RULES
Rules of The Americas Short Film Competition
The Americas Film Festival New York
TAFFNY, organized by the Center for Worker Education, the Department of Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences of City College (CUNY), and film programmer Diana Vargas, opens its 2023 call for entries, with a final submission deadline of APRIL 30, 2023
ARTICLE 1.
By organizing the Short Film Competition, TAFFNY aims to foster and encourage reflection on the short film format while promoting cultural exchange between filmmakers, film students, and industry insiders of The Americas continent and its associated islands.
ARTICLE 2.
10th TAFFNY is organized by the Division of Interdisciplinary Studies at the Center for Worker Education of City College of New York (The City University of New York - CUNY) and will take place June 15-22, 2023.
Article 3. All films, whether in competition or not, will be selected by the Festival Selection Committee and under the supervision of the Festival's Programming Director.
ARTICLE 4.
In order to compete at the Festival, films must fulfill the following conditions:
* Genres: Documentary, fiction, animation, experimental
* Foreign Language Films must be subtitled in English
* Films should be no longer than 20 minutes in length, and must have been released during the 24 months prior to the date of the Festival.
* Preview format must be online data, via weblink. Please DO NOT send films to be download.
* The formats for film exhibition will be 1080p, H264, .mov, .mp4, and/or ProRes. Other formats may eventually be used and will be analyzed case by case by the festival producers.
ARTICLE 5.
The producer holding the rights to the film must communicate his or her desire to participate in the Festival by returning The Americas Competition Rules, duly completed and signed, before April 25th, 2022. The Festival will recognize the signatory of the Rules as the sole representative of the film, as opposed to other companies or people who may have taken part in the film’s production, and shall therefore negotiate all aspects of the film’s participation in the event with this person only.
ARTICLE 6.
Once entered and selected, its producers cannot withdraw the film from the program.
ARTICLE 7.
Jury members will be appointed by the Festival Programming Committee. This Jury will fulfill the following conditions:
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It will comprise a minimum of three members.
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No person with any interest whatsoever in the production and/or exploitation of a competing film may form a part of this Jury.
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The Jury will deliberate in secret, and its decisions will be adopted by simple majority. The Festival Programming Committee will be present at the Jury’s deliberations, but will not take part in the voting.
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The Jury members firmly undertake not to publicly express their opinions of films in competition for an award prior to the official announcement of the awards.
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ARTICLE 8.
a) The Jury has the obligation to grant the following awards to a Fiction, Animated film categories:
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The Americas Prize for Best Fiction (for the Director / Producer)
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The Americas Prize for Best Animation
b) The Jury for documentary / Experimental films has the obligation to grant the following award:
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The Americas Prize for Best Documentary
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The Americas Prize for Best Experimental Film
Both Juries can grant the Special Award to a film of their own free choice. The Jury must give its reasons for granting this award. Only one of these awards may be granted ex aequo.
ARTICLE 9.
The Festival requests that producers of films receiving an official award donate a copy to its film archive. TAFFNY will request permission if it wishes to screen the film for educational or special programs.
ARTICLE 10.
Any discrepancies arising from the interpretation of these Rules will be dealt with on the basis of the English version.
Participation in the Festival implies acceptance of these Rules. The Festival Management Committee will have supremacy in resolving potential disagreements.