MUHR ARAB & EMIRATI AWARDS - RULES & REGULATIONS
READ THE FOLLOWING RULES & REGULATIONS CAREFULLY, THEN CLICK “CONTINUE TO SUBMISSION FORM”
The Dubai International Film Festival (hereafter referred to as “DIFF”) is a nonprofit cultural event that takes place annually in December in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. DIFF aims at establishing itself as a major international festival, while continuing to act as a platform for showcasing excellence in Arab, Asia and Africa cinema and simultaneously contributing to the development and growth of the regional industry and talent.
1. MUHR ARAB & EMIRATI AWARDS
The 2010 edition of DIFF will continue to present the Muhr Arab & Emirati Awards in three different categories (A) feature films, (B) short films and (C) documentary films.
2. ELIGIBILITY FOR MUHR ARAB & EMIRATI AWARDS
A- General Eligibility
Unless a special waiver is granted by DIFF:
a) Films must have been produced after September 1, 2009.
b) Films must not have been screened in the Gulf region for any audiences before DIFF. With exceptions for films that have participated in the third edition of the Gulf Film Festival (“GFF”), films from outside of the Gulf region must be Gulf premieres and films from the Gulf region must be UAE premieres.
c) Until the end of DIFF, films must not have been broadcasted and/or made available on television, the internet, mobile phones and/or any other public viewing platform now known or thereafter devised.
d) Films must be directed by a filmmaker of Arab Nationality or Origin as defined in the attached Appendix 1. Films for the Muhr Emirati Awards must be directed by a UAE National .
e) The subject and storyline of the film should be centered on the Arab world, Arab history and/or Arab culture, with the exception of Muhr Emirati films.
f) Films that have been submitted to earlier editions of DIFF will not be considered.
In the event that a film is not selected by DIFF for the Muhr Arab Awards, DIFF reserves the right to select the said film for any of DIFF’s Out of Competition sections and/or Muhr Emirati Awards if applicable.
B- Eligibility by Category
Feature Films: Films must be a work of fiction that equals or exceeds 60 minutes in length. For this category DIFF will only select 10 to 15 films.
Documentary Films: Films must be a work of nonfiction. For this category DIFF will only select 10 to 15 films.
Short Films: Films must be a work of fiction that does not exceed 59 minutes in length. For this category DIFF will only select 10 to 15 films.
C- Muhr Emirati Awards
Films must be a work of feature, documentary or short. A maximum of 15 films will be selected.
D- Eligibility for FIPRESCI Awards
All films selected for the Muhr Arab Awards, will also be considered for the FIPRESCI Awards in each category.
E- Eligibility for HRFN Award
All Feature and Documentary films in the festival with Human Rights theme could be considered for the Human Rights Film Network Award.
F- Eligibility for People’s Choice Award
All films selected in the festival, will be eligible for the People’s Choice Award.
3. SELECTION COMMITTEE & JURY
Selection Committee: DIFF will solely appoint a selection committee to review submitted feature, documentary and short films. The committee will decide on the official selection to enter the three categories of the DIFF Muhr Arab & Emirati Awards.
Muhr Arab Awards Jury: DIFF will solely appoint three separate juries from the international community to decide on prize winners for each of the categories in the Muhr Arab Awards. The jury for the feature section will be composed of five members and the jury for the documentary and shorts sections will comprise of three members each.
Muhr Emirati Awards Jury: DIFF will solely appoint three jury membersfrom the international community to decide on the prize winners.
FIRPRESCI Jury: FIPRESCI will solely appoint two separate juries from the International community to decide on prize winners for each category of the FIPRESCI Awards.
Human Right Film Network (‘HRFN’) Jury: HRFN will solely appoint three International jury members to decide on the prize winner.
4. AWARDS & PRIZE MONEY
There will be 8 Muhr prizes awarded in the Feature Films category: Best Film - US$ 50,000; Special Jury Prize - US$ 40,000 where the cash prize will be awarded to the Director(s) of each film; Best Actor - US$ 8,000; Best Actress – US$ 8,000; Best Scriptwriter – US$ 8,000; Best Editor – US$ 8,000; Best Composer – US$ 8,000 and Best Cinematographer – US$ 8,000.
There will be three Muhr prizes in the Documentary Films category: First Prize - US$ 40,000; Special Jury Prize - US$ 30,000. Second Prize - US$ 20,000; the cash prize will be awarded to the Director(s) of each film.
There will be three Muhr prizes in the Short Films category: First Prize - US$ 30,000; Special Jury Prize - US$ 20,000. Second Prize - US$ 10,000; the cash prize will be awarded to the Director(s) of each film.
There will be three prizes awarded in the Muhr Emirati Awards: First Prize – AED 35,000; Special Jury Prize – AED 25,000; Second Prize – AED 15,000 AED; the cash prize will be awarded to the Director(s) of the film.
There will be three certificates for the FIPRESCI Awards, one in each category: Feature, Documentary and Short.
There will be one certificate and trophy awarded by the Human Rights Film Network (‘HRFN’).
There will be one trophy awarded for the People’s Choice Award.
5. SUBMISSION
There is no entry fee to submit a film for the Muhr Arab & Emirati Awards.
Deadlines: Entries must be submitted before August 31, 2010 by completing the application form online (www.dubaifilmfest.com) in both Arabic and English. The DVD of the film must reach DIFF together with a signed copy of the online submission form before the same date of August 31, 2010. Any submission and/or material received after the above deadline will not be accepted.
Submitted Material: The submitted material consists of a signed copy of the online submission form, 2 copies of the DVD of the film and any other additional material submitted by the submitter.The submitted DVD(s) can be of any region. If the original version of the film is not in English, the submitted DVD(s) must be subtitled in English. DVD(s) is the only accepted submission format.
Please label the cover of the DVD(s), with the following details:
Title of the film
The full name of the Director(s)
The duration of the film
The original language(s) of the film
Date of completion of production
Please ensure that the film title and all other requested information are provided in English.
Submission Shipping: All shipping costs of the Submitted Material must be borne by the submitter/sender. For the avoidance of doubt, the Submitted Material will not be returned to the submitter/sender. All submissions should be sent directly to the hereunder address with “For cultural use only” and “Without commercial value” clearly marked on the envelope.
Dubai International Film Festival
Dubai Media City, CNN Building
1st floor - Management Office
P.O. Box 502600
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Attention: Submissions Manager
RE: [film name], [online submission ID #]
Tel: +971 4 391 3378 Fax: +971 4 367 2892
Email: submissions@tecom.aeSubmission of Works in Progress: It is possible to submit a working copy of a film. When filling out the DIFF Submission Form, please make sure that the submitter clearly identify your submission as a ‘work-in-progress’. However, the final title of the film should be listed and not the working title. For the avoidance of doubt, all other terms related to submissions shall be herein applicable (i.e. submission of the work in progress DVD shall take place on or before August 31, 2010). DIFF must receive a DVD of the final version of the film by no later than November 25, 2010
Storage of Submissions: DIFF retains the right to keep all submissions as well as associated materials for its use. DIFF reserves the right to transfer submissions to a master hard drive digital library, building a digital reference archive (“DIFF Permanent Digital Library”). DIFF will not theatrically screen for commercial purposes any films without the express written consent of the appropriate rights holder(s).
6. SELECTED FILMS
The Selection Committee will at its own discretion select the Muhr Arab & Emirati Awards films.
If a film is selected for the Muhr Arab & Emirati Awards, DIFF will send an official selection letter during the first half of November 2010 and will advise of further requirements and next steps.
The final Muhr & Emirati Arab Awards selection will be announced by the end of November 2010
If a film has not been selected, DIFF will inform by letter within one weeks of the announcement of the final Muhr Arab & Emirati Awards selection. For the avoidance of doubt, DIFF shall not comment on the grounds of not selecting a film.
If an Emirati film is selected for the Muhr Arab Awards, the submitter will be granted the opportunity to choose between having his/her film in the Muhr Arab Awards or the Muhr Emirati Awards by direct reply email within 7 days from the receipt of the official selection of the film in DIFF. For the avoidance of doubt and in case the submitter fails to do so, the film will be automatically selected for the Muhr Arab Awards.
Material:
The final screening copy of the film can only be submitted in one of the following formats: (a) 35mm print; (b) HDCAM tape; (c) Digital Betacam PAL tape; or (d) Betacam SP PAL tape.
If the original language(s) of the film is not in English, the final screening copy must be subtitled in English.
It is DIFF’s general policy to screen all non-English and non-Arabic language films in their original language version with Arabic subtitles. Exceptions to this general rule will be made on a case by case basis in order to meet operational requirements.
For all non-English language films, a dialogue list in English should be submitted.
- Selected films should be submitted with an Electronic Press Kit (“EPK”) of the film including but not limited to a Digital Betacam PAL copy of the trailer used for promotional purposes. For the avoidance of doubt, DIFF shall be entitled without prior notice to use the trailer online and on broadcast TV for periods of time to be solely decided by DIFF.
Deadlines: DIFF must receive the print or tape (as applicable) of the film for screening purposes on or before November 16, 2010.
Additional Terms: For the avoidance of doubt, once a film is selected, the submitter will not be able to withdraw nor to submit and/or present the said film anywhere in the Gulf region before its screening at DIFF.
Print Shipping: Shipping costs to and from DIFF’s premises will be incurred by DIFF. DIFF undertakes to return the prints within 2 weeks of the end of DIFF.
Print Insurance: Prints of all films selected for the Muhr Arab & Emirati Awards will be insured throughout the period in which they are in the festival’s custody. In the case of loss or damage during DIFF, DIFF will be responsible only for the replacement value of the print, if the said print was originally received by the festival in good condition.
Screenings & Scheduling: Selected Films will be screened up to three times to DIFF’s public audiences. The film may be screened in advance of the festival an additional (fourth) time for accredited press and industry members.DIFF will at its sole discretion decide on the dates and order of the screening(s) of each film.
Screener: DIFF will make a digitized copy of the final subtitled DVD screener of the film for media screening purposes. For the avoidance of doubt, said digitized copy will only be viewed by media accredited delegates during the period of the festival and on a closed internal circuit. The digitization process is secure and no copy or duplication of the Film can be made by third parties.
7. ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND UNDERTAKING
Submission and participation in DIFF and the Muhr Arab & Emirati Awards implies acceptance of the Regulations.
The submitter hereby represents and warrants that he/she holds all rights in and to the film and Material and that he/she has the authority and capacity to submit the film and Material for the Muhr Arab & Emirati Awards.
The submitter acknowledges that DIFF shall not be held liable or responsible in any manner whatsoever for any loss or damage of whatever type or nature incurred as a result of the submission, acceptance and/or screening of the film and/or Material. Furthermore, the submitter undertakes to indemnify and keep DIFF indemnified against all liabilities, claims, demands, actions, costs, damages or loss arising out of the submission, acceptance and/or screening of the film and/or Material.
The submitter also understands and acknowledges that the Muhr Arab & Emirati Awards Submission Form and the present Regulations form a consolidated and unified document and that therefore the Muhr Arab & Emirati Awards Submission Form shall be considered as incorporated herein by reference.
8. ADDITIONAL TERMS
Censorship: No editorial cuts or changes to any film will be made at any time by DIFF for any reason or under any circumstances.
Anti-Piracy Precautions: DIFF undertakes to take all possible anti-piracy precautions. All prints and associated copyrighted materials will be securely stored while on DIFF premises. Access is limited to DIFF’s nominated staff only and all movement of prints will be strictly monitored. No duplication or loaning is permitted and no prints will ever leave the custody and care of DIFF or its authorized agents during DIFF.
Festival Management’s Discretion: DIFF will decide in its discretion on all issues and matters not foreseen by these Regulations. DIFF further retains the right to permit exceptions to the application of these Regulations at any time in its discretion.
Promotional Material: All DIFF selected films including Muhr Arab & Emirati Awards winners undertake to include, in a clear and visible manner, on the Home Video release of their film (i.e. DVD. Blu Ray, online availability…) and on any and all promotional material (including but not limited to posters, banners, EPK’s, websites…) a specific logo to be provided by DIFF.
APPENDIX 1
Arab Nationality or Origin shall mean people from one or more of the following countries: Algeria, Bahrain, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen.
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