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YIDFF 2005: A Quantitative Look at This Year’s Entries

Overall Submissions
(International Competition and the New Asian Currents programs)

Entries for this year’s International Competition and the New Asian Currents programs were accepted from September 1st 2004 to May 31st 2005, and a total of 1,628 works were received from a record 104 countries and regions (in 2003, 1,454 works were received from 98 countries and regions).

Compared to the 221 entries received for the first YIDFF in 1989, this represents a sevenfold increase, which can be mainly attributed to a greater recognition of YIDFF, the growing number of filmmakers due to the arrival of smaller video cameras, the prevalence of personal computers, and the acceptance of both film and video works.

Looking at the countries that produced the most entries, we see Japan leading the field with 286, followed by the USA with 166, Germany with 126, and China with 113.

International co-productions accounted for 20% of all entries, and this figure is expected to increase for YIDFF 2007.

Submissions by Program

950 submissions were made to the International Competition from 94 countries and regions (902 were received for YIDFF 2003). Countries with the most entries were the USA (135), Germany (114), France (98) and Japan (70).

678 entries from 49 countries and regions were received for the New Asian Currents (compared to 833 for YIDFF 2003). The most submissions came from Japan (216), China (93), India (58), and Taiwan (43).

For YIDFF 2003 it was possible to submit a work to both programs, but this time the application method was altered to require selection of a single category in order to confirm entrants’ intentions.

Screening Formats, Technical Formats

Film works comprised 16% of all entries; those on video accounted for 84%, clearly illustrating their growing prevalence; and another notable aspect was the increasing use of HD (High Definition) cameras.

Amongst film entries, an overwhelming number had been shot on video and transferred to 35mm.

Submission Methods

79% of submissions were made via the online application form available on the festival homage, far exceeding paper submissions which accounted for the remaining 21%. A directly proportional relationship can be seen between the growth in video entries (propelled by the spread of video cameras and personal computers) and an increase in the number of online entry applications.