Rules and regulations

For another year, MUSEO DO POBO GALEGO (Museum of the Galician People) organizes MICE, an international festival devoted to ethnographic cinema. Its upcoming 19th edition will take place in Santiago de Compostela (A Coruña, Galicia) from March 20 to 26, 2024.

MICE’s goal is to bring ethnographic cinema and visual anthropology to the general public, believing that ethnographic films can be a powerful tool for research, exchanges, and creation in the context of cultural diversity. Our festival intends to be a meeting point designed to welcome discussions and foster conversations around selected films that showcase the nuances of different sociocultural contexts, with particular attention to the people, the collectives, and the sociohistorical processes relevant to anthropology and ethnography.

GENERAL GUIDELINES ELIGIBILITY

The chosen topic for this 19th MICE is “thinking politics from an ethnographic approach” According to the organization, this nineteen edition focuses on the richness the ethnographic perspective can bring to political analysis and on the approach to the categories and practices of the social world: contexts in which the analyzed events take place; links with the educational, economic or religious spheres; the everyday dimension of politics in the spaces where people live, where significances about it are created, and where personal relationships and experiences are built; relationship between subjects and state and its derivations, and rituals and symbolic power in politics.

Registration period until January 10 at 11:59 p.m.

To be eligible to participate in MICE’s OFFICIAL SELECTION, all submitted works must have been produced after January 1, 2021.

MICE’s Selection Committee will not consider eligible to participate:

  • Any films showcased in previous editions of MICE.
  • Films co-created or co-produced by members of MICE’s staff.
  • Films with tourist-oriented or advertising purposes.

SELECTION CRITERIA

MICE’s Selection Committee will pay special attention to the following:

  • Topic of this edition: “thinking politics from an ethnographic approach”
  • Relevance of the subject discussed in the film.
  • Technical quality.
  • Aesthetic vision.
  • Innovative approaches (in terms of the subject and cinematic approach).
  • Scientific relevance of the film.
    Every filmmaker/production company can submit a maximum of two (2) works.

REGISTRATION AND CONDITIONS FOR SUBMISSIONS

Films can be submitted through the following online platforms:

LANGUAGE/SUBTITLES

  • Selection Stage: if the language of your film’s original version is other than Galician, Spanish or English, you must upload a subtitled screener/additional captions for your film. These subtitles must be in Galician, Spanish or English.
  • Screening Stage: if your film is selected for participation, you must provide subtitles in Galician or Spanish.

If you experience issues with this stage, you can send an e-mail to mice@museodopobo.gal. Our team will provide you with a list of professional translators that work with Spanish and Galician. Remember to specify the desired language combination.

SELECTION PROCEDURE

All submitted films will be reviewed by MICE’s Selection Committee. When the selection process is completed, MICE’s organization will notify the appointed representative of each selected film.

MICE’s organization will be in charge of designing the schedule for the screening of the films. Once the time/day for screening has been included in the festival’s official catalogue, the team representing the selected film will not be allowed to withdraw it from the competition.

Representatives of the selected films must submit a screening copy, preferably in Full HD 1080p. If your film is selected, MICE’s organization will provide you with all the information regarding the technical details and deadlines for submitting your copy (and the accompanying subtitles, if needed). MICE will not accept screening copies that do not meet the technical requirements for a quality screening. All screening copies must be submitted before February 20, 2024.

The screening copy must be sent along with an information sheet including title, file format, screening format, and details for audio display. In addition, the appointed representative must provide MICE with adequate material for the film’s promotion (a press kit, three quality pictures, and a film poster).

The copy submitted for the screening must be a true copy of the original. The film may be withdrawn from the competition if this requirement is not met.
The screening copy will include subtitles in Galician or Spanish. Subtitles accessible for the deaf and the hard of hearing are preferred.

After the festival, all selected films (awarded or not) will be part of Museo do Pobo – MICE’s film archive. Private consultation of the films for educational and research purposes will be allowed. Any subsequent usage of these films in non-lucrative screenings, presentations and exhibitions for cultural and educational purposes will be duly regulated.

JURY

MICE’s organization will appoint the members of the jury. They will be professionals in the different fields relevant to the festival: the film scene, the audiovisual industry, the cultural scene, and the field of anthropology. The juries will be free to give the awards as per their best judgement. Their vote will be secret. All proposals shall be decided by absolute majority. The members of MICE’s organization can be present during the jury’s deliberations but will not be allowed to vote. Individuals with interests in the production or exploitation of the films will not be eligible to be part of the jury.

AWARDS

MICE’s Official Selection has two categories: International and Galician. All selected films will be eligible for the following award:

  • MICE AWARD for Best Ethnographic Film1000 EUR, a trophy, and a diploma.
  • AGANTRO AWARD for Anthropological Excellence, awarded by the Galician Association for Anthropology – 500 EUR and a trophy.
  • CREA AWARD for Best Direction, awarded by the Galician Association of Professional Filmmakers and Film Directors – 200 EUR and a trophy.
  • AUDIENCE AWARD – a trophy and a diploma.

All selected Galician films will be eligible for:

  • MICE AWARD for Best Galician Ethnographic Film – 800 EUR, a trophy, and a diploma.

All prizes are subject to current legislation.