Black Web Fest x Web Monetization

NO PURCHASE OR PAYMENT NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. MAKING A PURCHASE OR PAYMENT OF ANY KIND WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCE OF WINNING A PRIZE. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.

1. Eligibility.
The Black Web Fest X Web Monetization Contest (the “Contest”) is open only to legal residents of the United States and Canada (except Quebec) who, at the time of entry, are 18 years of age and the age of majority in their local jurisdiction. Entrants must be media makers who are Black, African, or of African descent or utilize a director or writer who is of such heritage. Void where prohibited by law. Employees of Sponsor, or any of its respective parent(s), subsidiaries, affiliates, advertising agencies, suppliers, distributors, retailers or any other company or individual involved with the design, production, execution or distribution of the Contest, and their immediate family (spouse, parents and stepparents, siblings and stepsiblings, and children and stepchildren) and household members (people who share the same residence at least three (3) months out of the year) of each such employee are not eligible. The Contest is subject to all applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations. Participation constitutes entrant’s (“Entrant”) full and unconditional agreement to these Official Rules and Sponsor’s decisions, which are final and binding in all matters related to the Contest. Winning a prize is contingent upon selected Entrant fulfilling all requirements set forth herein. Void where prohibited.

2. Sponsor.
Sponsor: Black Web Festival, Inc., 114 Ryerson Street, 3fl, Brooklyn, NY 11205.

3. Contest Entry Period.
The Contest entry period starts on April 25, 2022 at 12:00:01 a.m. Eastern Time (“ET”) and ends July 1, 2022 at 11:59:59 p.m. ET (the “Contest Entry Period”). Entries received outside the Contest Entry Period will be void. Sponsor is the official timekeeper for this Contest.

4. How to Enter the Contest.
There are four (4) categories of Entries: Short Films, Web Series, Short Documentaries, and Animation (the “Categories”). During the Contest Entry Period, to receive one (1) entry in the Contest: (a) go to the Contest webpage at https://blackwebfest.org/bwf-x-web-monetization/; (b) select your chosen category; (c) follow the prompts to be redirected to https://filmfreeway.com/BlackWebFestxWebMonetization then follow the steps provided; (d) provide your first name, last name, and email address; and (e) submit your Entry (all material submitted by an Entrant collectively known as the “Entry”). Maximum of one (1) Entry per person during the Contest Entry Period. Use of multiple email addresses or any automated system to enter is prohibited and will result in disqualification.

All Entries must meet the following requirements:

• The following length requirements shall apply to the Categories: Short Film submissions shall be no more than 40 minutes; Web Series submissions shall be no more than 30 minutes; Short Documentary submissions shall be no more than 40 minutes; and Animation submissions shall be no more than 40 minutes.

• By submitting an Entry, Entrant hereby grants to Sponsor the non-exclusive, fully paid, worldwide license to use, publicly perform, stream, modify, display and disseminate the Entry for purposes of judging.

• Entries must be independently produced. Films produced, financed, or initiated by a major motion picture studio or streaming service are not eligible to enter the Contest.

• Films are ineligible for the Contest if they have had a theatrical run (commercial release) or have been broadcast on television anywhere in the United States, United Kingdom, or Canada before July 25, 2022.

• Films that require screening and/or rental fees are ineligible for the Contest.

• Only completed, post-production films are eligible for the Contest.

• Entries must: (a) be the original work product of Entrant; (b) be solely owned by Entrant and with no other person or entity having any right or interest in it; and (c) not violate any third-party rights including but not limited to copyright, trademark, patent, contract, and/or publicity or privacy rights, of any other person or entity. Enrtries shall not be, nor may an Entry be made with parties in conjunction with Entry who are: 1) represented under contract (e.g., by a talent agent or manager) that would limit or impair Sponsor’s ability to display the Entry in any media form; 2) subject to an acting or modeling contract that would make an appearance in the Entry a violation of any third-party rights; or 3) under any other contractual relationship, including but not limited to guild and/or union memberships, that may prevent Sponsor from being able to use or display the Entry on a royalty-free basis, without any payment or fee obligations.Entrant shall not directly or indirectly include any trademark, logo, or intellectual property in his/her Entry in any way unless owned exclusively by Entrant. If someone other than the Entrant has taken, captured or created the content contained within the Entry, Entrant must have prior written permission from such person to submit such content as part of the Entry, and Entrant must be able to obtain a signed release from the such person and provide such release to Sponsor upon the request of Sponsor, in Sponsor’s sole discretion. By submitting Entry, Entrant represents his or her compliance with these terms.

• Sponsor may reject any Entry in its sole discretion if the Entry in whole or in part: contains any illegal or offensive activity, or are obscene, defamatory, likely to incite violence or illegal; includes any material in violation of any third-party’s rights; contains material which is (or promotes activities which are) sexually explicit, obscene, pornographic, violent, self-mutilating or mutilating of animals, discriminatory (based upon race, sex, religion, natural origin, physical disability, sexual orientation or age); is threatening, profane or harassing; portrays Sponsor or any person or entity negatively; and/or which is otherwise deemed to be inappropriate or demeaning in Sponsor’s sole discretion.

• Entries must not attempt to duplicate any other Entry or third-party works. Sponsor reserves the right in its sole discretion to disqualify any Entry that is a duplicate or substantially similar to another Entry and Sponsor may, in its sole discretion, disqualify any Entry that violates these parameters and/or any other part of Official Rules.

• All Entries must be received by Sponsor before the end of the Contest Entry Period to qualify. Limit one (1) Entry per person and e-mail address will be accepted for the duration of the Contest Entry Period. Any additional Entries received by Sponsor from the same person or e-mail address in excess of the stated limitation will be void. In the event of a dispute as to any Entry, the authorized account holder of the email address used to enter will be deemed to be the entrant. The “authorized account holder” is the natural person assigned an email address by an Internet Access Provider, online service provider or other organization responsible for assigning email addresses for the domain associated with the submitted address, provided such person is eligible under these Official Rules. All Entries become the exclusive property of Sponsor and will not be acknowledged or returned.

• Entries must meet the minimum threshold of professionalism, as determined by Sponsor’s judges in their sole discretion.

5. Contest Winner Selection.
Entries that comply with these Official Rules will be evaluated by a qualified panel of judges selected by Sponsor who will evaluate each Entry based on the following judging criteria of the submissions with equal weight to each:
a. Originality/Creativity
b. Direction
c. Writing
d. Cinematography
e. Performances
f. Production Value
g. Pacing
h. Structure
i. Sound/Music
The one (1) Entry with the highest score in each category will be deemed a potential winner. In the event of a tie, the judges will select the Entry with the Originality/Creativity score in the applicable category. Winners will be announced on or about July 25, 2022.

The potential winners will be contacted by Sponsor using the email address or phone number used to enter the Contest. Failure by Entrant to respond to the initial verification within 48 hours of notification may result in disqualification, and Sponsor may, at its discretion, select an alternate winner in the same manner. Odds of winning a Prize depend on the number of eligible Entries received in the applicable category during the Contest Entry Period.

6. Prize.
There is one (1) Prize available in each Category. The verified Prize Winner in each category will receive a $5,000 USD grant ($4,000 USD to be applied toward verified Prize Winner’s next project, and $1,000 USD to be applied toward marketing of the Entry film, for example, sponsorships, film festival submissions, graphic design for flyers, press kit, PR, digital advertising, and/or traditional advertising) (“Prize”).

Prize Winner Conditions: As a condition of receiving a Prize, Prize winners must
Permit Sponsor a royalty free stream of Entry for three consecutive months on Cinnamon (https://cinnamon.video/) as well as at the next Black Web Festival; complete Sponsor’s free digital publicity and marketing courses, and complete and submit to Sponsor a marketing plan. At the end of the three-month streaming period, winner is requested to complete a survey.

Participation Prize: The first 100 Entrants to submit a valid and eligible Entry in any category of the Contest during the Contest Entry Period will qualify to receive a two (2) month membership to Coil (each a “Participation Prize”) after viewing a mandatory information session. The approximate retail value of each Participation Prize is $10.
All expenses and costs not expressly listed in these Official Rules are the sole responsibility of the Verified Prize Winner. Verified Prize Winner will be responsible for all other expenses relating to the receipt and use of the Prize. Prizes are nontransferable. Sponsor reserves the right to substitute the Prize, in whole or in part, for one of equal or greater value. All federal, state, and local taxes are solely the responsibility of Verified Prize Winner. Odds of winning any Prize depend on the number of valid and eligible Entries received during the Contest Entry Period.
Sponsor is not responsible for any change of email address and/or mailing address of Entrants, nor is Sponsor responsible for any lost or damaged mail.

7. Verification of Potential Prize Winners.
POTENTIAL PRIZE WINNER(S) ARE SUBJECT TO VERIFICATION BY SPONSOR WHOSE DECISIONS ARE FINAL AND BINDING IN ALL MATTERS RELATED TO THE CONTEST. Any potential Prize winner must continue to comply with all terms and conditions of these Official Rules and winning is contingent upon fulfilling all requirements. Sponsor may run a background check on any potential winner(s). The potential Prize winner(s) may be required to execute and return to Sponsor for its receipt within five (5) business days of notification, an Affidavit of Eligibility, Release of Liability and Publicity Release (where permitted by law) (collectively, the “Affidavit”) in order to claim his/her Prize. Sponsor may, but is not obligated to, exercise its rights under such Affidavit. In the event: (a) potential winner cannot be reached for whatever reason after a reasonable effort has been exerted or the potential winner notification or Affidavit is returned as undeliverable; (b) potential winner declines or cannot accept, receive or use the Prize for any reason; (c) of noncompliance with the above or within any of the aforesaid time periods; (d) potential winner is found to be ineligible to enter the Contest or receive the Prize; (e) potential winner cannot or does not comply with the Official Rules; or (f) potential winner fails to fulfill the Affidavit-related obligations, the potential Prize winner shall be disqualified from the Contest and an alternate potential Prize winner may be selected, at Sponsor’s sole discretion, from among the other eligible Entries received. Sponsor reserves the right to modify the notification and Affidavit procedures in connection with the selection of alternate potential Prize winner, if any.

8. Entry Conditions and Release.
By entering, each Entrant agrees to: (a) comply with and be bound by these Official Rules and the decisions of the Sponsor and/or its designee(s) which are binding and final in all matters relating to this Contest; (b) release and hold harmless Sponsor and its respective parent, subsidiary and affiliated companies, the Prize suppliers and any other organizations and/or persons responsible for sponsoring, fulfilling, administering, advertising or promoting the Contest, and all of their respective past and present officers, directors, employees, agents and representatives (collectively, the “Released Parties”) from and against any and all claims, expenses and liability, including but not limited to negligence and damages of any kind to persons and property, including but not limited to invasion of privacy (under appropriation, intrusion, public disclosure of private facts, false light in the public eye or other legal theory), defamation, slander, libel, violation of right of publicity, infringement of trademark, copyright or other intellectual property rights, property damage, or death or personal injury arising out of or relating to a participant’s Entry, creation of an Entry or submission of an Entry, participation in the Contest, acceptance or use or misuse of Prize (including any travel or activity related thereto) and/or the broadcast, exploitation or use of Entry; and (c) indemnify, defend and hold harmless the Released Parties from and against any and all claims, expenses, and liabilities (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) arising out of or relating to an Entrant’s participation in the Contest and/or Entrant’s acceptance, use or misuse of any Prize.

9. Publicity.
Except where prohibited, participation in the Contest constitutes each Prize Winner’s consent to Sponsor’s and its agents’ use of each such winner’s name, likeness, photograph, voice, opinions and/or hometown and state for promotional purposes in any media, now known or hereinafter invented worldwide, without further payment or additional consideration. Without limitation, Sponsor may post the Entries of each Entrant to Sponsor’s website and social media platforms.

10. General Conditions.
Sponsor reserves the right to cancel, suspend and/or modify the Contest, or any part of it, if any fraud, technical failures or any other factor beyond Sponsor’s reasonable control impairs the integrity or proper functioning of the Contest, as determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion. Sponsor reserves the right in its sole discretion to disqualify any individual it finds to be tampering with the entry process or the operation of the Contest or to be acting in violation of these Official Rules or any other promotion or in an unsportsmanlike or disruptive manner. Any attempt by any person to deliberately undermine the legitimate operation of the Contest may be a violation of criminal and civil law and, should such an attempt be made, Sponsor reserves the right to seek damages from any such person to the fullest extent permitted by law. Sponsor’s failure to enforce any term of these Official Rules shall not constitute a waiver of that provision.

In the event of a dispute regarding the identity of any Entrant, the authorized account holder of the email address used to enter the Contest will be deemed to be the Entrant. The “authorized account holder” is the natural person assigned an email address by an Internet access provider, online service provider or other organization responsible for assigning email addresses for the domain associated with the submitted address. Potential winner(s) of any Prize may be required to show proof of being the authorized account holder to be awarded the Prize. All entry information becomes the sole and exclusive property of Sponsor and will not be returned or cancelled.

11. Limitations of Liability.
The Released Parties are not responsible for: (a) any incorrect or inaccurate information, whether caused by Entrant, or programming associated with or used in the Contest; (b) technical failures of any kind, including but not limited to malfunctions, interruptions, or disconnections in phone lines or network hardware or software; (c) unauthorized human intervention in any part of the entry process or the Contest; (d) technical or human error, which may occur in the administration of the Contest or the processing of Entries; or (e) any injury or damage to persons or property, which may be caused, directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, from Entrant’s participation in the Contest or receipt or use or misuse of any Prize. If for any reason an Entrant’s Entry is confirmed to have been erroneously deleted, lost or otherwise destroyed or corrupted, Entrant’s sole remedy is another entry in the Contest. No more than the stated number of Prizes will be awarded. If, for any reason, the Contest cannot be executed as planned, including, but not limited to, any governmental order, force majeure, epidemic/pandemic, social media mandate, printing, administrative or other error of any kind, transmission failure, infection by computer virus, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures, or any other causes beyond the control of Sponsor that corrupt or affect the security, administration, fairness, integrity or proper conduct of the Contest, or if the Contest is compromised or becomes technically corrupted in any way, electronically or otherwise, Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to cancel, modify or terminate the Contest and, if terminated before the original end date, to select the winners from among all eligible, non-suspect Entries received as of the date/time of termination.
BY ENTERING THE CONTEST, ENTRANT AGREES THAT, TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW: (1) ANY AND ALL DISPUTES, CLAIMS AND CAUSES OF ACTION ARISING OUT OF OR CONNECTED WITH THE CONTEST, OR ANY PRIZE(S) AWARDED WILL BE LIMITED TO ACTUAL, OUT-OF-POCKET COSTS INCURRED (IF ANY) NOT TO EXCEED TEN DOLLARS ($10.00), BUT IN NO EVENT WILL ATTORNEYS’ FEES BE AWARDED OR RECOVERABLE; AND (2) UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES WILL ANY ENTRANT BE PERMITTED TO OBTAIN ANY AWARD FOR, AND ENTRANT HEREBY KNOWINGLY AND EXPRESSLY WAIVES ALL RIGHTS TO SEEK, PUNITIVE, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR SPECIAL DAMAGES, LOST PROFITS AND/OR ANY OTHER DAMAGES AND/OR ANY RIGHTS TO HAVE DAMAGES MULTIPLIED OR OTHERWISE INCREASED. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE FOREGOING LIMITATIONS OR EXCLUSION OF LIABILITY, SO THE ABOVE MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.
EACH ENTRANT UNDERSTANDS AND AGREES THAT ALL RIGHTS UNDER SECTION 1542 OF THE CIVIL CODE OF CALIFORNIA AND ANY SIMILAR LAW OF ANY STATE OR TERRITORY OF THE UNITED STATES ARE HEREBY EXPRESSLY WAIVED BY HIM/HER AGAINST THE RELEASED PARTIES. SECTION 1542 READS AS FOLLOWS:
“CERTAIN CLAIMS NOT AFFECTED BY A GENERAL RELEASE. A GENERAL RELEASE DOES NOT EXTEND TO CLAIMS THAT THE CREDITOR OR RELEASING PARTY DOES NOT KNOW OR SUSPECT TO EXIST IN HIS OR HER FAVOR AT THE TIME OF EXECUTING THE RELEASE, AND THAT IF KNOWN BY HIM OR HER WOULD HAVE MATERIALLY AFFECTED HIS OR HER SETTLEMENT WITH THE DEBTOR OR RELEASED PARTY.”

12. Disputes.
Except where prohibited by law, as a condition of participating in this Contest, each Entrant agrees that (1) any and all disputes and causes of action arising out of or connected with this Contest, including but not limited to the Prize awarded, shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action, and exclusively by final and binding arbitration under the rules of JAMS and held at the JAMS regional office nearest the Entrant; (2) the Federal Arbitration Act shall govern the interpretation, enforcement and all proceedings at such arbitration; and (3) judgment upon such arbitration award may be entered in any court having jurisdiction. Under no circumstances will any Entrant be permitted to obtain awards for, and Entrant hereby waives all rights to claim, punitive, incidental or consequential damages, or any other damages, including attorneys’ fees, other than Entrant’s actual out-of-pocket expenses (i.e., costs associated with participating in this Contest), and Entrant further waives all rights to have damages multiplied or increased. Entrants further agree that any and all disputes, claims and causes of action arising out of or connected with this Contest, or any Prize awarded shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE LIMITATIONS OR EXCLUSION OF LIABILITY FOR INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, SO THE ABOVE MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. All issues and questions concerning the construction, validity, interpretation and enforceability of these Official Rules, or the rights and obligations of the Entrant and Sponsor in connection with the Contest, shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the State of New York, without giving effect to any choice of law or conflict of law rules (whether of the State of New York or any other jurisdiction), which would cause the application of the laws of any jurisdiction other than the State of New York.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, in the event that the preceding release is determined by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid or void for any reason, Entrant agrees that, by entering the Contest, (i) any and all disputes, claims, and causes of action arising out of or in connection with the Contest, or any Prize awarded, shall be resolved individually without resort to any form of class action; (ii) any claims, judgments and awards shall be limited to actual out-of-pocket costs incurred, including costs associated with entering the Contest, but in no event attorney’s fees; and (iii) under no circumstances will any Entrant be permitted to obtain any award for, and Entrant hereby waives all rights to claim, punitive, incidental or consequential damages and any and all rights to have damages multiplied or otherwise increased and any other damages, other than damages for actual out-of-pocket expenses.

13. Entrant’s Personal Information.
When registering for the Contest, you expressly agree to receive email promotional communications from Sponsor unless and until you opt-out at any time. Information collected from Entrants is subject to and governed by the Sponsor’s Privacy Policy, which is available at https://blackwebfest.org/privacy-policy/. If you are selected as a potential or verified Prize winner, your name, city and state may also be included in a publicly available Winners’ List.

Questions?: Please email us at info@blackwebfest.org