Thank you to all Global Compost Film Contestants! Submissions are now closed. We will be contacting winners over the next few weeks.

Mother Nature needs artists to inspire humanity! It seems we've created a bit of a mess and luckily she's given us the tool to clean it up. Compost!

Filmmakers, we're turning to you. We need you to reach 8 billion people and reverse climate change!

To enter this contest for free:

- Make a free pledge to compost: http://globalcompostproject.org/join-in/

- Watch our informational video which has been translated into multiple languages for your assistance: http://globalcompostproject.org/film-contest/

- Choose a MINIMUM of 2 facts from the video: http://globalcompostproject.org/film-contest/ or fact sheet (and tell us which facts you choose in your description): http://globalcompostproject.org/fact-sheet/

- Inspire the world by making a video in one of these categories:

Go Viral (2:00 minutes maximum) with 2 or more facts
Example: Say Love with Compost: http://youtu.be/PaJSbLLnoyE

Inspired in 5 (2:01-5:00 minutes) with 3 or more facts
Example: Compost Video: http://youtu.be/oO4H7LllKyU

Above and Beyond (5:01 minutes or longer) with 5 or more facts

Entries will be judged on content, creativity, motivation, general public hits, likes on YouTube and Facebook, etc. Good luck, and thanks for inspiring the masses!

We are giving cash prizes by country for films of the following lengths:
- Go Viral (2:00 minutes maximum) with 2 or more facts
- Inspired in 5 (2:01-5:00 minutes) with 3 or more facts
- Above and Beyond (5:01 minutes or longer) with 5 or more facts
Submissions may win multiple awards!

A panel of judges from the Sponsor will select Prize winners, from all valid entries on the basis of the following criteria: Inspirational creativity (40%) clear, factual, "compost" message (30%), and popularity hits and likes (30%). In the event of a tie, the Prize Winners shall be the entries that received the highest score on popularity hits and likes.

$2,000 Best Global Go Viral
$1,500 Best Global Inspired in 5
$1,500 Best Global Above and Beyond
$600 Best Earlybird Film (any length, submitted by April 30th, 2015)

$200 North America Go Viral
$200 North America Inspired in 5

$200 South America (Brazil has own category) Go Viral
$200 South America (Brazil has own category) Inspired in 5

$200 Europe (Russia has own category) Go Viral
$200 Europe (Russia has own category) Inspired in 5

$200 Middle East Go Viral
$200 Middle East Inspired in 5

$200 Australia, New Zealand, Oceania Go Viral
$200 Australia, New Zealand, Oceania Inspired in 5

$200 Africa Go Viral
$200 Africa Inspired in 5

Submissions can be films that were produced at any time (films that have already been released to the public or have already be submitted to other festivals are acceptable).

Submissions must be made public on Youtube, Vimeo, etc.

Submissions may win multiple awards.

Submissions may be films of any genre (narrative, documentary, animated, comedy, drama, etc.).

Each person submitting to the festival must pledge (for free!) on our website to show that you have reviewed the basic information on composting:
http://globalcompostproject.org/join-in/

Global Compost Project reserves the right to determine eligibility of any project submitted.

By entering a film, the producer agrees that all rights and clearances have been obtained, that any copyrighted sound, image or content included in the work have been legally cleared for use, and that Global Compost Project and Matter of Trust (Sponsor) are not responsible for any copyright infringement resulting from public screenings.

All submitted materials become the property of Global Compost Project and Matter of Trust for education, promotional, and archival library purposes.

By entering a film, you acknowledge Global Compost Project, Matter of Trust and its sponsors have the right to copy any submitted material and use images for non-commercial use. This may include promotions, advertising, use in print, web content, television and educational purposes.

By entering your film, you acknowledge that you have read and agree to abide by the Terms & Conditions of the Global Compost Contest.

GLOBAL COMPOST CONTEST OFFICIAL RULES, TERMS AND CONDITIONS

1. Eligibility.
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Legal residents of the contiguous 48 United States and District of Columbia (excluding its territories and possessions), at least fifteen (15) years of age are eligible to enter the Global Compost Contest (the "Contest"). Contestants under the age of majority of their state of residence may be required to have their parent or legal guardian's permission to enter as described below. Employees, agents or officers of Matter of Trust, LLC (“Sponsor”) or of any entity involved in the development, production, implementation and distribution of the Contest, including, but not limited to, YouTube, LLC, and any advertising or promotion agency, supplier of prizes for the Contest, parent company, service provider, subsidiary or affiliate of any such entity or any other entity directly associated with the Contest or any member of the immediate family of and/or person living in the same household as such persons, are ineligible to enter the Contest. These rules apply only to legal residents of the Contest Countries. By entering the Contest, you accept and acknowledge that you are competing with individuals outside of the Contest Countries.

2. Entries.
(a) To enter the Contest, log onto http://globalcompostproject.org/the-compost-contest/ and follow the directions to enter between 12:00 PM on 12/31/14 and 12:00 PM on April 30, 2015, (“Contest Period”). In order to participate in this Contest, you are required to register on the form found on http://globalcompostproject.org/the-compost-contest/ . Entrants will be instructed to record a video depicting how compost inspires them in whatever visual and audio means they deem fit. Entrants shall upload the video to Youtube and/or Vimeo and submit the link on https://filmfreeway.com/festival/TheCompostContest or on the registration form here http://globalcompostproject.org/the-compost-contest/. Videos shall only depict the entrant and no other persons directly without written consent. Videos depicting more than one person’s story without consent shall be disqualified. You must be a member of YouTube. to enter the Contest. By entering the Contest, you affirm that all of the information listed in your YouTube account is complete and correct. By entering the Contest, you hereby agree that participation in this Contest is subject to the YouTube standard terms and conditions found at http://www.youtube.com/t/terms and privacy policy found at http://www.youtube.com/t/privacy. To the extent there is a conflict between these Official Rules and the YouTube standard terms and conditions, these Official Rules shall govern. Multiple entries not permitted - only one entry per participant.
(b) For purposes of these Official Rules, the entrant’s original elements collectively shall be referred to herein as the “Submission Materials.” The public will have the opportunity to view the finalist videos.
(c) By entering, entrants agree to be bound by the decisions of the judges, YouTube, and these Official Rules and to comply with all federal, state, and municipal laws and regulations. Sponsor and those working for Sponsor or on behalf of Sponsor, will not be responsible for lost, late, misdirected, damaged, or postage due mail or e-mail, or for Internet, computer hardware and software, phone, and/or any other technical errors, malfunctions, and delays. Entries which are mutilated, incomplete, illegible, inaccurate, forged, irregular in any way, or otherwise not in compliance with these Official Rules are also void. In the event of a dispute concerning who submitted an e-mail entry, the entry will be deemed to have been submitted by the authorized holder of the e-mail account on record for the YouTube account from which the entry is made. The "authorized account holder" is the natural person to whom an email address is assigned by an Internet access provider, online service provider or other organization (e.g., business, educational institution, etc.) responsible for assigning email addresses for the domain associated with the submitted email address.
(d) In addition, the Submission Materials may not contain references which are obscene, crude or vulgar, gang identification, references to commercial products, license plate numbers, phone numbers, personal addresses (physical or email), Web site URLs, derogatory characterizations of any ethnic, racial, sexual or religious groups, references to illegal or inappropriate activity, behavior or conduct, or any other references that could be considered inappropriate, unsuitable or offensive, as determined by Sponsor, in its sole discretion.

3. Our Right to Use Your Work and Information About You.
(a) Submission Materials become the property of Sponsor and will not be acknowledged or returned.
(b) With the exception of any Sponsor Content:
(i) you represent and warrant that: (A) all contents of Submission Materials are wholly original, have been created entirely by entrant, have not been taken in whole or in part from any source other than entrant and do not incorporate or include anything that is owned by any third party or would require the consent of any third party; (B) you own and/or control 100% of all right, title and interest in and to the Submission Materials, as well as all elements contained therein; (C) the Submission Materials do not and shall not violate any law or the copyright, trademark, publicity right, privacy right, or any other right of any third party; (D) the Submission Materials, or any part thereof, have not been commercially released; and (E) you have the written consent, release and/or permission of each and every participant in the Submission Material to participate in the Submission Materials as contemplated by these Official Rules; and
(ii) you acknowledge that the Submission Materials and all rights therein, including, without limitation, the exclusive copyright, are the property of Sponsor. To the extent you have any right, title or interest in or to the Submission Materials, you irrevocably assign to Sponsor all right, title, and interest in your entry (including, without limitation, the copyright) in any and all media whether now known or hereafter devised, in perpetuity, anywhere in the world, with the right to make any and all uses thereof, including, without limitation, for purposes of advertising or trade, and you irrevocably waive all moral rights in respect of the Submission Materials.
(c) You hereby hold Sponsor and YouTube harmless from and against any third party claim arising from use of the Submission Materials. You waive any right to privacy. You waive any right to inspect or approve uses of the Submission Materials or to be compensated for any such uses. You hereby represent and warrant that you and each person who is identifiable in the Submission Materials are at least 13 years of age and that you have read these Official Rules and are fully familiar with its contents.
(d) By providing Submission Materials in connection with this Contest, you grant to Sponsor, YouTube, and its affiliated companies the right, except where prohibited by law, to use your name, likeness, picture, address (city and state), e-mail address, voice, biographical information, Submission Materials, entry form information and written and oral statements, for advertising and promotional purposes in promoting or publicizing the Submission Materials, Sponsor, YouTube, and their products and services, without compensation unless required by law. You shall have no right of approval, no claim to compensation, and no claim (including, without limitation, claims based on invasion of privacy, defamation, or right of publicity) arising out of any use, blurring, alteration, or use in composite form of your name, picture, likeness, address (city and state), e-mail address, biographical information, or entry. The rights granted under this paragraph shall extend to Sponsor and its affiliated companies with respect to all entrants in the Contest, including the entrant who is selected as the Winner and those entrants who are not selected as the Winner. Sponsor and YouTube are under no obligation to use the Submission Materials for any purpose. (e) BY ENTERING THIS CONTEST, YOU (OR YOUR PARENT OR LEGAL GUARDIAN IF YOU ARE UNDER THE AGE OF MAJORITY IN YOUR STATE OF RESIDENCE) REPRESENT AND WARRANT THAT: (I) ENTRANT EXPRESSLY AGREES TO ALL TERMS AND CONDITIONS SET FORTH IN THESE OFFICIAL RULES; (III) ENTRANT PROVIDES HIS/HER EXPRESS PERMISSION TO APPEAR IN THE SUBMISSION MATERIALS; AND (II) ENTRANT IS AWARE OF AND CONSENTS TO THE DISPLAY OF THE SUBMISSION MATERIALS ON WWW.GLOBALCOMPOSTPROJECT.ORG AND WWW.YOUTUBE.COM AS DESCRIBED HEREIN.

4. Selection of Winner / Prizes.
(a) Entries received during the Contest Period will compete against each other for the Best Film prizes (as defined above). A panel of judges from the Sponsor will select Prize winners, from all valid entries on the basis of the following criteria: inspirational creativity (40%) clear, factual, "compost" message (30%), and popularity hits and likes (30%). In the event of a tie, the Prize Winners shall be the entries that received the highest score on popularity hits and likes. One Grand Prize Winner will be selected. For purposes of these Official Rules, the Prize Winners shall collectively be referred to as the “Winners”. "Go Viral" maximum 2 minute videos (with 2 or more facts), 2:01-5 minute "Inspire in 5" (with 3 or more facts) and longer than 5 minute entries need 5 or more facts. The Winners will be selected on or about October 31st 2015. The decision of the judges shall be final and binding in all regards.
(b) The Winners will be notified by telephone or email, and each Winner (and parent or legal guardian if Winner is under the age of majority in the state they reside) will be required to sign and return an Contest Eligibility and Publicity/Liability Release (and any other documents required by Sponsor), within ten (10) calendar days of notification. Each Winner will also be required to send a copy of his/her passport, driver’s license or birth certificate as proof of age and residency. If a Winner cannot be contacted within five (5) calendar days of first notification attempt, if the prize notification is returned as undeliverable, if a Winner rejects the prize, in the event of noncompliance with these Rules, or if the Contest Eligibility and Publicity/Liability Release is not executed by the Winner, the prize will be forfeited and an alternative winner may be selected from all remaining eligible entries. Upon prize forfeiture, no compensation will be given. The Contest Eligibility and Publicity/Liability Release must be complete. The information in Contest Eligibility and Publicity/Liability Release must be correct and must be identical to the information provided in Winner's entry or the Winner will be disqualified.
(c) Cash prizes are by country for films of the following lengths: Go Viral (2:00 minutes maximum with 2 or more compost facts, Inspired in 5 (2:01-5:00 minutes) with 3 or more facts, and Above and Beyond (5:01 minutes or longer) with 5 or more facts. Submissions may win multiple awards! The approximate exchange rate value of the prize represents http://www.x-rates.com rates on April 30, 2015 at 12:00 PM PST and sponsor’s good faith determination. That determination is final and binding and cannot be appealed. If the actual value of the prizes turns out to be less than the stated approximate retail value, the difference will not be awarded in cash. NOTE: BY WINNING THIS CONTEST THERE IS NO GUARANTEE THAT THE SUBMISSION MATERIALS WILL BE USED BY SPONSOR, YOUTUBE, OR OTHERWISE. Other conditions and restrictions apply. Prizes are non-transferable. No substitutions or cash redemptions.
(d) By accepting the prizes, Winners release and discharge Sponsor, YouTube, and their respective affiliated companies and the respective parents, subsidiaries, affiliates, advertising and promotion agencies of each, and all their respective employees, officers, directors, representatives and agents from any liability or damage due in whole or in part to the award, acceptance, possession, use or misuse of any prize or from participation in this Contest. Sponsor reserves the right to substitute a comparable prize of like or greater value for any prize, or to pay Winners a cash equivalent (the value of which shall be determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion), for any reason.
(e) If, for reasons beyond the control of Sponsor or YouTube (including, but not limited to, tampering or computer virus infection), the Contest is not capable of running as originally planned, Sponsor, at its sole discretion, reserves the right to cancel or modify the Contest, without liability. If a sufficient number of eligible entries (as determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion) are not received by the end of the Contest period, Sponsor reserves the right not to award any or all prizes. All taxes (including, but not limited to, income taxes) are the sole responsibility of Winner. All entrants agree to comply fully with each provision in these Official Rules. Any person attempting to defraud or in any way tamper with this Contest and any person who does not comply with these Official Rules, will be ineligible for any prize and may be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

5. Issues of Law.
ALL FEDERAL, STATE AND MUNICIPAL LAWS ARE APPLICABLE. THE FEDERAL AND STATE COURTS OF CALIFORNIA IN THE CITY OF SAN FRANCISCO SHALL HAVE SOLE JURISDICTION OF ANY CONTROVERSIES REGARDING THE CONTEST AND THE LAWS OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA SHALL EXCLUSIVELY GOVERN THE CONTEST. EACH ENTRANT WAIVES ANY AND ALL OBJECTIONS TO JURISDICTION AND VENUE IN THOSE COURTS AND HEREBY SUBMIT TO THE JURISDICTION OF THOSE COURTS. THE CONTEST IS VOID WHERE RESTRICTED OR PROHIBITED BY LAW.

6. Your Release of Sponsor from Any and All Liability.
Entrants agree that Sponsor and YouTube shall not be liable for losses or injuries of any kind resulting from: (i) acceptance/possession and/or use/misuse of prize(s), (ii) participation in the Contest, (iii) individual, joint or collective technical malfunctions of the telephone network and/or transmission line, computer on-line system, computer dating mechanism, computer equipment, hardware and/or software, or (iv) any delay or distortion of an entry resulting from data transmissions that are garbled, incomplete, misdirected, lost, mutilated, delayed, corrupted, mechanically duplicated, illegible or otherwise not in compliance with these Official Rules. Entrants also agree that Sponsor and YouTube are not responsible or liable for any injury or damage to an entrant's or third person's computer related to or resulting from the Contest and/or its prizes. Sponsor and YouTube are not liable for damage to a user's computer system (including, without limitation, any server failure or lost, delayed or corrupted data or other malfunction) due, either directly or indirectly, to an entrant's participation in the Contest or downloading of information in connection with the Contest. Sponsor reserves the right to modify or cancel the Contest in the event that any portion of any website used to administer any aspect of the Contest becomes technically corrupted.

7. Privacy and Personal Information
Sponsor will be collecting data about entrants through the Contest entry process. Any personal information will be handled in accordance with the privacy policy of YouTube, Global Compost Contest and Matter of Trust. By entering the Contest each entrant consents to the collection, use and distribution of his/her personal information (information that identifies an entrant as an individual, such as home telephone number, age and home address) by the Sponsor for the purposes of implementing, administering and fulfilling the Contest. The Sponsor will not sell or transmit this information to third parties unless the entrant has specifically consented to same, the Sponsor believes in good faith that it is required by law, to their affiliates (provided that such affiliates and their agents and advisors and their respective employees are restricted from using the information for any other purpose other than as described in these rules and regulations), or to their respective agents for data processing purposes, their respective professional advisors and promotional and marketing agencies (provided that such agents, professional advisors and promotional and marketing agencies are restricted from using the information for any purpose other than as described in these rules and regulations). Any inquiry concerning the personal information held by the Sponsor should be addressed to Matter of Trust (http://matteroftrust.org/) at team@matteroftrust.org

8. Publicity of Winners’ Names
The name of the Winners will be posted on the website located at: http://www.globalcompostproject.org within the week of October 31st, 2015 and will remain posted until October 31st, 2016

9. How to Get More Information
The Sponsor of this Contest is Matter of Trust, LLC at 3338 17th Street, San Francisco CA 94110 415 242-6041

All times and dates in these Official Rules are Pacific Standard Time.