CineCitoyen/CineCitizen: Festival rules

Article 1
The Festival is organised by the « Association Écrans des Mondes » (AEM) of Paris. It takes place once a year in January. The Festival celebrates cinematographic works of independent filmmakers (Professionals, Students….) focussing on topics related to the transition towards a sustainable economy, life-style and living together, a new understanding of the relationship between Man and Nature. In the selection of films, the organizers and the selection committee take into account the artistic quality of the films, the strength of content and its originality.

Article 2
Films may be entered by directors, producers, distributors or any other legal representative. Registration of a film at the Festival is free. Its distribution within the framework of the Festival in all its editions is also free and not subject to license fee payments

Article 3
The films can be of all genres (animation, fiction, documentary) and length (short, mid-length and feature-length). They should not be older than 3 years compared to the Festival year. Once refused, a given film cannot be re-entered for another edition. There will be a special « YouTube » section as part of the competition.

Article 4
For the selection phase, the films must be sent via DVD, electronic file or as a link either with French or English subtitles. The availability of a French version or any other non-english version of the film represents, in the case of an equal vote, a decisive selection criterion for its inclusion in the Festival

Article 5
Filmmakers whose films are scheduled for competition will be invited to the Festival to present their film, provided that a sponsor agrees to finance their travel expenses and cost of their stay. They may also be invited to present their films in other European cities organizing local editions. The Festival organizers will do their best to find such sponsors.

Article 6
The venue, date, time, order and number of showings (including any deprogramming) and entrance fees are the responsibility of the Festival organizers who will act in the best interests of the event.

Article 7
The selection committee is nominated by the Directors of the Festival, and chaired by them. The latter usually make a pre-selection based on their knowledge of the Cinema production scene as well as YouTube. In addition, a completely open Call for Films is launched every year in March The Committees decisions are autonomous and sovereign. Only the following technical devices are accepted for the selection of films: DVD or Blu-ray in a version subtitled in French or English, or a screening link in the same languages. In case of selection, the festival will need in addition to the pre-selection material a clean-feed version of the film in high definition (ProRes, 4K), with the time-coded script containing the original version and translations in English or French. A press kit is also required. Participants should send only copies of their films; the Festival cannot be held responsible in case of damage to a master.

Article 8
The Festival Jury is made up of competent personalities with a cinema background and members of the civil society. Its composition is determined by the Festival co-Directors. The Jury meets on the week-end preceding the main edition of the festival and awards, after due discussion and vote sovereignly. The Jury and / or the Festival Directors may also discern other awards depending on the specific situation of each edition.

Article 9
The rights holders of the selected films grant to the Festival a right of free use of the photographs and excerpts of the selected film (maximum 3 minutes) in the media (press, internet, TV), on the Festival website but only in for the purpose of promoting the Festival. They accept that their film be shown without screening fee in the Festival’s dedicated venues and that they be put on-line with restricted access (with log-in access and password) for the practical and organizational needs within the frame of work for the press of the festival, as well as for the work of the Jury.

Article 10
In order to document the editorial choices of the Festival for future generations, the Festival intends to prepare for French media libraries, i.e. in a non-commercial spirit, a « Best of » DVD pack containing the 5 films that have been noticed the most during each edition. The winners of the Awards are likely to be among these 5 films, and the copyright holders herewith authorize this use. They will be beneficiaries pro rata temporis of the net revenue generated by this promotion. In any case, this activity cannot be assimilated to a commercial publication, because it will always remain linked to the promotion of the Festival

Article 11
A list of promotional tools is requested from the directors whose films are selected in order to finalize their registration at the festival. This list includes editorial elements (synopsis and scripts), visuals (photos of the film and the director with its filmography) and technical support tools (HD file or 4K clean-feed of a trailer of the film with its English or French sub-titles). The final validation of the festival registration is effective only when the Festival’s executive agency has received all of these tools made available to the Festival free of charge by the rights holders

Article 12
Upon announcement of the official selection of a film, a certificate of selection will be sent to the Filmmaker/Registrar. After sending this certificate, and for purely logistical reasons, a film can not be withdrawn from the programming of the Festival

Article 13
The person registering the film formally warrants that he/she holds all the festival rights of the film or acts with the consent of its rights-holder.

Article 14
The films selected and / or awarded at the Festival may be subject of additional screenings during the following year as part of the Festival’s promotional and editorial activities.

Article 15
The registration of a film at the Festival implies the unconditional acceptance of all the articles of the present regulations.