### ABOUT THE FESTIVAL

US International Film & Video Festival celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2017. It was born as U.S. Industrial Film and Video Festival in 1967 in Chicago. In the early days of film, Chicago was bigger in the industrial and documentary film business than Hollywood, and competitions began to pop up. Not all lasted, but USIFVF has. The competition gave its initial awards in 1968 and has been held continuously since.
Since 2001, USIFVF has operated from Los Angeles, but it still has the original mission:

“to recognize quality work produced for industry, associations, government, religious or education organizations whose purpose is to inform, motivate, stimulate or educate an audience.”

US International Film & Video Festival (nicknamed FilmFest) remains independently owned in a field dominated by industry-sponsored competitions. The Festival offers five mini-competitions in one, recognizing outstanding Corporate, Education, Entertainment, Documentary and Student productions.

FilmFest has responded readily to today’s digital world. Entries are submitted online, and judges, with only a few exceptions, do their assessments online. The judging panel is recruited worldwide.

### OUR JUDGING PROCESS

Entries are judged against peers, meaning Corporate competes with Corporate, Education against Education, and so on. Entries are reviewed on their own merit. We hope for winners in each category, but don’t require them. As a result, the top award in a category is not necessarily a Gold Camera but may be a Silver Screen or Certificate for Creative Excellence winner. Conversely, more than one Gold, Silver or Certificate may be awarded in a category.

Decisions about winners are based on both effectiveness and creativity. As an independent company, we feel no corporate pressure to change that system.

### WHY ENTER

- Gain recognition and prestige in an International film/video/digital production industry
- Encourage new clients by showcasing award-winning work
- Get your film seen by a panel of seasoned industry professionals
- Expand your company’s reputation to draw new clients
- Build internal company pride and motivation
- Enjoy publicity and accolades on our website and social media, in media releases and in worldwide award presentations
- Relish good old-fashioned “bragging rights” when you win!

### TYPES OF ENTRIES ACCEPTED

We accept all types of film & video content created for traditional and state-of-the-art platforms & venues. The competition is open to the following (including, not limited to):

- Advertising/Marketing Video Content
- Education & Instructional Productions
- Online Film & Video Content
- Corporate Communications
- Short-Form Content Video (including TikTok, Instagram Stories, Snapchat, etc.)
- Immersive Media - Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented (AR), Mixed (MR), Extended (XR)
- Broadcast & Streaming Productions
- Social Media Videos
- Tourism Films
- News Programming
- Student Created Video Content

Awards & Prizes

### GENERAL FESTIVAL AWARDS

- First-Place Gold Camera Statuette
- Second-Place Silver Screen Statuette
- Third-Place Certificate for Creative Excellence
- Student Award Certificate
- Best of Festival (Grand Prix) Awards
Presented to an outstanding entry from among the Gold Camera winners in each production type. These winners are selected by members of the International Quorum of Motion Picture Producers (IQ), a 52-year-old global peer network of production company owners.

### SPECIAL AWARD - IQ ONE WORLD AWARD

This special award is given to the production that best exhibits cinematic excellence and innovative storytelling and engages the audience with universal themes that express our shared humanity. The IQ One World Award is sponsored and presented by the International Quorum of Motion Picture Producers (IQ), which seeks to support and improve international communications. Established in 1966, IQ has administrative headquarters in Nashville, Tennessee. https://iqfilm.org.

- This award is open to Corporate, Education, Entertainment, and Documentary productions.
- How to Enter: At the time of entry, you can enter your film for consideration to compete for the IQ One World Award. You may submit a written explanation as to why you are nominating your production for this award.
- Judging Process: At the end of general festival judging, the IQ One World Award nominated productions that were awarded a Gold Camera, Silver Screen or Certificate award will move on to the second phase of judging. These IQ One World Award nominees will then be judged by a separate committee composed of IQ members.
- Award: The IQ One World Award winner will be announced with the Best of Festival winners in June 2020. The Winner will be notified via email by the US International Film & Video Festival. The award will be presented to the winner at the annual IQ Conference in 2020.

Rules & Terms

### GENERAL INFORMATION

Entry Fees: Entry fees must be paid in US Dollars at the time of entry. Judging results will not be released until all fees are paid in full.

Important Dates
Entry Deadline — March 15, 2020
Judging Results — May 2020

Entry Confirmation: Acknowledgment will be emailed to all entrants within 24 hours of receipt of entry.

Duplication of Entries: Entrants agree to allow entries to be duplicated for judging purposes and to permit winning entries to be displayed to public audiences and/or shown on television for promotion and publicity purposes with entrant assuming any union fees or talent residuals and all rights issues related to the production, if applicable. Winning entries will be retained by the Festival Library for promotional and educational use.

Judging Results: Results will be emailed to all entrants in May 2020. Judging results cannot be released unless entry fees are paid in full.

Withdrawing an Entry: An entry may be withdrawn within 24 hours of finalization (subject to a $100 processing fee; see Refund Policy). Entry withdrawal requests must be received via email to KristenSzabo@filmfestawards.com within 24 hours of finalization.

Refund Policy: Refunds are only issued for entries withdrawn within 24 hours of finalization.

Privacy Statement: Available at http://filmfestawards.com/pdfs/Film_Festival_Privacy_Policy.pdf

### ENTRY GUIDELINES

Eligible Productions Types: Open to Corporate, Education, Entertainment, Documentary and Student productions.

Production Release Dates: Entries must have been produced or released between
September 1, 2018, and March 1, 2020, and cannot have previously been submitted into the Festival.

Language: Entries must be submitted in English or have English subtitles.

Multiple Entries: The same production may be entered into different Categories and/or Production Types. Each entry will be considered a separate entry and will require additional submission materials and entry fees.

Student Entries: Students may enter individual or group work done for a class project, an internship as spec work or for a client as long as the student is not a paid employee in the film industry. All Festival Rules & Regulations, Entry Material Requirements, Categories, Payment and Shipping instructions apply to Student entrants. A photocopy of the entrant's valid Student ID must be e-mailed to the Festival Office to: KristenSzabo@filmfestawards.com. Winning Student entries receive a "Student Award" Certificate.

Liability: The Festival assumes no responsibility for productions submitted in the incorrect category. Reasonable care will be exercised to protect entries from damage or loss. The Festival, its management and judging committees cannot assume liability.

### SCORING/JUDGING GUIDELINES

All productions are scored on multiple criteria, including:
- How well the production meets its objectives and its intended audience
- Production Approach
- Concept/Writing
- Craft/Techniques

### CLAIMING AWARDS

Award Statuette and Certificate Engraving: Awards will be engraved/printed and Presented To the name of the Entrant Company as listed in the entry credits, NOT to the name of the entrant contact. Third-Place Certificates will include the Production Company name and the company name of the Sponsor/Client as listed in the credits.

Original Award Ordering Process: Winners will be emailed a personalized URL (valid through October 30, 2020) to order their original awards. The winner is responsible for the shipping costs. Original awards are complimentary through October 30, 2020. After October 30, 2020, original awards will be available at full price.

Original Award Claim Deadline: The URL to claim your original awards will remain live until October 30, 2020. Original Awards claimed after October 30, 2020, will be available for purchase at the full price.

Duplicate Awards: Duplicate awards for any year may be purchased at any time. Duplicates can be personalized in an individual's name as long as the person was credited to the entry. The link to the store is https://order.filmfestawards.com/duplicatestore.aspx.