Regulations and Conditions

Among the main objectives of the Guía de Isora International Documentary Film Festival, MiradasDoc, is the dissemination and promotion of documentaries on social issues – in the broadest sense of the term – produced anywhere in the world, and whose creative proposal revolves around the expressive resources of cinema verité. Through the scheduling of the different events comprising the festival, and through the use of cinema verité, MiradasDoc provides direct access to understanding, observing and highlighting the social processes developing in human society today.

MiradasDoc seeks to become established as a complete ecosystem in relation to documentary film, fostering selection, dissemination, production and training in the vast field of this type of cinema.

To do so, the main feature in the MiradasDoc programme is the selection of a series of documentary films which will form part of an “Official Section” divided as follows:

First, an International Competition which will award three prizes: Award for the best international full-length documentary, Award for the best international short documentary and Award for the best international debut documentary (described in detail below).
In addition, in response to the growth of the documentary genre in our country, a competition section aimed at promoting Spanish documentary film has also been incorporated.

Second, within the dissemination area of MiradasDoc documentary films, the need to create an “Information Section” has been established. The themes and contents of this section will be the responsibility of the management and artistic management of the festival. The festival’s programming team, according to criteria of current affairs, artistic interest and opportunity, will establish a proposal of “theme samples” every year, according to the description established.

Likewise, with a view to providing an integral space of activities revolving around documentary film, MiradasDoc will schedule the following events:

One of the essential interests of MiradasDoc, as a festival rooted in a modern view of the cultural space, is to promote the production and distribution of the best cinema verité produced in the world and, in this case, especially in those continents closer to the historical and geographical space of the Canary Islands. This is how MiradasDoc Market was created.

-MiradasDoc Market seeks to develop and fund documentary projects, and to distribute and sell completed films. MiradasDoc Market is specialised in social documentaries from anywhere in the world, and it organises two pitching meetings: “AFROLATAM” and “DOCSUR”. Likewise, a meeting between production companies and purchasers called “MeetingDoc” also takes place, as well as the sale of documentary films through the “Visión Sur” screening and professional sessions of conferences, talks and workshops. A new space for developing films has also been opened: “ANIDOCSUR”, with the aim of fostering the production of documentary animation films. Moreover, MiradasDoc Market seeks to develop the documentary scene in the Canary Islands, and provides production companies based in the Canary Islands with the opportunity to participate in the market through the creation of a Canary Island VIP pass which affords directors and production companies from the islands a series of participation advantages.

– Another objective of MiradasDoc is in the field of training. Training professionals in the audio-visual field is key to the development of the film industry and necessary in order to acquire the ability to express the complex systems of symbolic projection and the deepening knowledge of reality through the language of cinema. MiradasDoc, at the discretion of the festival management, can hold professional documentary workshops specialised in the different aspects of the production of this kind of film.

Similarly, the creation and training of audiences for this type of cinema is one of the keys in the work of MiradasDoc, and the reason why a document called “EnseñanDoc” is proposed each year for elementary, secondary and high school students and the instant documentary workshop Doc-Express, aimed at students of image and sound
Likewise, MiradasDoc reserves the right to organise training sessions exclusively dedicated to professionals from the sector.

The MiradasDoc International Documentary Film Festival is held annually. Opening, development and closing dates, as well as the dates for the different calls for entries, will be determined by the MiradasDoc Organising Committee.

MiradasDoc consists of the following events:

1. International Documentary Film Festival.

This includes:

The “OFFICIAL SECTION” which revolves around three competitions: The INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION, the NATIONAL COMPETITION and the CANARY ISLANDS COMPETITION.

Additionally, the “MIRADA PERSONAL” (PERSONAL PERSPECTIVE) will also be included among the samples of the information sections. This non-competitive section is made up of an undetermined number of documentaries presented as a retrospective tribute to a renowned filmmaker.

The management team reserves the right to modify, according to the interests of the festival, the general structure of the thematic exhibitions.

Parallel activities. “Foro de las miradas”

The activities carried out in parallel with the MiradasDoc Festival combine lectures and theoretical sessions with working groups and screenings of documentaries from the different sections. The festival’s thematic itineraries are a new component of the “Foro de las Miradas” and are established according to the films that are part of both the screenings and the official sections of the festival. These itineraries, designed to make it possible to go more deeply into each selected theme, incorporate a series of talks by specialists appointed for the event, talks about films which address the theme, meetings with directors, meetings with local agents, special viewings …

2. Market [MiradasDoc Market]

“MIRADASDOC MARKET” is a film market for producers/filmmakers of documentaries, produced in any country in the world, (based on the idea that there are traceable social processes which it is interesting to learn about) that have projects under development and want to get funding from television stations and other sources of development (pitching) or alternatively films which have already been developed but need distribution or exhibition (screening). MiradasDoc Market presents the possibility of opening production meetings between countries.

In the present edition, the programming of the MiradasDoc Market includes the following events:

— MiradasDoc Market seeks to develop and fund documentary projects, and to distribute and sell completed films. MiradasDoc Market is specialised in social documentaries from anywhere in the world, and it organises two pitching meetings: “AFROLATAM” and “DOCSUR”. Likewise, a meeting between production companies and purchasers called “MeetingDoc” also takes place, as well as the sale of documentary films through the “Visión Sur” screening and professional sessions of conferences, talks and workshops. A new space for developing films has also been opened: “ANIDOCSUR”, with the aim of fostering the production of documentary animation films. Moreover, MiradasDoc Market seeks to develop the documentary scene in the Canary Islands, and provides production companies based in the Canary Islands with the opportunity to participate in the market through the creation of a Canary Island VIP pass which affords directors and production companies from the islands a series of participation advantages.
— “DocSur” pitching: dedicated to the presentation of social film projects which will be produced internationally.
— “Afrolatam Forum” pitching: aimed at finding and encouraging co-productions between Africa and Latin America.
“AniDocSur” forum: aimed at encouraging the production of documentary animation.
— “VisiónSur” screening: an event to sell completed documentaries.
— “MeetingDoc” professional meeting and workshops: a meeting between documentary film production companies, purchasers and schedulers, consisting of conferences, workshops and talks about the distribution and production of documentary film.
Canary Islands VIP Pass: in order to develop the documentary scene in the Canary Islands, a VIP pass will be made available to production companies and film directors from the Canary Islands, facilitating their participation in the market activities.

3. Training CampusDoc

(Workshops) During the MiradasDoc Festival, the Festival Organisers will arrange workshops on the theory, practice, development and criticism of documentary cinema, taught by prominent documentary filmmakers of international prestige.
As regards the open enrolment workshops, there is a certain number and theme for each edition, decided by the festival’s management team. They will be of varied duration and will be aimed at both professionals and students of the genre. To register for said workshops the corresponding Public Price must be paid via the procedure set up for such purpose. The amounts will be published each year on the festival’s webpage at the beginning of the registration period.

In general terms, the festival management team will establish the programme of courses and workshops for each year according to the festival interests, the interpretation of training needs in the sector, and strategic alliances. Although the structure of the MiradasDoc training may vary each year, some guidelines have been established which describe the festival’s historical activity in this area:

(DocExprés) The DocExprés workshop is a closed event and can only be accessed through invitation by the festival. It is aimed at documentary film schools and audio-visual schools around the world as well as audio and visual study centres. The idea of Doc-Exprés is for it be a practical exercise, in which teams of five people must make a documentary piece of no more than 10 minutes during the course of the festival. These pieces are presented one day before the closing ceremony, at a public screening organised for that purpose by MiradasDoc.

(EnseñanDoc) In MiradasDoc, we open the doors to young students and to training the public through Enseñandoc, where the scheduled projections offer them a way of developing as citizens. Today, education cannot stop at the mere transmission of theoretical elements but must also convey positive civic attitudes and values. Within this framework, MiradasDoc offers young students tools to develop a civic culture; an active, responsible and critical participation in public life; attitudes and values such as tolerance, social justice, equality, human rights, solidarity, participation, human dignity … that will help to train them as responsible citizens.

Each year, the festival selection committee will choose one of the year’s selected films which is particularly suitable for display to audiences from secondary schools and the final year of primary school. Special screening conditions will be agreed with the director or the producer of the film, as well agreement for the presence of the director and lead participants of the selected documentary during the morning of the festival, in order to hold a documentary forum with students from the Islands.

A.FESTIVAL

The documentaries registered in the OFFICIAL SECTION must fulfil the following conditions:

Films produced from 1 January 2022 onwards can be entered.

The films for selection will be uploaded to the MiradasDoc section on the Eventival platform, in the original version, preferably with Spanish subtitles and at least with English or French subtitles (films that do not comply with this requirement may not be watched). Those films selected for the official section must send a screening copy with Spanish subtitles.

The screening format of the documentary must be a DCP file or video file with an optimum resolution to be assessed by the festival team.

The films may be either full-length or short. Documentaries are considered to be short films if they do not exceed 30 minutes.

Racist, sexist and/or xenophobic works will not be admitted.

Authors may submit as many works as they want.

Each work may only be submitted to one competition category (with the idea of achieving the best possible programming, the festival selection committee reserves the right to select a film for a different competition category than that in which it was registered. Any such changes will be communicated through the registration contact for approval by the filmmakers).

The films competing for the International Feature Film Prize may only have competed before in a Spanish festival.

The films competing for the National Prize may not have been previously exhibited in the Canary Islands (nor on television, internet, etc.).

The entire annual production of documentary film from the Canary Islands may be selected for the Festival, but only those films that have not been broadcast on television or the internet may be awarded a prize. Films which have not previously been screened in Tenerife are especially valued.

B. PITCHING – DOCSUR and AFROLATAM.

The projects registered for the pitching of “DOCSUR” and “AFROLATAM” must meet the following conditions:

Producers and directors from all over the world, whose project addresses the themes related to each of the pitching sessions, may register.

Projects can be presented in Spanish or English.

Registering the projects is free of charge.

To present the project the online enrolment form must be filled in, which can be found on the festival’s website in the Market section. In order for the project to be assessed, the following documents are compulsory: Synopsis, Argument, Budget (in Euros), Finance Plan, Director’s Filmography and Company Profile.

5-1.FESTIVAL

To participate in the selection of the Festival, complete the following process:

Registration of documentaries for the Official Competition Section:

Those interested must fill in the details of the registration form available on https://vp.eventival.com/miradasdoc/2023 in the section MiradasDoc, with the information contained in the standard model that appears as APPENDIX I to the present terms and conditions.

Registration is only valid if made using the electronic form referred to above. Other means of registration (such as e-mail, fax or regular mail) will not be admitted.

To participate in the selection, after electronic registration, upload the film in a digital file to the platform mentioned above.

• Registration deadline
• The opening date for this edition is set for the day following the publication of this call for entries and the rules on the notice board of the Town Council. The closing date of the call for entries will be October 31st, 2022. No works will be accepted after the deadline.

Selection
Both the pre-selection and selection of films is linked to the artistic management of the festival. The artistic director will create the pre-selection and selection committees with people of recognised standing in the audio-visual and cultural world. These committees will select the films that are part of the official festival programme. The management of MiradasDoc reserves the right to process specific invitations to films so they participate in the selection processes of the festival (under no circumstances can direct invitations be processed by the management of the official competition section).

The selection will be made in two phases, each of which will have its own Selection Committee.

Phase One: Preselection, in which the films entered in the festival are viewed and reports are made on each, based on valuation records.
Phase Two: Selection, in which films which scored above six (of 10 possible points) in Phase One are viewed.
This selection, of no less than 40 and no more than 65 films, will comprise the list of films nominated for the MiradasDoc awards in the different categories.

Once the films have been selected for the official section of the festival, the artistic direction will send the festival manager the list of films nominated for the MiradasDoc awards so they are enrolled on the list of films of the 16th edition of the festival.

When the selection process is complete, the artistic management will communicate the result to all participants, whether selected or not, by email and the films will be registered in the Official Section of MiradasDoc.

5.2 PITCHING – DOCSUR.

The projects registered in the “DOCSUR” pitching must meet the following conditions:

Open to producers and directors from all over the world, whose project addresses the themes related with each pitching.
Projects can be presented in Spanish or English.
Registering the projects is free of charge.
To present the project the online enrolment form must be filled in, which can be found on the festival’s website in the Market section. In order for the project to be assessed, the following documents are compulsory: Synopsis, Argument, Budget (in Euros), Finance Plan, Director’s Filmography and Company Profile.

Registration deadline
The opening date for this edition is set for the day following the publication of this call for entries and the rules on the notice board of the Town Council. The closing date of the call for entries will be December 31st, 2022. No works will be accepted after the deadline.

Selection
Both the pre-selection and selection of films is linked to the artistic management of the festival. The artistic director will create the pre-selection and selection committees with people of recognised standing in the audio-visual and cultural world. These committees will select the films that are part of the official festival programme. The management of MiradasDoc reserves the right to process specific invitations to films so they participate in the selection processes of the festival (under no circumstances can direct invitations be processed by the management of the official competition section).

When the selection process is complete, the artistic management will communicate the result to all participants, whether selected or not, by email and the films will be registered in the Official Section of MiradasDoc.

5.3.- NECESSARY DOCUMENTATION

The MiradasDoc festival is set to kick off on January 28th, 2023. Before this date, the selected participants must send the following information to any of the places listed in article 16 of the Public Administration Common Administrative Procedure, Law 39/2015, 1st October:

• Those responsible for the selected films must send a signed copy of the registration form as per APPENDIX I, Statement of Compliance as per APPENDIX III and current national identity document (DNI), foreigner’s identification number (NIE) or passport.
• Professional copy of the film with Spanish subtitles, or in the case of pitching projects, descriptive information of same.

Likewise, in the case of the winning films and projects selected by the jury, and to manage the payment of prizes, when a film or project wins an award, the interested parties must present the documentation listed below as soon as possible (in general terms, and unless the festival management accepts some form of justification, it is understood that a film team that does not initiate dialogue to present the documentation 30 days after being informed of the award, renounces the payment):

A.- For those resident in Spain:
Model of registration for third parties (“alta a terceros”) pursuant to the model that appears as APPENDIX II in the present terms and conditions, which can be downloaded from the Guía de Isora town council website.

B.-: For those non-resident in Spain:
Copy of current passport.
Documents proving he/she is the titleholder of the bank account indicated, such as a certificate or equivalent document issued by the bank.
Documents supporting tax residence (certificate or equivalent document issued by the competent authority in the country of residence). Failure to provide said document will lead to a higher amount of income tax being deducted, in accordance with Spanish fiscal law.
The different documents to be presented by the interested parties must be written in Spanish, or at least in English. In the latter case, to be deemed valid and serve their purpose, they must be accompanied by a letter from the festival manager, approved by the president of the MiradasDoc special administrative committee.

Prizes

OFFICIAL SECTION

From all the documentaries selected for the competition’s OFFICIAL SECTION, three juries each of three members, international professionals of the documentary genre or the world of culture and duly appointed by the Miradasdoc management team and ratified by the Board of Directors for that function, will decide the awarding of the prizes that are listed below, of which a written record will be made by an official of the City Council, and which will be communicated to the winners through the noticeboard and on the Festival website.

There will be two juries: a jury for the full-length and short documentary awards (International Award Jury), and a jury for the debut documentary and national documentary awards (National Award Jury).

Films in the competitive official selection as well as those chosen by the selection committee will appear in the MiradasDocMarket catalogue, to provide sales opportunities to accredited television channels in the market. The films can be viewed in the Festival’s ‘docuteca’ by accredited buyers and commissioning editors. To offer greater buying opportunities, MiradasDoc has created a separate space in the main section of the Eventival portal, where during a period prior to the celebration of the market, the films can be viewed exclusively by accredited buyers and commissioning editors in the market.

The Festival will keep a digital copy of films screened at the festival, and they will become part of an audio-visual archive for professional use and kept in the Guía de Isora Municipal Public Library.

INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION.

Official prizes:

MiradasDoc Prize for the Best Documentary €6,000 The MiradasDoc Best Documentary prize is a recognition of the documentary and the film-maker. (International Jury)
Prize for the Best Short Documentary Film. €2,500The award for Best Short Documentary is a commitment to this format of less than 30 minutes duration. (International Jury)
Prize for the Best First Film. €4,000 This prize is awarded in order to support new filmmakers and their first films. (Jury for best first film and national award)
Special Prizes: The following special prizes will be awarded between all the documentaries selected for the various categories of the official section of the competition:
Special Audience Prize. Honorary. The festival audience will choose their favourite documentaries and vote during the course of the event.
Honorary Prizes: The jury may award an honorary prize to one of the documentaries selected in each official category: Best Documentary, Best Short Documentary and Best First Film.

NATIONAL COMPETITION

Prize for the Best Spanish Documentary. €3,000 The documentary boom in Spain in recent years has led us to create a special prize for a documentary produced in our country. (Jury for the Best First Film and National Prize) Honorary Prize.

SPECIAL PRIZE

“Personal perspective” award: Every year, the MiradasDoc Festival, through its organising committee, grants a lifetime achievement award in documentary film, called the “Personal Perspective” award. This award includes a screening dedicated to the award-winning author. The prize is €4,000 (fees, travel expenses, maintenance and award payment included).
Special Audience Prize. Honorary. The festival audience will choose their favourite documentaries and vote during the course of the event.
Honorary Prizes: The jury may award an honorary prize to one of the documentaries selected in each official category: Best Documentary, Best Short Documentary and Best First Film.

– DOCSUR SECTION:
The panel of purchasers and commissioning editors of MiradasDoc Market will choose an award for development from the projects selected for presentation in the pitching.
Due to the particular complexity of the travel system (exits and entries of purchasers and commissioning editors) to MiradasDoc, the festival’s management team will appoint, from the panel authorised each year, three of the participants to relate the deliberations of the unit to award the prizes. The results of the deliberations will be approved by the three individuals appointed, signed by the artistic director and the manager of the Special Administrative Board of MiradasDoc and the town council employee designated to do so will record the minutes.

AWARD FOR THE BEST DOCSUR PITCHING PROJECT 3.500 €.

ADDITIONAL PROVISIONS RELATING TO THE PRIZES

To participate in the First Film Prize, a film must be the first documentary full-length or short film by its maker(s). Jury members and festival staff will not compete as authors, directors or producers.

No prize will be awarded jointly to two or more films.

The award will be subject to the corresponding withholding under the rules governing income tax

The producers of the winning films must use in their publicity the Miradasdoc festival logo and/or text highlighting the prize awarded. In future Festivals, any changes to the financial value of the prizes will be agreed by the Organising Committee.

The MiradasDoc Festival awards prizes exclusively to the film-maker.

The MiradasDoc festival, through its selection committee, will propose two films from those entered for the competition, or by direct selection, for the Opening and Closing Films.

The prizes awarded will be subject to the corresponding percentage of income tax deductions according to Spanish tax law.

Payment of the awards can be made via the transfer of the rights of collection (endorsement) with the presentation and registration of the document APPENDIX IV duly filled in and signed, prior to the presentation of all the documentation stipulated in Article 5.

Once the works participating in the official competition section of the Guía de Isora International Documentary Film Festival, MiradasDoc, have been selected, the procedure is as follows:

Documentaries selected by the Selection Committee: a digital screening file weighing no more than 6GB will be sent to the festival organisation, including Spanish subtitles, and a trailer of the work with a maximum duration of 2 minutes. This must be sent at least fifteen days prior to the start of the festival.

The producers of the works also authorise the use of a fragment of same (maximum duration of three minutes), to be disseminated in any media. The festival can use photographs of the works for advertising in press, leaflets, posters or other media, and include the works in the official catalogue or other festival publications.

The Festival management team will establish the order and the date of screening of each documentary. Once a documentary has been entered, it can not be withdrawn before its screening at the Festival.

The Festival screenings will be held in Guía de Isora, with one screening per day per auditorium with a maximum of three screenings of each film on different days.

The MiradasDoc organisation reserves the right, in consideration of the prizes awarded, to promote the festival by organising three international and three national screenings of the winning films, on the basis of a cultural and non-profit project. It is understood that their authors or producers, by participating, grant permission for such projections.

All registered works will become part of the video library of the Festival, held in the Public Library of Guía de Isora, for use by researchers, for cultural and educational purposes and under no circumstances for commercial use. (In the event that, as a result of consultations within the Municipal Library, any public or private institution would like to organise the screening of a film, MiradasDoc will notify the contact email provided by those responsible for the film, and will not release copies to third parties under any circumstances).

Any other use of these works will be previously agreed in writing with the legal owners of the work.

After a separate selection process, some of the works registered in the festival will become part of the MiradasDocMarket catalogue of documentaries. MiradasDocMarket may open a specific call for screening with different dates to those of the call for entries to the MiradasDoc festival.

The films that become part of the MiradasDocMarket catalogue, and which therefore opt to be sold through its purchasing channels and distributors accredited by the festival, will be available for exclusive viewing and protected on a site specifically created by MiradasDocMarket on the Eventival portal. In this virtual catalogue, accessible during the six months following the festival, access will only be available to buyers and commissioning editors accredited in the festival’s market and will be password-protected.

Registration in the Festival implies full acceptance of these rules. The interpretation of its contents shall be the responsibility of the Festival organisers. In case of dispute, the matter will be addressed under Spanish legislation and jurisdiction.