Here below are the most important rules. You'll find the COMPLETE RULES of the Film Competition on our website.
In English:
https://www.festiwalgorski.pl/rules-and-regulations-of-the-film-competition-2025/
In Polish:
https://www.festiwalgorski.pl/festiwal-filmow-gorskich/regulamin-konkursu-filmowego-2025/
Please read them carefully, as a submission to the Film Competition implies acceptance of all the rules by the entrant. If you have any doubts or questions, don't hesitate to ask: filmy@festiwalgorski.pl.
GENERAL
This year we accept submissions of the films produced in 2023, 2024 or 2025.
We accept exclusively documentaries (non-fiction films) and animated films.
As we are a mountain-centered festival, we accept only films about mountain sports (climbing, mountaineering, trail running, biking, wild water, skiing and snowboarding, caving etc.), mountain culture and films that have mountains as a theme or location.
Only complete submissions will be considered. They have to include an online screener, film description, credits, specifications and custom submission form filled in.
SELECTION
The selection will include approximately 30 films.
The selection will be made taking in consideration the screening time available during the in-person event on September 4 to 7, 2025 so that all the films can be screened at least once.
In the selection process the priority will be given to the films that haven't been and won't be available online for free before September 7, 2025.
SUBMISSION FEE
During the submission process, there's an administration fee to be paid by the submitter, depending on the film's runtime and the submission date. Shorts are under 40 minutes, feature documentaries are longer than 40 minutes.
TECHNICAL RECOMMENDATIONS
Once the selection has been done, for all the selected films we will ask for:
- a NON-SUBTITLED full HD ProRes file. In case the ProRes is not available, we will ask for a h264 mp4 film file, bitrate at least 20 Mbps.
- subtitles (srt file) or the film transcript (word text file) in original language and in English
2025 IMPORTANT DATES AND DEADLINES
January 20, 2025 – opening of the submissions
April 30, 2025 – closing of the submissions
May 31, 2025 – notifications about being selected/not being selected sent to the submitters
June 15, 2025 – last day for the film representatives to confirm whether they will come to the festival
September 4 to 7, 2025 – screenings at the Ladek Mountain Festival in Ladek-Zdroj and the announcement of the Film Competition winners at the Awards Ceremony
September 11, 2025 – announcement of the Film Competition winners at the festival’s website and FB page
September 4 to 30, 2025 – online festival screenings
PROMOTION
The Participant guarantees the Festival the right to use the promo assets as well as up to 3 minutes from the film for promotional purposes.
COMING TO THE FESTIVAL
A representative of each film accepted to the Film Competition will be invited to attend the festival. It is usually one person per film, can be the film director, the film producer, the camera person or the protagonist. They will have the opportunity to introduce their film on stage.
We do not cover the flight / travel expenses, but we'll be happy to provide the film representative with the accommodation and All-Access Pass that gives access to all the festival events.
MONEY AWARDS
In 2024 the total of the money prizes in all the categories exceeded 8000 Euro. You can check the details in the ‘Awards & Prizes’ section above as well as at https://www.festiwalgorski.pl/results-of-the-2024-ladek-mountain-festival-film-competition/. This year we will do our best to keep the prizes at the same level.
IN-PERSON AND ONLINE SCREENINGS
Ladek Mountain Festival is a hybrid event, including in-person and online screenings.
The films selected to the Film Competition will be screened at the in-person event in Ladek-Zdroj from September 4 to 7, 2025 at multiple live venues and on multiple dates.
The films selected for the Film Competition will also take part in the online festival from September 4 to 30, 2025 on our platform Filmygorskie.pl. It offers a protected DRM streaming, GEOBLOCKED TO POLAND. The access to the films will be granted exclusively to the festival's audience with passes. There will be passes for the in-person & online screenings and for the online screenings only.
We don't pay screening fees for in-person nor online festival screenings. We do however pay the license fee for the in-between-the-festivals theatrical screenings organized by the Ladek Film Distribution – please see here below.
LADEK FILM DISTRIBUTION PROJECTS
We invite the films selected for the Film Competition to participate in the Ladek Film Distribution projects that offer films to all the mountain, outdoor and travel events around the country of Poland. Some titles of our choice can also be screened in the cinema venues of the Polish cities. The agreements concerning the Ladek Film Distribution will be discussed separately with the filmmakers and the agreed license fees will be paid.
We look forward to watching your mountain film and to sharing it with our audience!
