3rd BELIZE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL SET FOR FEBRUARY 2005!

The call is on again for entries to be submitted to the Third edition of the Belize International Film Festival (BIFF 2005) scheduled for Feb. 21 - Feb. 28, 2005 at the Bliss Center for the Performing Arts in Belize City, Belize, Central America.

The Belize International Film Festival is a tropical 8-day film festival celebrating images of cultural diversity in Belize, the Caribbean and Central American regions and the World! It is one of the projects supported by the newly formed non- government organization, PALAPA Center for Audiovisual Support and Development, and is being organized by Fer de Lance Productions of Belize City. Its principal sponsor is the National Institute of Culture and History, the cultural arm of the Government of Belize. Festival Director is Belizean producer/director, Suzette Zayden.

The Belize International Film Festival has become a much-anticipated annual event for film buffs in Belize and beyond with each year surpassing the last;

• In an effort to embrace the realities of Belize, a multicultural nation that geographically and culturally links both the Caribbean and Central American regions, BIFF 2005 has added the CENTRAL AMERICAN VISTA category to complement the popular CARIBBEAN FILMMAKERS category introduced last year.

• The feature length SCREENPLAY COMPETION for the British Caribbean is also being introduced. The idea behind this competition - which involves the participation of the rapidly increasing number of other British Caribbean festivals - is for each festival to hold a feature length screenplay competition. The winning screenplay(s) would then be forwarded to a group of film producers in Europe and the UK for possible funding or matched funding.

• The number of prizes will also increase during BIFF 2005. Apart from the standard Audience Prize for the OFFICIAL SELECTION, the 2005 festival will also award Audience Prizes to the most popular documentaries and short films from the CARIBBEAN FILMMAKERS and CENTRAL AMERICAN VISTA categories. The winning films will then become part of the Festival's traveling exhibition that will be screened at various locations throughout the country of Belize within the next year.

  The deadline for all entries is December 31, 2004. Entry forms will be available on the BIFF website www.belizefilmfestival.com within two weeks.

Further enquires contact us at:

In Competition:

1. OFFICIAL SELECTION
Genre: Feature length Fiction or Documentary
Language: English or subtitled in English
Festival Preference: Drama or Comedy with a multicultural storyline
Open to: International Filmmakers

2. CARIBBEAN FILMMAKERS
Genre: Short Fiction or Documentary
Language: English or subtitled in English (exceptions made for English patois)
Open to: All Caribbean Filmmakers living in the Caribbean or Diaspora

3. CENTRAL AMERICAN VISTA
Genre: Short Fiction or Documentary
Language: English or subtitled in English
Open to: All Central American Filmmakers living in Central America or Diaspora

4. SCREENPLAY COMPETITION
Genre: Feature length Fiction
Language: English ONLY
Open to: British Caribbean Filmmakers living in the Caribbean or Diaspora

Exhibition ONLY:

5. MADE IN BELIZE
Genre: Open
Language: English, Belize Creole or subtitled in English
Category remains an exhibition section only that is open to any filmmaker (Belizean or International) who has filmed partially or entirely on location in Belize in 2004.

Press Release March 9, 2005
Press Release February 3, 2005