OPEN CALL Berwick Film & Media Arts Festival

Berwick Film & Media Arts Festival is an international celebration of the art of film set in the historic border town of Berwick upon Tweed. This September, 23rd - 27th is the 11th edition of the award-winning Festival.

With a new director at the helm, those familiar with the Festival are keen to see how the Festival will follow its hugely successful 10 year anniversary edition of 2014. Today, Festival Director Peter Taylor begins to answer just that as he launches the annual call for submissions to the Festival programme.

Appealing directly to artists and filmmakers, Taylor is inviting international submissions in response to this year’s theme, ‘Fact or Fiction.’

"'Fact or Fiction’, Taylor writes, “will be a means to begin to talk about a brave new world of films that have pushed affirmatively into the foreground recently following the success of filmmakers such as the BBC’s Adam Curtis and Joshua Oppenheimer whose powerfully surreal film, ‘The Act of Killing’ was nominated for ‘Best Documentary Feature’ at the 2014 Oscars. Artist-filmmakers such as Duncan Campbell and Laure Provoust winning the Turner Prize is also indicative of the quality and seriousness with which artists in the UK are working with moving image and examining this terrain."

The Festival asks artists and filmmakers to submit films that investigate the grey areas between fact and fantasy, documentary and narrative, journalism and propaganda. “It’s about cinema’s unique ability to plunge us directly into the realm of the senses,” comments Taylor “transcending the black and white type of a document to reach something much more complex. It’s about allowing audiences to ask questions and experience processes that get to the real essence of the art of cinema.” In submitting, artists and filmmakers alike will have their work considered not only for the Festival programme as a whole, but those works under twenty minutes will also be in with a chance to win a cash prize of £750 (€1000) with entry into the 3rd Inntravel Short Film Awards.

Taylor said, “We’re delighted to work with Inntravel for the third consecutive year to recognise the innovative and thought-provoking short form works being produced by artists and filmmakers both in the UK and internationally. This competition is a great opportunity to have work presented as part of our 11th edition. We’re excited to also confirm today that our first Inntravel Jury member is the award-winning artist Beatrice Gibson. Beatrice has twice won the International Film Festival Rotterdam’s Tiger Award competition for short film and we’re delighted she’ll be joining us in Berwick this September.”

Steve Jack, Communications Manager at Inntravel said: “As specialists in self-guided, independent travel, Inntravel were proud to be part of the Berwick Film & Media Arts Festival for the first time in 2013, and are delighted to be continuing our involvement for the third year. By sponsoring the Short Film Competition, we hope to play our part in helping to bring fresh and creative talent to a receptive and independently minded audience. We wish all entrants the very best of luck.” Artists and filmmakers are welcome to submit moving image works of all types and lengths, in response to the theme, ‘Fact or Fiction’. Before June 1, 2015, entrants can take advantage of an Early Bird reduced entry fee of £10 for short films and £20 for feature length films. The final deadline for submissions is Wednesday July 1, 2015.

The 11th Berwick Film & Media Arts Festival runs from September 23 - 27, 2015. Further guidelines and details of how to enter can be found at: berwickfilm-artsfest.com/submit-your-film