Venice Film Festival Sidebar for Emerging Filmmakers Accepting Entries

ROME – Venice Days, the Venice Film Festival sidebar for emerging filmmakers, announced Thursday that it had opened up submissions for its ninth edition.

our editor recommends

Venice Festival’s Decision To Eliminate Italian Film Sidebar Sparks Controversy

Venice Announces 'Light Market' and Slimmed Down Lineups for 2012

Artistic Director Alberto Barbera on the Future of the Venice Film Festival

The announcement is the first content-related announcement for Venice since newly-installed artistic director Alberto Barbera revealed in January that the storied festival would scale back the number of films it screens compared to previous years.

Venice Days, which is run concurrent to the Venice Film Festival, never had a cap before but starting this year will have its lineup limited to a dozen films. In order to be eligible, the feature films and documentaries must be at least 60 minutes in length and must be either world or international premieres. The deadline for submissions is July 6.

Among other changes to the festival, the in-competition lineup will be limited to 20 films, compared to 23 in recent years, and the festival will screen no more than 11 out-of-competition films, half the number that screened in 2011. The Contocampo Italiano sidebar for domestic productions will no longer exist.

Venice Days this year will get underway Aug. 30, the day after the start of the Venice Film Festival. Both will close Sept. 8.