AIFF Dubai - AI Film Festival Dubai

A. Submissions
The Artificial Intelligence Film Festival (“AIFF”) is an initiative by Expo City Dubai (the “Organiser”) includes a competition for people (“Entrants”) to submit a short film (“Submission”), two to 10 minutes long, that incorporate content generated using or incorporating Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) tools.
Any and all Submission(s) to be produced and submitted to AIFF must incorporate content generated through one or more of the following AI techniques into one of the three main pillars of film: text, audio, video.
• Natural language processing
• Speech recognition
• Music and sound generation
• Voice synthesis
• Text-to-speech synthesis
• Text-to-image synthesis
• Text-to-video synthesis
• Image-to-image translation
• Video editing with AI features
• Animation tools
• Motion capture
• Lip-sync
• AI video editing/mastering
Particular tools will be used to verify the authenticity of the AI content used. Further clarifications can be requested by the Organiser at its sole discretion. The Entrants (as defined below) need to present proof of using AI tools and techniques through video recordings, screenshots or any other validation techniques.
B. Eligibility
AIFF, organised by the Organiser is open only to eligible individuals, who, at the time of entry, are at least 18 years old. The Entrants submitting a Submission must present a valid National Identity Card (ID) or international passport to be eligible to enter and participate in AIFF.
The following individuals are not eligible to enter or win a prize:
• employees, representatives, agents, directors, and officers of the Organiser, its parents, subsidiaries, affiliated companies, and marketing agencies, or any other parties involved in the administration of AIFF (collectively the “Film Festival Parties”) and
• each of the immediate family members of such Film Festival Parties (i.e., spouses, parents, children, siblings and stepfamily) and all persons living in the same household of each of the Film Festival Parties.
Each Entrant may not submit more than one (1) Submission into the AIFF.
By participating in AIFF, Entrants (and their team) agree to be bound by these official rules (“Official Rules”) and by the decisions of the Organiser, which shall be final in all matters relating to the AIFF.

C. Submission guidelines
By submitting work, the Entrant agrees:
• they have all rights necessary to submit the Submission, including without limitation, the title or rights in any content, trademarks, artwork, text, and/or music featured in the Submission, and to grant the Organiser the right to use the Submission as set forth in these Official Rules
• to indemnify and hold harmless the Organiser against any and all expenses, damages and losses of any kind (including reasonable legal fees and costs) incurred by the Organiser in connection with any claims, actual or threatened, of any kind including copyright or any other intellectual property infringement claims arising from any Submission provided to the Organiser,
• to have full rights to use any and all music, images, video clips or other intellectual property included in the Submission, unless the use qualifies as “Fair Use” under the relevant applicable law.
• to grant the Organiser an exclusive, perpetual, royalty-free licence to use, edit, reproduce, distribute and share the Submission's poster, trailer, synopsis, images, clips and movie stills in AIFF and the Organiser’s social media, website, Film Freeway, educational institutions, with the press and other communication channels. The Organiser will be entitled to retain all revenue generated from such exploitation
• to have their Submission reviewed by the panel of judges and scored according to the criteria for the purpose of shortlisting the top 10 submissions. The film with the highest score will receive the ‘Best Film’ award, while the film with the highest score in the ‘quality of overall film composition’ category will receive the ‘Best Director’ award. All 10 shortlisted submissions will then be opened to a public vote, with the film that has the highest number of votes receiving the ‘People’s Choice’ award. A specialised AI tool will select the winner of the ‘AI Choice’ award.
• the Submission must include English subtitles (unless the spoken language is English)
• they have reviewed and accept all AIFF Official Rules imposed by the Organiser
• the Organiser reserves the right to judge which Submissions are selected, awarded or screened, and the AIFF jury is free to make their own choices. The jury’s decisions are final and non-negotiable; no answers will be provided about unselected films. The Organiser will not offer Entrants any compensation or pay screening fees.
By submitting the Submission, the Entrant agrees that the Submission does not contain:
• extremist or propaganda content, which is determined based on the Organiser’s sole discretion. The Organiser does not accept content from religious or political organizations in all matters relating to AIFF
• works involving politics / films promoting a political agenda
• material that is indecent, lewd, pornographic, obscene, profane, hateful, defamatory, slanderous or libellous, or that promotes alcohol, illegal drugs, tobacco, firearms/weapons (or the use of any of the foregoing), violence, illegal conduct, or animal cruelty
• poor production standards (bad sound, lack of subtitles/captions for non-English films, video resolution less than 720p HD, etc.)
• any viruses, trojan horses, trap doors, back doors, easter eggs, worms, time bombs, cancelbots or other computer programming routines that are intended to interfere with or cause harm to the Organiser’s website/platform or any computer or software
• inappropriate material for the general public material that is unlawful in any jurisdiction where the Entrant’s Submission is created
The Organiser, in its sole discretion, can consider any work to be disqualified if the content is considered inappropriate for the purpose of the AIFF.

D. Selected Submissions
The AIFF jury will review the Submissions after the deadline, providing a score from one to 10 for each of the four evaluation criteria:
• Film production quality (25%)
• Narrative integrity and message clarity (25%)
• Innovative concept and creative exploration (25%)
• AI technique(s) integration (25%)

Each Submission will receive a minimum of four and a maximum of 40; the highest average score across all judges will determine the final scores. The 10 Submissions with the highest scores will be shortlisted. The Organiser shall publicly announce the ten (10) finalists in January 2024, as determined by the jury’s scoring.

Selected Submissions, awards and screening selections will be notified according to the schedules listed on the AIFF’s website. The Organiser is not responsible for schedule delays.

AIFF will celebrate and recognise the following award categories:
1. Best Film Award – highest score for all four criteria
2. Best Director Award – highest score for film production quality
3. Audience Choice Award – based on the total number of votes from the public online audience
4. AI Choice Award – based on the evaluation performed by an AI tool

The jury’s ratings and decisions are final and binding on all participants. The jury’s scores will not be shared with the Entrants or general public. In the event of any tie, the finalists shall be determined looking at the individual scores of the judging panel in a predetermined hierarchy. The decisions of the jury shall be final in all respects. The Organiser will notify the individual Entrant through the email address provided in the registration form or during the registration process.

Preference will be given to Submissions that have not previously been shown to the public.

If selected to be showcased at a live screening event, all screening copies must be received a minimum of 14 days prior to screening.

Successful Entrants are responsible for all travel, lodging and other expenses should they attend an AIFF screening event. The Organiser does not provide financial support in such cases.

E. Publicity
The Organiser reserves the right to use, edit, reproduce and distribute images and video clips from the Submission for publications, public relations, advertisements and the posting of images or video clips on the Internet (for websites, social media portals, listings, etc. of the AIFF). It is agreed that the Organiser will be entitled to retain all revenue generated from such exploitation.
Participation in AIFF implies the unconditional acceptance of the Official Rules. The Entrants, including producers, distributors or other persons or organisations submitting work, must attest that third parties involved in the production agree with their participation in AIFF.
The Organiser is hereby granted the right to use, edit, reproduce and distribute one or more excerpt from any film submitted and accepted for exhibition at AIFF for promotional purposes. The Entrant – individuals or organisations – submitting the film hereby warrants that it is authorised to commit the film for screening, and understands and agrees to these requirements and regulations. The Entrant shall indemnify and hold harmless the Organiser from and against any and all claims, liabilities, losses, damages, and expenses (including but not limited to attorney's fees and court costs) which may be incurred by reason of any claim involving copyright, trademark, credits, publicity, screening, and or loss of or damage to the Submissions. Entrants hereby consent to the Organiser processing the personal data that is transmitted as part of the application for all purposes concerning AIFF. Entrants confirm that they have the right to make the contact details of third parties available for this purpose. Entrants can revoke this consent at any time but will therefore be disqualified from AIFF.
LEGAL WARNING: ANY ATTEMPT BY AN INDIVIDUAL, WHETHER OR NOT A PARTICIPANT, TO DELIBERATELY UNDERMINE THE LEGITIMATE OPERATION OF AIFF IS A VIOLATION OF CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LAWS, AND SHOULD SUCH AN ATTEMPT BE MADE, THE ORGANISER RESERVES THE RIGHT TO SEEK DAMAGES AND PURSUE ALL OTHER REMEDIES AGAINST ANY SUCH INDIVIDUAL TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW.
The Organiser may prohibit an Entrant, or their associated team, from participating in AIFF or winning a prize if, in its sole discretion, it determines that said Entrant is attempting to undermine the legitimate operation of AIFF by cheating, deception, or other unfair playing practices (including the use of automated quick entry programmes) or intending to annoy, abuse, threaten or harass any other Entrants or any AIFF parties.