The World Festival of Animated Film (WFAF) is held every year in September in Varna along with an „echo“ event in Sofia. The Festival is organized by the World Festival of Animated Film Association in the Festival and Congress Centre in Varna, with the support and patronage of the Bulgarian Ministry of Culture, Bulgarian National Film Center, and the Municipality of Varna.
The official languages of WFAF are Bulgarian and English.
1. TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF PARTICIPATION
Any frame by frame or computer-assisted animated film, meeting the following requirements, will be considered eligible for the Festival:
• The film has to be completed after January 1st, 2019 and must have not participated in any competition program of previous editions of WFAF.
• All necessary information, required in the entry form on our page in FilmFreeway must be filled in.
• A link to a high-quality screening copy of the selected film must be submitted by July 10th, 2021. Acceptable formats: DCP, H264, НEVC/H265 with a constant bitrate no less than 15 Mbps.
• English subtitles must be submitted if the film has dialogue or narration.
• The duration of the project must fit the category it is submitted to 1 – 25 minutes for short films, student films, and children’s films and over 45 minutes for feature films.
• One episode per series (up to 20 min) is allowed for the TV series competition.
• By signing the entry form the participant is taking responsibility when using materials covered by copyright.
2. THE FILMS WILL COMPETE IN THE FOLLOWING CATEGORIES:
• Short films – from 1 to 25 minutes
• Feature films – over 45 minutes
• Children’s films – from 1 to 25 minutes
• Students’ films – from 1 to 25 minutes
• TV Series – an episode with a duration of up to 20 minutes
3. PARTICIPATION
The deadline for submitting Entry Forms and films for selection is June 15th, 2021. No entry forms will be accepted after this date.
• In support of free artists, participation in the festival will be free.
• All entry forms must be submitted ONLY through our page in FilmFreeway until June 15th, 2021.
• After filling in and sending the application every participant will be sent a confirmation to the email address they have given.
• The copies for the official selection are to be uploaded only online via a download link, provided in the entry form.
• The copy for selection must be in the formats H264 or HEVC/Н265. The file MUST be named after the title of the film.
• The preview copy of the film can only be in these formats only: H264 or HEVC/Н265.
• The file name should be THE SAME AS THE TITLE OF THE FILM.
• The copies and all materials for participation in the selection will remain in the festival’s archive.
• Only one participation form may be submitted per film.
4. REQUIRED INFORMATION FOR THE ONLINE ENTRY FORM
• Every filmmaker has to have this information filled in in FilmFreeway regarding the film:
• 3 static frames from the film (NECESSARY resolution of 300 dpi, 1920×1080 in JPEG format)
• A logline for the film (up to 150 words)
• A digital copy of the film for selection
• If the film has text and/or dialogue in a language different from the official languages of the festival, the film with English subtitles in .srt format along with an Edit Decision List in one of the two languages must be sent additionally to the festival team
• Additional commercial materials for further showcasing of the film – poster, flyer, etc. Sending a high-resolution poster for the feature films is MANDATORY (minimal format A4, 300 dpi).
SELECTION COMMITTEE
• The selection committee selects the films that will take part in the competition program.
• The members are professionals, who are in touch with the Art of Animation.
• The films in each category will be evaluated based on their conceptual, aesthetic, and technical qualities.
• The decisions of the Selection Committee will be final and cannot be appealed.
• The directors of the selected works will be notified at the end of June.
OFFICIAL SELECTION
• The decision of the selection committee will be announced by the end of June.
• The screening copies of the films selected for the official competition program must be received through a download link no later than July 10th, 2021.
JURY
• The jury will consist of 5 members who are prominent names in the world of animated film.
• The organization committee of the festival will choose the international jury.
• Their names will be announced on the official site of the festival.
• The decisions of the International Jury members will be final and cannot be appealed.
• After the official closing ceremony of the festival there will be a screening of the jury’s chosen films.
ACCOMMODATION AND ACCREDITATION
• WFAF’s organizers will cover hotel expenses for 2 nights, accreditation, and food expenses for the contestants in the official competition program throughout the duration of the Festival.
• Contestants will cover their own travel expenses.
• Every person willing to attend the Festival as a guest can apply for accreditation at varnafest@gmail.com. All directors with films in the competition program and official guests of the festival will receive free accreditation.
RIGHTS
• If a film is selected, the director or producer of the work must provide a copy of the film in the format specified in the entry form.
• The participants provide their films for free for two screenings within the festival.
• The festival has the right to change the category of any selected film, change the Festival program without previous notice, and remove delayed or poor-quality files of films from the competition.
• The international jury has the right to withhold an award in any category if none of the films within the category meet their quality criteria.
• Unless otherwise specified in the entry form, the entrant grants the Organization Committee the right to present the work (in full or as an extract) and its promotional materials for non-commercial publicity purposes of the World Festival of Animated Film.
• All films in the competition program and panorama are free of charge and will be screened throughout the course of the Festival.
• The entrant grants the Organization Committee the right to present the work and its promotional materials, free of charge, at the Festival’s „echo“ event in Sofia.
• The entrant is responsible to declare ownership of the copyright of materials used in the development of the film. WFAF takes no responsibility for violations of copyright law.
• With the submission of the entry form, the entrant agrees with these Regulations.
