Regulations goEast 2025 – MAIN COMPETITION

1. goEast – Festival of Central and Eastern European Film aims at increasing the international audience’s awareness for film-cultural developments in Central and Eastern Europe, at facilitating international contacts between filmmakers and supporting independent filmmaking in Central and Eastern Europe, raising international dialogue, understanding and cultural integration. goEast is organized by DFF – Deutsches Filminstitut & Filmmuseum (Schaumainkai 41, 60596 Frankfurt).

2. The 25th goEast Film Festival will take place in Wiesbaden, Germany, from April 23–29, 2025. The festival presents current film productions – feature films, documentaries  as well as hybrid formats – from countries in Central and Eastern Europe (*eligible countries see list below) as well as co-productions with decisive contributions from those countries. The films will be shown in competition, out of competition and in special programmes.

3. Films must meet the following criteria for entering the competition:
* Formats: 35mm, DCP, minimum length of 60 minutes. Exceptions require an authorization of the festival.
* Production year: 2024 or 2025.
* No cinematic release or TV-broadcasting in Germany before the time of the festival.
* The filmmaker has to have citizenship of one of the eligible countries in Central or Eastern Europe (see list below) and/or must be a permanent resident of one of these countries.

4. A selection committee chooses films for competition. The selection process will not be public and there is no legal right to enter the competition.

5. The management of the festival appoints an independent international jury. The jury will decide about awards and prices. The jury’s decision is final, and the jury does not need to justify their decisions.
The awards: Golden Lily for Best Film (10,000 euro), Award of the City of Wiesbaden for Best Director (7,500 euro). CEEOL Award for Best Documentary Film (4,000 euro). The award money for the Golden Lily Award, will be paid out to the film producer. In case more than one co-producer from Central or Eastern Europe (s. list of eligible countries) is attached to the film, the prize money will be split proportionally between the parties. Co-producers from other countries will not receive prize money. The Award of the City of Wiesbaden and the Award for Cultural Diversity are paid out to the film directors. The prize money will be handed out personally in cash during the festival or will be transferred via bank transfer to the account of the winner within six months after the festival.

6. goEast does not charge any submission fees for filmy entry.

7. If a film is selected for the competition, goEast will invite and cover the full travel and hotel costs for one representative of the film team for the period between the first scheduled screening and the award ceremony.

8. Please note that as of the 25th festival edition in 2025, goEast only pays screening fees for films out of competition. Exceptions for films selected in competition will only be made in rare, exceptional cases.

9. Once the rights-holders have agreed to participate in the competition, the premiere status of the competing film may not change. In case of a violation in the form of further screenings in Germany, online or a broadcast on national German television before the festival dates, the film will be taken out of the competition and the rightsholder will be asekd to pay 600 Euros in compensation. In case the rights holder withdraws the film after the competition line-up has been announced in the official press release, goEast will charge a fee of 1200 Euros.

10. Films will only be screened in original language with English subtitles. The festival reserves the right to translate the selected features and documentaries in competition into German. The production of German subtitles is the responsibility of the festival.

11. The Festival confirms that for each film in competition there will be a total of no more than three screenings. Additional screenings, either in the cinema or online, can be agreed upon separately with the rights holders.

12. The deadline for entering films is December 31, 2024. By then the selection committee must have received: an online link, a completed entry form (via Eventival) with all attachments. Film submisson via FilmFreeway is also possible. The right holders of selected films are requested to provide a digital version (screener) of the film with English subtitles.

13. A print of the film is to be sent only after an official invitation has been received. The film print must arrive at least 10 days before the festival starts. (April 13, 2025).

14. Screening copies are preferably sent digitally. In case the DCP is send on a hard disk or similar medium or the screening print is a 35mm copy,  participants have to cover the costs for transport, insurance and customs, unless negotiated otherwise.

15. The festival covers the insurance of the film prints while they are on location in Wiesbaden, from their arrival until they are given back to the shipper.

16. Only the rights holder or his representative can enter a film. With your film’s registration, you confirm to hold the rights and/or have permission to represent the rights holder in the competition of the 25th goEast Film Festival.

17. The festival is allowed to archive a digital version of the film and to upload the file to the online media library, which usage is limited to accredited guests only, during the festival week.

18. For the purposes of festival communication (marketing and press) the submitters provide the festival with texts and images that can be used in the festival catalogue, the festival flyer, the festival website as well as in further advertising activities. Additionally, the festival is allowed to use trailers and excerpts of the films for marketing and press reasons. With the submission of these materials the submitters confirm that they hold the rights to use these materials, and may forward them to third parties, like the goEast film festival.

19. Entering a film means the acceptance of the festival’s terms & conditions as stated on the website, on FilmFreeway and on eventival.

20. The management of the festival is authorized to change the festival’s regulations in special cases.

21. The festival’s legal domicile is Frankfurt am Main, Germany.

22. Deadline for submissions is December 31, 2024

Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, North Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Russia*, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan

*goEast strongly condemns Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine. Films that received funding from any Russian state institution, or from organizations or individuals on the international sanctions list, will not be selected for the goEast competition.