The Festival of International Virtual and Augmented Reality Stories focuses on curating the best immersive VR and AR story-driven content in the world, with the aim of exploring and nurturing this platform for new narrative forms, in any aspect where the General Rules conflict with the Terms and Conditions, the Terms and Conditions shall supersede the General Rules.
General Festival Rules
CATEGORY RULES:
Rules for all Categories:
The submitter must have consent from all required parties prior to submitting a story to FIVARS for screening at the Festival and relevant events leading up to and following the Festival.
Please read the Terms and Conditions thoroughly for complete details before submission. Only VR/Mixed/AR projects will be reviewed for final acceptance at the sole discretion of FIVARS. If the piece is of a more unique nature, but you feel it may be of interest to FIVARS, please feel free to contact submissions@fivars.net .
The two categories for submissions are:
Passive Immersive Playback: Passive Immersive Media, which also encompasses "360" or "Spherical" Video, covers any submissions in the form of a video file or application with a fixed duration in which the user is immersed within a surround playback technology and a passive viewer during playback.
Interactive stories: VR/Mixed/AR stories that allow the user to directly affect the sequence, environment, or point of view through their own actions (i.e., whether through a user-visible or hidden interaction), immersive theater, or location-based configuration.
AWARD QUALIFIERS:
People's Choice Award Spherical Video
Given to the highest viewer-voted Non-Interactive VR/Mixed/AR Story.
People's Choice Award Interactive Narrative
Given to the highest viewer-voted Interactive VR/Mixed/AR Story.
Impact Award:
Any narrative experience that, in playing to the strengths of the medium, creates a memorable call to action or helps or affords a unique and empowering perspective with potentially positive sociological ramifications
Excellence in Visual Design
Excellence in Sound Design
Excellence in Experience Design
Technical Achievement Award
Outstanding Performance (NEW)
Grand Jury Prize
Given to the highest Jury-Panel-voted VR/AR Story from all categories.
PROCESS FOR SUBMISSION:
To submit a Story for Festival consideration, an Applicant must:
Complete the registration process at FilmFreeway and pay the required fee as listed during the submission process.
Provide to FIVARS a digital submission via a link to the submission content, which is to be sent by the submitter to submissions@fivars.net (if you have any issues, please try fivarstories@gmail.com) for transmission of the digital file. Example methods include but are not limited to links to files stored on Amazon Cloud, Google Drive or Cloud services, Dropbox, Onedrive, or any other non-expiring file sharing or hosting service (FIVARS does not expressly endorse any service over another). However, we prefer Google Drive for practicality or any non-expiring link. This will then be available to be reviewed by the FIVARS adjudication panel.
FIVARS does not accept submissions in any other manner or format, including content burned to Read/Write (RW) discs, Blu-ray discs, or trailers.
Submission Qualifiers
a) FIVARS will only review one version of a submitted story. Only one version of the Story may be submitted. If multiple versions are submitted, FIVARS will view only the received version. If accepted, FIVARS may accept an updated version under special written approval.
b) If the original language of production is non-English, English subtitles must be included;
c) The digital file must be labeled with the following: (i) title, (ii) length in minutes (e.g. RT0:00)
d) an email must be sent to submissions@fivars.net (backup email: fivarstories@gmail.com) with subject including (i) title, (ii) length in minutes, (iii) production company name
and the body of the email to include the following information:
*Template*
Subject: <title>, <length in minutes>, <production company name>
Body:
Phone Number: <phone number>
Address: <address>
DIR: <director>
Country: <country of production>
Logline: <Logline>
Equirectangular poster: <links to equirectangular poster>
Website: <website for content>
Social Media Links: <Twitter>, <Facebook>, <Instagram>
Date of completion: <date of completion>
Premiere Status: <Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Worldwide)/ existing exhibited territories>
Distribution: <any current channels of distribution>
Equirectangular Poster: (please email png or jpg)
Standard Promotional Poster: (please email png)
Applicants should test their digital submissions thoroughly before submitting them. Suppose FIVARS is unable to view the digital submission. In that case, FIVARS may attempt, but is under no obligation, to contact the Applicant to obtain a replacement digital submission.
FIVARS is under no obligation to contact the submitting party and/or refund the submission fee if the Applicant did not adhere to the rules listed above.
FIVARS does not confirm receipt of digital submissions and is not responsible for lost or misdirected submissions. It is the Applicant’s responsibility to ensure that the submission procedure is complete and that FIVARS has received the digital submission.
FIVARS may accept late submissions at its sole and absolute discretion, but an additional submission fee may apply.
SELECTION PROCESS
FIVARS will consider all eligible stories submitted by the above deadline and per these Terms for inclusion in the Festival. FIVARS reserves the right to consider inclusion in the Festival and include in the Festival stories received at any time and through any means, channel, or process, including means, channels, or methods other than those outlined in these Terms. Nothing in these Terms or otherwise requires FIVARS to select any of the stories submitted through the process outlined in these Terms for Festival inclusion.
All selection decisions are at the sole and absolute discretion of FIVARS and are final; FIVARS is not required to provide any feedback, comments, reasons, or any other information regarding the selection or non-selection of any submitted story or the process by which stories are or have been selected.
FIVARS is not responsible or liable for its selection decisions; for the contents of any internal comments or feedback regarding the Story that is or may be obtained from the Applicant or anyone else; for any communications by any representative of FIVARS relating to the Story or the Festival selection process; for the manner in which the Story shall be, is or was considered and reviewed; or for any failure on the part of the Festival to provide the Applicant or anyone else with information concerning FIVARS’s consideration and/or review of the Story.
FIVARS will contact Applicants using the contact information provided in the FilmFreeway registration form. Applicants are responsible for providing correct and functional contact information. FIVARS is not responsible for any failed attempts to contact Applicants using the contact information provided.
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
Category Rules
TERMS & CONDITIONS FOR SUBMISSION OF STORIES THROUGH FILMFREEWAY.COM
I. APPLICATION OF THESE TERMS & CONDITIONS
(1) The following terms and conditions (the “Terms”) govern the submission of the Story (the “Story”) to the Festival of International Virtual and Augmented Reality Stories (“FIVARS”) through FILMFREEWAY.COM (FilmFreeway) for consideration for the 2024 FIVARS (the “Festival”). To the extent that this document is inconsistent with any other document prepared by FIVARS or anyone else, this document will take precedence. Any questions about these Terms should be directed to submissions@fivars.net.
II. SUBMISSION AGREEMENT
(1) By submitting a Story to FIVARS for Festival consideration, the submitter (the “Applicant”) represents that they have obtained consent from any owners, creators, writers, producers and other authorized representatives of the Story whose permission is required to submit the Story to FIVARS (the “Story Owners”) and screen the Story at the Festival, and has read, understood and agreed to the Terms.
(2) FIVARS may disqualify or reject but is not required to do so any submission that it determines in its sole and absolute discretion is not in compliance, in whole or in part, with these Terms and may do so without refunding any or all submission fees paid by the Applicant or returning the Applicant’s submission.
III. SUBMISSION ELIGIBILITY AND REQUIREMENTS
(1) FIVARS prefers that all Stories be Canadian premieres at a minimum. FIVARS will accept submissions already premiered in Canada, but the Story’s premiere status will be considered when final programming decisions are made.
(2) A Story will not be eligible for consideration of awards if:
a. The Story was completed before September 2023
b. The Story was previously submitted to FIVARS for Festival consideration.
(3) All Stories must be submitted as Digital Submissions. Should any assistance be required, please send an email to: submissions@fivars.net
IV. SUBMISSION ADDITIONAL DETAILS
All Stories submitted under these Terms must be submitted in accordance with the procedure outlined herein. FIVARS may, but is not required to, disqualify or reject any Story that is not submitted in this way.
V. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY, LEGAL CLAIMS AND INDEMNITIES
(1) By submitting the Story to FIVARS, the Applicant and Story Owners (the “Submitting Parties”) hereby warrant and represent that: (i) the Story is wholly original and is not copied from and does not include any other work that is the subject of copyright or other protection, unless such work is in the public domain or the Submitting Parties have obtained any and all consents, releases, licenses, and other authorizations or waivers of any kind necessary for the inclusion or reproduction of any person, character, location, thing, trade-mark, sound recording, musical composition or other work in the Story; (ii) the Story does not defame any person or violate the common law or statutory rights, including, without limitation, the rights of privacy and publicity or any other right of any person; (iii) the Story is not the subject of litigation; nor any dispute which would give rise to litigation (iv) there are no agreements, nor will there be any agreements made subsequent to the date of this Story submission that would or could have the effect of impairing the Submitting Parties’ ability to provide the Story as contemplated herein, or otherwise conflict with any provision of these Terms; and (v) the Submitting Parties have the full right, power and authority to submit the Story to FIVARS for Festival consideration, and to grant all of the rights granted hereunder and in the FilmFreeway registration form, and there is no obligation or disability which would in any way impair, restrict or impede the Submitting Parties from fully performing all obligations pursuant to the submission and these Terms.
(2) The Submitting Parties agree to indemnify and hold harmless FIVARS, its licensees, successors, and assigns, and its and their members, officers, directors, employees, volunteers, agents, representatives, associates and affiliates (each, a “Releasee”), from any claim, suit, action or other proceeding brought against a Releasee and from any losses, costs, or damages, including the Releasee’s full legal fees and expenses, which it may have suffered or incurred or may suffer or incur, directly or indirectly based on, in connection with, or arising from the use and exhibition of the Story submitted by the Applicant or the breach or alleged breach of any representation, warranty or other agreement made by the Applicant in these Terms, or in the Applicant’s FilmFreeway registration form.
(3) FIVARS takes reasonable anti-piracy precautions. While in FIVARS’s possession, all Stories are securely stored. Access to Stories is limited to FIVARS staff who require access to screen and consider submissions. No duplication or loaning of stories is permitted. By submitting a Story to FIVARS, the Submitting Parties hereby release the Releasees from any liability in the event of theft, unauthorized access or copying, or any breach of copyright of the submitted Story while it is in FIVARS’s possession.
VIII. OTHER
(1) FIVARS reserves the right to rule, in its sole discretion, on cases and situations not foreseen by these Terms.
The person who has completed this entry form has READ and AGREES TO ABIDE BY all regulations and statements provided with this form and in our Terms and Conditions.
For more Festival information, refer to the official website at this link: https://fivars.net
If you have any questions, please get in touch with Story Submissions at:
Email: submissions@fivars.net (backup fivarstories@gmail.com) or the contact form at the official website.
