Article 1. The MATTADOR Cultural Association organises the 15th International Screenwriting Award dedicated to Matteo Caenazzo, a young talented artist from Trieste who passed away prematurely on 28th June 2009 while studying and working with the aim of embarking on a career as a screenwriter.
The Award aims at discovering and promoting young talents who choose to start a professional and artistic career in screenwriting. It is an invitation to write screenplays able to tell fascinating and moving stories in line with Matteo’s keen perception of the modern world, conveying the idea of ironic, synthetic and razor-sharp art which Matteo freely expressed in his lifestyle and artistic evolution.
Article 2. CORTO86 International Award for Short-Film Screenplay (at its 13th edition) is open to young Italian and foreign screenwriters and directors, i.e. authors aged 16 and under 30 by 15th April 2024.
Article 3. Each participant may submit a maximum of one work. Only original and unpublished works will be accepted, i.e. they have never been produced, published or awarded a prize.
The Theme of the Competition for the 2023/2024 edition is: “The border: a geographical, emotional and human concept to be explored in its different declinations.”
The short film should be easily feasible. Where two or more projects are of equal quality, priority will be given to a low-budget project.
Article 4. The screenplays shall be written in the American format (see enclosed sample). Scenes and pages must be numbered. The scripts shall comprise a maximum of 4 pages (character 12) in one of the following formats: .fdr (final draft), .celtx (available for free download) or other equivalent software for screenwriting.
Works must be sent in .pdf format.
WORKS SUBMITTED IN A DIFFERENT FORMAT WILL BE DISCARDED.
Article 5. Works shall be submitted in the Italian version and/or in the original version with an enclosed translation into Italian.
Article 6. Works must be sent exclusively online on the https://iscrizioni.premiomattador.it/ platform starting from 15th February 2024. The delivery deadline is 15th April 2024.
A subscription fee of 20 Euros is required.
The digital version must bear only the title with no reference to the author.
The digital work must be accompanied by a signed application form for acceptance, a copy of the ID card and proof of payment, in strict accordance with platform instructions.
NON-COMPLIANT APPLICATIONS WILL BE DISCARDED.
Article 7. By sending the script, the author accepts these Competition Rules. The Organising Committee and the MATTADOR Cultural Association disclaim all responsibility or cost deriving from the existence of copyrights owed to any third party. The authors authorise the organisers of the MATTADOR International Screenwriting Award – CORTO86 for Best Short-Film Screenplay Section to publish their screenplays in a collection and/or a catalogue or book.
Article 8. The Competition will award the CORTO86 Prize to the Best Short-Film Screenplay, consisting in a Training Grant and the production of a short film based on the winning screenplay.
The author will be supervised by professional tutors throughout the pre-production, shooting and post-production stages. He/she will sign the direction of the film.
The short film will be shot in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region and will be part of the initiatives leading up to “GO! 2025 – Nova Gorica and Gorizia European Capital of Culture 2025“. The work will be produced by the Cultural Association Mattador in collaboration with the Friuli Venezia Giulia Film Commission, according to modalities that will be established before the start of production.
Article 9. The Jury, made up of cinema professionals, artists and cultural operators, is entitled not to award the prize and/or to assign one or more special mentions. The Jury’s judgement is unquestionable.
Article 10. The Award Ceremony for the CORTO86 Competition will take place on Wednesday 17th July 2024 in the Sale Apollinee at La Fenice Theatre, Venice.
The Organising Committee