Pebbles Underground
Throughout the recent years we have participated in curation and organizing of many events outside of Pebbles, and the adrenaline of the starting moment never fades away. Our commitment to this project will extend for more than a year. We will watch your works almost daily, and bring to life seven curated online programs showcasing your work. The final physical screening will showcase the award winners. We are ready for the challenge!
We will be happy to welcome your works starting August 20 on FilmFreeway
WHO
Pebbles Underground film and video art is focused on showcasing experimental, avant-garde, underground, and no-to-low budget moving image projects by artist-humans from all over the world. If you're making absurd, uncanny, witty, humorous, queer, political, slow film, performance, dance films, or something no one has the name for yet – we're here for you!
We're an independent project not funded by any government or corporation, and we intend to keep it that way. Main source of funding is personal donations from humans organizing the project, who are artists themselves, and the main drive of the project is formed by the energy and involvement of the organizers, and the public.
If you are a filmmaker living in Palestine, Georgia, Iran, Armenia, Syria, Lebanon, Belarus, North Korea, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, South Sudan, Ukraine please write us for a submission discount or a fee waiver code. In your email, please include the link to the work you are planning to submit.
If you don't live in the above mentioned countries, but need financial assistance to submit your work, please write us to get a discount code. Include the link to the work you are planning to submit. We will evaluate the demands a few days before each one of the deadlines.
If you have any questions, please write us at pebblesunderground@gmail.com
Throughout the season, the festival team will take charge of promotion of the selected works.
WHAT
- Experimental, underground films and video art
- Experimental documentaries (including mockumentaries)
- Experimental animation
- Screendance, experimental dance/performance
- Web-based experimental and/or interactive projects - works in this category will only be presented and promoted online on our website and social media
We have no restrictions on topics. We want to show what is relevant for the artists in the context of their environment, letting the films we receive form the underlying theme of each screening. Premiere status, or date of completion of the film are not important for our format.
Special topics: in addition to the regular open theme programs, we would like to extend a call to curators working with video artists and experimental filmmakers and wishing to suggest online programs on environmental issues, or issues of indigenous and minority rights and armed conflicts oppressing minority populations (anywhere in the world, not just Americas). This category is password protected, write us an email if you're reading this, and have something in mind. In the email, please describe your idea, the topic you wish to dedicate the screening program to, and include the links to the films you are planning to include (with passwords, if applicable). In addition, please include your curatorial statement.
WHEN
ONLINE SCREENING DATES (apply on FilmFreeway)
In 2024 we'll be streaming Summer and Winter Screenings, each encompassing multiple programs. Programs in the Summer Screenings will be streaming from June 8 to 15, those in the Winter Screenings will be streaming December 15 - 21.
All online programs will be free to watch, so get ready for a delicious explosion of art!
AWARDS
We will host seven online curated showcases during this season (see all the dates in "Deadlines and Screening Dates" section). Each online showcase will have:
Jury Award
Audience Award
TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS
-all works in languages other than English must have English subtitles; please avoid barely readable fonts (we understand the aesthetic struggle artists are going through while making subs, but believe it or not, subs need to be functional)
-in the case of selection, subtitles must be burnt in on the video
-if we select the work, we would ask you to send a screening copy, preferably 1080p. We don't need ProRes or archival copies, but at least a h264 copy with best possible quality settings, and 48kHz audio would be much appreciated; depending on the shooting equipment of the selected work, we can also accept 720p and 44kHz.
BY SUBMITTING A WORK YOU AGREE TO THE FOLLOWING
-submission does not guarantee selection, and fee is not refundable;
-the festival is unable to pay the screening fee at this time;
-if the work is selected, the festival has a right to present it online, as well as in a physical space;
-if the work is selected, the festival has a right to use a still or an extract of under 5 seconds from it for promotional purposes (all credits will be included in the video excerpt or still);
-after the season is finalized, the festival has no right to screen the selected films online or in a physical venue without additional permission from the artist;
-the selected films will remain in the archive of the festival;
-the artist keeps all the rights to the work;
-the artist/submitter must have the copyright to their work (no plagiarism), Pebbles Underground is not liable of any copyright infringement;
-if the work is submitted by a distributor, or any other third party, the latter must be given the permission to do so by the artist;
-no physical copies are accepted, submissions are accepted only through the online submission platform.