
Via S. Croce, 67
38122 Trento (ITALY)
tel. +39 348 2530486
Materials sent from countries outside the European Union should be accompanied by the documents required for customs clearance (pro forma invoice) and state the following: “No commercial value, for cultural purposes only”.
For films not in Italian, a file with English or Italian subtitles should be sent at the time of registration, if already available.
The deadlines for registration have been established as follows:
- 10 January 2025 for works produced in 2023 and 2024;
- 10 February 2025 for works produced in 2025.
Works first screened publicly before 1 January 2022 or already submitted for previous editions of the festival are not eligible.
All copies sent in for selection will subsequently be conserved in the festival archives, for the sole purpose of internal documentation.
To agree the return of any physical media please write to: mail@trentofestival.it.
Article 5
Films admitted to the international competition and the other sections stated in article 3 of these Regulations shall be at the discretion of the festival management, which will make recourse to a Selection Committee. Its decisions may not be challenged.
The management reserves the right to exclude works that are already available online through free or fee-paying platforms in Italy.
In order for films to be admitted to the international competition it is also necessary that they have never been distributed to cinemas in the national circuit. For admission to the Nearby Horizons section, it is necessary for films not to have been released in Trentino Alto-Adige.
The filmmakers and/or producers of both the works selected and works excluded will be informed by the middle of April 2025.
Article 6
The works admitted to the international competition will be judged by an international jury, which may award the following official prizes – the Gentians:
- “City of Trento” Grand Prix – Golden Gentian and 6000 euro: for the film that best represents the cultural objectives inspiring the festival overall, being of high artistic quality.
- Club Alpino Italiano Prize – Golden Gentian and 3000 euro: for the best film on mountaineering.
- City of Bolzano Prize – Golden Gentian and 3000 euro: for the best film on exploration or adventure.
- Silver Gentian and 1500 euro: for the best artistic-technical contribution.
- Silver Gentian and 1500 euro: for the best short film.
- Special Jury Prize and 2000 euro.
Article 7
Relevant works admitted to the competition or other sections of the programme may compete for the two Audience Awards:
- Best Mountaineering Film: for the best film on the subject, of any length, among those presented at the festival;
- Best Full-Length Film: for the best film over 50 minutes among the competing films, excluding those already competing for the Audience Award for Best Mountaineering Film.
Article 8
Works admitted to the competition or other sections of the Trento Film Festival programme may also compete for the special awards offered by associations or partner organisations associated with the festival, awarded by independent juries. These awards may also go to the same works winning the official prizes – the Gentians.
Article 9
Screening copies of the works selected for the competition or other sections must be forwarded, or in the case of physical media dispatched at the participant’s expense, to the address stated in article 4, unless otherwise agreed with the festival management. Works must only be sent following notification of selection, and in any case by no later than April 5th, 2025, for the tests necessary to guarantee the quality of screening, possible subtitling in Italian and the creation of DCPs by the festival, when not already available.
The screening copy of films in Italian admitted to the international competition must be provided with English subtitles.
The screening format of the works selected must be agreed with the technical office. The following formats are accepted:
- DCP
- HD file (codec H264 or Prores, wrapper .mov or .mp4, bitrate 20 Mbps)
If the final version of the work does not correspond with the one sent in at the time of registration, it is the responsibility of the filmmakers and/or producers to provide a new file version corresponding perfectly with the screening copy, for possible translation and subtitling, and for viewing reserved for professionals and accredited parties.
A transcription of the dialogues or timed subtitles in English must be provided for all films, with the exception of those in Italian or already subtitled in Italian.
Related promotional material (selected photographs, trailers, the official poster and any available press kits) should also be provided for all the selected films.
Article 10
The festival reserves the right to use excerpts of the works selected, up to a maximum of 2′ (or 10% of total duration in the case of short films) for television broadcasts or on the web, for promotional and non-commercial purposes only.
Article 11
The filmmakers, producers and distributors of the films selected and given awards at the 73rd Trento Film Festival are invited to include the official logo of the festival, to be requested from mail@trentofestival.it, in the film credits and on any promotional material.
Article 12
The ongoing activities of Trento Film Festival – Trento Film festival 365 – provide for commercial and non-commercial (film) distribution of some of the films presented during the event. Subject to agreement with the relevant parties, the selected films may therefore be included in screening programmes taking place after the festival until the expiry of the licensing period for each film.
All participants are also invited to make a copy of the work presented available to the film library of CAI – Club Alpino Italiano. CAI will use this copy exclusively for cultural screenings on a non-profit-making basis and on terms to be agreed.
Article 13
GDPR
You are informed that the personal data provided and related communications will be handled as stated in our information sheet on the processing of personal data, according to EU regulation 2016/679 (“General Data Protection Regulation”). For further details, please refer to the full text of the information sheet on the following page, https://trentofestival.it/en/privacy-notice/, and in particular to the paragraph “FILM SUBMISSION”.
Article 14
Forwarding of the application form to Trento Film Festival implies full acceptance of all the provisions in these regulations. It is the responsibility of filmmakers, producers, distributors or other parties presenting films to ensure that they are fully authorised and entitled to enter the film in the festival.
The management shall have the right to settle all matters not covered by these regulations and to make exceptions to them in special and well-justified cases.
For any disputes arising in connection with the interpretation of the individual articles in these regulations, the original version in Italian shall prevail.
Trento Court shall have jurisdiction in the event of any disputes.
Trento, July 31st 2024
