Rules and Regulations
“Visioni Incontra” is a networking opportunity for documentary directors and producers to meet industry professionals such as broadcasters, commissioning editors, sales agents, theatrical networks, national and international distributors, platform executives, film festival representatives, and film commission officers.
The goal of “Visioni Incontra” is to support the development and financing of high-quality documentary projects still in production, whether feature-length or documentary series. The initiative will prioritize projects that demonstrate artistic quality, uniqueness of content, relevance of the topic, international distribution potential, and solid financial planning.
Eligibility Requirements
- The call is open to independent Italian and international productions and co-productions. Independent productions are defined as those not entirely commissioned by broadcasters.
- Projects can be in the final development phase or in progress.
Projects in final development must be in pre-production and already financed for at least 30% of the estimated budget, including self-financing and personal resources. - Projects in the work-in-progress phase must be at an advanced stage of shooting and already financed for at least 60% of the estimated budget. In this case, self-financing and personal resources are also considered part of the financing.
- Submitted projects must be Italian premieres and must not have been presented at other markets in Italy.
- The screening format for selected projects must be an HD file.
Language and Subtitles
Italian projects must be presented in Italian with English subtitles. If the film (or parts of it) contains dialect or is in a language other than Italian, subtitles in both Italian and English are mandatory. The production of subtitles in both languages is the responsibility of the participating production company.
International projects must be presented in English or, if in another original language, must include English subtitles. The production of English subtitles is the responsibility of the participating production company.
Failure to provide subtitles will result in disqualification from the contest.
Pitching Preparation
The selected projects for the Visioni Incontra Contest will be presented by the director and producer during a pitching session in front of an audience of accredited industry professionals. The presentation will be conducted in Italian for Italian projects and in English for international projects. Each pitching session will include a Q&A segment.
Final Development Projects
The required pitch materials for projects in the Final Development stage are:
- Presentation by the director and producer: maximum 4 minutes.
- Teaser video: at least 3 minutes long, subtitled in English for Italian projects and in Italian for international projects.
- Detailed presentation outline: including the order of speakers and indicative timing.
The recommended total pitch duration is 7 minutes, allowing adequate time for the Q&A segment. The maximum available time is 12 minutes, including both the presentation and the Q&A.
Work in Progress Projects
The required pitch materials for projects in the Work in Progress stage are:
- Presentation by the director and producer: maximum duration of 5 minutes.
- Footage video: at least 8 minutes of clips or edited sequences, subtitled in English for Italian projects and in Italian for international projects.
- Detailed presentation outline: including the order of speakers and indicative timing.
The recommended total pitch duration is 12 minutes, ensuring adequate time for the Q&A segment. The maximum available time is 15 minutes, including both the presentation and the Q&A.
General Guidelines
The teaser and video materials must be uploaded to digital platforms such as Vimeo, with links and passwords provided to the organizers.
The detailed presentation outline must specify the planned timing for each section of the pitch.
Subtitles in English or Italian are mandatory and must be provided by the participating production company.
The organizers will contact the teams of the selected projects for a mandatory pitch preparation session with Cinzia Masòtina, Head of Industry. During this session, additional practical guidelines regarding the presentation format will be provided.
Visioni Incontra will publish a digital catalog (PDF format, downloadable from the website) of the selected projects to be presented. This catalog will be password-protected and available exclusively to accredited industry professionals.
Additionally, Visioni Incontra offers projects the opportunity to remain available on-demand on the Visioni dal Mondo platform, with a password accessible only to accredited professionals, for 30 days after the Festival’s conclusion. This will allow decision-makers and potential financiers to view the projects and arrange follow-up meetings with directors and producers even after the Festival.
During the Industry Days, Visioni Incontra will organize and manage one-to-one meetings between the producers and directors of the selected projects and industry professionals who have expressed interest. Although the goal is to arrange as many relevant meetings as possible for all selected projects, Visioni Incontra cannot guarantee a specific number of appointments.
Project Application
Project’s applications comprehensive of all materials should be sent within 31st May 2025.
The selected projects will be informed within June 30, 2025.
The teams of selected projects must participate in an online session dedicated to pitch preparation. Participation is mandatory.
Every project must be submitted through the online registration filling in the Entry Form available on the festival website and paying th Submission fee.
As indicated in the Entry Form, simultaneous submission requires the submission of video materials with Vimeo links and related passwords.
Participation in the pre-selection is considered complete only when the submitted title complies with the Regulations and requirements of the call, when the screener link has been uploaded, the Entry Form has been correctly and completely filled out, and the registration fee has been paid. The Festival will send a confirmation email upon successful receipt of the Entry Form.
Click here to submit the Visioni Incontra Contest Entry Form
Submission fee
- Submission fee for the project’s pre-selection costs coverage is 30 euros Vat included. The fee covers the administrative expenses related to cataloging and previewing each film.
- Submissions fees are not refundable.
- The registration will be accepted if all the materials and information requested will be received within the required deadlines and will meet all the requirements. After filling in the entry form and sending it, together with the link for the screener, the applicant will receive an email confirmation of the registration.
- Incomplete applications will not be considered. Submissions not complying with the submission fee payment will not be considered.
No Project will be taken in consideration for preselection prior to the submission’s fee receipt.
Click here for the Visioni Incontra Contest Submission Fee
Selection and Programming’s criteria
The main selection criteria will be the artistic quality of the project, the uniqueness of the content, the relevance of the topic, the stage of development, the potential for international distribution, and its financial feasibility.
The selection of projects is at the sole and unquestionable discretion of the Festival Management, supported by a committee of experts. The directors are not required to provide comments or feedback on the submitted projects.
Once the participant has accepted the official invitation, the project cannot be withdrawn from the official program. Scheduling decisions, such as screening times, are determined by the Festival directors, and their decision is final.
If selected, the producer and director of the project must attend Visioni Incontra for the entire duration of the event. Accreditation is free for up to two team members (director and producer) presenting the project. Additional accreditations for professionals related to the project can be purchased on the Festival’s website.
The authors of the selected projects may edit the video material for the final presentation up to 15 days before the start of the Festival, i.e., by September 1, 2025, provided that the total duration of the video material remains within the previously specified limits (no longer than 3 minutes for Final Development projects and 8 minutes for Work in Progress projects).
Jury & Awards
Visioni Incontra will grant a €2,500 prize to the most deserving project, as chosen by a selected jury of industry experts attending the pitching sessions.
Selected projects will also be eligible for the following awards:
- Lo Scrittoio Subtitling Award, granted to the project that best conveys a sense of globalism and intercultural dialogue.
- Archivio Documentario Luce Award, consisting of up to 5 minutes of archival footage from the Luce Archive, awarded to the project deemed most suitable for the archive’s material by Luce representatives.
- La Compagnia Award, which includes the selection of a completed project to be featured in the programming of La Compagnia Cinema in Florence, the only cinema in Italy dedicated exclusively to documentary films.
- Bio to B Award, offering the selected project the opportunity to participate in Bio to B – Industry Days, the Biografilm Festival’s annual event in Bologna focused on business-to-business networking among audiovisual professionals.
- CoPro – The Israeli Coproduction Market Award, granting the selected project access to CoPro – The Israeli Coproduction Market, a key reference point in the Israeli film industry
The Festival’s management reserves the right to establish additional awards and juries for Visioni Incontra 2025.
The prizes will be awarded by a selected jury of decision-makers, including commissioning editors, distributors, producers, and other industry professionals.
The monetary prize is intended as a contribution towards the post-production or completion of the awarded film and will be given to the production company that submitted the project.
If the winning project is completed, Visioni dal Mondo encourages the director and producer to submit the documentary for a potential premiere at the Festival.
All selected projects presented at Visioni Incontra, as well as awarded projects, must include the Visioni Incontra logo and the mention “selected project” in the opening credits. Awarded projects must also include the mention “awarded project” in the credits. The Festival will provide the official logo for this purpose.
General Rules
This regulation is drafted in both Italian and English. In the event of discrepancies, the Italian version shall prevail.
Submitting an application to the Festival implies unconditional acceptance of these rules.
The Festival is not responsible for any intangible losses incurred by the director, producer, or distributor in the event of technical issues during the screening.
It is the responsibility of producers, distributors, directors, authors, and other parties submitting the project to ensure that they are legally authorized to apply to Visioni Incontra. By submitting a project through the call for entries, the participant declares that they hold all copyrights and intellectual property rights for the project (including for co-authors not participating), as well as the rights to any copyrighted materials included in the project.
The Festival reserves the right to disqualify any project containing unauthorized copyrighted material.
The Festival’s management is the sole authority responsible for making decisions regarding matters not covered by the regulations.
For any disputes, the competent court is the Court of Milan.
VISIONI DAL MONDO
c/o Frankie Show Biz s.r.l.
Legal Address: Via Volturno, 47 – 20159 Milan
Operational Office: Via Privata Maria Teresa, 11 – 20123 Milan
Website: www.visionidalmondo.it
Email: info@visionidalmondo.it
Hospitality
The Festival offers free hotel accommodation for the director and producer of each selected project. Only the city tax (€4) is to be paid directly by the guest. Hospitality covers one or two nights at a hotel partnered with the Festival.
If additional team members wish to attend the pitch session, the Festival’s management will communicate possible accommodation options and discounts once the selection process is completed.
Further details regarding hospitality will be provided after the selection and programming phase.