Apply for NHRC’s Short Film Competition (India)

Theme

• Human Rights Issues
  • The themes of short films should be broadly based on various socio-economic, cultural and political rights.
  • The film could be a documentary, dramatization of real stories or a work of fiction, in any technical format, including animation, within the ambit of right to life, liberty, equality and dignity and covering issues specific to bonded and child labour, women & children’s rights, rights in challenges of elderly persons, rights of persons with disability, manual scavenging, right to healthcare, issues of fundamental freedoms, human trafficking, domestic violence, human rights violation due to police atrocities, custodial violence and torture, socio-economic disparities, rights of Nomadic and Denotified Tribes, prison reforms, right to education, right to clean environment including environmental hazards impacting life on planet earth, right to work, right to equality before law, right to food and nutritional security, rights of LGBTQI+, human rights violations due to displacement on account of either man-made or natural calamity, celebrating human rights and values in Indian diversity, development initiatives improving life and living standards, etc.

Funding Information

• The prize money for the first, second and third best film will be Rs. 2 lakh, Rs. 1 lakh 50 thousand and Rs. 1 lakh respectively.
• The Commission, in addition to three cash awards, certificates and trophies, may also consider giving a “Certificate of Special Mention” along with a cash prize of Rs. 50 thousand each to a maximum of four films, if so recommended by the jury.

Eligibility Criteria

• Any Indian citizen can send his/her entry. There is no bar on the number of films sent by an individual for competing in the NHRC’s Short Film Award Scheme.
• However, each application should have one film only, and films sent once for the NHRC’s competition may not compete again under this scheme of the Commission.
• The film(s) being sent for this competition should not be on social media platform(s).
• The applicant should attach either Aadhar Card / Voter Identity Card / PAN Card / Driving License or any other valid proof of identity issued by a Government authority.

Application Requirements

• Language of the film: Any Indian language with sub-titles in English or in English.
• Duration of the film: Duration of the short film should not be less than 3 minutes or more than 10 minutes.
• Film format: Short films may be in any form (fiction, documentary animation etc.) shot with any device or camera set-up (in MP4 format, Full HD (1080p) or (1920X1820p). Preferably, the size of the short film being sent for the competition should not be more than 2 GB.
• Title & Credits: Each film should depict its title and credits, including the names of the producer, writer and director.

For more information, visit NHRC.