Luis Bunuel Memorial Awards

With the help of digital media technology and crowd funding, it is now getting easier for anyone to just take up a camera and make a film. The most important ingredients in the mix is finding your own voice, the creative ideas and mastering the skills necessary to make a captivating experience.

However, with the increasing number of works being produced and the reshaping of cinema and major film festivals, it is now much harder to connect a live audience to non-mainstream art-house films. At LIAFF, we are committed to look at every entry we received to select only those that represent the LIAFF spirit well. We love the yin and yang of topics - from edgier; pull no punches stuff to those concerning humanities and the environment.

For the first time L’Age d’Or International Art-house Film Festival, will have its own sector of awards for artistic activism. Artistic activism is a creative force that educate us, influences our notions about human relationships, and brings about social change. We will celebrate artists that have used their passion for activism by paying tribute to them and publicizing their art. Furthermore, we will be giving lifetime awards to artists who have contributed to social justice and activism.

For our 2019 festival, we shall be accepting all films of all lengths and genres including Documentary, Narrative Feature, Experimental, Religious, Animation, Comedy, Horror, Science Fiction, Suspense and all genres of Music Videos and LGBT films.

We’ll select the Best of the Best (From the pool of all award winners from all Seasons) and the FINAL WINNERS will receive the prestigious PIGEON D’OR AWARDS and they’ll be screened in the theatre at Kolkata in front of live audience.

2019 will have a chance to meet with the audience and participate in the Q&A session after the screening. We also provide incentives for winning films, and present promotional strategies for those films and their directors. First, we conduct an interview with the director, which is posted on our HLC portals, and we published the review by one of our esteemed writers from CULT CRITIC magazine. But that's not all: LIAFF will take you globally with international distribution opportunities for your films.

Awards & Prizes:

LIAFF is a monthly international event. Each officially selected project in each month receives LIAFF laurel and certificate. All monthly Award Winners receive LIAFF laurel and customized certificates and are rated at their respective IMDb pages (if applicable).

Each month, most representatives of monthly award winners are screened in Kolkata, at Indira Cinema, and reviewed by CULT CRITIC film magazine. These reviews are shared at each film’s IMDb page (if applicable). Some filmmakers, screenwriters and actors/actresses might be invited to give an interview for the CULT CRITIC film magazine.

The awards are given in the following categories:

Best Director Best Young Filmmaker (under 18) Best Debut Filmmaker Best Cinematography Best Editing Best Sound Designing Best Actor Best Actress Best Supporting Actor Best Supporting Actress Best Narrative Feature Best Documentary Film Best Experimental Film Best Short Film Best Student Film Best VR/AR and 360º Film Best Drone Film Best Web and New Media Film Best Mobile Film Best Horror/Science Fiction Feature Film Best Women’s Film Best Film on Women Best LGBT Film Best Animated Film Best Family/Children Film Best Educational Film Best Film on Disability Issue Best Film on Religion Best Film on Nature/Environment/Wildlife Best Travel Film Best Silent Film Best One Minute Film Best Postmodern Film Best Free Speech Film Best Television/Pilot Program or Series Best Commercial/Advertisement Best Music Video Best Film Score/Soundtrack Best Trailer/Teaser Best Film/Video Poster Best Photography Best Treatment/ Synopsis Best Short Script Best Feature Script

Besides the BEST OF THE CATEGORY AWARDS, there are also OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS, CRITICS CHOICE AWARDS, and AUDIENCE CHOICE AWARDS, which are given, in all categories.

Rules & Terms:

Please read these Rules & Terms carefully before you submit your film. By submitting your film into competition in the L’Age d’Or International Arthouse Film Festival (LIAFF), you expressly acknowledge and agree that you shall be bound by the terms of these Rules & Terms.

LIAFF is open to any film completed after January 1, 2000, regardless of content, subject, or origin. Submitting your film to the LIAFF is not a guarantee of selection. All the official selection, nominees and the winners will be listed on our website permanently. All the winning films will receive a trophy, award or certificate. Please note that we do not offer application fee waivers. We treat every filmmaker equally.

1. Films made in languages other than English must have English subtitles otherwise they will be summarily rejected. 2. The film submitted to the LIAFF for a particular month can be re-submitted at any time for a second chance, considering that we have different judges' panels for each season. 3. A director / producer may submit more than one film in a category and more than one category at a time. 4. The LIAFF is hereby granted the rights to utilize an excerpt from any film submitted for promotional purposes of the festival within India only. The individual or corporation submitting the film hereby warrants that it is authorized to commit the film for screening, and understands and accepts these requirements, rules and regulations. 5. The LIAFF reserves the right to refuse entries. 6. You agree to indemnify and hold harmless the LIAFF, from and against any and all claims, liabilities, losses, damages, and expenses (including but not limited to attorney's fees, and costs of the court) which may be incurred by reason of any claim involving copyright, trademark, credits and publicity. 7. The LIAFF will not refund any fees if the filmmaker fails to submit the film in the correct category. Films submitted without the correct fees or proper submission media may be deemed ineligible at the discretion of the LIAFFprogramming director or executive director. The festival does not cover any of the expenses incurred by the filmmaker. 8. After a film has been an official selection, the filmmaker will be notified, and eventually the film will be listed on the festival website under Official Selections. The Official Selection status doesn’t mean that your film will be screened at the festival. It means that your film has been appreciated by our judges of panel and you can use the festival logo on your poster. 9. A nominee will be privately screened for the LIAFF judging panel, and will not be screened initially to the public. 10. “Best” films of each category will receive a laurel & certificate. 11. A filmmaker’s submission fee will not be reimbursed if they decide to withdraw their submission. All entry fees are non-refundable. 12. We require an official trailer or poster, synopsis and a link to your film. Please select the correct category while submitting to avoid disqualification. We reserve right to re-assign films to the appropriate category. 13. LIAFF may without advance notice amend these Rules & Terms from time to time. Each and every such amendment shall be become effective immediately. It is your responsibility to periodically check for updates of these Rules & Terms.

DISCLAIMER:

All filmmakers understand and accept that if their film is accepted for presentation and screening at the film festival, they grant full and unrestricted permission for LIAFF to screen the film/video at times of the festivals choice and to charge an admission fee for the presentation of the digital video program. All the presented film/videos do win PIGEON D’OR Awards from the festival, LIAFF only screens winners.

The Filmmaker understands and accepts that they do not participate in receiving any funds from the Box-office proceeds which are fully retained by the festival to help cover the overall cost of the festival presentation. It should be noted for the record that box-office proceeds never cover the cost of presentation of the Features and Short Film Programs. The filmmaker releases the festival (LIAFF) from any and all liability for dam-ages or destruction of the entered DCP. The Filmmaker understands that the entered DCP will be retained in a secure facility by the festival, and every effort will be taken to protect and control the viewing of this production. The festival assumes no liability whatsoever for theft, copyright violations or piracy of the entry. The Filmmaker accepts and understands that the festival, in conjunction with HLC Studio, Kolkata will do everything possible to present the video in the best possible manner but the festival (LIAFF) is not responsible for any and all malfunctions during the presentation of the production at its festival screening. We use Professional Pioneer International playback systems, all formats, all regions, including Region 0. All entries are carefully pre-screened prior to the public showing to assure that the DCP does perform to industry Standards. The Festival (LIAFF) assumes no responsibility for any technical difficulties in the presentation of this video at the actual event. The Film Festival (LIAFF) reserves the complete right to make changes in the program dates and times and to possibly not screen the video, despite its being selected for screening. The filmmaker will endeavor to present to The Festival (LIAFF) a new and pre-checked Hard disk / DCP for the actual presentation of the video at the festival.