Rules

        The festival competition is addressed to all high school and college students, aged 15 – 20, passionate about the art of cinema in its various forms, who are given the opportunity to express their artistic freedom of expression in an institutionalized setting. The International Video ART Festival for Youth is included annually in the Calendar of National and International Out-of-School Education Projects funded by the Ministry of Education. It is also accredited by the International Amateur Film Union (UNICA),(https://unica-web.one/films/patronage).

        Constantly updated information can be found on the festival’s Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/VideoART.Festival) and website: www.videoartfestival.ro.

        Participation is usually in teams of two students and a supervising teacher. If pupils are over 18, they may participate unaccompanied by the coordinating teacher.

        In the section for students up to the age of 20, they can participate in teams of two or individually. The competition sections are as follows: 

• Short movie 

• Spot  

        The Short Film section will include cinematographic creations with a maximum duration of 15-20 minutes, in which the freedom of artistic expression is total, the students taking into account only the choice of the theme in full accordance with the concerns and aspirations of their age: family, school, love, travel (tourist report), film essay, game and play, trip (group or individual), documentary (cultural, social, literary themes of interest: art, folklore, ethnography, social relations, contemporary issues, etc.). Points will be awarded for the originality of the chosen theme, the value of the literary text/documentary and the artistic realization (script, direction, image and sound effects, acting – where appropriate -, scenography, etc.).

        The Spots section features videos of up to 60 seconds with a variety of themes:

        1) social issues (prevention or awareness-raising on social issues with implications for society as a whole: drug, tobacco or alcohol use among young people, juvenile delinquency, combating poverty and illiteracy, local community life, unusual issues, inter-ethnic coexistence, etc.).

        2) promoting reading among young people (new publications, bringing established literary works back into the spotlight, etc.).

        3) short screenings of humorous creations (satires, jokes, humorous sketches, etc).

        4) Promoting good practices among young people (environmentalism, volunteering, civic spirit, combating substance abuse, etc.).

        The mobilizing and/or determinant character of the clip, its humorous character, but also its cinematographic value will be highlighted.

        NOTE: Within the two sections, the themes are almost unlimited, the contestants are practically free to choose a variety of topics, the only condition being that the chosen topic must be age-appropriate.

        The festival stages are as follows:

        1)COUNTY STAGE:

        REALIZATION OF FILM PROJECTS

        During this stage, the duration of which is set at county level, the potential contestants, assisted by their supervising teachers, realize short films and spots respecting the realization conditions imposed by these Rules, aiming to be within the time limits specified herein. The organization of this stage is coordinated by the inspector for lifelong learning who assigns the responsibility for the organization and judging of the stage to teachers with a special interest in the field.

        A maximum of ten crews from each section will be considered qualified for the next round, in the order of the marks obtained as a result of the application of the SCORE BAR attached to the present REGULATIONS. In the case of equal marks obtained by several crews, all crews with the same mark shall be considered promoted, even if their number exceeds the limit allowed by the Regulations. If the total number of crews taking part in a section is less than ten, the condition for qualification is to obtain the minimum score for promotion – 7,00(seven). If there is only one entry in a county, the respective crew may enter directly for the national round, with a confirmation from the educational inspector that the county/sector has not organized a county/sector round in the county/sector due to lack of entries.

        The projects considered eligible for the next stage (qualified) will be sent to the international jury by May 11, 2025, at the following e-mail address:clubvideoart@gmail.com . If the file size does not allow the transfer by e-mail, the submission will be made using a dedicated transfer platform (wetransfer.com, MyAirBridge.com, etc.)

        2) NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL JUDGING (May 11-20, 2025):

        It is carried out by a jury made up of personalities from the Romanian and foreign film industry (members of the Executive Committee of the International Amateur Film Union (UNICA). The jury will establish the hierarchy on the basis of which the nominations will be determined in order to participate in the final round. The score of the films submitted to the jury at this stage represents 50% of the final score. The remaining 50% of the mark will be awarded to the project realized in the Film Probe.

        Films from foreign participants will be sent directly to the international jury for judging.

        3) FINAL STAGE (May 29 – June 1, 2025):

        The top ten nominated teams from each section, from home and abroad, will participate. During this stage, the teams will have to make a short film over two days, the theme of which will be decided by the international jury. The score for this film will represent 50% of the final score, which will determine the international ranking.

        NOTE: The Festival also organizes a section dedicated to students who do not attend a film-related university, where a maximum of 10 crews will be nominated, in the order of the scores obtained.

        On the afternoon of May 31, 2025 will be organized:

                VIDEO ART AWARDS GALA

        AWARDS

                Grand Prize – 2500 Ron

        (Awarded by the local authorities for the movie with the most jury appreciation)

                UNICA Medal

        (awarded by the International Union of Amateur Filmmakers (UNICA) through the UNICA Executive Committee member present in the Video ART jury) 

        •Diplomas and cash prizes will be awarded for each of the two sections, as follows:

                First Prize – 1000 Ron

                Second Prize – 700 Ron

                Third Prize – 400 Ron

                Mentions (two in each section) – 200 Ron

        Note: The amount of prizes awarded is determined annually by the Bucovina Cultural Center, our traditional partner, the institution that awards cash prizes. Until last year’s edition the amounts of the prizes were as mentioned above. For this year’s edition we expect that the value of the prizes will be the same as in previous editions. Contestants from outside the country who do not participate in the film competition are not eligible for cash prizes, as the jury will award them the same categories of prizes, only in the form of diplomas.

        Conditions of participation: 

• The students involved in the film project must be from the participating educational institution;
• Teams are made up of two students, with responsibilities usually divided between the artistic part (script, directing, text with fictional or non-fictional values, etc.) and the technical-applicative part (sound, image, digital processing, etc.);
• The film must be made in the context of the chosen section;
• The explicit or implicit message of the movie must not in any way affect the public image of a person, the image of the school as an institution in general or in particular;
• More than one team from the same high school can participate, each of which can submit more than one movie (commercials);
• In case a team qualifies for both sections, it will have to choose which section it wishes to participate in before the final round;
• The team, made up of students, will be coordinated by a supervising teacher. If one of the pupils is of age and takes responsibility for the other minor pupil, the team may take part in the Threshold Test without the supervising teacher.
• Films or commercials must be subtitled in English (compulsory).

        They are completely banned:
        – use of obscene language or immoral visual contexts;
        – the use of racist insignia or instigating inter-ethnic violence;
        – creating scenes that threaten the physical and moral integrity of pupils;

• The projects submitted to the competition will be realized exclusively by the participating students, the involvement of professionals in the field, leading (in case of proven fraud during the final round of the competition) to disqualification of the respective team.
• In the first sequences of the film (generic) will be inserted the actual title, followed by the other identifying elements (actors, director, cinematographer, etc.) The contact details of the competitors will be specified in the Entry Form (see Annex), which will be included in the file sent for jury which will also contain the synopsis of the film (maximum one page). 

• The sole responsibility for the copyright of any ancillary video, audio or graphic material included in the short film rests with the makers of the short film.
• The top ten teams in each section are qualified (nominated) for the final round of the festival, in descending order of the jury’s score.

        NOTE: Depending on the quality and value of the film projects, the jury may modify (cancel) the award of certain prizes.