15 NOV - 5 DEC 2021
ONSITE & ONLINE

Festival Regulations

L'Alternativa

L’Alternativa, 28th Barcelona Independent Film Festival will take place from 15 to 28 November 2021, and will be a hybrid event: onsite* and online. The main onsite venue is the Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona (CCCB).


Entry criteria

All films submitted for selection must have been completed after 1 January 2020.

With the exception of films with English, Spanish or Catalan dialogue or text, all preview copies (online screeners) must include English subtitles.


Entry deadline

  • Regular: 1 July 2021
  • Late entries: 8 July 2021


Entry fees

Regular
  • Feature film: €10
  • Short film: €5

Late entries
  • Feature film: €20
  • Short film: €10

Payment should be made by credit/debit card.
All payments should be made in euros.


Entries

Entries will be considered for the following areas of the festival programme:

L'ALTERNATIVA OFFICIAL
  • International Feature Film (fiction, nonfiction, essay, animation, experimental) with a minimum running time of 60 minutes.
  • International Short Film (fiction, nonfiction, essay, animation, experimental) with a maximum running time of 40 minutes.
  • Spanish Feature and Short Film (fiction, nonfiction, essay, animation, experimental), with a minimum running time of 60 minutes for feature films and and a maximum running time of 40 minutes for short films.

The Festival awards the following cash prizes to winning filmmakers:

  • €4,000 International Feature Film Prize
  • €2,000 International Short Film Prize
  • €3,000 Spanish Feature or Short Film Prize
L'ALTERNATIVA HALL

L’Alternativa Hall is an area that hosts curated screenings during the festival.
Entries may be invited to participate in the Hall Selects programme.


Submissions

PAYMENT AND ENTRY FORM
  1. Payment should be made online.**
  2. Entrants will receive an email containing a code to register the film.
  3. Next, register the film by completing the online entry form for each film submitted.
  4. We do not accept entry forms sent by email.
  5. Entrants will receive an email confirming entry and registration.

ONLINE SCREENER

When completing the entry form, please include a direct URL link (and corresponding password, if necessary) for streaming the film on a video-sharing website (e.g. Vimeo, YouTube, etc.). We do not accept links to download films from FTP servers or accept files sent via file-sharing services (e.g. RapidShare, WeTransfer, etc.).

If you represent a film distributor, production company or film school that wishes to register more than 10 titles, please contact us regarding special rates for the entry fee ([email protected]).


Selection

All submitted films will be viewed by a selection committee.

Entrants whose film has been selected will need to cover the costs of sending a screening copy to Barcelona. L'Alternativa will ensure its safe return after the Festival.

The Festival has an insurance policy to cover any damage to, or loss of, screening copies or any other physical material submitted by participants.

No selected films will be screened without authorisation from the rights holder.

All selected films will be screened exclusively at festival venues during the week of the Festival. The Festival will ask rights holders for permission to screen their film under any other circumstances.


Festival attendance

Selected filmmakers are encouraged to attend l'Alternativa in person to accompany onsite screenings.* The Festival can make a contribution towards travel and/or accommodation expenses.

Screenings are followed by a Q&A session.*

Selected films will be included in the video library, which is open to accredited professionals during the Festival.*


Data protection

Your contact details will only be used for direct contact between l'Alternativa and yourself and will not be shared with any third parties.

If you would like to receive l'Alternativa newsletters, please sign up.


  1. Participation in l'Alternativa implies acceptance of the above regulations.
  2. The Festival will settle all non-specified cases within the terms thereof.


* Circumstances permitting

** Entry fee is non-refundable unless the festival is cancelled

Information

  • 2021 call for entries now closed
  • The deadline for late entries was 8 July, and we are no longer accepting entries for the 2021 edition of the festival.
  • We will contact all filmmakers with the selection results in October.
  • Many thanks for all your submissions!