Hong Kong International Film Carnival

Rules & Terms

Please read these Rules & Terms carefully before you submit your film. By submitting your film into the selection process of Hong Kong International Film Carnival, you expressly acknowledge and agree that you shall be bound by the terms of these Rules & Terms. HKIFC is open to any film regardless of content, subject, or origin. Submitting your film to HKIFC is not a guarantee of selection. All the winning films will receive prestigious Hong Kong International Film Carnival Trophy, Certificate of Recognition. Please note that we do not offer application fee waivers. We treat every filmmaker equally.

Rule no.1

Films made in languages other than English must have English subtitles otherwise they will be summarily rejected.

Rule no.2

Once a film is submitted to HKIFC , the same film can’t be re-submitted again.

Rule no.3

A director / producer may submit more than one film. HKIFC is hereby granted the rights to utilize an excerpt from any film submitted for promotional purposes of the project. The individual or corporation submitting the film hereby warrants that it is authorized to commit the film for screening, and understands and accepts these requirements, rules and regulations.

Rule no.4

HKIFC reserves the right to refuse entries.

Rule no.5

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless HKIFC, from and against any and all claims, liabilities, losses, damages, and expenses (including but not limited to attorney’s fees, and costs of the court) which may be incurred by reason of any claim involving copyright, trademark, credits and publicity.

Rule no.6

The organizer will not refund any fees once the filmmaker submits his / her film. Films submitted without the correct fees or proper submission copy may be deemed ineligible at the discretion of the programming director or executive director. HKIFC does not cover any of the expenses incurred by the filmmaker.

Rule no.7

After a film has been selected, the filmmaker will be notified, and eventually the film will be listed on the HKIFC website. The ‘Selected’ status means that you can use the HKIFC Laurel on your poster & banners.

Rule no.8

All submitted films will be privately screened for HKIFC judging panel, and will not be screened initially to the public.

Rule no.9

“Best of the Best” films will receive prestigious Hong Kong International Film Carnival, Trophy and Certificate.

Rule no.10

Filmmakers’ submission fee will not be reimbursed if they decide to withdraw their submission. All entry fees are non-refundable.

Rule no.11

We require an official trailer or poster, synopsis and a link of your film.

Rule no.12

Hong Kong International Film Carnival may without advance notice amend these Rules & Terms from time to time.

Category

Category

  • Short Films (Less than 40 minutes)
  • International Narrative Features (Above 40 minutes)
  • International Narrative Features (Less than 40 minutes)
  • Documentary Films (Any length)
  • Experimental Films (Any length)
  • Student Films (Any length)
  • Women's Films (Any length)
  • Drone Films (Any length)
  • Web and New Media (Any length)
  • Virtual Reality (VR) / Augmented Reality (AR) and 360° Video (Any length)
  • Horror / Science Fiction / Genre Feature Film (Above 60 minutes)
  • Film on Women (Any Length)
  • Animated Films (Any length)
  • LGBT Film (Any length)
  • Free Speech (Any length)
  • Educational Film (Any length)
  • Film on Religion (Any length)
  • Silent Film (Any length)
  • Mobile Film (Any length)
  • Young Filmmaker (Under 18) (Any length)
  • Debut Filmmaker (1st or 2nd Film) (Any length)
  • Family/Children Films (Any length)
  • Films on Disability Issue (Any length)
  • Film on Nature / Environment / Wildlife (Any length)
  • Travel Film (Any length)
  • One Minute Film
  • Postmodern Films (Any length)
  • Television / Pilot Program or Series (Any length)
  • Commercial / Advertisement (Any length)
  • Music Video (Any length)
  • Trailer/Teaser (5 minutes or less)
  • Film/Video Poster
  • Photography (Photos from film set included)
  • Treatment / Synopsis
  • Performing Arts
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  • Amateur Film
  • Best Director (Any Length)
  • Best Cinematography (Fiction & Documentary) (Any Length)
  • Best Editing (Fiction & Documentary) (Any Length)
  • Best Sound Designing (Fiction & Documentary) (Any Length)
  • Best Actor (Fiction) (Any Length)
  • Best Actress (Fiction) (Any Length)
  • Best Supporting Actor (Fiction) (Any length)
  • Best Supporting Actress (Fiction) (Any length)
  • Best Film Score – Soundtrack
  • Best VFX Artist
  • Best Producer
  • Short Script
  • Feature Script
  • Crime Short (Less than 40 minutes)
  • Romantic Short (Less than 40 minutes)
  • Comedy Short (Less than 40 minutes)
  • Selfie Video
Awards & Prizes

Awards & Prizes

All Officially Selected projects in each month will receive Hong Kong International Film Carnival laurels and certificates. All monthly Award Winners will receive laurel and customized certificates and are rated on their respective IMDb pages (if applicable). Each month, most representatives of monthly award winners are screened in Hong Kong. Besides the BEST OF THE CATEGORY AWARDS, there are also OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS, CRITICS CHOICE AWARDS, and HONOURABLE MENTION AWARDS, which are given, in all categories. Each year we select the Best of the Best and the FINAL WINNERS receive the prestigious HKIFC ANNUAL AWARDS and are screened at the theatre in HONG KONG in front of a live audience. Winners will have a chance to meet with the audience and participate in the Q&A session after the screening.

Disclaimer

Disclaimer

All filmmakers understand and accept that if their film is accepted for presentation and screening at the film festival, they grant full and unrestricted permission for HKIFC to screen the film/video at times of the festivals choice and to charge an admission fee for the presentation of the digital video program. The Filmmaker understands and accepts that they do not participate in receiving any funds from the Box-office proceeds which are fully retained by the festival to help cover the overall cost of the festival presentation. It should be noted for the record that box-office proceeds never cover the cost of presentation of the Features and Short Film Programs. The filmmaker releases the festival from any and all liability for damages or destruction of the entered DCP. The Filmmaker understands that the entered DCP will be retained in a secure facility by the festival, and every effort will be taken to protect and control the viewing of this production. The festival assumes no liability whatsoever for theft, copyright violations or piracy of the entry. The Filmmaker accepts and understands that the festival will do everything possible to present the video in the best possible manner but the festival (HKIFC) is not responsible for any and all malfunctions during the presentation of the production at its festival screening. We use Professional Pioneer International playback systems, all formats and all regions. All entries are carefully pre-screened prior to the public showing to assure that the DCP does perform to industry Standards. The Festival (HKIFC) assumes no responsibility for any technical difficulties in the presentation of this video at the actual event. The Film Festival (HKIFC) reserves the complete right to make changes in the program dates and times and to possibly not screen the video, despite its being selected for screening.