The new rules for the 2018 Goya Awards for short films have already been published, just one week after the post with several proposals to improve them. Although for a moment I thought I could help in some way with the new rules, unfortunately it has served very little purpose. In any case, there is good news, as some of last year’s successes are maintained, and the number of festivals has increased.
It should be noted that it is always good to have few changes so that we can plan long-term distribution strategies. However, it is a pity that some regulations that harm short films are maintained.
For the analysis of this year’s rules, I have divided this post into two parts: the certificate of nationality and the festival lists:
The certificate of nationality
The requirement that the certificate of nationality must be dated prior to the start of the festival where the award or first selection is obtained remains in place. It should be noted that for the past two years, the rules have requested the certificate of nationality rather than the qualification license. However, they are usually requested and issued at the same time.
The good news is that the obligation to have nationality before a date marked by the start of the festival has been eliminated only in the case of animation; I hope that Carlota Coronado’s guest posts have contributed somewhat to achieving this change.
The problem is that this measure is too restrictive for short films and does not lead to more shorts being registered with the ICAA, but quite the opposite. Furthermore, it can cause some especially serious cases for Spanish short films, such as Los desheredados, by Laura Ferrés, recent winner at the Cannes Critics’ Week, being unable to opt for the Goya. It seems it does not have the qualification date prior to the start of the festival.
I have been searching the registry on the ICAA website where I tried to check if it had the qualification, but there is no data registered with the Ministry yet. I searched for it in both Spanish and Catalan.
I believe that a Film Academy (not only the Spanish one, but that of any other country) should not maintain a regulation that prevents a winning short film in a competition as prestigious as the Cannes Critics’ Week from entering its national awards.
All this, despite complying with their legal obligations. The producers could apply for the certificate of nationality now, but it would no longer be valid for registration.
In any case, I hope that Los desheredados manages to register thanks to participation in other festivals, but it is urgent to eliminate this requirement and avoid problems with other short films.
Festival lists
In the festival lists for national fiction and documentary, there is also good news, as it is expanded with two new additions: Abycine and the Mostra de Vila de Noia, but for documentary, only Abycine is added. In these new rules, documentary is once again at a disadvantage compared to fiction.
There are fewer qualifying festivals than for fiction: 30, compared to 34; awards usually favor fiction more than documentary, and some of the specialized festivals may grant documentary awards that are not Spanish.
Therefore, the options for documentary are clearly inferior to fiction and animation, except for the reduction to 3 festival selections, compared to 6 for fiction short films. Although I do not think it is enough to balance the scales.
In the international section, there is a list of 99 festivals with several errors; although some do not harm the selection of short films, they represent a certain lack of rigor when creating this list:
- There are festivals where Spanish short films cannot participate; these are the Morelia Festival, only for Mexican filmmakers and works, Galway Film Fleadh, only for Irish short films, Jerusalem Film Festival, only for Israeli shorts, St. Kilda Film Festival, for Australian shorts, and The Norwegian Short Film Festival, for Norwegian short films. Therefore, due to these errors, 5 festivals should be subtracted from this list.
- In addition, animation festivals have been maintained, despite eliminating the obligation to be selected at these festivals. In total, 9 more festivals should be removed.
- Despite removing about 14 festivals, there are some notable absences, such as the Cannes Critics’ Week and the Directors’ Fortnight. It must be remembered that these two competitions are independent of the Cannes Film Festival and are not part of the festival organization. These absences mean, once again, leaving Laura Ferrés’ short film, one of the most important of the year, out of the registration. IDFA, the Amsterdam Documentary Festival, which this year has once again created an exclusive section for short documentaries, also does not appear on the list.
To obtain qualification, the possibility of achieving 6 selections in fiction and 3 selections in documentary remains, or an award at accredited festivals, except for animation, which also eliminates this obligation.
Most important dates and conditions
If you are starting to prepare your registration or are in the middle of festival distribution and have options, remember that the deadline is September 29 at 2:00 PM, and the maximum duration is 30 minutes.
In general, these are rules that continue with the same criteria as last year, despite the serious problems we encountered. As I said last week, the possibilities for short film participation should be increased, with a more inclusive character, and certainly, a list of festivals should be drawn up with greater criteria and rigor. Once again, and for the second consecutive year, the Film Academy would have to correct errors after publishing the rules.
What do you think of the new rules? Which aspects do you consider should be changed most urgently?