Paris Art and Movie Awards, PAMA

Both ◉ IN PERSON and ◉ DIGITAL are the same competition.
Submitting to the PAMA, your project will be reviewed the same way, by the same professional team, and be eligible to the same awards.

An ◉ IN PERSON submission is designed for you to attend the festival in person and enjoy the festivities in real life, with other filmmakers.

A ◉ DIGITAL submission shall be preferred if you do not think you'll be in a position to attend in person, but still want to participate to key online activities.
Digital submissions have been created so the PAMA remains a premiere international platform for filmmakers despite traveling costs and current uncertainties.
Digital submissions are slightly lower in rates than in person submissions.

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If you want to submit your work for the prestigious PAMA competition, but you may not be able to be in Paris, France in person: the digital categories offer a lowered submission fee with all major advantages of the festival.

DATES
Our listed dates are anticipated dates.
Dates may change depending on local health regulations in Paris, as well as venues availability and best dates for press promotion.
Our 2022 edition is anticipated to be back in-person, with the options for hybrid, mixed event, or fully digital depending on local regulations, anticipated venues availability, international travel possibilities, logistics and insurance concerns.

SUBMISSION & SUBMISSION FEE
We accept all genres and nationalities and language for all international categories.
Work may be entered into more than one category and will be reviewed separately for each category entered. All entries entered into multiple categories will be eligible for recognition in each and will be judged accordingly.
You are allowed to have multiple entries and submit to multiple categories, with the same or different films. Each category requires its own fee.
Entries are non refundable.
Please check the recommended lengths.
We do not provide free submissions.
We do not provide free submissions to movies from Iran.
We sometimes offer discounts : follow us on Instagram and Facebook.
We do not review movie submissions sent directly to us by email, unless we requested it. We only accept online digital submissions via selected platforms.
Each entry and submission category must have its own submission fee. 

Films or pieces submitted to the PAMA must be dated from 2 years maximum before the date of the festival.
If you submitted to the wrong category, contact us (there may be a fee).
If selected, you grant the PAMA the right to utilize any image, excerpt, titles, words you submitted to us, for promotion purposes.
The festival organizers may refuse any illegal, non-artistic, fake, false, incomplete entries.
Each student film submitted has to provide proof of studies. If you do not provide, your entry may not make it to selection and be set to incomplete or end up disqualified.
Animated short films (even student made) must submit to animated category.
Animated features (even student made) must submit to feature category.
A documentary (even student made) must submit to the documentary category,
Works in progress are not accepted.

SPOTLIGHT
This is an additionnal category. For consideration, you must submit to the category-ies of your choice and then ad the “Spotlight” category.
Submit to “Spotlight” and you will be considered for our regular streaming show destined to promote new submitters and Alumni members.
Being selected to “Spotlight” does not guarantee a selection at the festival.
If you submit only to the “Spotlight” category you will not be considered. You must submit to the category of your choice, and ad the “Spotlight” category.

When selected to SPOTLIGHT you'll receive a confirmation email with link and technical details. It is recorded as a live show: all instructions must be followed.
Late arrival on the day will have your appearance cancelled, publicly announced, not rescheduled, and your film submission will be disqualified. No refunds.

Submitting to SPOTLIGHT you agree to all the rules listed on this page, including waiving your rights, authorizing the festival and its affiliates and partners to use and broadcast the content created.

LIMITED OFFERS
Special offers, discounts, invitations do not guarantee a selection.
The 50% discount code NIKONPAMA is exclusive to any filmmaker who made a film that was submitted or selected by the Nikon Film Festival in Paris, France.
Any other use of this code will be considered fraud and result in an immediate disqualification with no refund.
The 50% discount code 50ACTORS is exclusive to the Best Actress and Best Actor categories. Any other use of this code will be considered fraud and result in an immediate disqualification with no refund.

PRIZES
In the case of networking events accessible to submitters placing in the official selection: all event dates will be set by the festival. It is the artist/submitter responsibility to make one self available to the set time and date.

MATERIAL
You FilmFreeway profile must include :
- your country
- a poster of your project (whether it is a film, a script, or any piece of work. You don’t have one -> We can recommend a couple of designers).
- minimum 5 lines about your project (synopsis)
- a biography of the director or the artist.
- at least 2 pictures from the film with no watermarking.
- a trailer will be used. Your trailer must be on YouTube OR any other platform so we can embed it to our website and to our press releases. If you have no trailer: we can recommend several editors.

If an element goes missing: contact us.

If your submission does not provide a direct access to your screening file or if your video is incomplete or your material corrupted or with audio or video missing, your submission shall be changed to INCOMPLETE. If you do not react or respond to this change and/or to our emails, your submission shall be changed to "not selected" or "disqualified", before or after the selection announcement.
Decisions are final, entries are not refundable.

Your FilmFreeway profile must NOT include
- the type of work next to the title of your film.
Examples : “ASTONISHING CLIFF EDGE -Music Video-“ is wrong.
“THE LIFE OF JAMES I a short film by Benny Lugosi” is wrong.
“ASTONISHING CLIFF EDGE” and “THE LIFE OF JAMES” are correct.

The names, title, country and all elements you fill your FilmFreeway profile with will be used if you get selected to the festival. Fill your profile fully and careful.
ALL communications are sent to the email address you provide. The festival is not responsible for any lost communication whatsoever.

Your FilmFreeway profile must provide a direct access to your work (video, film, photo) at all times. If your film or video disappears from your profile, your submission may be set to incomplete or even disqualified, if the incident happens after the official selection.

SOCIAL
We strongly recommend you have a Facebook and/or Twitter and/or Instagram page for your project or film so we can fully promote you.

SCREENINGS
Most screenings at movie theaters require a DCP. We offer very accessible DCP services via our Paris studio, ask us.
Screenings at other venues require a HD digital file, sent by WeTransfer, following these specifications : .mp4, H264. Films below 5 minutes : less than 500MO. Films 5 to 10 minutes : less than 1G. Films 10 to 30 minutes : less than 2G. Feature films : less than 5G.
NO .mov will be used.
It is your responsibility to provide with the proper screening file, whether this demands a DCP or a special format.
French subtitles are mandatory for ANY screening film not french speaking that has dialogs by May 30. We may contact you in advance of that date if the selection committee of the festival feels you may provide the subtitles sooner. If you do not provide, your film may be selected, but will not screen, nor win.
If you do not provide your file or DCP for screening your submission shall be changed to "not selected" or "disqualified" EVEN AFTER THE SELECTION ANNOUNCEMENT.
Decisions are final, entries are not refundable.

NO SCREENING FOR THESE CATEGORIES
Some categories do NOT open to a screening. They are made to highlight a technical skill or a specific achievement or item or talent. If you are selected for one of these categories, it is not the movie we will promote and show, but the item/talent you submitted.
List of categories that does not open to movie screening:
Feature Script, Short Script, Director, Editor, Production, DOP-Cinematographer, Actor, Actress, Poster, Score-Composer, Soundtrack Song, Spotlight, Art Photography-Still, Visual Effects.
Example: you submit a poster. If selected, your poster will show on our website and outlets. You will be invited to participate in all festival events. But the movie that you made the poster for will not screen, as the movie itself has not been submitted.

ALUMNI NETWORK
The festival management alone validates the past and present Alumni Members. For more on this, please check our website.

DISQUALIFICATION & PLAGIARISM
Over the years, we dealt with some disqualification cases and some rare cases of plagiarism.
If your film raises some concerns about illegal copy or plagiarism, the case will be discussed. You may face public announcement. If the management team feels so, the submission platform will be alerted.
Once the decision of the festival is made on a case, it is definitive. Our decisions are made and remain public.

ATTENDANCE
If you are selected or win, you are expected to attend the festival and the Award Ceremony, if such. If you cannot attend the ceremony, you must find someone in Paris to represent you and claim your award, on stage.
We do not ship trophies.
If no one is in attendance or in person for your film, your movie will not screen in a room. Even if selected, even if the Judges place it as winner.
We do offer pretty cool and powerful alternatives through our Festival TV, Watch Anytime catalogue and Virtual Events on Xerbtv.
Since we are back in person, the in-person event is now our #1 priority.
If you cannot attend, let's talk about it.
BUT we have a zero tolerance policy for failure to attend or misleading claims with regards to potential attendance. We publicly disqualify films almost every year for this reason.
We are a real festival, we do real work all year long. If you want to be a part of it, just show up and you'll have fun. If you just want a laurel, we are not the ones for you.

ACCOMMODATION & TRANSPORTATION
The festival does NOT take care of travel nor accommodation expenses. We provide with a list of serious addresses.

AWARD CEREMONY
Award winners are responsible for picking up (or a representative) trophies or covering the shipping costs if delivered.

SELECTION & NOTIFICATION
We may announce the first nominees before the notification date. This does not mean the selection is complete, this means we may make a first wave of selection to facilitate attendance.
When you receive the first platform update as a selected submission, that means you are selected, and you get an Official Selection Laurel. The selection does not grant a screening in every case, please check our website.
We cannot give each submitter a personal answer regarding their selection.
The selected talents receive an email with a link to the laurel center and all information about the festival.
If you're not selected, your movie status will be updated on FilmFreeway, and the platform will send an automatic notification at due date.

SCRIPTS
Accepted scripts are un-produced and produced, if your film is of 2017, 2018 or 2019. If your film is produced, you have to send us the script.

SCORE & SOUNDTRACK
When you submit a score or a soundtrack, we judge the music, not the film, this is why we request music only.
You must then submit with a single .mp3 file within FilmFreeway. No other format is accepted.
If your score or soundtrack includes more than one track, please have all the songs / tracks rendered in the same single final bounce as a .mp3 file.
If you submit to score and/or soundtrack with a movie : you will not be considered to this category.
If you want to submit your film as Best Film and the score of your film as Best Score, you must submit two times, with two different profiles.

SPECIFICS
The New Media category includes : Web Series / New Medias / Phone Made / 360° / Extreme GoPro Made / Virtuality / Other special production linked to new media, new technology.
Soundtrack means pre-existing music used in a new film. You must have the rights.
Soundtrack song is a song, with lyrics, composed especially for a film. You may submit the film that includes the song, or the music track itself.
Score is original music composed for a film.

LENGTHS including credits.
- shorts > 30 minutes max, recommended under 15 minutes
- features > 105 minutes max, recommended 80-90 minutes
- music videos > 10 minutes max, recommended is the usual 3-4 minutes
- documentaries > under 15 minutes for short docs, under 85 minutes for feature documentaries.
- experimental and visual arts in motion > under 5 minutes
- animation > under 10 minutes
- scripts : feature > under 120 pages ; shorts > under 10 pages
- score and soundtrack > submit your MUSIC ONLY. No length limit.

We accept short movies, feature, short script/screenplay, feature script/screenplay, drama, horror, fantasy, comedy, web-series, documentary, animation, student, music video, experimental...

RELEASE & RIGHTS
We do not pay screening fees. Film Freeway is a third party platform you chose to use to submit for consideration to festivals.
We might set up screenings for free, or with a box 0ffice, at the discretion of the festival, and there will be no share of gross with participating filmmakers.
By submitting to the festival, you expressly authorize the festival and its affiliates to use every piece of content and information presented in your Film Freeway project page, in connection to the festival, the event, and for promotion of the festival, now and in the future. That includes all videos, pictures, texts (biography, logline and other) hosted on your Film Freeway project page submitted to us.