Closed Captions for Film Festivals

Thinking of submitting your film to international festivals? When it comes to film festivals, closed captioning can be easily overlooked, but is often a crucial element of your submission. Transcription, translation, closed captioning and providing full Digital Cinema Packages are common requirements and at Capital Captions, we’ve got you covered. In this article we’ll take a closer look at closed captions for film festivals and what it involves.

Taking place throughout the year, film festivals are a great way to showcase your movie, to network with industry professionals, gain recognition and audience appreciation. There are a huge number of international film festivals and almost all of them require films to be closed captioned. In this article we’ll cover some of the biggest film festivals around the world and confirm their current requirements for closed captioning.

Cannes Film Festival Closed Captions

For the Cannes Film Festival, submissions are accepted with no subtitles if French or English is the source language. However, films made in other languages must have either French or English subtitles. These should be supplied in a DCP format (Digital Cinema Package) with the export being XML.

At Capital Captions, we work with film translations not only to/from French to English but also work with over 50 other languages.

Venice International Film Festival Closed Captions

For submission at the Venice International Film Festival, all foreign films should have Italian subtitles. Films which have a source language of Italian, where speakers have strong accents and/or dialects that may be difficult to decipher, Italian subtitles can also be added. However, for films in Italian with no strong accents and/or dialects, closed captions should be in English and supplied as a DCP, XML format.

At Capital Captions, we work regularly with Italian transcription and closed captioning of Italian films and programmes. Where Italian translation is required, we offer services to translate Italian to English and vice versa, as well as working with a wide range of other language pairs.

Sundance Film Festival

Taking place in Salt Lake City, Utah, the Sundance Film Festival requests that all submissions are subtitled in English for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (SDH). These should be rendered as open subtitles (burned in), with two different film versions being supplied, so captioned performances can be arranged in selected screenings. Audio description for the blind and visually impaired is also recommended, though not a set requirement.

At Capital Captions, we provide subtitling for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (SDH services). We work with DCP and ProRes submissions with burned in subtitles for the Sundance Film Festival. Alongside our English captions, we work with caption translation and can also supply audio description voiceovers as required.

Toronto Film Festival

Specifications for accessibility at Toronto Film Festival are that all English-language Films or multilingual Films that include spoken English dialogue require closed captions in English for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (SDH), as well as a transcript of spoken dialogue. Open subtitles (burned in captions) are recommended to be used for selected screenings. The Toronto Film Festival uses CaptiView technology, so captions should be supplied as a Digital Cinema Package using XML.

At Capital Captions, we regularly work with captioning for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing and supply DCP caption files for use at film festivals and other events.

Berlinale Film Festival

Submissions to the Berlin Film Festival (Berlinale) require English and German subtitles which must be burned in, as open captions. Safe area should be 5% and subtitles should always be burned in the active area of a film (not in the black cropped sections). Sidecar subtitle and caption files such as SRT, SUB or similar, will not be accepted. 

Subtitle burning is a specialism at Capital Captions. We work with a range of different fonts, styles, and specifications to ensure that subtitles are easy to read, ensuring they are both fit for purpose and visually pleasing.

South by Southwest Film Festival

Taking place in Austin, Texas, the South by Southwest Festival is about more than just films, exhibiting also interactive media and music. All submissions should include an MP4 delivery of the film and an SRT file.

Capital Captions provide fast turnaround, low cost SRT subtitling services. We work with dialogue only captions or can include all elements for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, as required.

Why Submit To Film Festivals

For filmmakers looking to break into the industry, submitting a film to festivals can be a great move for a number of key reasons.  

• Create future opportunities by networking with industry professionals.
• Gain recognition, publicity and exposure from audiences, critics and peers.
• Network with distributors and buyers for your current film, or future projects.
• Hope to win cash prizes and awards.
• Gain constructive criticism from experts in the industry.

Having well written, perfectly timed captions for your film festival submission ensures that you fulfil all submission requirements. In addition, closed captioning ensures accessibility for all viewers, whether Deaf or Hard of Hearing or foreign speaking, so you can be sure to reach the widest audience possible.

So there you have it, an in-depth guide to closed captions for film festivals. If you’re after captioning your film, why not hit the quote button below to see what we can offer you.