RULES OF PARTICIPATION

INSULARIA – ISLANDS OF THE WORLD NETWORK is an international film festival dedicated to island cinema. Its mission is to highlight and promote audiovisual productions from island territories around the world, providing a space for exhibition and encounter for filmmakers who address cultural identity and island realities. The festival is held across the eight Canary Islands, with its main venue on the island of El Hierro, promoting cinema as a vehicle for connection between island territories.

The 9th edition of the International Island Film Festival will take place from 2 to 31 October 2025. It will be based on the island of El Hierro from 2 to 12 October. In this 9th edition, the guest island will be Scotland.

1. OBJECTIVE OF THE FESTIVAL

INSULARIA – ISLANDS OF THE WORLD NETWORK is an international festival dedicated to island cinema, with the aim of raising awareness and promoting audiovisual production from island territories around the world. It seeks to be a showcase for world island cinema, promoting sustainability, equality and connection between islands, as well as fostering the Culture-Tourism binomial in the Canary Islands.

2. PARTICIPANTS

Filmmakers, production companies and distributors from any country may participate, provided that the works submitted meet one of the following conditions:

• They must have been produced in an island territory.
• They must deal with themes related to island life, identity, culture or socio-environmental issues.

3. PARTICIPATION CATEGORIES

The works submitted to the Official Selection at INSULARIA – ISLAS DEL MUNDO EN RED will be selected by a Programming team and by the Festival Organising Committee.

Participation in the festival is based on a closed call for entries, which means that the films selected to be part of the programme are invited directly by the Organising and Programming Committee. This method ensures that the works submitted are carefully chosen, maintaining high standards of quality and relevance for the festival, with a special focus on those productions that align with the objectives and theme of the event.

The Festival has several sections:

• GUEST ISLAND: A special selection dedicated each year to island cinema.
• PANORAMA: Works of fiction, documentary or animation that represent the diversity of island cinema.
• KM. 0 MADE IN EL HIERRO: A selection of films shot and/or produced on the island of El Hierro and screened at international festivals.
• ECOISLAS: Productions that address the relationship between islands and the environment. Exhibition presented in collaboration with the International Film and Environment Festival – Isla Verde (Cuba).
• ISLA MUJERES: Films directed and/or produced by women and/or that explore stories of women in island societies around the world. Exhibition presented in collaboration with the Association of Women Filmmakers and Audiovisual Media.

4. REQUIREMENTS FOR WORKS

Short films of any genre (fiction, documentary, animation, etc.) may be submitted. Works must have been produced after 1 January 2021.

If the original language of the work is not Spanish, Spanish or English subtitles and/or a list of dialogues in the original language must be included.

5. REGISTRATION AND DEADLINES

Registration will be done through the official festival platform (upon invitation from the Organising Committee) or by sending it directly to the organisation. Participation in the festival is based on a closed call for entries.

Films submitted must send the following information to the Festival Organisation:

• Synopsis (max. 500 characters).
• Technical details.
• Stills from the film (max. 3 stills in good quality).
• Film poster.
• Biography (max. 350 characters) and photograph of the director and producer (max. 350 characters and logo if available).
• History of participation in national and international festivals and awards won.
• Film trailer (if available)
• List of dialogues

The registration deadline is 30 April 2025. There is no registration fee.

6. SCREENING CONDITIONS

The selected films may be screened at different festival venues within the Canary Islands. The organisers may request additional promotional materials from the selected participants.

Filmmakers, producers and distributors participating in the Festival must send a screening copy of the film with the following characteristics:

Digital copy in H264, HD and/or 2K format with English and/or Spanish subtitles.

7. RIGHTS AND AUTHORISATIONS

Participants guarantee that they own the exhibition rights to the works submitted and authorise their screening within the framework of the festival.

The organisation may use excerpts from the selected works to promote the event.

The short films participating in the Festival may be considered for broadcast in promotional activities for the event on a local television channel in the Canary Islands.

8. ACCEPTANCE OF THE RULES

Confirmation of a film’s participation in the festival implicitly implies acceptance of these rules. Any unforeseen situation will be resolved by the organisation.

For further information, please contact the organisation by email at INSULARIA@INSULARIA.ES.