On the Road Film Festival ()

Festival start: 17 February 2022      Festival end: 27 February 2022

“A path is always between two points, but the in-between has taken on all the consistency
and enjoys both an autonomy and a direction of its own” G. Deleuze, F. Guattari, 1987

Based at the legendary DETOUR Arthouse Cinema, in the heart of Rome since 1997, ON THE ROAD FILM FESTIVAL is devoted to contemporary independent cinema - fiction, documentary and experimental - presenting travelogues, urban and waste-land wanderings, real or imaginary topographies, unexpected detours, psycho-geographical drifts, migration and nomadism.

We look for films that develop, through linguistic and narrative skills, a critical and inventive approach to the subject guidelines of the Festival: a traveling mood with digressions from fixed paths, where the route is what matters, not the destination.

The Festival hosts screenings, master classes, meetings, art exhibitions, live performances and music, both at DETOUR Cinema and at a variety of cinema venues, film clubs, schools, public libraries and other unusual locations in Rome and and in its surrounding area.

OTRFF competition consists of two sections: THE ROAD (Features and Mid-length films =>30') and SHORT>CUTS (short films <30')

Features and Short Films in competition will be screened in late 2021 or in early 2022 at Detour Cinema in Rome, depending on the progress of the covid pandemic. 

In respect of impediments resulting from the persistence of the pandemic emergency, the main festival events, the award ceremony and the screenings of the winning films will take place live online in "virtual cinema" mode.

Cash Prizes: 1,500€

- Jury Award for Best Feature Film (>30 min.): Cash Award of 1000€ + Detour Plaque Award + one or more possible scheduled screenings in agreement with the rights owners;

- Jury Award for Best Short Film (<30min.): Cash Award of 500€ + Digital Laurel Certificate + one or more possible scheduled screenings in agreement with the rights owners;

- Audience Award Best Feature Film: Digital Laurel certificate + one or more possible scheduled screenings during the 2019-2020 programming season at Detour Cinema in agreement with the rights owners;

- Audience Award Best Short Film: Digital Laurel certificate + one or more possible scheduled screenings during the 2019-2020 programming season at Detour Cinema in agreement with the rights owners;

- Selected films may receive additional awards, special mentions or other recognition at the discretion of the Jury, or by our partners and sponsors.

-Submissions are open to everyone: individual authors, film studios and distributors, collectives of artists, communities, voluntary associations, non-profit organizations, NGOs and schools of cinema;

-Only films completed on or after 1st January 2018 are eligible for entry into the Festival competitions.

- OTRFF is a non-profit organisation. The festival charges an entry fee for submissions to cover the costs of processing and handling your film. In the event of a film being withdrawn, OTRFF will not be liable to refund the fee or return the materials entered.

-Payments should be made as soon as possible in order to complete your submission. Submissions which have not been paid will not be taken into consideration.

-By participating in the contest, the submitter automatically acquires the annual membership to Detour Arthouse Cinema.

-All entries and accompanying materials (photos, short moving images extracts and stills reproduced from them) will be available by OTRFF to promote ongoing and future editions of the festival. OTRFF is hereby granted the right to use an excerpt from any film submitted and accepted for exhibition at the Festival for promotional purposes.

-Non-Italian speaking films submitted to the Festival must be subtitled in at least one of these languages: Italian, English, French, Spanish. A subtitle file with time codes in a standard format (srt, sub, ass) is requested.

-A password protected link to a screener of the film on a video sharing site (e.g. Vimeo) must be provided. In the case that the film is available in downloading only, file formats accepted are: mp4, Mkv, Quicktime mov, mpeg2. The download file size must be less than 4GB.

-In the selection process, preference shall be given to world, national and city premieres, unpublished and undistributed films.

-If music or additional film material used in your film is not original, then permission from source must be obtained. The responsibility for this rests entirely with the filmmaker.

-Once the selection process will be completed, shortlisted and finalist films will be announced along with additional information on www.cinedetour.it . A free digital exhibition catalogue will soon after be available in a pdf format;

-A jury of experts of cinema and visual arts will evaluate the materials and reward the nominated winners. Also the audience will have the chance to vote for the Audience Award winner.

-Cash amounts are intended before taxes and duties and will be awarded to the winners in the form of bank transfers, following the subsidies from our private and institutional sponsors.

-OTRFF is an itinerant cinema festival. Films selected for the contest may be screened at Detour Cinema and in other official venues of the festival in Rome and in its surrounding area. The participation in the contest will count as a green light to show the film in any selected location during the festival period, fee-free and without any further permission.

-The Detour Cinema reserves the right (with no exclusive rights and in agreement with the rights owners) to schedule the screenings of the best selected films over the 2021-2022 programming season.

-OTRFF and DETOUR cinema will strongly support and promote the best films through their press office, mailing list, social profiles, and on the website www.cinedetour.it.

-The individual or corporation submitting the film hereby warrants that it is authorized to commit the film for screening, and understands and accepts these requirements and regulations.

-The submission of a film to OTRFF will be considered to be an acknowledgement of the festival rules shall indemnify and hold harmless OTRFF from and against any and all claims, liabilities, losses, damages, and expenses (including but not limited to attorney's fees, and costs of the court) which may be incurred by reason of any claim involving copyright, trademark, credits, publicity, screening, and loss of or damage to the screening videos entered.

-Cinema DETOUR reserves the right, upon your explicit consent, to compile a library containing the most deserving works of the various editions of the festival, to be promoted and submitted to the attention of national and international companies and distribution film agencies and broadcasters. In doing so, OTRFF / DETOUR CINEMA may be able to act as an agent in facilitating the conclusion of contracts and licence agreements for the distribution and/or commercial exploitation of the works.

- In respect of impediments resulting from the persistence of the pandemic emergency, the main festival events, the award ceremony and the screenings of the winning films will take place live online in "virtual cinema" mode.