SHORT MOVIES
Terms and conditions of the Competitions of the 12th Spektrum Film Festival
I. General information
1. The Spektrum Film Festival (hereinafter referred to as the Festival) will take place in Świdnica from October 20th-25th, 2026. The festival aims to present feature, documentary, and animated films.
2. The organizers of the Festival are: the Świdnica Cultural Center and the Wrocław Film Foundation.
II. Submitting films
1. One of the elements of the Festival program is the The Youth Perspective - Competition (hereinafter referred to as the Competition) for the best feature/ documentary/ animation/ amateur short film.
2. Films may be submitted to the Competition by individual filmmakers (hereinafter referred to as "Entrants") under 35 years of age, or by groups of filmmakers, at least one of whom must be under 35 years of age at the time of submission. Works prepared by members of the Jury or Selection Committee are not eligible for submission.
3. Submitting a film to the Competition is tantamount to unconditional acceptance of the provisions of these Regulations.
4. Submitting a film to the Competition requires payment of a fee: until April 30, 2026, it is USD 7; after that date (from May 1, 2026) – USD 12.
5. The Competition is open to films completed after January 1, 2024 (which did not participate in the previous edition of the Competition).
6. Films can be submitted exclusively via the FilmFreeway platform: https://filmfreeway.com/spektrum until 1 June 2026, 11:59 p.m.
7. The organizers reserve the right to extend the deadline for accepting applications if circumstances arise that prevent the recruitment from being completed on time.
8. The applicant is fully responsible for the accuracy of the information provided in the film submission form, as well as for regulating the legal status of the film.
III. Technical conditions
1.Films can only be submitted electronically via the FilmFreeWay platform at: https://filmfreeway.com/spektrum.
2. Video length: up to 30 minutes.
3. The film must have opening and closing credits, including: the title, the names of the creators, the year of production, and must also have an English subtitle track embedded in the copy.
4. The Organizers reserve the right to withdraw a film from the Competition due to the defective technical quality of the screening copy preventing screening.
5. The Applicant whose film has been accepted into the Competition is obliged to deliver, at his/her own expense, a competition copy in MP4 or MOV format and the required promotional materials, preferably electronically via Dropbox, Google Drive, MyAirbridge, WeTransfer or a similar service, within 14 days of being informed of the selection result.
IV. Film qualification
1. The submitted films will be viewed by the Selection Committee and will qualify the films for the Competition.
2.The members of the Selection Committee are appointed by the Organizers.
3. The Applicant will be informed about the film's admission to the Competition by e-mail or telephone by September 1, 2026. The Organizers reserve the right to extend this deadline by a maximum of 7 days for reasons beyond their control.
V. Awards
1. The Competition Jury will select the winner, who will receive a financial prize and a prestigious distinction in the form of a living trophy – a dedicated tree on the Świdnica Tree Map.
2.A plaque with a QR code will be placed next to the winner's tree, providing the only access point to the award-winning film in the city. This access is exclusive and local – the Organizer's intention is to allow viewing of the film only to those in the immediate vicinity of the tree, making the screening a unique experience integrated with nature.
3. The winner consents to the uploading of the film to the YouTube platform only in non-public mode (unlisted).
4. The organizer undertakes that the link to the film will not be indexed in search engines, will not be made publicly available on the website or on social media, and its only medium will be the QR code next to the dedicated tree.
5. The Organizer declares that he will not reproduce, copy or distribute the film in any other way than described above, and the technical security measures of the YouTube platform (non-public mode) are used solely to implement the idea of the Tree Map while maintaining full control of the creator over the work.
6. The winner retains all copyrights to the film, and participation in the Tree Map is a form of permanent commemoration of the artistic success in the public space of Świdnica.
7. The official award ceremony, including the symbolic transfer of care for the tree, will take place during the Awards Gala of the 12th Spektrum Film Festival.
VI. Jury
1. The Competition Jury consists of three to five members. The Jury awards the Grand Prize. The composition of the Competition Jury will be announced in a separate announcement.
2. The jurors have the right to nominate works for which they would like to award Honorable Mentions. In all disputes, the Chair of the Jury has the final say.
3. The minutes of the Competition Jury meeting are prepared by the Secretary of the Competition Jury.
VII. Polish Competition
1. Qualified films produced in Poland take part in The Youth Perspective – Competition and are automatically included in the classification of the Polish Competition.
2. The Polish Competition includes all short feature films, documentaries and animations that made it into the final selection of the The Youth Perspective Competition.
3. The creators of qualified films will be able to withdraw from participating in the Polish Competition after receiving information about the selection.
4. The jury of the Polish Competition will consist of journalists.
5. The Polish Competition Jury will select the winner from among the films. The winner will receive a financial prize.
VIII. Midnight Shorts Section
1. The submitted films are selected for a special section during the Festival – The Youth Competition: Midnight Shorts.
2. The Midnight Shorts section is dedicated to young short filmmakers, under 35 years of age, from Poland and abroad, who create genre films at the intersection of horror, black comedy, camp and experimental.
3. Creators of qualified films will be able to withdraw from the Midnight Shorts section after receiving information about the selection.
IX. Copyrights
1. The submitter is fully responsible for the accuracy of the information provided in the film submission. Providing false or incomplete personal information, or failing to provide it at all, will result in exclusion from participation in the Festival.
2. The copyright of the film submitted to the competition may not be limited in any way or infringe the copyrights and personal rights of third parties.
3. In the event that a film is submitted to the Festival and infringes the copyright or personal rights of third parties, the person submitting the film will cover all legal costs arising from any claims for infringement of third party rights, as well as the costs of any penalties and damages imposed in this respect.
4. The applicant consents to the publication of information about the film on the Festival website and in official publications (catalogue, programme, leaflets, etc.) and press materials, as well as the use of the film, its fragments (no longer than 30 seconds), photos in advertising materials and media presentations (press, radio, television, internet).
5. The Applicant consents to the free broadcast of his/her film during film screenings during the Festival and in the post-festival period, for screenings taking place at the initiative of the Organizer in the territory of the Republic of Poland.
6. The Applicant consents to the free broadcast of their film during open online screenings with geo-blocking for Poland, for screenings scheduled for a week after the end of the Festival, i.e. October 26-November 1, 2026.
X. Final provisions
1. Copies sent to the organizers will not be returned to the Applicants and will remain in the Festival archives.
2. The decisions of the Selection Committee and the Competition Jury are final and indisputable.
3. The organizers are not responsible for any infringement of copyright by the authors.
XI. Additional information
For any additional information regarding the Competition, please contact: Patrycja Strzyżewska [strzyzewska@wrocff.com.pl].
COMPETITION 1,2
Terms and conditions of the Competition ,,1,2” on Spektrum Film Festival 2026
General information
Spektrum Film Festival (further referred to as the Festival) will take place between 20nd and 25th of October 2026 in Świdnica, Poland. The Festival aims to present an overview of fiction, documentary and animated short films.
The Organizers of the Festival are: Świdnicki Ośrodek Kultury and Wrocławska Fundacja Filmowa.
One of the elements of the Festival’s programme is the Competition ,,1,2” for the best first or second feature film by a director (further referred to as the Competition).
Works prepared by members of the Jury or Selection Committee may not be submitted to the Competition.
By submitting a film, applicant accepts these Terms and Conditions.
Festival submission costs: 20 USD.
We only accept films completed after 1st January 2024 (and not submitted in the past editions of the Festival).
In order to submit a film for the Competition, the Applicant must send its application only through FilmFreeway portal: https://filmfreeway.com/spektrum from 1st March by June 1st 2026, by 23:59.
The applicant takes a full responsibility for the accuracy of the information provided in the application form as well as the clearance of film copyrights.
Technical specification
Films can be submitted only in an electronic form, via https://filmfreeway.com/spektrum.
Film length: up to 120 minutes.
Each film should have opening and closing credits with information such as: film title, film-makers!" names, year of production and must have English subtitles.
Organizers reserve a right to withdraw a film from the Competitions due to a faulty copy that cannot be screened.
Applicants whose films are selected for the Competition are required to send, at their own expense, a screening copy of the film in DCP format, preferably in electronic form, or as a ProRes file, DNxHD file via a server, or as a physical copy, within 7 days of being notified of the selection results.
Selection process
Films will be handed over to the Selecting Committee, who will decide on the Competition’s film selection.
The Selecting Committee will be put together by the Organizers.
The Applicant will be informed about the festival selection by the Organizers, via email or phone, by the September 30th 2026. The Organizers reserve a right to extend this deadline up to seven days due to unpredictable circumstances.
Awards
There is an Audience Award in the Competition for the director of the film in the form of a statuette, awarded by the Festival audience through a vote held in the Festival cinema.
Protocol of the vote count will be prepared and made available by 30 October 2026 on the festival's website.
The awards will be presented during 12th Spektrum Film Festival’s Award Ceremony.
Copyrights
The Applicant takes full responsibility for the accuracy of the information provided in the Application Form. Submitting false or incomplete personal information, or not providing it at all will result in a withdrawal the film from the Competition.
Copyrights of each film submitted must be cleared and cannot violate third party personal rights.
In case of submitting to the Festival a film that infringes copyrights or one that violates third party’s personal rights, the Applicant is obligated to cover any legal costs arising from any claims of infringement of third party rights, as well as the cost of penalties and damages that are results of the infringement.
The Applicant agrees to the publication of the information about the film on the Festival’s website and in official publications (catalogue, brochures, leaflets etc.) and in press releases, as well as agrees to the use of film fragments (no longer than 30 sec.) and film stills for the purpose of the promotion of the Festival and in media presentations (press, radio, TV and the Internet).
Final conditions
Film copies submitted to the Festival will not be returned and will be kept in the Festival’s archive.
The Selecting Committee’s and the Jury’s verdicts are final and unquestionable.
The Organizers take no responsibility for the copyright infringements of any submitted film.
Additional information
Additional information about the Competition will be provided by it’s Coordinator: Patrycja Strzyżewska [strzyzewska@wrocff.com.pl].
