To submit a short film, you need to choose one category among the three described below:

1. Universal health coverage (UHC):  films about mental health, non-communicable diseases (NCDs) as well as other UHC stories linked to communicable diseases not part of emergencies;
2. Health emergencies: films about health emergencies, for example, COVID-19, Ebola, disaster relief and health in war zones;
3. Better health and well-being: films about environmental and social determinants of health, such as nutrition, sanitation, pollution, gender, and/or about health promotion or health education.

For each category, candidates can submit short documentaries, fiction films or animation films of three to eight minutes in length.

Additionally, WHO distributes some special prizes to short-listed videos not receiving a GRAND PRIX.

You might also be interested in the Wheelwright Prize 2022

Eligibility criteria For the Film Festival

• Only short films completed between 1 January 2019 and 30 January 2022 are eligible.
• Any production made by United Nations staff members or exclusively done with UN funding is not eligible.

Technical Requirements for the Film Festival

• Every video submitted must be a final edited product: rough-cuts will NOT be considered for the selection.
• Submissions do not need to have been already distributed to be eligible.
• A Submission can be in any language; if it is not in English, you should include English subtitles.
• Every submission must be in the horizontal format of a full HD le (1920 X 1080 pixels) compressed with MP4 codec, data-rate of 10 MB/s. In case a video is in square or vertical formats, you should insert the file in the horizontal full HD format with black bands on the left and right sides.

Also check out: Life After Conflict (International Competition)

Awards for Winning Submissions

The jury includes external advisers from the arts as well as WHO technical experts. The jury will watch a maximum of 15 selected videos for each category.

Each prize will be a trophy and a grant as follows:

1. There will be three GRAND PRIX, one for each category. Each GRAND PRIX will be a grant of USD 10,000.
2. In addition, juries can nominate special prizes for short-listed videos not receiving a GRAND PRIX. From this pool, the Director-General can choose up to three special prizes, each receiving a grant of USD 5,000. Also, there will be only one special prize per candidate.
3. Student Prize; videos of 3 to 8 minutes long produced by students who are legal adults in their country as well as enrolled in formal education, including audio-visual and film-making schools.
4. Film About Health Innovation; videos of 3 to 8 minutes long with a story in line with the content for this special prize described on the festival website.
5. Film About Rehabilitation; videos of 3 to 8 minutes long with a story in line with the content for this special prize described on the festival website.
6. Very Short Film Prize; videos of 1 minute – 2 minutes 30 seconds long with a story in line with the content of the main three categories and/or the content of other special prizes described on the festival website.
7. In addition, ‘public choice’; members of the public will choose their favourite video through an online promotion/selection process.

Know more about: Annual Word Press Photo Contest 2022

Competition Timeline

There will be video submission time from October 30 2021 to January 20 2021.

The jury will announce the finalist in March 2022. During this announcement WHO screens the winning video online for public viewing, likely in the spring and/or early summer. Winners will get the information about it confidentially in April or early May, before a public announcement.