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Grant for the Production of a First Short Film

CALL FOR SCRIPTS

🇫🇷 Only open to French-speaking candidates

Applications are accepted from Tuesday, October 15, to Sunday, December 15, 2024, at 11:59 PM.

The grant for the production of a first short film is awarded based on a script competition. A committee of five members conducts a pre-selection of about ten scripts from all the applications received. The authors of these 10 scripts are invited to attend the International Music & Cinema Festival in Marseille (from April 1 to 6, 2024) to meet all the committee members and attend the SiRAR Awards ceremony. Following these meetings, the committee makes its final choice and announces the winner to whom the grant for production, worth €24,500, is awarded (divided into contributions in kind offered by France 3 television (one day of mastering) and the University of Aix-Marseille, Department SATIS (provision of equipment), and in cash (including €500 in copyright for the composer and €500 in copyright for the director) by the Region SUD Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur and LASER).

Under the authority of the MERIDIENS structure, the winning author-director manages, with the SiRAR representative, without any intermediary, the use of the various funding sources. MERIDIENS will ensure the delegated production of the winning film, and SATIS will handle executive production and educational supervision. It is the responsibility of the winning author-director to choose, among the three composers pre-selected by the “SiRAR Music” selection committee, the one who will compose the music for their film.

The 2nd Prize, in partnership with the Region Sud Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, offers a writing residency.

The 3rd Prize offers an invitation to participate in the Writing Marathon of the International Screenwriters' Festival in Valencia.

Application

For registration, the submission of your script must be done exclusively on our online platform accessible here:

→ Apply here 

Deadline for submitting applications: Sunday, December 15, 2024, at 11:59 PM. 
Any incomplete application will not be accepted.

Regulation

Any registration implies acceptance of the regulations below. Find the complete regulations here.

→ 🇫🇷 Règlement accessible ici 

Regulation

 The proposed project must:

  • Be a project for a first short film (no film should have previously been produced by a production company) with original music for orchestral ensemble.
  • Be a fiction, an experimental film, or a series (literary adaptations are excluded).
  • Last between 3 and 15 minutes. • Not be produced or co-produced by a production company.
  • Not have been submitted to the CNC at the same time as the SiRAR grant.
  • Be exclusively in digital format. • Only one script can be submitted per candidate.
  • A project that has already been rejected by the SiRAR program cannot be resubmitted.
  • Preselected candidates must be present at the announcement of the results.

Obligations of the Beneficiary / Author-Director

In the event of project selection, the author-director commits to:

  • Be the director of the proposed project. • Shoot in Marseille and/or its surroundings.
  • Assemble the filming and post-production team with students from La SATIS, the public film school of the University of Aix-Marseille in Aubagne. All filming positions, including heads of department, must be filled by students from the SATIS department, except for the director of photography (to be chosen from a predefined list).
  • Make the final choice of composer among the 3 selected by the “SiRAR Music” grant, who will sign the film's soundtrack. This choice must be validated by May 31, 2025, at the latest.
  • Adhere to the proposed production schedule (5 days of filming in autumn 2025) and post-production established by La SATIS, the public film school of the University of Aix-Marseille in Aubagne. This schedule will be set based on the SATIS educational program's requirements.
  • Propose and adhere to a schedule, particularly regarding collaboration with the musicians from the Conservatoire Pierre Barbizet in Marseille, with whom the winning composer will work. In case it is impossible to complete the film's musical composition with the winning composer, due to a decision by the director and after obtaining the agreement of the SiRAR representative and MERIDIENS, it will be the director's responsibility to find ways to finance the composition, interpretation, and recording of another piece of music.

Amount of Aid

The grant for the production of a first short film is valued at €24,500 (divided into in-kind contributions offered by France 3 television (one day of mastering) and the University of Aix-Marseille, Department SATIS (provision of equipment), and in cash (including €500 in copyright for the composer and €500 in copyright for the director) from the Region SUD Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur and LASER). Under the authority of the MERIDIENS structure, the winning author-director manages the use of the various

Selection Process

A committee reads all the received scripts and preselects about ten scripts. The results of this preselection will be known in February. The authors of these 10 scripts will be notified immediately. They will need to go to Marseille for one day during the Festival (between March 24 and 29, 2025) to meet individually with the jury composed of 5 members. The final choice of the jury will stem from these meetings.

Only one author-director will be selected for the SiRAR grant. The jury's decision is final, and there can be no appeal.

General Conditions

  • SiRAR is not responsible for manuscripts entrusted to it. • No application will be returned.
  • The director signs a contract with MERIDIENS and commits to making the film within the specified deadlines.
  • The contract is established with MERIDIENS according to its operational protocol, guarantees copyright, and specifies commercial provisions regarding any distribution and sales rights of the film in France and abroad.