Festival

Festival presentation: 

The Warsaw Film Festival (WFF) is organized by the Warsaw Film Foundation in Warsaw, Poland. Its aim is to present the best films from all over the world to Polish and international audience, and to encourage better communication and understanding between people living in different countries and of different cultural backgounds. WFF is accredited by FIAPF (www.fiapf.org) as a competitive non specialized film festival. At WFF we present films made to be screened at theaters.

 

Last year’s Festival program included films from fifty nine countries of the world. Over the past thirty years we have screened several thousand films for over a million viewers.

Festival Logo: 

Theme: 

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Category/Format: 

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REGULATIONS of the 31^st WARSAW FILM FESTIVAL, 9-18 October, 2015

1. ORGANISATION, AIMS, DATES

The Warsaw Film Festival (WFF) is organised by the Warsaw Film Foundation in Warsaw, Poland. Its aim is to present the best films from all over the world to Polish and international audience, and to encourage better communication and understanding between people living in different countries and of different cultural backgrounds. WFF is accredited by FIAPF (www.fiapf.org) as a competitive non-specialised film festival. At WFF we present films made to be screened at cinemas.

The 31^st Warsaw Film Festival will take place October 9-18, 2015.

2. SECTIONS

The Festival programme is divided into the following sections:

2.1. International Competition – for feature films (over 60 min.) from all over the world.

2.2. Competition 1-2 – for first and second feature films  (over 60 min.) by the directors from all over the world.

2.3. Free Spirit Competition – for independent, innovative, rebellious feature films from all over the world  (over 60 min.).

2.4. Documentary Competition – for feature length (over 60 mins.) documentaries from all over the world.

2.5. Short Films Competition – for narrative, documentary and animated short films from all over the world (30 mins or less).

2.6. Special Screenings  (over 60 min.) - non-competitive section.

2.7. Classics from Poland  (over 60 min.) - non-competitive section.

2.8. Discoveries – visions of contemporary world  (over 60 min.), fiction and documentaries, non-competitive section.

2.9. Family Cinema Weekend – films for children and their parents (features and shorts of any length), non-competitive section.

2.10. Polish Short Films Panorama - non-competitive section.

3. ELIGIBILITY

World, international, and European premieres have priority.

Except in special circumstances, accepted by the festival director, on,ly films meeting the following criteria can be presented at the Warsaw Film Festival:

a/ films which had their first public screening on or after January 1, 2015;

b/ films which have not been presented at any film event in Eastern Europe outside of the country (countries) of origin;

c/ Polish films which have not been presented during any motion picture event in Poland; the only acceptable exception are Polish feature films, which can be presented at the Polish Feature Films Festival in Gdynia; the only exception are films presented in the Polish Short Films Panorama, which can be presented at other film events in Poland and abroad;

d/ films which have not been distributed or exhibited in Poland or broadcast on TV stations which are available in Poland;

e/ films which have not been previously shown on the Internet;

f/ world, international or European premieres are required for the Short Films Competition.

Acceptable screening formats:

i/ DCP (Digital Cinema Package): 2K /  jpeg2000/mxf, 24 fps
IMPORTANT: if the DCP is coded, the rights owner is obliged to:

• deliver KDM for tests (valid for at least 7 days, starting on the day in which the Festival receives the DCP)
• deliver KDM valid for the entire duration of the festival;

ii/ 35 mm

4. SELECTION

4.1. The Director of the Festival selects and invites the films participating in the Festival.

4.2. Films will be accepted for selection only if submitted before the deadline on DVD or as online screener with English subtitles (if the language of dialogues is not English or Polish) and accompanied by necessary information as listed on the festival website.

4.3. DVDs remaining in Poland will be destroyed six months after the end of the festival.

5. DEADLINES / IMPORTANT DATES

March 15 – selection process commences

July 15 – deadline for submissions of films

August 31 – selection results announced to the entrants; sorry, but due to an enormous number of entries we will only inform the entrants whose films were selected; if you do not receive an invitation from us by August 15, it means that your film has not been selected for the WFF programme;

September 23 (Wednesday) – official press conference of WFF

October 2 – deadline for delivery of screening materials to the Festival Office

October 9-18 – dates of the Festival

October 16-18 – dates of CentEast Market Warsaw, which accompanies the WFF

Saturday, October 17 – Awards Ceremony

October 31 – film prints returned (at the latest).

6. LANGUAGE VERSIONS AND SUBTITLES

6.1. All films will be screened in their original languages with English subtitles, except for films with dialogues in English. The English subtitles are obligatory for Polish films.

6.2. Polish Distributors must provide the prints of foreign films with Polish subtitles at their own expense.

6.3. If the film does not have a Polish Distributor, the Festival Organisers will provide electronic subtitles (under the screen) in the Polish language at their own expense.

6.4. Polish films presented at the WIFF must be subtitled in English at the expense of the Producer.

7. SCREENINGS

7.1. Each film will be presented no more than four times, including press & industry screenings.

7.2. In case the film wins an award, the organizers will hold one extra screening on the last day of the festival.

7.3. The Festival Director makes the screenings schedule.

7.4. During the Festival no public screening of any of the films participating is permitted before the official screening organised by the Festival.

8. JURIES, AWARDS

The Juries and their Presidents are appointed by the Festival Director, who has the right to attend the jury proceedings, but does not take part in the voting. The decisions of the Juries are taken by open ballot, with simple majority. Persons who have any connection with films presented in the competition cannot be on the Jury.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION regarding cash awards:

a/ payments will be made by bank transfer only; the winners are requested to provide us with their banking details;

b/ the entire sum of prize money will be transferred to one account of the winner;

8.1. International Competition awards:

a/ the main award – Warsaw Grand Prix
The financial part of the award: 100,000 zlotys *). The award goes to the Director (or Directors).

b/ Best Director
The financial part of the award: 10.000 zlotys *). The award goes to the Director (Directors).

c/ Special Jury Award
The financial part of the award: 5.000 zlotys *). The award can be given to an actor, composer, editor, director of photography, producer, scriptwriter or set designer.

There can be only one winner of each of the awards in the International Competition (no ex-aequo).

8.2. Awards in Competition 1-2

Winner of Competition 1-2
The financial part of the award: 10.000 zlotys *). The award goes to the Director (Directors).
One or two films can be the winners of Competition 1-2.

8.3. Free Spirit Competition award:

Free Spirit Award
The financial part of the award: 5.000 zlotys *). The award goes to the Director (Directors). There can be only one winner of the Free Spirit Competition (no ex aequo).

8.4. Documentary Competition award

Best Documentary Award
The financial part of the award: 5,000 zlotys *). The award goes to the Director(s). There can be only one winner of the Documentary Competition (no ex aequo).

8.5. Short Films Competition

a/ Grand Prix

The financial part of the award: 2,000 zlotys *). The award goes to the Director(s) of the winning film. There can be only one winner of the Grand Prix (no ex aequo).

b/ Best Animated Short Film Award

The financial part of the award: 1,000 zlotys *). The award goes to the Director(s) of the winning film.

c/ Best Live Action Short Film Award

The financial part of the award: 1,000 zlotys *). The award goes to the Director(s) of the winning film.

d/ Best Documentary Short Film Award

The financial part of the award: 1,000 zlotys *). The award goes to the Director(s) of the winning film.

Please note that if there will be less than 4 films in a given category (live action, documentary or animation), the award in that category will not be given.

8.6. The Audience Award: The audience votes for the best film from any section of the Festival. The winner gets the Audience Award. No financial part of this award.

*) all financial awards are subject to tax, to be paid in Poland, according to the Polish Law; for current exchange rates please consult www.nbp.pl;

9. TRANSPORTATION AND RESPONSIBILITY FOR PRINTS

9.1. The prints should reach the Festival Office in Warsaw (in accordance with Shipping Instructions) by October 4 at the latest.

9.2. Polish Producers and Distributors deliver the prints to the Festival Office at their own expense.

9.3. For films without Polish Distributor, the cost of prints' transportation, if not agreed otherwise, is covered by WIFF:

a/ to and from Poland, if the print is transported from and to the lending company (Producer/Sales Agent);

b/ one way (to Poland only), if the print is transported along a chain of festivals.

9.4. The Festival is responsible for the prints from the moment of pick-up from the shipper (when importing) to the moment of giving them to the shipper (when re-exporting). The Festival's responsibility for damage or loss of the print is limited to the cost of making a new print according to the present laboratory rate for making a standard print. The festival's liability in case of whole or partial destruction of a print during the festival cannot exceed the value of 3.500 Euro.

9.5. Damage to the film print must be reported to the Festival Office in writing within one month of its return and before the following screening. All claims will be judged by the reported state of the print.

10. OTHER ISSUES

10.1. Participation in the Festival implies acceptance of the Festival regulations.

10.2. Once the invitation has been accepted, the invited film cannot be withdrawn from the Festival programme.

10.3. Cases not covered by these Regulations will be considered in compliance with the International Regulations. In case of dispute, only the Polish language version of the Festival Regulations is considered legally binding.

Mailing address: Warsaw Film Festival, P.O. Box 816, PL-00-950 Warszawa 1, Poland

Office (couriers') address: Warsaw Film Festival, ul. Lwowska 11/11, 00-660 Warszawa, Poland

Other co-ordinates: tel: (48-22) 621 4647, fax: (48-22) 621 6268, e-mail: films@wff.pl, www.wff.pl.