The following are the rules and regulations (“Rules and Regulations”) governing the submission of a film (hereafter called the “Film”) to The African Film Festival (hereafter called “TAFF” or “The Festival”) for consideration.
By agreeing to the Terms And Conditions below, the person submitting the Film (hereafter called the “Applicant”) acknowledges that he or she has obtained consent from any and all owners, creators, writers, Producers and/or other authorized representatives of the Film (hereafter called the “Film’s Owners”) whose consent is required to submit the Film to The Festival, and has read and understood the submission rules and regulations as follows:
1. If the Film’s final running time is projected to be more than 20 minutes and is between 60-90 minutes long, to include all rolling credits, the Film may only be submitted as a Narrative or Documentary Feature Film.
2. If the Film’s final running time is projected to be less than 20 minutes, to include all rolling credits, the Film may only be submitted as a Narrative or Documentary Short Film.
3. A Narrative and Documentary Feature and Short Films that have been or will be exhibited publicly in their current form, broadcast or streamed on television or the Internet, or released via any home video or other public distribution platform (Blu-ray, DVD, video on demand, etc.) before January 31 of festival year are not eligible for submission to The Festival.
4. Films completed prior to June 1 of the year prior to submission, are not eligible for consideration for the current festival year.
5. Narrative and Documentary Feature Films that have been or will be screened at other festivals in any country prior to January 31 of current festival year are still eligible for inclusion into The Festival.
6. You may submit a previously submitted Film if its contents have been changed significantly. Films that have been submitted for Festival consideration in previous years are eligible for re-submission for the current festival year, but only if the Film has been changed significantly since it was previously submitted. TAFF shall have the sole authority and discretion to determine whether a Film that was previously submitted has been changed significantly from the previously submitted version. TAFF reserves the right to determine EVERY Film’s eligibility, without refund of any or all submission fees previously collected from the Applicant, based on the content of the new version of the film as compared with the previous version.
7. TAFF shall not be held liable, at any given time of copyright infringements of any kind by a submitted Film. It is the Applicant’s sole responsibility to secure authorization and permission from the copyright owner(s) of any and all copyrighted content or materials included within all submitted Film(s). TAFF may disqualify without refund, submissions that are found to be in violation of copyright infringements. TAFF will not be liable of unknown infringements that may be asserted by third parties. In the event that any claim, dispute, action or proceeding shall be brought on by any person or entity that alleges that the Film makes unauthorized or unlawful use of any copyrighted content or material, Applicant shall fully indemnify TAFF, and each of their representatives and affiliates from any liability. Any fees and expenses, including but not limited to attorneys’ fees, that may be incurred will not be the responsibility of TAFF or The Festival.
8. Legal claims that may be made to any film(s) must be cleared before submitting to The Festival.
9. Applicants submitting Films that contain non-English dialogue must provide on-screen English subtitles. TAFF reserves the right to disqualify, without refund of submission fees, any Film that contains significant non-English spoken dialogue that does not include accompanying on-screen English subtitles.
10. All Feature Films (60-90 minutes long) must be submitted to The Festival in the accepted formats, on a single disc (DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD-R DL, DVD+R DL, or Blu-ray) or uploaded electronically (FilmFreeway, Vimeo, YouTube). TAFF reserves the right to disqualify, without refund of submission fees, any feature-length Film that is not submitted using one of the accepted formats. If more than one film is submitted, each film must have its own medium. Single media with more than one film will not qualify for consideration for The Festival.
11. All Short Films (20 minutes long) must be submitted to The Festival in the accepted formats (or media), on a single disc (DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD-R DL, DVD+R DL, or Blu- ray) or uploaded electronically (FilmFreeway, Vimeo, YouTube). TAFF reserves the right to disqualify, without refund of submission fees, any Short Film that is not submitted using one of the accepted formats. If more than one film is submitted, each film must have its own medium. Single media with more than one film will not qualify for consideration for The Festival.
12. All media submitted by a single Applicant must bear only a single Applicant’s name. TAFF reserves the right to disqualify,without refund of submission fees, films by a single Applicant under more than one alias.
13. It is the Applicant’s responsibility to ensure the viability of media submitted to The Festival. In the event that The Festival is unable to play submitted media, The Festival shall attempt to contact the Applicant for another copy using the provided contact information on the application. TAFF however, is under no obligation to contact an Applicant in the case of unusable media.TAFF reserves the right to disqualify without refund of submission fees, submissions with unusable media.
14. It is the Applicant’s responsibility to ensure the safe arrival of submitted media at The Festival Director’s office by posted deadlines. TAFF is under no obligation to consider submissions after posted deadlines.
15. All Applicants must complete a submission form.
16. Submission fees are due at the time of application. Submissions will not be considered for The Festival without applicable submission fees.
17. Films submitted after posted deadlines will not be eligible for the current festival year. Such film(s) may be considered for the subsequent festival year.
18. It is the sole responsibility of the Applicant to update their contact information in the event the Applicant must be contacted. Changes to contact information can be made using TAFF contact form or email at info@theafricanfilmfestival.org. TAFF will attempt to contact Applicants with the decision affecting their submission. TAFF will not be held liable failure to contact an Applicant based on incorrect contact information.
19. Each submitted film will be reviewed by an expert panel of judges. Members of TAFF board is under no obligation provide feedback on a film’s review, comments, selections, the process by which a film may be reviewed, why a particular film is or isn’t selected, the identities of reviewers. TAFF will not be held liable for comments of open reviews or comments on any particular film.
Festival categories and types of film
Eligibility requirements
TAFF will reserve the right to determine eligibility and category in which a submitted film would fit into. Below are the selection criteria and descriptions of some of the film categories for TAFF.
Selection Criteria
• Films that promote African culture• Films that address issues affecting Africa
• Films about historic African leaders
• Films about historic African landmarks
• Films made by Independent African filmmakers
Narrative Feature
A work of fiction, fictionalized story or events with running time of 60-90 minutes. Body of work is scripted or improvised, can be inspired by true events. Story of events are portrayed as real. A narrative feature can be a drama, horror, cultural, comedy, romantic, musical etc. Such film must be made after June 1 of the year prior to submission and not already aired on a public medium with the exception of film festivals.
Documentary Feature
A work of non-fiction with running time of 60-90 minutes, intended to document, or expose an aspect of reality, provide instruction, send a message or teach a part of history. Body of work is real life and not scripted or improvised. Such film must be made after June 1 of the year prior to submission and not already aired on a public medium with the exception of film festivals.
Narrative Short
A work of fiction, fictionalized story or events with running time of 20 minutes or less. Body of work is scripted or improvised, can be inspired by true events. Story of events are portrayed as real. A narrative feature can be a drama, horror, cultural, comedy, romantic, musical etc. Such film must be made after June 1 of the year prior to submission and not already aired on a public medium with the exception of film festivals.
Documentary Short
A work of non-fiction with running time 20 minutes or less, intended to document, or expose an aspect of reality, provide instruction, send a message or teach a part of history. Body of work is real life and not scripted or improvised. Such film must be made after June 1 of the year prior to submission and not already aired on a public medium with the exception of film festivals.
Student Film
Films submitted by aspiring student filmmakers. Film(s) may be from any of the above mentioned categories. To be eligible for the Student Film category, the Applicant must be currently enrolled in an accredited school of higher education, a strong desire to pursue Filmmaking. and a focus in the Performing Arts is preferred.
Emerging Filmmaker
Filmmakers breaking into the film industry with completed body of work. An Emerging Filmmaker can be a Student filmmaker. Film(s) may be in the above mentioned categories. To be considered an Emerging Filmmaker, the Applicant must have completed body of work not previously released in any medium, with the exception of film festivals and is not more than two(2) years old.
Original Score
Original music composed specifically for a film, which forms the film’s soundtrack. It can also include sound effects. It sets the tone of a film. Artfully renditioned music from popular songs can be included based on how they differ from the original song.
Cinematography
Best interpretation of a story and a director’s vision in a motion picture. The best use of the technical elements (lighting, camera movement, composition, etc) to convey the tone and emotions of a film.
