The 2020 Guangzhou International Documentary Film Festival (GZDOC), China's only national-level documentary festival, as of yesterday (March 25th) began accepting entries for documentary features, shorts and series from across the globe.

Submission deadlines:

● August 31st, 2020 for the Golden Kapok Award Competition and the Golden Kapok Special Screening: Premiere in Guangzhou

● September 20th, 2020 for the ‘China Stories’ International Pitching Session

● Submissions for the DOCSHOP as well as copyright consultation and trading services are available online throughout the year.

GZDOC 2020 calls for submissions on the following three topics ‘No Poverty, Good Health and Well-Being, and Life on Land’, and will host themed events, including screenings and forums, to enhance the understanding of the challenges facing the community for the shared future of mankind and to promote dialogue and action on a global scale.

Please visit the official website www.gzdoc.cn or follow the official WeChat account ‘广州国际纪录片节’ for more information.

‘Confucian Dream’ wins the Best Feature Documentary and the Best Global Impact China Documentary at GZDOC 2019. (Photo provided to Newsgd.com)

Established 17 years ago, GZDOC has evolved from an academic seminar with 683 entries from 56 different locations in 2011, to one of the most influential professional documentary film festivals in the world. In 2019, a total of 3,441 films from 130 countries and regions entered the competition.

One or more winning or shortlisted documentaries from the GZDOC Golden Kapok Award Competition are nominated for an Oscar almost every year. ‘5 Broken Cameras’, co-directed by Palestinian Emad Burnat and Israeli Guy Davidi, was the winner of the Best Documentary Feature Award at GZDOC 2012, and nominated for the Best Documentary Feature at the 85th Academy Awards in 2013.

‘Minding the Gap’ directed by Chinese American director Bing Liu was awarded the Best First Feature Documentary at GZDOC 2018, and nominated for the Best Documentary Feature at the 91st Academy Awards in 2019.

GZDOC 2020 will be held from 14th-17th December, 2020 in Guangzhou. Submit your film and seize your chance to tap into the China market.

Authors: Monica Liu & Zoey Huang (intern)

Editor: Simon Haywood