ORIGINS

The idea to organize Tramway Film Festival was born out of a personal need to fill the void of showcasing arthouse cinema, especially experimental, essay and hybrid film, which have so far been neglected in Poland.

The Festival has been devised to promote conscious, original and innovative art cinema, especially the works of authors of short film across the world; it shall be a space that will bring short cinema back to where it belongs and discover new auteurs.

IDEA

Even though in the 20th and 21st centuries short film evolved in so many diverse directions that it is hard to treat it as a homogenous medium, we still consider it to be the crucial source of cinema revival and a space for experiments in the art of navigating through the infinity of pictures.

We showcase cinema that is aware of legacy of great predecessors, but simultaneously it’s constantly seeking and leading to the destination point: a multidimensional film art that operates on all possible levels. It’s always good to draw from the works of other visionaries; but only in order to find one’s self, one’s own ideas and individual film language.

FILM

Cinema is primarily the eyes, gesture, thought, motion and light.

Such a combination itself creates the magic world of cinematography. Perceiving cinema merely through the lens of stories reduces it to the role of visual prose. Cinema is more than literature, storytelling, and actors. It cannot be expressed in words, because it is an experience, or sometimes even a mystery.

Directors often say that what matters most to them is human being. We assume that what matters most in cinema is a film itself and being fair with oneself and the audience.

MISSION

The festival serves as a meeting point on several levels. First of all, it is a space of interaction around films between the audience, filmmakers and critics. Secondly, the festival can make a stage for filmmakers who take the risk and speak boldly in their works. Thirdly, the festival aims at creating space for dialogue between the history and the future of film; a space in which all sorts of various cinema traditions meet the most innovative and bold propositions.

We believe that life and cinema in all its forms are inseparable as a result of the combination of time, experience and attitude. Pointing at imagination as the key source of consciousness, we believe in cinema as a way to expand individual perception of the world.

STRUCTURE

The core of the festival consists of two international competitions, aimed at finding and promoting emerging talents who have a distinctive character and extraordinary creative vision.

CINEVERSO is designed for directors of short fiction films that bring life to existing patterns of fiction film or sometimes even create new ones.

In CINE SIN FINE we want to showcase fiction-documentary hybrids, essays, experimental and avant-garde films.

It may seem that films included in each of these sections have nothing in common. However, in our opinion feature and experimental films are inextricably intertwined with each other.

Non-competition sections of the festival shall include among others: best short films from a given country, the curator’s section with polish short films, a mini short film retrospective of a chosen author and special screenings of feature films.

Awards & Prizes

Films selected for the competitions are rated by a three-member Jury from among representatives of the film world.

The deliberations of the Jury are closed and can be held remotely. The decisions of the Jury are final and cannot be appealed against.

The awards are given for:
The Best film in the Cineverso category (2500 PLN + diploma)
The Best film in the Cine Sin Fine category (2500 PLN + diploma)

The jury may also award one special mention in each competition section (diploma).

The Organizer reserves the right to establish additional financial prizes.

The Jury's verdict and other decisions regarding the awards will be announced during the official closing of the Festival. The list of winners will also be published on the Festival's website.

Financial awards will be paid only to the directors of the awarded films on the basis of contracts with the winners in the form of a transfer to the bank account specified in the contract in the amount including the tax deductions required by Polish law.

Rules & Terms

I. GENERAL PROVISIONS
1. Tramway Film Festival (hereinafter referred to as Festival), organized by Fundacja Edition Spotkania foundation (hereinafter referred to as Organizer), shall be held on October 3–6, 2024, at Centrum Sztuki Współczesnej Zamek Ujazdowski (Ujazdowski Castle Centre for Contemporary Art). The Organizer reserves the right to change the
dates of the Festival.
2. The Festival is planned to take a live form, i.e., the events will take place at locations with live audience. In case of a force majeure, independent of the Organizer, which would prevent carrying out a live event, the Organizer may carry out online screenings.
3. The Festival has been devised by Bartosz Reetz, hereinafter referred to as the Director.
4. Fundacja Editions Spotkania foundation, located at Puławska 182, Warsaw, is the producer of the Festival.
5. The Festival welcomes authors from all over the world. The mission of the Festival is to showcase and promote original, innovative and conscious art film, especially the works of authors of short film.
6. The core of the Festival is competition in two categories, featuring films selected from works submitted. The remaining non-competition sections shall include films selected by the Director and invited by the Organizer.

II. SECTIONS
1. The Festival comprises of the following sections:
a) Cineverso (cinema from other side): short fiction films (up to 30 minutes) from all over the world. A prior Polish premiere thereof is not required.
b) Cine Sin Fine: short films (up to 30 minutes) from all over the world, especially experimental, fiction-documentary hybrids, essays and avant-garde films. A prior Polish premiere thereof is not required.
c) Cinephile: a screening of short and feature films. This is a non-competition section.
d) Cinemundo: a selection of the best short films (up to 30 minutes) from a given country. This is a non-competition section.
e) Cine Polaco: a review of selected polish short films. This is a non-competition section.
2. The Organizer reserves the right to change the names of sections, add more sections beyond those listed in Section 1) or refrain from organizing selected sections from the ones selected in Section 1).

III. TERMS OF SUBMITTING FILMS FOR COMPETITION
1. Only the films that meet the criteria set below may be presented at Tramway Film Festival, except for special cases, which shall require consent of the Director. The rules of entering Competition are set forth solely in these Rules and Terms. Any promotional and marketing assets serve the purpose of information only.
2. Submitting a film for Competition is tantamount to non-conditional acceptance of these Rules and Terms.
3. The Competition is open to authors of films of minimum age of 18.
4. Only films produced on January 1, 2021, and later shall be accepted for competition.
5. Films produced with contributions by the Organizer, Director or the Jury shall not be accepted for competition.
6. The Submitting Party should have full copyright for the film submitted; or the Submitting Party must be entitled by the owner of the copyright to submit the film for selection. Films may be submitted by art schools, films schools, producer companies, film institutions, individual authors or other eligible parties.
7. An unlimited number of films by the same director may be submitted for selection.
8. Should the Director conclude that a film has been mistakenly submitted to the wrong category during selection, the Director shall move the film to the right category. The participant of the competition shall have no right to object to the aforesaid change of category.
9. One film may be submitted only for one of the competitions organized during the Festival. Should the same film be submitted for two competitions at the same time, it shall be disqualified.
10. Films along with all obligatory attachments shall be submitted for competition selection only via the FilmFreeway online platform.
11. Films submitted after July 31, 2024, shall not be considered in this year’s selection.
12. Selection copies must remain available for online streaming at least until the Submitting Party has been informed about the results of the selection. The Organizer shall not accept for selection any films on DVD or Blu-ray discs or any other storage media.
13. The Director of the Festival is responsible for qualifying films and accepting films for competition. The Director of the Festival has the right to select the films that have not qualified for competition to non-competition sections.
14. The list of the films qualified for competitions shall be published on the Festival website at tramwayfilmfestival.com. The Organizer shall inform the Submitting Parties about the results of the selection process.
15. The Submitting Party agrees not to withdraw the film from the Festival after the results of the selection have been announced.
16. The submission fee shall not be returned in case a film is not qualified.
17. The Organizer is not obliged to provide justification for the decisions made at the qualification stage.
18. No more than 20 films shall be selected for each competition.
19. Every submission via the FilmFreeway platform shall incur payment as follows:
a) Early Bird Deadline – May 31, 2024 – 7 USD for every film submitted (paid via FilmFreeway platform)
b) Regular Deadline – June 30, 2024 – 10 USD for every film submitted (paid via FilmFreeway platform)
c) Late Deadline – July 31, 2024 – 13 USD for every film submitted (paid via FilmFreeway platform)
20. Films submitted after July 31, 2024, shall not be considered in this year’s selection.

IV. FESTIVAL SCREENINGS
1. Within 7 days upon receiving information that a film has qualified for competition, the Submitting Party must send the Organizer the following:
a) A screening copy of the film saved as a .mov or .mp4 file with the use of H.264 codec, 1080p (non-interlaced) or higher resolution with integrated English subtitles;
b) A dialogue list in English in .srt format synchronized with the screening copy (applies to non-Polish language films only);
c) A list of festivals the film has been screened at so far with a record of any awards received;
d) Indication whether the screening at the Festival will be a Polish, European or world premiere (screenings will not take place before October 3, 2024).
2. A screening copy along with other information can be sent via a file download hyperlink to info@tramwayfilmfestival.com or as files saved on a USB flash drive sent by mail or courier service to: Fundacja Editions Spotkania, ul. Puławska 182, 02-670, Warszawa, ATTN: “TFF”
3. Failure to send the assets listed in Section 1) may result in the film being removed from the Festival lineup. At the same time, upon receiving a screening copy the Organizer reserves the right to not accept any further screening copies of the same film should according to the Organizer technical and time constraints would make it impossible to adapt the following copy for screening at the Festival.
4. The Organizer shall not cover any mailing or courier services costs related to sending the screening copy.
5. A sent storage device shall become the property of the Organizer and shall not be returned (except for portable hard drives with DCP copies).
6. The Organizer shall not charge any fees for screening a film at competition or theme sections.
7. The Organizer shall not cover any licensee fees for the use of short films. The Submitting Party grants the Organizer a free, non-exclusive license unlimited in time and territory to use the film in the form of public screening as part of the Festival and its replications in cinemas, other interiors and in the form of outdoor screenings.
8. The Submitting Party whose film has qualified for competition gives consent for five free screenings of the film after the Festival for the purpose of promoting short film and the Festival. The Organizer is obliged to inform the Submitting Party about any scheduled screening.

V. OTHER PROVISIONS
1. The Submitting Party grants the Organizer the following licenses:
a) A free, non-exclusive license unlimited in territory to use the film for public screening as part of the Festival and its replications;
b) A free, non-exclusive license unlimited in time or territory to use provided promotional assets (e.g. summary, stills, staff and cast bios, etc. ) in publishing assets related to the Festival (e.g. print, website, social media, press releases, etc.) as well as in order to promote the Festival in the media;
c) A free, non-exclusive license unlimited in time or territory to use fragments of the film selected at the Organizer’s discretion (a trailer or fragment of the film up to 10% of the total time) for any promotional activities related to the Festival (print, website, social media, press releases, the Internet, radio, television, cinema, etc.);
d) A free, non-exclusive license unlimited in time or territory to translate a dialogue list to Polish and screen the film with Polish subtitles (applies to non-Polish language films). The license shall also cover creating subtitles for hard of hearing and audio description.
2. Granting a free, non-exclusive license limited to the time of screening during the Festival and limited to the Polish territory to share the film publicly in the form of online access requires an additional consent from the Submitting Party, which can be granted via the submission form or in writing via e-mail. Potential online sharing of the film shall
be restricted to the territory of Poland and comprise of 500 unique streamings without the possibility to download the film on a user’s hard drive and shall require submitting a password obtained from the Organizer by a registered user. The Organizer is obliged not to share the film online without prior consent granted by the Submitting Party.
3. The Organizer reserves the right to use promotional assets during as well as after the Festival. The Submitting Party declares to have all rights to the above promotional assets. Should the Organizer receive claims related to the abovementioned promotional assets from any party, the Submitting Party is obliged to exempt the Organizer from any
liability in this respect.
4. Submission of a film is tantamount to consent to the provisions of these Rules and Terms.
5. The Organizer of the Festival shall not be made liable for any breach of any third party rights related to the use of the works submitted, unless such breach would be at the Organizer’s fault.
6. Any matters not covered by these Rules and Terms shall be settled at the discretion of the Organizer, represented by the Director of the Festival.
7. These Rules and Terms are governed by the Polish law. Should any disputes arise in relation to these Rules and Terms, they shall be settled by courts of law in Warsaw, Poland.
8. The Organizer has the right to change selected provisions of these Rules and Terms.

VI. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
1. More information about the Festival can be obtained from the Festival Director: Bartosz Reetz, email: info@tramwayfilmfestival.com
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  • Antoni Orlof

    Very well curated, promising and inspiring. Glad I could be a part of it!

    November 2023
    Helpful