Don’t miss out on the opportunity to present your project to potential co-producers, investors, funders, distributors and other carefully selected and specially invited professionals attending the 10th edition of the Venice Gap-Financing Market, which will take place from September 1st to 3rd, 2023, during the 80th Venice International Film Festival (August 30th – September 9th, 2023). If you are interested in submitting your project, please do so by no later than the deadline of May 5th (at 23:59 CEST). Late submissions cannot be accepted.
We are looking forward to receiving your projects for consideration. For any questions, don’t hesitate to contact our team by replying to this email. We will be glad to assist you.
The Venice Gap-Financing Market is a platform for selected projects that aims to support producers from Europe and across the entire world to secure financing for the completion of their projects (Fiction features, Documentaries and Immersive) through one-to-one meetings with potential and pertinent international professionals (producers, sales agents, distributors, financiers, broadcasters and funds). All invited professionals are decision-makers.
This call is open to projects from the entire world for the following categories:
- Fiction and Documentary projects: up to 27/33 feature films and narrative or creative feature documentaries, including 3 Biennale College Cinema Projects, from all over the world will be selected. There is no genre limitation and it is open to animation feature films;
- Immersive projects: up to 10/12 projects from all over the world will be selected.
This 3-day event will present up to 45 selected European and International projects and Immersive Projects developed through the Biennale College Cinema VR.
The Catalogue detailing each film project will be emailed to the registered professionals by mid-July 2023 to entitle them to request 30-minute one-to-one meetings with the producers of the selected projects.The Venice Gap-Financing Market will set up these meetings in accordance with the availability of the participants and meetings slots. Each participant will receive a personalised meeting schedule a few days before the event.
SUBMISSIONS AND REGULATIONS
The Venice Gap-Financing Market terms and conditions are:
GENERAL ELIGIBILITY
For Feature Films and Documentary projects
- The project must be a fiction feature film or a long feature documentary with a running time above 70 minutes and intended for theatrical distribution.
- The project must be looking for a maximum of 30% gap-financing and we will prioritize the ones looking for a European partner.
- There is no budget or genre limitation but each project must have secured 70% of its budget and must prove that this financing is in place. The film can be in development, partly or entirely shot.
The Project Team
- Directors must have previous directing experience (short films, features, TV movies, series).
- Producers must have a track record in production and international co-production
For Immersive Projects
- Immersive Projects can be in different formats: all formats of Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), Mixed Reality (MR) or 360 Dome projection.
- Immersive Projects can be fiction, documentary, series or animation.
- The minimum length must be 10 minutes.
- The projects can be both original concepts and adaptations.
- There is no budget limitation. Each project should be preferably in a development phase, but films already partially or totally shot are also acceptable.
- All submitted projects should have secured at least 30% of their budget and must prove that this financing is in place.
The Project Team
- Directors must have previous artistic or directing experience in their field (short films, features, TV movies, series, visual arts, performing arts, sound, installation, performance…).
- Producers must have a track record in production and international co-production.
In addition, the directors of 1st or 2nd Features, Documentaries or Immersive projects are invited to provide information on their curriculum vitae as requested in the online submission form, for the purposes of research and documentation.
PROJECT SUBMISSION DEADLINE: May 5, 2023 (23:59 CEST)
HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION
This is carried out in two steps:
- Fill in the Venice Production Bridge Online Entry Form at the following link: https://www.labiennale.org/en/venice-gap-financing-market-2023
- Combine the requested documents into a single PROJECT DOSSIER PDF and upload at the end of the Entry Form. This has to include the following documents, (in English or with an English translation):
- Full treatment/concept (8-10 pages for Feature Films, Documentary and Immersive Projects)
- Director’s biography and filmography or track records
- Producer’s biography and filmography or track records
- Director’s statement and/or visual concept
- Production company’s profile
- Budget Outline (in Euros)
- Financing Plan (in Euros) with all relevant documents showing that 70% of the budget is in place for Feature Films and Documentary projects and the 30% for Immersive Projects
- Specific goals at the Venice Gap-Financing Market
- All contracts, agreements and deal-memos have to be signed by all parties:
- Between the producer and the author
- Between the producer and the director
- Between the producer and the co-producer(s), if any
- Between the producer and the main cast(s)/agents
- Between the producer and the funds, financial partners that appears in the financing plan
- Between the producer and the national distributor(s) if any
- Between the producer and the international sales agent, if any.
If you are not able to attach the Project Dossier to your submission, please send this by email or wetransfer stating the complete title of your project in the subject of the email to gapfinancingmarket@labiennale.org
For Immersive Projects
- Candidates must submit a concept and treatment of 8-10 pages on the overall story, visual approach, user experience or interactive experience design.
- Each project must be submitted by a production company (producer, distributor, TV Channel) who own full rights to develop and produce the project.
CONDITIONS OF ATTENDING THE VENICE GAP – FINANCING MARKET
Once the selection has been made, the selected producers are contacted to confirm their participation and asked to provide updated material for inclusion in the Book of Projects, which is going to circulate to professionals and financiers before and during the festival.
Participation in the event entitles the selected project teams (the delegate producer and the director) to the following services and facilities:
- Travel and accommodation;
- Extensive networking opportunities and one-to-one meetings;
- Project promotion;
- An Industry Gold badge for the access to all the services of the Venice Production Bridge.
In return all the selected project teams are required to:
- Include the following line and the authorised logo in the credits when the film is completed “Presented at the Venice Production Bridge 2023”. Logo will be provided electronically after the festival;
- Attend the activities of the Venice Gap-Financing Market;
- Attend all the pre-organized one-to-one meetings during the event.
By accepting the invitation to participate to the Venice Gap-Financing Market, you are also agreeing to follow and satisfy the above conditions.
The selected projects will be contacted in the second half of June, the selection will be officially announced towards the end of June. Not selected projects will also be notified.