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COMPETITION RULES AND REGULATIONS
of the 17th International Festival of Independent Cinema MASTERCARD OFF CAMERA
26th April – 5th May 2024
1
The Organizer of the International Festival of Independent Cinema MASTERCARD OFF CAMERA (hereinafter referred to as the "Festival"), the 17th edition of which is to be held in 2024, is Fundacja OFF CAMERA located in Krakow entered in the Register of entrepreneurs and the Register of associations, other social and professional organizations, foundations and public healthcare institutions in the National Court Register kept by the District Court for Kraków - Śródmieście in Kraków under no. KRS 0000428063 (Fundacja is referred to as the “Organizer”), in cooperation with Krakow Festival Office, located in Krakow. Fundacja (Organizer) is legally responsible for all the obligations defined in the Competition Rules and Regulations statements. It is also creditor of the services resulting from this set of regulations on behalf of the Organizer. Actions of Fundacja are considered to be the activities of the Organizer.

§2

The subsequent Festival editions shall be held each year in Kraków on the dates set by the Organizer. The Organizer has a right to hold some of the outdoor screenings in Krakow during the Festival, however their dates and number is going to be determined by the current pandemic situation.

The Festival's objective shall be to foster development of film art, promote ambitious artistic repertoire, arrange meetings with filmmakers from all over the world as well as to stimulate the film industry in Poland and to award the best films and their authors.

The Festival shall be an international event.

In order to select films to be screened during the Festival (including their presence in the individual Competitions) and also to provide supervision over the proper course of events during the Festival, a Festival Committee (hereinafter referred to as the "Committee") shall be established. At the same time, it is hereby agreed as follows:

• all the members of the Committee, including the Chairman, shall be appointed by the Organizer;
• the list of films qualified by the Committee for screening at the Festival, including those qualified by the Committee for individual Competitions, shall be announced by the Organizer by April 24th, 2024; the Committee's decision shall be final and requires no justification.

§3

The Festival programme shall include the following festival competitions (hereinafter referred to as the "Competitions"):
• the Main Competition for the Andrzej Wajda Kraków Film Award (hereinafter referred to as the "Main Competition"); it is hereby agreed that in aggregate up to 10 films submitted and qualified for the Main Competition shall take part in the Main Competition according to the Competition Rules and Regulations presented here;
• competition for the FIPRESCI Award (hereinafter referred to as the "FIPRESCI Competition"); it is hereby agreed that the films taking part in the Main Competition shall take part in the FIPRESCI Competition;
• competition for the Award for the Polish Feature Film (hereinafter referred to as the "Polish Feature Film Competition");
competition for the Audience Award (hereinafter referred to as the "Competition for the Audience Award"); it is hereby agreed that the films taking part in the Main Competition and in the Polish Feature Film Competition shall take part in the Audience Award competition. The film with the highest number of votes wins the Audience Award.
• films screened outside the competitions in sections specified each time by the Organizer;
• press conferences;
• lectures and training workshops;
• related events.
The events described in points 1.3 – 1.5 will depend on the epidemic situation on the territory of the Republic of Poland and the Organizer holds the right to cancel them as well as organize them on-line.

Rules of the Polish Feature Film Competition are set out in detailed rules and regulations.

The Organizer may establish additional competition categories at their sole discretion.

The Organizer shall charge entrance fees – due to the rules set out in § 6 paragraph 2.2 (c) of the Competition Rules and Regulations (hereinafter referred to as the “Entrance Fees”). Entrance fees are not refundable - in particular, also in case of not qualifying the film for projection during the Festival or withdrawing the film from the Festival.

§4

The winners of individual Competitions shall be granted the following awards:

The Main Competition: the Andrzej Wajda Kraków Film Award comprising a statuette (the prestigious component of the award) and a cash amount (the cash component of the award) of USD 25.000* gross (in words: twenty five thousand US dollars), representing the (gross) equivalent of a PLN amount, calculated at the average PLN/USD exchange rate published by the National Bank of Poland and applicable on the date indicated by the Organizer on the day in the period 1tst July until 25th 2024, in accordance with the Section 6 of this paragraph (hereinafter referred to as the "Award Establishment Date") – regarding the restrictions of the ruling defined by section 8 of the hereby paragraph - to be granted to the director of the winning film presented in the Main Competition (hereinafter referred to as the "KFA Winner") and selected by the international Jury of the Main Competition (all members of the international Jury, including the Chairman, shall be appointed by the Organizer); if a winning film would have more than one main director, the Andrzej Wajda Krakow Film Award shall be paid in the manner indicated in the directors’ of the winning picture unanimous written statement, delivered to the Organizer by the end of the year 2024 – otherwise KFA Winner loses the right to the cash component of the Andrzej Wajda Kraków Film Award.

The FIPRESCI Competition: the FIPRESCI Award comprising a diploma for the director of a winning film presented during the FIPRESCI Competition (hereinafter referred to as the "FIPRESCI Winner");

Competition for the Audience Award - the Audience Award comprising one statuette and the amount of 10.000 PLN gross (in words: ten thousand zlotys) - granted to the director of the winning film (hereinafter referred to as the “Laureate of the Audience Award”), screened in the Competition for the Audience Award, selected by the viewers of the films taking part in the Competition for the Audience Award. The aforementioned voting process is based on voting system established on a scale from 1 to 5 and the points are assigned by the viewers present at each and every screening of the Competition movie. The joint point number for each and every film is calculated as a point average, which means the quotiens of the assigned point sum and the viewers that voted for it.

The cash component of the Andrzej Wajda Kraków Film Award as well as the amount of the Audience Award referred to in Section 1 of this paragraph shall be gross amount subject to The cash component of the Andrzej Wajda Kraków Film Award as well as the amount of the Audience Award referred to in Section 1 of this paragraph shall be gross amount subject to income tax withholding in accordance with the laws applicable in this respect in Poland.
The Winner of the Andrzej Wajda Krakow Film Award should be present, via an on-line platform or in person during the Festival Closing Gala.

Within 100 days after granting the right to the Andrzej Wajda Kraków Film Award, the KFA Winner shall be obliged to submit to the Organizer, on a free-of-charge basis:

two professional photographs (vertical and horizontal, in 300 DPI resolution each) of the KFA Winner (including transfer of rights thereto) for the purposes of Festival promotion (including promotion of subsequent Festival editions);

a short film made by the Andrzej Wajda KFA Winner (in screening quality for cinemas including transfer of copyrights thereto) containing a speech by the KFA Winner about the importance of the award granted to them and the opportunities they think it creates, for Festival promotion purposes (including future Festival editions). To clarify the above, the Organizer shall use the abovementioned film (in any form chosen by the Winner i.a. an etude, a feature speech) at future Festivals i.a. prior to competition film screenings in order to show to the audience the importance of the Cracow Film Award for filmmakers, and define its purpose and the subject mission of the Award. The Organizer shall inform the Andrzej Wajda KFA Winner about the technical parameters of the mentioned film after the end of the Festival. Upon request, the Organizer shall share with the KFA Winner films from previous years to serve as essential examples for easier preparation.

a scan of the Andrzej Wajda KFA Winner’s signature (an autograph) for the purpose of the festival’s promotion (including subsequent editions of the Festival):

• a detailed scope as well as terms and conditions of performance of the foregoing obligations of the Andrzej Wajda KFA Winner shall be set forth by the Organizer.

Subject to any provisions of the following sentence, regardless of the deadlines for the payment of the cash component of the Andrzej Wajda Kraków Film Award, as specified in the Competition Rules and Regulations, the Organizer shall have the right to withhold payment of the full amount of the cash component of the Kraków Film Award, or of any part thereof (at the Organizer's sole discretion), until the Andrzej Wajda KFA Winner fulfils all their obligations specified in Section 4 of this paragraph, with no claims raised by the KFA Winner against the Organizer, including, in particular, claims for payment of interest. The Organizer reserves the right to withhold the remaining sum of the KFA, should the requirements of the ruling defined by section 4 of the hereby paragraph were not met within the period of 12 months counting from the date of granting the Andrzej Wajda Krakow Film Award.

The Award Establishment Date shall be XXth July 2023**

Any awards not provided for in the Competition Rules and Regulations may be granted only upon prior consultation with the Organizer.

Due to economic reasons, including possible financial crises or other events of similar character, the Organizer is required to include the potential risk of not obtaining financial funds to cover the full extent of the Festival organizational costs planned at the time of the publishing of the Festival Rules, including the payment of the Andrzej Wajda Krakow Film Award in the sum mentioned in this paragraph. Therefore, the Organizer reserves the right to modify the Competition Rules and Regulations also in the context of the financial aspect of Andrzej Wajda Krakow Film Award other than the one defined in section 1.1 of this paragraph. The change in the Competition Rules and Regulations should be made not later than until 25th April 2022 and could diminish the sum of Andrzej Wajda Krakow Film Award stated in section 1.1 of this paragraph but not below $ 12,500. The change in the Competition Rules and Regulations in this context could not be considered legal ground to lay claims against the Organizer – especially one regarding the payment of Andrzej Wajda Krakow Film Award in the sum from before a possible change to the Competition Rules and Regulations.

§5

Films to be screened during the Festival, including those taking part in the Competitions, may be submitted by the producers or distributors thereof, as well as by other entities having the right to use and dispose of the film concerned (hereinafter referred to as the "Entrant"). It is hereby agreed as follows: - submission of a film to the Festival shall be deemed equivalent to submission by the Entrant to the Organizer of:

a statement to the effect that: (i) the Entrant has acquainted themselves with the Competition Rules and Regulations, and accepts the content hereof, (ii) each and every person who might become a winner of any Award to be granted in the Competitions has acquainted themselves with the Competition Rules and Regulations, and accepts the content hereof;

a statement of granting to the Organizer: (i) a licence (relating to the copyrights and neighbouring rights, with the right to grant sublicences) for the use of the film during the Festival, in facilities used for the purpose of the Festival, in compliance with which the Organizer is authorised to using the film (in whole or in the form of freely chosen fragments thereof) via recording for screening purposes, screening, public presentation, copying in a chosen technique for broadcasting purposes, entering the same into computer memory for broadcasting purposes; (ii) a licence (referring to copyright and neighbouring rights, with the right to grant sublicences) allowing the Organizer to use the informational materials regarding the film, its producer and co-authors in all known operational spheres, including on-line presentations, for the sake of the Festival’s and/or Competition’s and/or given film’s promotion;
2. films qualified for the Competitions shall be made available to the Organizer free of charge - the Organizer is not due to grant any benefit or advantage of another kind;

3. The Organizer shall reserve the right to refuse admittance to the Festival (including individual Competitions) of films which, in particular:

include any content that incites hatred based on national, ethnic, racial, or religious grounds or for reason of lack of any religious denomination, or that might insult one's religious feelings,

include any content that might pose a threat to the life or health of minors, were produced as a result of any actions that may have exposed people or animals to a loss of life or health,
Films qualified for the Festival (including for the individual Competitions) shall be submitted by the Entrant to the Organizer only on one of the following carriers in the PAL format;
may otherwise be in breach of the laws applicable in Poland or moral standards;

DCP; 
Blu- ray;
HD file - preferred codec - Apple ProRes 422 or MP4 (h264) with high bitrate (high quality mp4);

DCP or HD Cam shall be the preferred formats for the films; if any film has been submitted in a format other than the 35mm tape, the Organizer shall have the right (with no fees incurred in this connection) to copy the copies of the films received to a computer hard disc in order to screen the same during the Festival;

A film submitted to and qualified for screening at the Festival may not be withdrawn by the Entrant or by any other person without prior written (otherwise it shall be null and void) consent of the Organizer.

§6

A feature film or a film that constitutes an independent artistic work may be submitted to take part in the Main Competition, provided that its total screening time is no less than 60 minutes and that it is a work of fiction, not documentary filmmaking.

Submission of a film for The Main Competition is available only via the Internet application available at: https://www.filmfreeway.com/;

shall be deemed effective only if:

is made no later than by February 25th 2024; The Organizer shall reserve the fact that the films submitted after March 1st 2024 may (but need not) be considered when creating the list of films selected for screening within the Festival, referred to in § 2, point 4.2 of the Competition Rules and Regulations;

by the date to be specified by the Organizer the latter has received a screening copy of the film with information materials including (when possible):
a brief description of the film, including the credits

a selection of stills either in electronic form or on the film's website,

1 to 3 posters (plus a digital file in the TIFF, EPS or PDF format and in a quality enabling the printout of a high-quality poster),

a DVD or a video clip (only in the Beta PAL format) for the purposes of Festival promotion;

will be paid the Entrance Fee in the amount of:

35.00 USD – in case of applications filed by Januray, 1st, 2024;

45.00 USD – in case of supplications filed by February, 1st, 2024;

55.00 USD – in case of applications filed after February 1st, 2024;

a film with dialogues in any language other than English shall have the dialogue track in English.

The Organizer shall return the screening copy of the film only upon the Entrant's express request and at their cost.

The Entrant shall be notified of the fact that their film has been selected to be screened during the Festival in writing or by e-mail; the correspondence shall include detailed instruction on the dispatch of the film copy.

§7

The winner of the Competition for the Audience Award is a film which had the highest number of votes given by the viewers who watch the films at the movie theatres, and scored the highest number of votes, counted by the means established by the Organizer.

If at least two films score equal highest number of votes, the winner of the Competition for the Audience Award shall be selected from among the film directors of these films by the Committee. The announcement of the Winner of the Audience Award is going to be held during the Festival Closing Gala.

§8

htmThe winner of the FIPRESCI Competition will be selected by the Jury (hereinafter referred to as "Jury FIPRESCI") convened by The International Federation of Film Critics FIPRESCI ("FIPRESCI Fédération Internationale de la Presse Cinématographique International Federation of Film Critics") and acting due to the principles described by the Federation, in particular available at http://www.fipresci.org/about/regulations.htm

The verdict of FIPRESCI Jury (and the FIPRESCI Award giving) will be announced during the Closing Gala of the Festival.

§9

The Organizer shall bear the costs of transport and insurance of the film copies within the Festival only with respect to the transport thereof from and/or to the actual provider of the said copy. The Organizer does not pay/ cover the costs of providing copies and/ or insurance paid by the Entrant or any other provider of the copy, unless the parties agree otherwise in writing (otherwise the approval shall be deemed null and void) agreement.

Should the copy be lost or seriously damaged when held by the Organizer, the financial liability of the latter shall be limited exclusively to the refunding to the producer or distributor the costs of making a new copy.

§10

The Competition Rules and Regulations have been drawn up in Polish and in English. Should any doubts arise as to the interpretationion of the provisions of the Competition Rules and Regulations, the Polish version hereof shall prevail.
In case of any conflict between the provisions of the Competition Rules and Regulations and those of the detailed rules and regulations, provisions of the detailed rules and regulations shall prevail.

Footnotes:
*The prize cash amount specified in the Competition Rules and Regulations is an example and represents the (gross) equivalent of a PLN amount, calculated at the average
PLN/USD exchange rate published by the National Bank of Poland, applicable on the Award Establishment Date (hereinafter: the “Base Amount KFA”); for example - the USD / PLN exchange rate on the Award Establishment Date is 1 USD = 3.00 PLN; the Base Amount KFA is then 75.000,00 PLN). The Andrzej Wajda Krakow Film Award will be paid until December 31sth, 2024, but not earlier than August, 1st, 2024, to the bank account indicated by the KFA Winner, but not before providing such data as: first name, surname, date of birth, tax identification number, parents' names, exact address, bank account number. The Andrzej Wajda Krakow Film Award shall be paid out in Polish Zlotys in the (gross) amount of the Base Amount KFA, i.e. the equivalent of 25.000,00 USD expressed in PLN on the average exchange rate USD/PLN published by the National Bank of Poland applicable on the Award Establishment Date. In the case of Organizer’s acceptance of the KFA Winner’s application of the Krakow Film Award payment in the exchangeable currency as indicated by the KFA Winner (within the meaning of the act of The Foreign Exchange Law from July, 27th 2002, Journal of Laws 2012 item 826 ct.), the Andrzej Wajda Krakow Film Award shall be paid out in such a currency in the amount (gross) of the Base Amount KFA equivalent on the average rate of this currency as published by the National Bank of Poland applicable on the day of making the commission of payment by the Organizer. Irrespectively of the aforementioned ways of fulfilling the commitment to pay the Andrzej Wajda Krakow Film Award with the payment (in USD) for the KFA Winner in the amount of 25.000,00 USD – in such a case the payment of 25.000,00 USD constitutes the fulfillment of the entire commitment to pay out the Andrzej Wajda Krakow Film Award.

** Competition Rules and Regulations shall be completed in this scope by the Organizer not later than 25th April 2024.

Organizer

President of The Management Board of Fundacja OFF CAMERA