Perspectives Regulations

Perspectives is an international competitive strand for fiction feature debuts aiming to showcase genuine breakthrough talents.

To be considered a debut fiction feature film, the director must not have previously made a fiction film with a running time of over 60 minutes that has been screened publicly (at a festival, in the cinema, on television, on the internet/VOD). This also applies to previous fiction films they have co-directed. However, any documentaries made previously by the director (including feature-length documentaries) do not affect the eligibility.

1. Eligibility

Eligible for Perspectives are fiction feature debuts which

• are of at least 60 minutes running time.
• are available as world or international premieres.
• have not participated at any international film festival outside of their country of origin.
• have not been released theatrically or presented publicly outside their country of origin.
• have not been presented publicly in Germany.
• have neither been presented on television nor on the internet/VOD.
• were completed within the 12 months prior to the start of the festival.
• are available in the formats DCP or QuickTime ProRes – 35mm or other formats only upon request
• are intended for theatrical release.
• have never been submitted to the Berlinale.

World premieres are prioritised (see General Information on Premiere Status). German films must be world premieres to be eligible for Perspectives.

The film’s country of origin is determined by the registered office address of the production company. In case of international co-productions, the main country of production will be considered as country of origin.

In case of a co-directorship, the submitted film must be the debut feature of all participating directors.

Animated films and hybrid films with documentary elements are permitted, provided that the narrative component predominates and the film is officially submitted as a fiction film.

For all applications, the General Guidelines for Film Submission and Participation apply. The Festival Director reserves the right to decide on any eventuality not foreseen in the guidelines.

2. Selection and Programming

Films selected to participate in the Perspectives competition for the Best First Feature Award – funded by GWFF – will be curated by the Festival Director together with the Co-Directors of Film Programming and the section heads of Panorama, Generation and Forum.

3. Language Version and Subtitles

All films invited to participate in Perspectives are screened in their original language with English subtitles. The film’s producer is responsible for meeting the costs of subtitling and providing the subtitled version on time.

The version (to be) released in the country of origin is regarded as the original version.