SMARTPHONE SHORT FILM COMPETITION
RULES & TERMS

1. ELIGIBILITY: The Smartphone Short Film Competition is open to Zimbabwean filmmakers aged
14 to 34 years, either residing in Zimbabwe or in the Diaspora. Diasporans MUST be able to
prove that they, or at least one of their parents are Zimbabwean by birth.

2. DEADLINE: Entrants must submit their films by midnight (Zimbabwean local time) on
Friday 19 November 2021.

3. Competition participation is free of charge.

4. Only one film per entrant will be accepted.

5. Films MUST be shot using a Smartphone.

6. Films must not exceed 5 minutes, including credits.

7. All genres accepted.

8. Entries must be based on the theme “My Heritage”.

9. The Film must not contain political or religious content; nor promote any politician or political party, religious organisation or religious leader.

10. Any entry that at the discretion of the Promoters is deemed to be defamatory or discriminatory will be disqualified.

11. It is permissible to use any software for editing, post-production or treatment of images.

12. It is permissible to use external devices for audio recording.

13. Films can be in any of the Official Zimbabwean languages (Chewa, Chibarwe, English, Kalanga, Koisan, Nambya, Ndau, Ndebele, Shangani, Shona, Sign Language, Sotho, Tonga, Tswana, Venda, Xhosa).

14. Films can be in any one of the following video formats: MP4, AVI, WMV.

15. Films can be submitted on any of the following:

15.1. Physically Delivered on memory device (USB drive) to:
Zimbabwe International Film & Festival Trust, 2 Canterbury Road, Kensington, Harare.

15.2. or Electronically by Wetransfer (www.wetransfer.com) to:
programmes@zifft.co.zw

15.3. By using FilmFreeway or Google Forms links on https://www.zifft.co.zw/call-for-submissions/

16. Films must be entrant’s own original work and must not have been previously published or distributed in any form.

17. The work must not infringe the copyright, trademark, privacy, publicity, or other personal or proprietary rights of any person or entity.

18. Entrant must have permission from all individuals featured in the film and all individuals must have been made aware of entry to the competition.

19. Any issue(s) that may arise due to the infringement of copyrights is the entrant’s sole responsibility. The Promoters will not be responsible for any infringement of copyrights.

20. Entrant is responsible for ensuring all relevant permits have been obtained when developing the film.

21. Entrant consents to grant free, non-exclusive, unlimited online and broadcast use of work submitted to the Promoters for non-commercial information and promotional purposes.

22. Entrant shall indemnify the Promoters from any third-party claims, actions or proceedings of any kind and from any damages, liabilities and costs related to or arising out of breach of any of the agreements of entrant hereunder.

23. The Festival Audience will vote for winning films at the festival screening venues and through the online viewing platforms.

24. Evaluation criteria: Storytelling, relevance to subject, cinematography (lighting/camera angle), film editing, sound and music.

25. Prizes for top 3 films are as follows:
1st Prize – US$500
2nd Prize – US$300
3rd Prize – US$200
The top 3 films will also have the opportunity to get their films onto a Transactional Video On Demand (TVOD) platform.


27. Winners will be announced at the Zimbabwe International Film Festival Closing and Awards Night on Saturday 11 December 2021

Entries must be submitted by completing the ZIFF 2021 Entry Form online on filmfreeway.com and google forms . Submissions must be in English, and/or material must reach ZIFF before 19 November 2021. Any submission and/or material received after the above deadline will not be accepted.