DOCUMENTA MADRID 2009
May 1 to May 10, 2009

Call for Entries
Deadline: December 31, 2008
Online entry form

Contact Info
Festival Director : Antonio Delgado
Festival programmer : MªLuisa Ortega
Festival Commercial contact : Information
Festival Press contact : Prensa

Press Department:
Sonia Uría. +34 686 639 650.
Lucía Blanco. + 34 628 75 06 96.
prensa@documentamadrid.com

Documenta Madrid
López de hoyos, 9 -3º y 5º izq.
28006 - Madrid
Tel. +34 91 590 39 20
Fax. +34 91 561 14 34
www.documentamadrid.com

The blog on fest21.com

Documenta Madrid
May 1 to May 10, 2009

About the Festival
Documenta Madrid is an international film festival dedicated exclusively to documentary film. Its offices are located in the capital of Spain and it is organized by the City of Madrid. It is presently the city's most widely-attended festival.

The festival was born for the purpose of strengthening and disseminating the documentary genre, in so far as it understood to be a reflection of the social, cultural, economic, artistic, environmental, and other realities that exist in the world.

From the selection of films, which is done exclusively using qualitative criteria and respect for any and all critical viewpoints of our surroundings, Documenta seeks to provide an annual meeting place for professionals, creators, and the public to whom the work is aimed.

Documenta is a continuously evolving festival and aspires to improve year after year as a showcase for the best in international documentary film, one which brings us closer to both the classics as well as the latest offerings in the genre. For this reason, we dedicate our attention equally to three general blocks of activities: screenings (in both public and private screening rooms, and conserving the original language and formats), parallel activities (publications, exhibitions, presentations, gatherings, round tables, DVD releases, etc.), and training activities (conferences, instructional classes, workshops, etc.).

Our understanding of the documentary is based on a dual commitment. Firstly, a commitment to aesthetics, which shows how present day documentary filmmaking breaks new ground in its language and form, thus distancing itself for the most part from the standardized norms. Secondly, we are convinced that non-fiction work makes us all more aware of the need to change the world in order to improve it. Our most intimate calling, our dream, is that by opening some windows to the world in each screening, we make an audience member aware of an issue, and thereby make that person reflect on it, make the issue his/her own, and perhaps then... do something about it.

Along with this wish, two other priorities for the festival are to further enjoy making Documenta Madrid a reality and to make the guests and attendees feel at home among us.

DOCUMENTA MADRID 09's main objective is to develop, strengthen and disseminate the documentary as part of the audiovisual sector, as we believe it to be one of the most suitable media for reflecting social, cultural, economic and artistic realities. The festival seeks to promote the audiovisual genre and at the same time provide an annual meeting place for professionals, artists and the public for whom this work is carried out. The abundance of films received and the high audience attendance rates at past festivals have made it one of the leading events in the genre on the national and international scenes.

Call For Entries
The call for entries has been opened to participate in the 6th International Documentary Festival of Madrid, organized by the Government's Department of the Arts. Anyone interested can send in their work before the deadline of December 31, 2008. The competition will be held from May 1 to May 10, 2009 and will have prize-winnings of 73,000 Euros. As a new feature this year, the winner of the Audience Award for Original Full-length film will be distributed as part of the "Documentary of the Month" series.
Submit film online
Regulations and Rules PDF

DOCUMENTA MADRID 09 will feature four Competitive Sections:

- ORIGINAL DOCUMENTARY SECTION.
This will be made up of films demonstrating an original and innovative viewpoint both in formal as well as technical terms. This section has two categories: full-length films, with run-times over 45 minutes; and short films up to 45 minutes in length that are not part of a series.
- COMPETITION FOR DOCUMENTARY REPORT. This is meant for all documentary films made for film or television and that give priority to an informative viewpoint or current affairs. In the case of television documentaries belonging to a series, only one episode from the series may be sent in for admission.

- NATIONAL COMPETITION. Meant for films whose production is entirely or mostly of Spanish nationality. This section is divided into two categories: full-length films, with run-times over 45 minutes; and short films up to 45 minutes in length that are not part of a series.

- FILMOTECH.COM.
This section was a successful creation at last year's festival and is a virtual showcase for the films selected in the three sections mentioned above, whose copyright owners choose to upload them onto the Filmotech.com website for legal downloading, and thus compete for the award with the same name.
As a new feature for this year's festival, the winner of the Audience Award for Best Original Full-length film will have the possibility of distribution as part of the "Documentary of the Month" series. This initiative is part of the CinemaNet Europe project, which releases 12 documentaries per year in more than 100 commercial cinemas Europe-wide. At the same time, AVID will give the Award for Best Editing in the National Short Film section.

One of the goals of the festival is to show the best in genre's recently made cinema, the best of the year in international documentary film. For this reason, the films in competition must be produced after January 1, 2008 and must be previously unreleased in Spain; that is to say, they must not have been released in commercial cinemas in Spain, nor on television, nor at other competitions, nor on the Internet.

The complete rules and regulations and the online registration form are available at the festival website:Regulations and Rules PDF

Link in Filmfestivalspro.com Database