Short Documentary Film Contest and a Prize of €1,000 for 2018

Megacities ShortDocs (MC-SD) invites documentary filmmakers from all around the world to participate in the Short Documentary Film Contest for 2018 to outline a specific urban challenge and existing solutions or possible answers, or new ideas of a perspective of solutions. The contest inspires communities to kick off new projects by duplicating or adapting the solutions to the local needs of the megacities people are living in. There are two categories:

[1] The Best Documentary – no longer than 4 minutes (including the closing credits)

[2] The Best Reportage – no longer than 4 minutes (including the closing credits)

Participation rules:

[1] The documentary maker should include in his/her short documentary film at least one of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development goals categorized in one of three sustainable development pillars:

Economic Initiative:

• Decent work and economic growth
• Industry, innovation and infrastructure
• Reduced inequalities
• Responsible consumption and production

Social Impact Initiative:

• Zero poverty
• Good health and well-being
• Quality education
• Gender equality
• Sustainable cities and communities
• Peace, justice and strong institutions

Environment Initiative:

• Zero hunger
• Clean water and sanitation
• Affordable and clean energy
• Climate action
• Life below water
• Life on land

[2] Applications can be made individually or with a group. If you are applying as a group, you must identify the team leader in the application form

[3] The short documentary film must be self-produced by the participant himself/herself or his/her group. It can’t be produced by a production company

The short documentary film must:

[1] Be less than 4 minutes and for a better quality on big screen (Full HD format 1920x1080 is recommended) encoded in h264. (.mov, .mp4)

[2] Include a title (30 characters maximum) and a description/summary (less than 300 characters) in the field

[3]  Be uploaded with a high-quality thumbnail (JPG picture format 1600x1200). It also must have integrated subtitles in English with a font of Gills Sans Bold and a size of 60 (ideally in white with black contours)

[4] Include closing credits with the following information: the document maker’s name, year of production, participants, stakeholders and location, in addition to the “initiative holder” presented in the film

[5] Not be older than January 1, 2015

Prizes:

15 to 20 short documentary films will be selected and screened at the Paris Award Ceremony and could also be screened at local events. The prize also consists of one plane ticket from where the film was filmed to Paris. An award of €1,000 each will go to the Best Documentary Maker, the Best Reporting Maker, the Best Student Film Director and the Public Award (chosen mainly through internet voters).

What is Megacities ShortDocs (MC-SD)?

Megacities ShortDocs is a French non-governmental organization headquartered in Paris, with representatives in some of the megacities covered by the contest.