Competition Terms and Conditions

Terms and Conditions of the short film competitions at the Animocje the 15th International Animated Film Festival Bydgoszcz, 2026.

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I. GENERAL INFORMATION

  1. Animocje the 15th International Animated Film Festival will take place from 21 to 26 April 2026.
  2. The Organizer of Animocje the 15th International Animated Film Festival (hereinafter referred to as the Festival) and short film competitions (hereinafter referred to as the Competitions) taking place within the Festival's framework is the Municipal Cultural Center in Bydgoszcz with head office at Marcinkowskiego 12-14 street, 85-056 Bydgoszcz (hereinafter referred to as the Organizer).
  3. The deadline for submitting applications for the competition is November 15, 2025.

II. REQUIREMENTS OF TERMS AND CONDITIONS

  1. Films can be submitted to the competition by:
    a) art and film schools,
    b) production companies,
    c) film institutions,
    d) individual film-makers,
    e) other entities with the right to administer a specific film.
  2. The Entity Submitting the film to any of the Competitions undertakes to send a complete competition application for the film, as specified in point III of the Terms and Conditions.
  3. The following films can be submitted to the Competitions:
    a) whose running time, including opening and final credits, does not exceed 30 minutes,
    b) implemented in any technique, with the reservation that the animation must be at least 50% of the screening time,
    c) produced no earlier than 1/01/2024.
  4. Films that had participated in any of the previous editions of the Animocje Festival Competitions cannot be submitted again to take part in the Competitions. If they are submitted, they will not be taken into account by the Selection Committee.
  5. The following short film Competitions are held as part of the Festival:
    a) Main Competition (Grand Prix and Best Polish Film),
    ‍    b) Films for Children and Young Adults Competition,
    c) Music Films Competition,
    ‍    d) the Organizer reserves the right to announce additional competition categories.
  6. The Entity Submitting the film is asked to submit it to only one competition category.
  7. The Organizer reserves the right to recategorize the film into a different competition category than submitted, but undertakes to notify the Submitting Entity of this fact and obtain its consent to show the film in a different competition category.

III. APPLICATION

  1. The Organizer does not charge for registration and for qualifying the film for the Competitions.
  2. The films submitted and possibly qualified for the Competitions are made available to the Organizer free of charge.
  3. Films should be submitted to the Competitions electronically:
    a) via FilmFreeway platform
    (https://filmfreeway.com/AnimocjeFestival),
    b) or by sending an entry form
    (https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd5WRFwadb1MZ7ApAj9Ee_SNnDpdViaitsaZ7X30aXOWm_-oA/viewform?usp=header); after completion of all required boxes, the form will be automatically transferred to the e-mail address: animocje@gmail.com. Successful transfer will be confirmed with an automatic reply.
  4. The complete competition application includes the following:
    a) a film - a public or a private video link with or without a password, with unlimited time and territorial access - Vimeo, YouTube, etc.,
    - the non-Polish language film should contain integrated subtitles in English,
    - the film should have opening and/or final credits specifying the title, authors' names, the country and the year of production,
    b) at least 3 photos from the film in JPG format (min. width 2000 pixels, 300 dpi),
    c) the film director's photograph in JPG format (min. width 2000 pixels, 300 dpi),
    d) a description of the film (max. 1000 signs),
    e) film director’s bio  (max. 1000 signs),f) dialogue list in English with time code in txt format,
    g) information about the film: original title and the title in English, year of production, country of production, duration, the animation technique, dialogues;
    - in case of submitting a film via FilmFreeway platform, please complete the information about the film in the profile on the website,
    - in case of submitting a film via an entry form, please make sure all boxes were filled out.
  5. The Entity Submitting the film to the Competitions is obliged to send the missing information to the Organizer within 7 days from receiving information about the incomplete application. In the event of failure to provide the missing information within a specified period, the Organizer has the right not to qualify the film for participation in the Festival.

IV. SELECTION AND COMPETITION

  1. The selection of films for the Competitions shall be made by the Selection Committee appointed by the Organizer.
  2. The Organizer reserves the right to invite to the Competitions films that are not the subject of the Selection Committee's work.
  3. Applicants will be informed about the admission of the film to the Competitions by February 10, 2026 by e-mail. Selection results will also be posted on the festival website www.animocje.com and on the festival profile on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/animocje/.
  4. The Organizer will inform only those entities whose films have been selected for the Competitions.
  5. The Entity Submitting the film qualified for the Competitions is obliged to send the Organizer a competition copy of the film within 7 days from the date of receipt of information about the qualification.
  6. The competition copy of the film:
    a) digital Cinema Package files (DCP), unencrypted,
    b) and digital file, eg. .MP4/.MOV format, of min. resolution 1920x1080, in progressive style (without interlacing),
    c) films in Polish shall include integrated subtitles in English (does not apply to films intended for viewers under 12 years of age),
    d) films in different languages than Polish and English cannot include integrated subtitles. Such films shall be sent with an additional dialogue list file with timecode,,
    e) the digital copy has to be sent to the e-mail address: animocje@gmail.com in the form of a download link (Vimeo, WeTransfer, Dropbox etc.) or in any other way indicated by the Organizer.
  7. The films qualified for the Competitions will be judged by the Jury composed of representatives of the film community and artists of other arts as well as by the Festival's audience.
  8. The entity submitting the film for the Competitions undertakes not to withdraw the film from the Competitions after 14 days from the announcement of the results of the competition selection.

V. AWARDS

  1. AAmong the films qualified for the Competitions, the following prizes will be awarded to directors:: GRAND PRIX, The Best Polish Film, Best Music Film, Best Film for Children and Young Adults, Audience Awards.
  2. In connection with the Organizer's right to distinguish additional categories of the competition, the Organizer reserves the right to grant additional awards outside the Terms and Conditions.
  3. The Organizer has allocated a total amount of 37,000.00 PLN for cash prizes, including:
    a) PLN 10,000.00 each for the GRAND PRIX and the Award for Best Polish Film,
    b) PLN 3,000.00 each for awards in the Competition of Films for Children and Youth and the Competition of Music Films,
    c) a special award from the Junior Jury – PLN 2,000.00.
  4. The Jury shall decide about the amount of other financial prizes and the awarding of honourable distinctions.
  5. Financial awards granted to winners will be paid using Polish currency (zloty) or the equivalent of the amount of PLN in euros maintaining the exchange rate for the day of payment according to the bank the organiser uses.
  6. The tax on the prizes is paid by the Organizer in accordance with the applicable provisions of Polish law.
  7. The decision to award prizes and/or distinctions of the Jury will be made by voting with a simple majority of votes.
  8. The Jury's sessions will be closed. The decisions of the Jury are final and cannot be appealed against.
  9. The laureate of a financial prize is obliged to send the Organizer the data required by him to hand over the prize, within 30 days from the date of receipt of information about the prize. The laureate who has no place of residence in Poland is also obliged to send the completed current IFT-1 / IFT-1R form. Otherwise, the Organizer has the right to withdraw from paying out the financial prize.

VI. FESTIVAL AND NON-FESTIVAL SCREENINGS

  1. Taking part in the Competitions means that the Entity Submitting a film grants a free, non-exclusive, territorially unlimited license for the Organizer to use the film by public screening of the film as part of the Competitions.
  2. Screenings of competition films during the Festival under the license can be held no more than three (3) times.
  3. The Entity Submitting a film grants the Organizer a non-exclusive, royalty-free, unlimited in time or territory license to use the promotional materials provided (film description, stills, information on creators, etc.) for festival publications (prints, website, social media, press releases, etc.) and for the promotion of the Festival in the media. 
  4. The Organizer reserves the right to use promotional materials both during and after the Festival. The Submitting Entity declares that it has all rights to the above-mentioned promotional materials. In the event where any entity submits claims to the Organizer related to the aforesaid promotional materials, the Submitting Entity is obliged to release the Organizer from any liability in this respect.
  5. The Submitting Entity grants the Organizer a non-exclusive, royalty-free, unlimited in time or territory license to use fragments of film arbitrarily chosen by the Organizer (trailer or a fragment up to 20% of film duration) in all promotional activities related to the Festival (print, website, social media, press materials, Internet, media: radio, television, cinema, etc.).
  6. In the event of receiving one of the prizes or awards, the Submitting Entity expresses unpaid and unlimited in time or territory consent to the participation of the film in a maximum of five (5) retrospectives of films awarded and honoured ("The Best of Animocje"), which will take place after the Festival.
  7. In each case, when these Terms and Conditions refer to granting a license regarding a film, it is granted in the following fields of exploitation: the right to public performance, display, presentation, emission of the film (in cinemas, cultural centers, etc.).
  8. The Organizer reserves the right to organize, during the period preceding the dates of the Festival, special competition screenings of films not qualified for other Competitions ("Animocje Play-off"), from which the audience, as the Jury, will choose one or two movies that will enter the Main Competition or the Music Films Competition with the "wild card". The films for the "Animocje Play-off" screenings will be selected by the Selection Committee.

VII. ONLINE SCREENINGS IN CASE OF CINEMA CLOSURE OR AUDIENCE ADMISSION LIMIT - FOR REASONS INDEPENDENT OF THE ORGANIZER

  1. In the event of circumstances beyond the Organizer’s control, when cinema venues are closed or the number of available audience seatings is significantly limited, the Organizer can decide to present the films on an Internet platform or simultaneously online and in the screening room.
  2. In the event of the circumstances mentioned above, the screenings on the Internet platform will be:
    a) time-limited (duration of the festival),
    b) territorially limited (exclusively on the territory of Poland),
    c) accessible only for those participants, who purchased a ticket for the screening or posses other type of accreditation to access online screenings.
  3. If the Organizer decides to organize online screenings of the films, they are obliged to inform the Submitting Entity about this fact.
  4. When submitting a film to the competition, the Submitting Entity declares their consent or lack of consent to possible screening on the internet platform, in accordance with the provisions contained in VII.2.
  5. Having been informed about online screenings planned by the Organizer, the Submitting Entity has the right to cancel their declaration concerning online screenings mentioned above and submitted by the Submitting Entity at the time of application, within 7 days.
  6. Lack of consent to present a film on the Internet platform may be equivalent to loss of the opportunity to receive some of the festival awards, such as Audience Choice Award, or cause exclusion from some competition categories, such as Films for Children and Young Adults Competition.

VIII. FINAL PROVISIONS

  1. The Organizer reserves the right to change the dates and duration of the Festival and the competition without stating the reason, unless it violates the acquired rights of the Festival participants.
  2. Submitting a film to participate in the Competitions is equivalent to accepting the rules of these Terms and Conditions.
  3. TThe Festival Organizer is not responsible for violating the rights of third parties arising in connection with the use of sent works, unless the violation of the rights is the fault of the Organizer.
  4. In all matters not covered by these Terms and Conditions, the Festival Organizer decides.
  5. The Polish version of the Terms and Conditions is considered binding.
  6. In the event of disputes arising herefrom, the applicable law is Polish law and the cases will be heard by a common court in Bydgoszcz.
  7. The Organizer has the right to change these Terms and Conditions.
  8. All questions regarding the Competitions and the Festival can be sent to the Organizer's e-mail address: animocje@gmail.com.
  9. Acceptance of the above-mentioned Regulations entails the consent to the processing of personal data provided in the application form in order to participate in the Competitions of the Animocje International Animated Film Festival.

IX. PROVISIONS CONCERNING PROCESSING OF PERSONAL DATA

According to article 13th sections 1 and 2 of the Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council (EU) 2016/679 of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free flow of such data and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (general regulation on data protection ) I inform that:

  1. The Administrator of your personal data is the City Cultural Center in Bydgoszcz with head office in Bydgoszcz (85-056), ul. Marcinkowskiego 12-14 represented by the Director – Marzena Matowska (e-mail address dyrekcja@mck-bydgoszcz.pl).
  2. A Data Protection Inspector is appointed in the facility (e-mail address iod@mck-bydgoszcz.pl).
  3. Your personal data will be processed for the purposes of:
    a) participation in the competition during the Animocje International Animated Film Festival,
    b) information, i.e. sending information regarding program activities of the Municipal Cultural Center in Bydgoszcz.
  4. The recipients of your personal data, in addition to the data administrator, will be only entities authorised to obtain personal data on the basis of the provisions of law.
  5. Your personal data will be stored until you withdraw your consent to their processing. Withdrawal of consent does not affect the lawfulness of the processing which had been carried out on the basis of consent before its withdrawal.
  6. Your personal data will not be subject to profiling and will not be processed by automated means.
  7. Your personal data will not be transferred to third countries and any international organisations.
  8. You have the right to access your data and the right to correct it, delete it, limit processing, the right to data transfer, the right to object, the right to withdraw consent at any time without affecting the legality of processing, which had been made on the basis of consent before its withdrawal.
  9. You have the right to lodge a complaint with the Office for Personal Data Protection when you feel that the processing of personal data concerning you violates the provisions of the General Data Protection Regulation of 27 April 2016.
  10. Providing personal data by you is voluntary, however, it is also a condition of participation in the competition during the Animocje International Animated Film Festival. In case of failure to provide the personal data, participation in the competition will be impossible.