1,237 films have registered in this year’s Punto de Vista Navarra International Documentary Film Festival

A total of 1,237 films, including feature length and short documentaries, have registered to participate in this year’s selection process for the 9th edition of the  Punto de Vista Navarra International Documentary Film Festival. The event will be held from 10th to 15th February 2015 at the Baluarte Auditorium and Conference Centre in Navarra.

The figure of 1,237 works opting to form part of the Official Section is a significant increase with respect to the last edition of Punto de Vista, held in 2013, for which 797 films registered. The films presented are from 78 different countries. The highest participation is from Spanish producers, with 278 works, followed by French (139 films), American (125), Polish (66), Argentinean (64), Mexican (63), Colombian (51), German (39), Italian (36), Portuguese (35) and Belgian (30) producers. 

In this pre-selection phase, works have also been presented from countries such as Cuba, Costa Rica, Russia, Israel, Japan, Vietnam, Korea, Iraq, Iran, Indonesia, Timor or Yemen, as well as 192 co-productions between various countries. This year, there has been a significant increase in works from Latin America.

The ninth edition is the second in which the festival has opted for an online registration system, doing away with physical mediums in favour of sending films via Internet, hence facilitating reception of films from all over the world.  

The film registration period closed on 30th September. The Selection Committee is now watching the works received and will announce its final selection by mid-December. This committee is made up of the filmmaker and journalist, Koldo Almandoz, the journalist and film programmer, Özge Calafato, the filmmaker, Alexei Dmitriev and the filmmaker, Guillermo G. Peydró.

The selected films will have the chance to win the awards offered by the Festival: Punto de Vista Award for the Best Film, with 10,000 euros in prize money; Jean Vigo Award for the Best Director, with 5,000 euros in prize money; and the Award for the Best Short Film, with 3,000 euros in prize money. The Festival will also give two special mentions, without any economic reward. Furthermore, three special prizes will be awarded: Special Public Award for the Best Film, with 1,500 euros in prize money; the Youth Award for the Best Film, with 1,500 euros in prize money; and the Cerbère-Portbou Rencontres Cinématografiques Award, with 300 euros in prize money.