Unitec Short Cuts Film Competition — Terms and Conditions and Submission Guidelines
Unitec Short Cuts Film Competition promotes the art of filmmaking among Year 12 and 13 students in Aotearoa/New Zealand. See submission details and competition terms and conditions below.
Eligibility
• Entrants must be currently enrolled in either Year 12 or 13 in a New Zealand high school or home-schooling programme only.
• Unitec employees or their immediate family members cannot enter the competition.
• Films must have been completed between January 2024 and the submission deadline.
• Entries are open from 10th of June to 4pm on 21st of July Entries received after the submission deadline will not be considered.
Film Requirements
• Maximum run time: 2 minutes (including credits), except for Music Video, which need to be under 5 minutes.
Accepted genres: Drama, Comedy, Horror, Poetry, Dance, Documentary.
• Content must be suitable for a maximum self-assessed PG-13 rating (minimal violence, little to no profanity, no drug or sexual content).
• Films must be in English, Te Reo Māori, or have English subtitles. English subtitles for Te Reo Māori is appreciated.
• Entries must be original works. All music, images, titles, and footage must be copyright free or properly licensed. Proof of license may be required.
• Films submitted to other festivals are eligible.
• All use of generative AI must be declared in the festival submission.
• We do not accept projects created solely with AI.
• No entry fee.
• Students may submit more than one entry, provided that each film separately meets these Submission guidelines.
Submission Format
• Films must be uploaded to FilmFreeway and made downloadable. YouTube links are not accepted.
• Use the following file naming format: FirstNameLastName_FilmTitle.mp4 or .mov
Example: JaneDoe_MyFilm.mov
• Only .MP4 and .MOV formats will be accepted.
• Minimum resolution of 1920 x 1080, maximum resolution of 2560 x 1440.
• File size must be under 2GB.
Judging and Awards
• Films will be judged on performance, production value, and originality.
• A selected group of Unitec staff and students will review entries to choose the finalists; then an independent panel will select award winners from the finalists.
• Not all entries will be selected as finalists. Judges' decisions are final, and no feedback will be given on non-selected films.
• Students are not required to attend the festival/Awards Show to win.
• Unitec reserves the right to assess the validity of any entry into the competition. Any entry found to have violated the rules will be disqualified.
Notification and Permissions
• Nominations will be announced on 21 August via the email provided on the entry form.
• Winners will be announced at the Unitec Short Cut Awards Show. If a nominee does not confirm acceptance of the award within 10 business days of notification, another winner may be chosen.
• By submitting a film, entrants grant Unitec the right to screen the film and use its title, images, or excerpts for promotional purposes across print, online, and broadcast platforms.
• Selected films must meet the technical delivery requirements for screening (file format, resolution, sound quality, and deadlines).
Legal
• This competition is run by Unitec, a business division of Te Pūkenga – New Zealand Institute of Skills and Technology.
• Unitec takes no responsibility for any inability to enter, complete, continue or conclude, the competition due to equipment or technical malfunction, inadvertent disconnection, force majeure or otherwise.
• To the fullest extent permitted by law, Unitec will not be liable for any loss or damage whatsoever (including but not limited to direct, indirect or consequential loss) or for personal injury because of competition entry or winning the competition prize.
• All entrant personal details will be held by Unitec in accordance with Unitec’s Privacy Notice and these competition terms and conditions.
• Unitec reserves the right to amend, vary, extend, or discontinue the competition at any stage, for any reason.
• By submitting a film entry, you are deemed to have accepted the Submission guidelines and these competition terms and conditions.
