Are you a rising filmmaker? Do you have a film to share with an international audience? This is a curatorial announcement of the 2023 edition of Odyssey: a Chinese cinema season and an open call for all new Chinese films, corresponding to the theme of ‘Global Sustainability’
The 2023 edition of Odyssey: a Chinese cinema season will take place between May and June next year in the UK, presented by UK-China Film Collab. Not long ago, we have already announced the theme of the coming edition: ‘Global Sustainability’.
This is the open call for film submissions following the strands and competition category below.
5 Main Strands (short & feature films, all genres)
Under the central theme of ‘Global Sustainability’, there will be 5 main strands in the festival programme, inspired by and respond to the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): ‘EQUALITY’, ‘JOURNEY’, ‘ENVIRONMENT’, ‘URBAN DEVELOPMENT’, and ‘BIODIVERSITY’. The one and only competition category this year is ‘Sustainable Corporate Culture’, a section aimed to inspire practical operations of sustainable goals in the business sector.
EQUALITY (平等）
In response to the goal of ‘No poverty’, ‘Quality Education’, ‘Gender Equality’ and ‘Reduced Inequalities’, this strand is looking for films discussing the issues of equality across different social groups.
JOURNEY (旅程）
We wish to see films as an action with a mission, which tackle or discover a new scope of a sustainable future. This strand aims to demonstrate the goals of ‘Zero hunger’, ‘Climate Action’, ‘Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions’ and ‘Partnerships for Goals’.
ENVIRONMENT (環境)
Films which highlight the issues of our environment or propose solutions to existing issues will be selected for this strand, in response to the goals of ‘Good Health and Well-being’, ‘Clean Water and Sanitation’ and ‘Affordable and Clean Energy’.
URBAN DEVELOPMENT (城市發展)
Films as a social agent that witness and raise questions around urban development will be considered for this strand. ‘Decent Work and Economic Growth’, ‘Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure’, ‘Sustainable Cities and Communities’, and ‘Responsible Consumption and Production’ are the goals that will be the criterias for our selection.
BIODIVERSITY (生物多樣性)
We care about all beings on Planet Earth. Biodiversity is a strand that explores the ‘Life Below Water’ and ‘Life on Land’.
Competition Category: Sustainable Corporate Culture Do you have a piece of short film that captures how and what your businesses have been contributing to the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals?
Do you want to set an example for other businesses and share your good practice? This is the opportunity for you to submit a film for competition. A separate call with more details will be announced soon aiming at Chinese businesses in Greater China and abroad.
Submission Instructions
This call for submissions opens to all genres of Chinese and international Chinese film (feature film, documentary, short, experimental and more), as long as your film responds to our festival theme and the 5 strands identified above. Let us disrupt the limitations of time and space, explore the collision of film and art, and bring more possibilities for international exposure to Chinese language films! Screening and publicity opportunities include UK online and offline film festival screenings, public screenings, curatorial editing, tailored marketing and promotion, in-depth interviews, audience networking and beyond.
Submission Guidelines
1 | Submission Fee
The submission fee for the Open Call is £20/film per submission. You are welcome to submit your film to multiple strands.
The submission fee for the Competition Category: Sustainable Corporate Culture is £50 per submission.
2 | Premiere Requirement
There is no UK or international premiere requirement for all submissions. The status will not be used as a selection criteria.
3 | Genre & Date
All genres are welcomed for this call, we will be selecting films according to how a specific film responds to one or more of the strands within the theme of ‘Global Sustainability’. Your film should be completed or released after the year of 2019.
4 | Language & Geographic Requirements
4.1 Films that are produced, co-produced anywhere in the world but with a focus on China.
4.2. The major production team (director, producer) is from Mainland China, Hong Kong SAR, Macau SAR, Taiwan or has a Chinese-language, cultural or ethnic background.
4.3. Films with the main cast being from above regions or having a Chinese-language, cultural or ethnic background.
Submissions meet one of above three eligibility will suffice.
5 | Originality
All submitted films should be original work, the entrant is the legal holder of the copyright of the work. There should not be any dispute over intellectual property rights and, when required, relevant supporting documents or authorisation will be provided as required by the organisers.
6 | Programming
The festival reserves the right to place entries into alternative strands if the curatorial team feels it is to the benefit of the title. Each submission must be entered separately. Entries will be assessed and successful submissions will be programmed for screening/enter the festival competition. If your film is selected we reserve the right to show your film at a date and time of our choosing.
7 | Formats
For the selection process, a digital screener must be submitted via FilmFreeway.
Successful submissions that are selected for the festival programme must submit a DCP for offline screening and a High Res. mov./mp4 for online screening.
8 | Subtitles
All submitted films must have English subtitles, and preferably also with Chinese subtitles.
9 | Selection
The festival’s curation team (led by Riley Wong) reserves the right to invite films for the competition and programme. The screening schedule will be announced after the selection process. The final award winning entries will be selected by a festival jury and audience votes.
10 | Screenings
It is the responsibility of the entrant to ensure that films for both online and offline screening are deposited with the festival organisers at least 28 days before any scheduled screening.
11 | Publicity
The festival reserves all the right to use extracts from submissions for festival publicity and marketing purposes. Press kits are not required, but are useful, so please feel free to send these with your submissions.
12 | General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
UK-China Film Collab follows its GDPR compliance which can be found here for the festival submission process.
Submit your film here via FilmFreeway today.
Click to submit on FilmFreeway
Submission Date:
EXTENDED DEADLINE: 28 FEBRUARY 2023
The organisers and the professional curatorial team will make a final decision based on a comprehensive review of the quality of the production, the narrative (aesthetics) and the thematic fit. Selected entries will be notified by email after the final selection date, so please check your submission mailbox and spam box in time.
The Rights and Obligations of the Organisers and the Entrants
The rights and obligations of the organisers:
1) The organisers are obliged to keep the content of the submissions confidential, but an overview of the submission contents, confirmed by both parties, may be displayed on the official public account.
2) The organisers have the right to promote and screen the content during the event.
The rights and obligations of the entrants:
1) The entrant undertakes that he/she is entitled to the full intellectual property rights of the submitted content worldwide or has been authorised by the intellectual property right holder and can exercise said intellectual property rights by all submission rules and that the intellectual property rights of the entry are owned or exercised by the entrant.
2) Entrants undertake that their submissions are legitimate, do not violate the relevant laws and regulations of the UK and China, do not contain content that infringes on the copyright and other rights of others, and do not infringe on the legal rights of any third party.
For any enquiry about the submission, please feel free to contact Lead Curator of Odyssey 2023, Riley Wong at riley.wong@ukchinafilm.uk.
