General Conditions

Animakom FEST (hereinafter: the Festival) is specialised International competition of animated films, taking place in Bilbao from the 11 th to the 18th of December 2023.

Festival’s submissions are open to films applying all animation techniques, including combinations with live action. Over 50% of the production must be animated, and the Festival reserves the right to determine whether an entry qualifies as animation.

Films should be completed after 20th of March 2021.

Competition categories

The Festival will only accept SHORT FILMS (maximum running time 20 minutes) which can be submitted to the following competition categories:

• International Competition
• Students Competition –films produced at an educational institution–
• Animated Music Videos

On an exceptional basis, the Festival may also select episodes from series provided that they comprise self-contained narratives.

* The Festival reserves the right to determine whether an entry qualifies for the chosen competition category.

Film Entries

Submissions must be made online. There is no entry fee. Online entry forms are available on Filmfreeway.

The submission deadline is 20th of October 2023.

The Festival does not pay screening fees for the works selected for the competition programs.

For each film the applicant is required to fill out a separate online entry form and submit a preview screener of the film (HD codec .H264) or a link and a password to download the screener which must be available until 10th of December 2023.

The application should contain additional materials:

• Director’s photograph
• 3 still images from the film (min. 300 dpi)
• Dialogue list in English

The work submitted must be the final edition. Unfinished films will not be taken into consideration.

Films with dialogues or narration in languages other than English should have English subtitles. Films with dialogue or narration in English are recommended to be submitted with a screener with English subtitles.

Film Selection

Films will be selected by the Artistic Director in collaboration with selected professionals. Their duty will be to preview each work entered on time and decide upon final film selection.

The list of films selected for the competition programs will be announced on the Festival’s official website: animakom.com

The Festival shall have the right to screen each of the films selected at least three times.

The Festival cannot guarantee to reimburse the travel or accommodation expenses of the directors of selected films selected. However, if they decide to attend the Festival, the directors will be contacted in order to facilitate their stay in every way possible.

Screening Copies

The copies used for screening will be the screeners in HD codec .H264 used during the submission process.

The Festival reserves the right to refuse a screening copy of dubious technical condition that may cause problems during the screening.

Jury & Awards

An international jury proposed by the artistic director of the Festival will be appointed to judge two of the competitions (INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION and STUDENTS COMPETITION).

The jury shall undertake to award at least one prize in all categories. At its own discretion it may give more than one special mention in any of the categories.

The prizes initially established for the two competitions will be as follows:

1. International Competition
   • GRAND PRIX ANIMAKOM
   • SPECIAL JURY PRIZE
   • SPECIAL JURY MENTION
2. Students Competition
   • BEST STUDENT FILM
   • SPECIAL JURY PRIZE
   • SPECIAL JURY MENTION
3. Animated Video Music Competition
   • There will be a single prize (BEST ANIMATED MUSIC VIDEO) decided by the audience.
4. In addition, for any films competing in either of the three categories that are directed by a director born or resident in the Basque Country or be of Basque production, the LABORAL KUTXA AWARD will be awarded for the Best Basque Short Film, which will be awarded by a different jury designated for this purpose. The Festival shall choose nominees for this prize.
   The awarding of this prize will be compatible with any of the other prizes.
5. Finally, among all the films in competition, an AUDIENCE AWARD will be awarded based on the votes made for this purpose by the viewers of the different screenings.

Before the date of the Festival, the Festival shall make known whether any of the prizes includes a monetary payment.

The Festival may permit other Basque, Spanish or international organizations or institutions to present their own awards.

For this edition, the following independent prizes have already been confirmed:

• BEST FEMALE DIRECTOR AWARD, awarded by a jury appointed by the organisers of Zinemakumeak gara!.
• BEST SCRIPT AWARD, awarded by a jury appointed by the Basque Screenwriters’ Guild (Asociación Profesional de Guionistas de Euskal Herria).
• INNOVATION AWARD, awarded by a jury appointed by awarded by a jury appointed by As Fabrik.

* The awarding of these prizes is compatible with any of those awarded by the international jury.

Online Edition

At the same time of the physical edition of the Festival, there will have an online edition.
During the week of the Festival the films will be on a platform to be determined/specified and will be password protected and geo-blocked within Spain.
All sessions will be password protected and geoblocked within Spain

Rights, Obligations and Responsabilities

Each applicant declares him/herself to be the author or Rights owner of the submitted film(s) and to own all images, texts, sound or music contained therein.

In the event of any legal claim for the use of these rights, the Festival shall be exempt from any liability; all liability shall lie solely and exclusively with the person or institution submitting the film.

The producers and directors of award-winning films should mention the name of the prize, the year and the name of the Festival (Animakom FEST – International Animation Community Festival of Bilbao) in all promotional materials for the film. A file containing publicity materials (Festival logo and award text) will be sent in digital form.

The Festival reserves the right to use the films for strictly non-commercial promotional or educational purposes.

In the event that an award-winning film is selected for a commercial screening, after the Festival, for the purpose of promoting award-winning films or the official program, the applicant will be contacted in order to obtain his/her authorisation.

The Festival has the right to use all materials related to the submission as well as an excerpt from the film of up to 10 per cent of the total length of the film, not exceeding 30 seconds, for promotional purposes.

The Festival reserves the right to amend this regulation if it deems fit.

Acceptance of Terms

Participation in the Festival, and its film submission process, implies acceptance, without reservation, of the terms of the present regulations.

The Regulations are written in Basque, English and Spanish languages. In the event of any ambiguity, the Spanish version shall be binding.