New York Animation Film Awards (NYAFA)

The film festival works under the Cinematography Awards Foundation - CAWARDS.ORG A body supervising the foundation:
The Ministry of Culture and National Heritage

RULES AND TERMS
1. Submissions for the New York Animation Film Awards is open to animation films and adolescent beginning June 2020.
2. All films must be presented in their original language with English subtitle.
3. Films must have been completed after 1 January 2017. Premiere status is not required.
4. Short film entries must not exceed a running time of 30 minutes.
5. Student films and videos must present proper documentations from their academic institution, example: academic ID of the director/producer or a letter of recommendation from an academic adviser or institution. Any films submitted as student film without proper identification will be disqualified in the category.
6. Student films must be submitted no later than two years after graduation.
7. All submitted films and/or videos must pay the necessary entry fee. Student entries are eligible for discounted fees.
8. Entry fees are non-refundable in case of any submission withdrawal.
9. Any changes to the rules will be at NYAFA’s discretion.
10. NYAFA can adjust the submission fees or make the promotional price at any time. This has no effect on films that have been submitted before the changes.
11. All entries must be submitted online via FilmFreeway.
12. All submissions are screened and evaluated by the NYAFA Selection Committee.
13. Criteria for judging is based on creativity of visual images, production quality (without irrespective of the cost of production), originality of storytelling and entertainment value.
14. Submissions will be checked for their eligibility and judged only in their appropriate categories.
15. All Official Selections for each category will be announced at NYAFA website and CA social media platforms and will be notified through email.
16. The number of selections for each category is at the NYAFA Committee’s discretion.
17. Screening and Awarding Ceremony will be held at Dolby New York. Any other announcements will be made on NYAFA’s official website and CA’s social media platforms.
18. Selection:
– NOT SELECTED – unfortunately your film didn’t meet the minimum requirements of the Film Festival
– SEMI-FINALIST – your film was selected as the semi-finalist in the category(s) to which was submitted. The judging status is to all categories.
– FINALIST – your film was selected as the finalist in the category(s) to which wast submitted The judging status is to all categories.
– WINNER – your film won the category(s) to which was submitted and recived the Official Selection to the Live Screening.

This makes the selection process more transparent to all filmmakers and is a guarantee that all kind of animation films (short, feature, student, documentary, etc) have equal opportunities to be selected to the Live Screening.

AWARDS
1. Official Selection for each category will receive a NYAFA digital certificate with verification and a digital copy of the official NYAFA laurel.
2. Winner of the Best Animation Film of the Year is chosen from all winners of the categories.
3. Winner of Best Animation Film of the Year will be handed CA’s official statuette called the “Golden Eagle” during the awarding ceremony.
4. Winners will be chosen by Juries composed of film industry professionals especially invited by NYAFA festival director for this edition.
5. In case of the recipients’ absence during the award ceremony, NYAFA will send the statuette to them via post.
6. Other additional award prizes may be given during the ceremony.

SCREENING
1. All official selections are included in the festival programme for exhibition.
2. NYAFA reserves the right to choose other shortlisted films to be screened in the film festival.
3. The filmmakers and/or production companies must provide NYAFA a copy of their films for screening at least 30 working days prior to festival. This is to make sure the festival has enough time to check for any technical concerns that may occur and resolve them prior to the screening.
4. If sending DCPs, the sender is requested to inform NYAFA on the means of dispatch and the date of shipment. Postage or shipment costs are the responsibility of the sender. No collect costs are accepted unless authorized by the NYAFA. Materials should be sent to Cinematography Awards Foundation by internet transfer or by post:

FUNDACJA NAGRODY KINEMATOGRAFII,
Michalowskiego 8, 02-438 Warszawa, Poland

5. All screening formats can be received by participants during the festival screening.

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS FOR EXHIBITION
1. All films must be of standard cinema aspect ratio and resolution (Square Pixels 1.0).
Flat:1.85:1 2K (1998x1080) or 4K (3996x2160) Scope: 2.39:1 2K (2048×858) or 4K
(4096x1716)
2. HD format is possible, but the filmmakers/producer must give CCA the rights to re-format it for screening purposes. HD quality digital copy of the film in Quicktime (Pro Res 422) if applicable.
3. H264 (MP4) files can be accepted provided the images are of great quality.

OTHER AGREEMENTS
1. NYAFA is hereby granted the rights to utilize an excerpt from any film submitted for promotional purposes of the festival.
2. The filmmakers and/or the production company allow NYAFA and CA to use their film’s Press Kit for promotional purposes.
3. The submission of any films to the festival means that the filmmakers and/or the production company agree without any reservation to all the rules and regulations of NYAFA.