The XVI Northern CharacterInternational Film Festival (hereinafter referred to as the Festival) will be held in Murmansk, Murmansk region (Russia) from 11th to 17thof November, 2024.

Festival theme: "Attraction of the North"
The north has always attracted adventurers and romantics. Like a magnet, the Polar Region is still attracting and captivating us today by its unique nature and incredibly brave and open-hearted people.
The organizers of the Northern CharacterInternational Film Festival would like invite filmmakers and journalists from different countries to submit their films to the competition program. We are expecting films in various genres, covering a wide range of topics: from history to the present day, from the search for meaning to the choice of your place in life.

Festival Mission:
- to raise the awareness of the world about the life of people in the Far North, about the prospects for the development and careful use of the Arctic territories;
- to enable the makers of television programs and films to expand the audience;
- to create a platform for further joint creative cooperation;
- for young filmmakers and journalists – to improve their professional level in the production of films and television programs;
- to develop common approaches to organizing film production in the Arctic territories in order to reduce the technogenic load on the northern nature.

Organizers of the Festival:
-Northern CharacterProduction Center
-ArtMediaService LLC ​

The Festival is supported by:
-Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation
-Government of the Murmansk region

Festival partners:
-CinematographersUnion of the Russian Federation
-Film Production Development Center of the Murmansk Region
-Union of Journalists of Russia
-Murmansk Regional Museum of Local Lore
-Murmansk Regional Art Museum
-MurmanskChildren's theater school
-Murmansk Arctic University
-Murmansk State Regional Universal Scientific Library
-Mirage Cinema
-MurmanskCentral City Library
-Murmansk Regional Children's and Youth Library of V. P. Makhaeva
-Murmansk Regional Puppet Theater
-Center for Contemporary Art 21 "A"Sopki
-Youth House, Murmansk
-SudoremontnikPalace of Culture
-Container HallCultural Center
-Naval Museum of the Northern Fleet
-MeridianCongress Hotel

Information partner - VGTRK State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company Murman

Festival official languages: Russian and English

Competitive screening of festival films;
Watching and discussing television programs and films;
Master classes by Russian and foreign documentarians and film directors;
Media forum;
Presentations of television and film projects;
Out-of-competition screening of films and television programs;
Cultural program.

1. Feature film
2. Documentary filM – up to 90 minutes
3. Animated film – up to 30 minutes
4. Short fiction film - up to 30 minutes
5. TV series” –the first and the second episodes should beprovided.

Programs of various genres, television and documentaries, full-length and short feature films created by state, municipal and private television companies, studios, and individuals, and aired in 2022-2024, are accepted for participation in the competition program of the Festival.
One filmmaker can submit no more than one work in one category.

Applications and completedfilms (with English subtitles) for participation in the competition program are accepted strictly from August 15 to September 15, 2024. Films without English subtitles will not be accepted.

Please be aware that the versionstated in the application is considered final and cannot be replaced!
Films received after September 15 are not allowed into the competition!

The films are preliminarily reviewed by the Expert Council, which makes a decision on their inclusion in the competition program of the Festival. The Expert Council does not review submitted video materials (programs, films), and does not consider work without English subtitles.

The results of the competition are summed up by the international jury of the Festival. Films recognized as winners are awarded Diplomas. By decision of the jury, special diplomas are established: “The best director’s work”, “The best camera work”, “For the best disclosure of the theme of youth/children”, “For the best coverage of the theme of culture”, “For the best disclosure of the theme of family”.
The jury awards the main award of the Festival – “The Grand Prix”. The results of the competition will be announced at the Award Ceremony for the winners of the Festival on November 16, 2024 in Murmansk.

Journalists wishing to cover the festival must register by emailto o.danilchenko11@yandex.ruuntil November 7, 2024. Accreditation is free.

1.An application for participation in the competition is filled out on the website https://northcharfest.ru/en/application (for films not in Russian, a script for the film in English is required, the script is attached to the application/sent to o.danilchenko11@yandex.ru).

2. Work submission form:
a) Video data carrier: Internet file (Vimeo, Dropbox, Yandex.Disk, google-drive, cloud.mail.ru) Important: Videos from YouTube are not accepted!
b) Video and audio data format: container *. avi , *. mpeg (*.mpg ) , *.mp4, *. mov , *.m2ts (encoder: MPEG-2, MPEG-4, H.264, or Microsoft DV PAL
Audio/video in *. vob are not accepted!
Recommended file size – 5-7 GB
c) The audio track of a film, program or story must be mixed into both channels L and R with a sound level of -11dB
Audio data format: PCM ( Stereo , 48KHz 16 bit , 2 channels), MPEG Audio Layer-2 (48KHz 224 or 256 kbps , 2 channels), AAC, AC3.
Each competitive work must have an identification record, which indicates: title, timing, manufacturing company, authors of the work. Materials that are defective in image, sound, or presented in a different format are not allowed into the competition.

3. Competition works must have subtitles in English, except for works participating in the “TV Series” nomination. Creeping captions are not allowed. The standard for subtitles is 2 lines, taking into account the standard zone for their safe location.

4. For Russian participants - a completed form for the transfer of the right to non-commercial use of the presented materials within the framework of the Northern Character film marathons, street cinemas, the use of fragments of the program/film in special stories, videos about the Northern Character International Film Festival (the form is included in the application).

5. Materials for the booklet: brief information about the authors of the film/program, posters, stills from the film in the form of 1-2 photographs in horizontal and vertical formats (JPG 720x576, 24 bit), annotation to the film (up to 250 characters!), company name - manufacturer, contact numbers, email address. Information must be presented in Russian and English. (All information is indicated in the application).

Attention to foreign participants: the title of the film is indicated in the original language and duplicated in English.

Programs/films shown at the Festival do not provide remuneration for screening.
A fragment of the work presented at the Festival can be used in advertising and information projects related to the promotion of the Festival and coverage of its results.

The Festival organizers guarantees the protection of materials submitted for the competition from illegal duplication and distribution without the consent of the author. Festival participants are responsible for the authorship and quality of all presented projects. Compliance with copyright and related rights is carried out in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation.
Claims and suits of third parties, including holders of copyright and related rights, are resolved on behalf of the participant who presented the work and at his expense.
The Festival Organizing Committee is not responsible for claims and lawsuits related to copyright and related rights of programs (films) submitted to the competition.
Films/programs sent for participation in the competition will not be returned.

Programs/films, applications, printed versions of titles are accepted in electronic form
marked “Northern Character Festival”
E-mail: nchfest@gmail.c om
WEB site: https://northcharfest.ru/en

Organizing Committee of the Festival:
Svetlana Soldatova – Festival President, + 7 921 511 05 00, s ol@nordfilm.ru
Erofeev Yuri – executive director, +7 921 036 00 40, 36_6@mail.ru
Osminina Svetlana – commercial director, +7 911 303 21 90, osminina72@gmail.com
Olga Danilchenko – coordinator, + 7 921 287 03 93, o.danilchenko11@yandex.ru