SHORT FILM COMPETITION – RULES AND REGULATIONS

1 – Aim of the Festival 

The AEIFF will present the best selection of contemporary Indian and international fiction-feature films as well as the significant films in history of Indian and world cinema.  The aim of organising this festival is to present the films of great merit from India and abroad to the audiences of city of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (Aurangabad), appreciate the cinematic works through means of awards, felicitations, seminars, etc. and to create an awareness and understanding of cinematic experience through film screenings and dialogue.

2 – Eligibility to participate in the Short Film Competition of 10^th Ajanta-Ellora IFF 

1. 10th Ajanta-Ellora International Film Festival (AEIFF) will be held from 15/JAN/2025 to 15/JAN/2025 in the city of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar ( Aurangabad).
2. For Short Film Competition section, festival accepts:
   1. short fiction films produced after 1st August 2023- Oct 2024,
   2. of maximum duration of 15 minutes (including the opening and closing credits),
   3. made by director(s) and producer(s) who are residents of Marathwada region of Maharashtra state; i.e. districts of (i) Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (Aurangabad), (ii) Beed, (iii) Hingoli, (iv) Jalna, (v) Latur, (vi) Nanded, (vii) Osmanabad, and (viii) Parbhani,
   4. director of the film must be of age between 18 and 35 years.
3. For selection purpose applicant / filmmaker must submit Google Drive link of his / her film’s VDO file in entry form and adhere to following instructions –
   1. Google Drive link MUST have download option (do not remove / delete this Google Drive link till 15th January 2025),
   2. VDO file MUST be in .MP4 or .MOV format; HD quality (1920 x 1080 / 1080p),
   3. Sound MUST be 5.1 channel (audio embedded) or 2.0 channel (audio embedded) or Stereo or Mono,
   4. VDO file size MUST under 200 Mb.
4. Final screening material of selected films shall be checked properly by the filmmaker / applicant for all technical aspects before submitting. Festival will not bear responsibility for any technical problem during screening.
5. All films must be screened in their original version, with English subtitles. Remakes and dubbed language versions of a film are not eligible.
6. A jury of experts will award following prizes in this competition and their decision shall be final and irrevocable –
   1. Best Film – Trophy, certificate plus cash prize of Rs. 25,000/- to director of the film
7. Please read the regulations properly before submitting your film in any section.

 

3 – Selection procedure 

AEIFF’s programming team, headed by the festival director, is responsible for selecting and inviting films to take part in the Short Film Competition section in AEIFF.

1. The online entry form to submit the short film in this competition is available on our website: aifilmfest.in.
2. The online film entry form shall be filled-in with all the requisite details by the applicant who is either producer or director of the film or the person authorized by producer of the film.
3. The deadline for entries is 20th October 2024, 05:00 pm.
4. Applicant / filmmaker must submit Google Drive link of his / her film’s VDO file for preview in entry form. This online link shall have download option.  No other format (DVD / BluRay / USB Drive etc.) is accepted for the selection preview.  Please adhere to the following instructions –
   1. Google Drive link MUST have download option (do not remove / delete this Google Drive link till 15th January 2025),
   2. VDO file MUST be in .MP4 or .MOV format; HD quality (1920 x 1080 / 1080p),
   3. Sound MUST be 5.1 channel (audio embedded) or 2.0 channel (audio embedded) or Stereo or Mono,
   4. VDO file size MUST under 200 Mb.

4 – Entry Fee 

Entry fee is Rs. 1,000/- for each entry.

Entry form submissions will only be considered complete and ready for selection process on confirmation of entry fee payment.

5 – Instructions for submitting films 

1. The applicant must submit detailed documentation immediately, including synopsis of the film, biography and complete filmography of the director and of the leading actors, a selection of high-resolution stills from the film, the poster design in a high resolution format, a recent photograph of the director, and a full list of artistic and technical credits. This information should be sent to office while submitting entry form.  If any information is missing the entry will be considered ineligible.
2. The applicant must submit final copy of his film for submission before entry deadline i.e. 20th October 2024, 05:00 pm.
3. Films selected for Short Film Competition section in AEIFF cannot be withdrawn from the Festival programme after its announcement.
4. For short films in the final selection, the official Festival logo laurel must be included in all promotional and publicity material of the film and displayed prominently. The Festival provides suitable logos upon request.

6 – Festival programme

1. The festival programme of the films selected is at the discretion of the festival director and his programming team. Their decision on festival programme is final and irrevocable.
2. Films will be screened in any digital format agreed upon in writing by the festival programming team and the producer / applicant of the film.

7 – Film screening material and selection screeners

1. The screening material provided to the Festival of films will remain with festival organisers in their archives / video library. Festival organisers will screen any of these short films in their future programmes they deem fit.  These screenings will be non-commercial and academic in nature.
2. The applicant / producer agrees to make available replacement of screening material DCP / hard disk / tape immediately, if it has difficulty in playing / screening.

8 – Obligations of applicants / producers of the films 

1. Participation in Short Film Competition implies adherence to the regulations as here set out.
2. It is the responsibility of producers / applicants to ensure that they are legitimately entitled to enter the film in Festival.
3. For the films selected, the official festival logo MUST be included in all promotional and publicity material of the film in a prominent place. Requests for suitable festival logo can be sent by email to info@aifilmfest.in.
4. The applicant, producer(s) and director(s) of the short films agree and acknowledge while submitting his / her / their short film(s) in this Short Film Competition section that, festival organisers may screen any of the short films received and / or selected for 10^th AIFF in their future programmes they deem fit. These screenings will be non-commercial and academic in nature.
5. The festival director has the right to settle all cases unforeseen in these regulations of participation, as well as to permit exceptions from the regulations in special, well-founded cases.

9 – Obligations of the Festival 

1. If there is any damage to or loss of the screening material of the film sent for screening in the festival, the festival is responsible only for the cost involved in restoration or repair of the damaged hard disk / tape / USB / or making a new hard disk / tape / USB of damaged portion of the film according to the current laboratory rates for ordering a standard screening copy.
2. Responsibility of festival for damage to or loss of a hard disk / tape / USB is applicable ONLY while it is in Festival’s custody.