2. General requirements for audiovisual works and specifics of the programs and sections of the Film Festival.

 

2.1. Definition of terms:

A feature film is an audiovisual work with a running time of 41 minutes or more (including titles).

A short film is an audiovisual work with a running time of up to 40 minutes (including titles);

A fiction film is an audiovisual work that, as a general rule, is based on a plot embodied in a script or is an artistic improvisation and created with the help of acting, improvisation or other audiovisual and artistic means. To qualify as a fiction narrative film, a project must be either a scripted or improvisational fiction story, or an artistic interpretation of real events. The film can be made in any technique.

A non-fiction film is an audiovisual work based on the recording of reality or coverage of journalistic narratives and which, in general terminology, can be identified as documentary, chronicle or experimental documentary. The film can be made in any technique.

A mixed media film is an audiovisual work that may contain parts of a fiction or non-fiction film in any proportion, or borrowed elements (for example, reconstruction, documentary interpretation, etc.). The festival may also include animated films as mixed genre works. The program department independently determines whether such a work belongs to fiction or non-fiction films.

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2.2. Audiovisual works of any type (fiction and non-fiction) and genres, created in any technique, and which correspond to the main focus and theme of the Film Festival, are accepted for participation in the competition programs.

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2.3. The Film Festival and the Organizers do not consider audiovisual works, created with the participation of the representatives of the aggressor country (the russian federation), in particular by the residents of the aggressor country (or with the involvement of such people); people who support russian military aggression against Ukraine and oppose the territorial integrity of Ukraine, etc.; as well as works whose display violates the national legislation of Ukraine and Bulgaria. If such facts become known after the announcement of the official selection or during the events, the Film Festival may remove such tapes from the programs and deprive them of the status of official selection.

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2.4. The number of the films in the competition and non-competition sections is determined by the Organizers based on the number of accepted applications for participation.

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2.5. As a general rule, those wishing to participate in the Film Festival, submit audiovisual works by filling out the application form on the FilmFreeway platform:

https://filmfreeway.com/InternationalEthnographicFilmFestivalOKO

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2.6. The Film Festival reserves the right to use alternative means of accepting applications, searching and inviting audiovisual works in order to participate in any programs and sections of the Film Festival.

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2.7. General technical requirements for audiovisual works for participation in the competition and screening at the Film Festival.

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2.7.1 Availability (or production in case of official selection for the Film Festival) of a copy with the technical parameters: codec (mostly) H.264, container – MP4, MPEG. Video extension - 1920 × 1080 (Full HD, 1080p), but not less than 720 × 576. Sound frequency from 24 kHz and higher. If there is no copy of the film online, the participant has to send it to the Organizer on a flash drive by mail or in another way.

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2.7.2. Accurate, legible English-language subtitles (srt format) are required.

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2.7.3. For the films whose authors or rights holders are the residents of Ukraine or if the producing country is Ukraine (co-production films are also taken into account), availability of Ukrainian-language subtitles (or production in case of official selection for the Film Festival) is mandatory.

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2.7.4. For the films whose authors or rights holders are the residents of Bulgaria or if the producing country is Bulgaria (co-production films are also taken into account), availability of Bulgarian-language subtitles (or production in case of official selection for the Film Festival) is mandatory.

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2.8. General requirements for the films in the competition sections.

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2.8.1. The first public showing and/or production of competing films must be no earlier than January 1, 2023. The Film Festival reserves the right to determine whether the film corresponds to the section, chosen by the applicant and, in such a case, to change the competition section/category, as well as to offer a screening in the out-of-competition section, if the film was not selected for the competition program. The Organizers determine the number of the films in the competition section independently, based on the number of the received applications. Also, the Organizers have the right not to select a film for either the competitive or non-competitive program for any reason. The Film Festival may make an exception to the “release” rule and include films whose first public screening and/or production took place no earlier than January 1, 2022.

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2.8.2. Prior to screening at the Film Festival, the film may have any festival and/or theatrical distribution and public screenings, including being placed on VOD and OTT services and publicly available on the streaming platforms and video streaming websites. However, preference will be given to the applicant films for which the screening within the Film Festival will be the premiere in Ukraine and/or Bulgaria, and/or which have not had a theatrical or other form of distribution or public screenings, other than film festivals, or a limited number of public screenings. The Organizer and the program department of the Film Festival have the right to determine whether an audiovisual work corresponds to the selection criteria for the competition sections or not independently.

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2.8.3. The Film Festival does not allow the films whose production is incomplete before the date of the event, parts of films, series episodes (unless a part of the series is a separate film and has distribution as a separate audiovisual work), audiovisual content intended for social networks to participate in the competition sections, music and video clips. The Organizer and program department of the Film Festival can make an exception to this rule in extraordinary cases.

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2.8.4. The Organizer has the right to exclude the film from the Film Festival program in case of receiving evidence of violation of copyright/related rights of third parties by the person who submitted the film for participation in the Film Festival.

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2.9. Specifics of the competition sections

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2.9.1. OKO GLOBAL

The OKO GLOBAL program consists of two competition sections:

- OKO GLOBAL - FICTION is an international competition for feature fiction films;

- OKO GLOBAL - NON-FICTION is an international competition for feature non-fiction and/or documentary films.

Films with a running time of 41 minutes or more (including titles) are accepted for the OKO GLOBAL International Feature Film Competition. Films produced by any country of the world are allowed to participate in the film selection process, except for the cases listed in clause 2.3. of these Regulations. Feature films produced with the participation of the Ukrainian or Bulgarian parties shall be considered exclusively as participants in the international feature film competition section. Non-feature films produced with the participation of the Ukrainian or Bulgarian side will not be considered as participants in the section of the International Feature Competition of non-feature and/or documentary films as a general rule (in this case, the Organizers decide independently which section and competition category the film should be assigned to).

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2.9.2. NASHE OKO

NASHE OKO is a national feature competition for non-fiction and/or documentary films. The competition is open to feature non-fiction films created by Ukrainian and Bulgarian productions and/or directors who are citizens or residents of Ukraine or Bulgaria; films made in co-production or films whose authors and copyright holders officially indicate Ukraine or Bulgaria as the country of production.

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2.9.3. OKO SHORT

OKO SHORT is a short film competition. Films produced in any country of the world (except for the cases listed in clause 2.3 of these Regulations), of any genre, direction and style that correspond to the subject matter of the Film Festival are allowed to participate in the film selection process.

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2.10. Specifics of non-competition sections, retrospective screenings and other events and activities.

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2.10.1 The Film Festival Program Department independently determines this part of the Film Festival program. The Organizers invite films to participate in the out-of-competition section on its own initiative, and can also offer such an option to films that were submitted to the competition sections, but for one reason or another did not pass the selection for the competition sections and programs. Applications for participation in the out-of-competition program may be also accepted through the FilmFreeway festival platform or by alternative means.

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2.10.2. Individual special events, in particular the industrial section, which may include pitches, master classes, panel discussions, round tables, workshops, etc., are not subject to these Regulations and are determined by the Organizer as one chooses. The Film Festival and the Organizer announce all special events on their official websites and social networks.

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2.11. As a general rule, by submitting a film to the Film Festival and agreeing to all the terms of the Regulations, the authorized person (author/rightholder) automatically consents to at least two general public screenings of the film within the Film Festival: one in Ukraine and one in Bulgaria. In some cases, the parties decide on the number of additional screenings.

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2.12. The Film Festival has the right to use short fragments of selected films (no longer than three minutes) for promotional purposes.

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2.13. The Organizer has the right to organize charity meetings for any needs, without the goal of making a profit during all film festival events.

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