Book of Rules

ARTICLE I - General propositions

This year, for the seventh time, Zagreb Film Festival will take place in Zagreb, in the premises of Zagreb University Student centre and cinema Europa from 17th to 23th October 2010. Its aim is to make the Croatian public acquainted with new film directors and their first or second films, and to induce creative meetings of international and local film artists and thus to make a positive impact on the development of film production and culture in Croatia.

ARTICLE II - Program and application requirements

In the competition program, Zagreb Film Festival will present an international selection of directors' first or second works in the following categories:

FEATURE FILM - to meet festivals requirements for the competition program the film should be director's first or second feature longer than 70 minutes. If selected for the program, the film should be screened in 35 mm format. Director's first or second film means that it is director's first or second film intended for cinema screenings.

SHORT FILM - to meet festival requirements for the competition program the film should be director's first or second short and shouldn't be longer than 30 minutes. Director's first or second film means the film shot during director's studies as well as the first or second film shot after the graduation. Animation and experimental short films are not accepted.

DOCUMENTARY FILM - to meet festival requirements for the competition program the film should be director's first or second documentary not intended solely for TV screening.

The application deadline for the competition program is August 15, 2010. Application is free of charge. Upon online application, the VHS/DVD screener of the film in the original language with English subtitles (PAL format) should be sent to the following address:

ZAGREB FILM FESTIVAL
Varšavska 3
10000 Zagreb, Croatia

Only films completed after January 1, 2009 can be selected in the competition program.

ARTICLE III - Selection and film screenings

For the competition program, selection panel will choose 10 first or second feature films, and at least 10 first or second short films and documentary films. Each of the selected films will be screened up to three times during the festival. All selected films will be screened in the original version with Croatian subtitles. It is recommended that films of Croatian production have subtitles in English. After the festival selection committee has seen all the films and has made the final selection, the festival organizers will inform the authors via letter of invitation. All authors of the selected films will be informed about the decision by October 1, 2010.

Films in the competition program, except the Croatian production, must not have public screenings on the territory of the Republic of Croatia prior to the beginning of Zagreb Film Festival.

Films that promote racism, or any other form of intolerance, or those which promote pornography shall not be taken into consideration by the selection committee.

ARTICLE IV - jury and awards

International jury for the competition program will consist of at least three film professionals and it will grant three awards:

Golden Pram for the best feature film. Together with the plaque, the director of the best feature film will be granted €4000 award.

Golden Pram for the best documentary film. Together with the plaque, the director of the best documentary film will be granted €1000 award.

Golden Pram for the best short film. Together with the plaque, the director of the best short film will be granted €1000 award.

Golden Pram for the best Croatian film in the Checkered competition.


ARTICLE V - Press material

Upon the notice of selection, Festival will demand press material for each of the selected films, which has to contain the following:

- At least 3 high resolution stills from the film
- Photo of the director
- Film abstract
- Director's commentary on the film
- Poster, leaflet containing a brief synopsis and information on production
- Dialogue list (in English and in the film's original language)

By signing the application, producer or director authorizes the festival to use and publish all listed materials in festival's catalogue, and authorizes it to use the materials in written media and on TV (up to three minutes of the film) for the purpose of promoting the festival in media.

ARTICLE VI - transportation of copies

All 35mm copies of feature-length films and copies of short and documentary films must arrive by October 1, 2010, or later according to the arrangement with the distributor or producer, to the festival address. Copies have to have English subtitles, except English and Croatian language films.

Transportation expenses of the copies will be covered in both directions, except in case the copy is transported to or from another festival. In that case the festival shares the transportation expenses with the other festival.

The parcel has to have the following sign: No commercial value, for cultural use. Copies of the film will be returned not later than two weeks after the festival's closing unless otherwise stipulated with distributor or producer.

The festival's selection panel reserves the right to reject the copies of law technical quality, which can cause possible problems in the course of its screening.


ARTICLE VII- guests of the festival

Directors whose films have been selected in the competition program are invited to be guests of the festival. In this case festival covers travel, board and accommodation expenses for one representative per film. Directors will be contacted by the festival hospitality office.

ARTICLE VIII: archive copies

Directors and producers of the films screened on the Festival are kindly invited to donate a digital copy of their film to the Festival archive in order to use their works in the future education and film research. Any and all commercial exploitation of the archive material is strictly forbidden.

All audiovisual recordings of the applied films will be retained by the Festival for documentation and further education. Any and all commercial exploitation of such material is strictly forbidden. 

Article IX - final provisions

The Book of Rules is written both in Croatian and in English. In case of ambiguities in the interpretation of the text, Croatian version is prevalent. Items that are not comprised in this Book of Rules will be considered directly by festival's organizers in compliance with generally established Book of Rules. All the participants of the festival accept this Book of Rules. In case of complaints, all the issues related to the festival fall within the jurisdiction exclusively of ratione materiae court in Zagreb.