This Award for the best short film will be presented to the director of a film completed or released in one of the eligible countries in Latin America or the Caribbean region (a “Film”). The film must be directed by a national or passport holder of one of the eligible countries ("Entrant") and must have been completed or made available for distribution for the first time between 1 January, 2015 and 31 March, 2016. The film can be in any language, but if it is not in English, it must have English subtitles. The film may be up to 40 minutes long, including opening and closing credits. Submissions from nominators on an Entrant’s behalf are welcome.
The winning director will receive an award of $40,000 (the “Prize”). A longlist will be announced on 6 June, 2016. This will be followed by the announcement of three finalists on 5 August, who will be invited to attend an awards ceremony in New York on 26 September, 2016, at which the winner will be announced (the “Awards Ceremony”). Shortlisted runners up will each receive $5,000.
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
Eligibility
1. The Competition is open to directors who are nationals or passport holders of any Latin America or the Caribbean countries listed here and who are 18 years of age or older at the time of entry. All applicants will be asked to provide proof of nationality.
2. Entries can be made on behalf of eligible Entrants by third parties such as producers or nominators. The third party must have obtained the permission of the Entrant to submit an application on their behalf before doing so.
3. One Film per Entrant is invited. A maximum of two will be considered in circumstances where both Films were made within the eligible time frame and an Entrant considers them of equal merit for submission.
4. You may not enter the Competition if you are an employee, contractor, or immediate family member of any employee or contractor of The Financial Times Limited (“FT”) or OppenheimerFunds Inc. (“OFI”), or their associated companies.
Entry Requirements
5. To enter the Competition, an Entrant must:
a. submit a Film that is no more than 40 minutes long (including opening and closing credits) and that has been completed or first made available for distribution between 1 January, 2015 and 31 March, 2016;
b. submit the Film online in one of the following formats: AVI (preferred), Quicktime (.mov), MPEG (.mpg, .mpeg, .mp4), Windows Media (.wmv), Flash Video (.flv, .f4v);
c. if FT notifies an Entrant that his or her Film has been longlisted, send five further hard copies of the Film, presented in a form suitable to be projected in a theatre and capable of distribution. No copies of any Film can be returned;
d. provide any relevant information relating to the Film as requested by FT;
e. ensure that all Films entered are original; complete (i.e. not a fragment of a larger work); of the Entrant’s own sole creation; not offensive, defamatory or otherwise unlawful; do not infringe the intellectual property rights or any other rights of any third party;
f. submit online proof of nationality of an eligible country in the Latin America or the Caribbean region in the form of a scan of his or her passport in one of the following formats: .jpg, .jpeg, .pdf;
g. submit a high-resolution digital image of a headshot of the Entrant suitable for use in promotional material for the Award. The Entrant agrees to permit FT and OFI (and obtain permissions from any third parties as necessary), to use or publish this image for publicity purposes.
h. submit his or her entry online by no later than 3 May, 2016 (“Closing Date”);
i. make their best efforts to attend the Award Ceremony and to cover their associated expenses (with the exception of their reasonable travel and accommodation for which FT will take responsibility), if the submitted Film is selected for the final; and
j. make their best efforts to promote their own Work and this Award. This might include participating in a video interview to discuss the award to be broadcast on FT.com.
Judging
6. The longlist will be announced on 6 June, 2016. This list will be assessed by a panel of judges chaired by Michael Skapinker, Associate Editor, Financial Times.
7. Entries will be judged at the judges’ sole discretion, applying the criteria of which Works show outstanding talent and in some way further understanding of their region.
8. All entrants will be asked to provide proof of their nationality.
9. Up to three finalists will be chosen by the panel of judges and the list of finalists will be announced on 5 August, 2016. The winner will be announced during the Award Ceremony. The judges’ decision is final and binding and no correspondence will be entered into.
The Prize
10. The winning director will be announced during the Award Ceremony. If the Prize is declined or unclaimed by the winner, or if the winner cannot be contacted from the details supplied within 5 business days of trying to notify them, FT may at its sole discretion choose a replacement winner based on the above criteria, and the original winning entry may be disqualified.
11. In order to claim the Prize, the winner may be required to provide additional documents or comply with additional steps as required in FT’s discretion. If any of these requirements are not met by the winner within five business days of the request from the FT, the Prize will be forfeited and a replacement winner chosen.
General
12. All national, federal, state, and local laws and regulations shall apply. The Competition shall be void where prohibited by law, including where in FT’s reasonable opinion we cannot award a prize or accept an entry due to sanctions laws or any banking restrictions.
13. There is no purchase necessary to win.
14. FT reserves the right in its sole discretion to cancel, suspend or amend the Competition, and to exclude any entries which it considers are inappropriate or do not comply with the letter or the spirit of these Terms and Conditions.
15. Entrant agrees to permit FT and OFI (and obtain permissions from any third party as necessary) to broadcast and/or record extracts from the Works for publicity purposes.
16. In the event of any conflicts or inconsistencies between these Terms and Conditions and any other materials, these Terms and Conditions will take precedence.
17. The winner shall be fully responsible for all applicable taxes. In the event that FT is required to withhold taxes on behalf of the winner, then the Prize will be paid net of any tax withheld.
18. FT is not responsible for (i) any incorrect or inaccurate information used in connection with the Competition; or (ii) failures or errors which may occur in the administration of the Competition. To the fullest extent permissible by law, FT excludes liability, and you shall release and hold harmless FT for any damage, loss, liability or injury to person or property or for any claim arising as a result of your entry into the Competition.
19. These terms and conditions shall be governed by and construed in accordance with English law. Disputes arising in connection with this Competition shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts.
20. The promoter is The Financial Times Ltd, Number One Southwark Bridge, London, SE1 9HL, England.
By entering the Competition, the Entrant agrees to these terms and conditions. Failure to comply may result in disqualification.
