WELCOME TO THE SECOND YEAR OF OUR MONSTER CHILDREN SHORT FILM AWARDS. IT’S GREAT TO BE BACK.

Monster Children and Wānaka are asking filmmakers from all over to submit a visual story to be judged against this year's theme: Regeneration. There are no limits to the interpretation of this theme. For example, this could be a documentary, an interview, or something entirely abstract and artsy. The most important thing is that your film possesses themes of the importance of Regeneration and is at least 30 seconds long, but no longer than 10 minutes. Easy!

What does Regeneration mean? It means to be reborn, to regrow, to bring back and return to what was whence and once before. Regeneration is about bringing vitality and renewed growth to our communities and our ecosystems. In this, the year of Lord 2023, Regeneration is of greater importance than ever. In the last 200-odd years, humanity has taken the Earth and done it many a nuisance, with its smokestacks spewing black into the blue sky and its waste roiling in the seas… Put simply, we find ourselves in a spot of ecological bother. The solution? Regeneration.

HOW IT WORKS

Entrants will submit films in line with this year's theme.

A short list of ten films will be selected and our guest judges will decide the final five finalists.

The five finalists will then be tasked to submit a treatment of a film they would like to make in Wānaka, NZ around the theme of Regeneration. (a period of approx. four weeks will be granted for this process)

The best treatment will be crowned this year’s Monster Children Short Film Awards winner.

THE PRIZES

The winner will receive—get this—a $10,000 cash prize, Sony hardware equipment worth $10,000, an all-expenses-paid trip to Wānaka, New Zealand, plus production costs to co-direct their short film idea with Monster Children Films, and the local film industry.

The four runner-ups will receive $1,000 in cash and a $500 Sony voucher for submitting their treatment ideas.

MONSTER CHILDREN SHORT FILM AWARDS – RULES & FAQS

Submission of Short Films/specifications

Online submission format: Vimeo link - must be a public link

Minimum film length – 30 seconds

Maximum film length – 10 minutes

The submission phase takes place between 9:00 am AEST April 4th, 2023, and 11:59 pm AEST May 14th, 2023. Entries must be submitted during this period. All times and dates are in AEST.

All content submitted must be owned by the entrant or have written consent from all rightful owners.

Any soundtrack or music must be fully cleared prior to entering.

Rules of Entry

The contest is 'open submission.'

You must agree to these Rules and Regulations to enter this 2023 MCSFA (Monster Children Short Film Awards).

Only the Director/owner can submit his, her or their film. A third party may not submit films on behalf of someone else.

All films must be submitted through the official competition website, or they will not be taken into consideration.

Professionals and amateurs may submit.

Entries are welcome from anyone worldwide.

Entries may only be made by the authorised account holder of the email address submitted at the time of entry.

Submitted films may have been previously published.

Entry is open to people over the age of 18.

Employees (and their immediate families) of the Promoter, or agencies or companies associated with the conduct of this promotion, are ineligible to enter.

FAQs

Why am I unable to upload my film?

Please check your film's format and file type if you can't upload your images.

You can only upload vimeo links which are public; any link that has a password or is set to private will not be entered into the MCSFA.

If you still can't submit, the file might be damaged. Try to open it on your computer and see if any errors occur.

Can I submit RAW or working files?

No. RAW, project or working files and other formats must be uploaded to vimeo and meet all other submission criteria.

Why can't I see my film right away?

Each submitted film will be watched to ensure that it aligns with this year's theme and doesn't break any of our rules. Once approved, the film will be uploaded along with the other entrants.

How many films can I submit?

You can submit as many entries as you'd like.

Will my film be used for advertising?

No, it will not. The films will be used for PR and Marketing purposes surrounding the MCSFA – you can read about in the Terms and Conditions below.

Who will be Judging? How do I know that it will be judged fairly?

Please refer to the Judges page.

All judges will independently select their favourite short films and send their selections to Creative Directors and Founders Chris Searl and Campbell Milligan, who will be responsible for choosing the finalists and eventual winner.

Information on all elements of The 2023 Monster Children Short Film Awards ('Promotion') from Submission, Entry, Finalist, Prizes, and any representation of finalist names and images form part of these Terms and Conditions. Entry into the Promotion will signify acceptance of all terms and conditions.

Promotion commences at 09:00 am 9:00 am AEST April 4th, 2023, and 11:59 pm AEST May 14th, 2023. (Australian Eastern Daylight Time) ("Promotional Period").

The participant agrees to provide correct, current and complete information relating to their participation in the promotion.

Entry is open to people over the age of 18. Employees (and their immediate families) of the Promoter, or agencies or companies associated with the conduct of this promotion, are ineligible to enter.

Monster Children Pty Ltd (ABN: 69105337308 ) ('Promoter') takes all care but has no responsibility to ensure that all entries are received and processed. The Promoter will not be responsible for any entry not being processed due to a technical fault, omission, or oversight.

All entry processing, finalist shortlisting, and judging coordination will occur at the Promoter office, 7A Danks Street, Waterloo. NSW. 2017, Australia.

Official sponsors of the promotion ('Sponsors') include Wānaka, Sony, and Film Queenstown Lakes.

By participating and uploading a film, the participant confirms:

That they agree not to submit any films of a pornographic or illegal nature and that the Promoter reserves the right to disregard any images of such a nature

That he/she/they are the sole owner and copyright owner of the photograph

That he/she/they have permission from anyone pictured within the content

That he/she/they give the Promoter and all associated Sponsors of the Promotion and its associated agencies permission to use their Name and/or film for promotion, marketing or other purposes to promote their involvement with the 2023/24 MCSFA during the promotional periods, across all digital media. Any usage beyond this context will only proceed with further correspondence and formal written permission granted by the entrant.

The Promoter is not responsible for ensuring that any film submitted meets the qualifying criteria outlined above.

There is no limit to the number of films a participant can enter.

All shortlisted and winning films will be selected by the guest judges in conjunction with Chris Searl and Campbell Milligan based on criteria including, but not limited to, originality, technical skill, subject, creativity, and relevance to Monster Children's aesthetic.

The Promoter and judge's joint decision is final, and no further correspondence, discussion, compensation, or debate will be entered regarding the decision's outcome.

This competition is a game of skill, and chance plays no part in the competition.

The winner will receive $10,000.00 AU Dollars in prize money, A Sony ILME-FX6 valued at $9,999 AUD, and a fully funded trip and production budget to shoot their film in Wānaka, New Zealand.

The four (4x) runner-ups will receive $1,000.00 AU in cash and a $500 Sony store voucher.

The winners of the respective category prizes and overall 2022 MCSFA will be announced online (date TBC)

All finalists will be notified via email that they are a finalist.

All costs associated or arising in connection with the Prize are the responsibility of the Prizewinner.

All Prizewinners are advised that tax implications may arise from their prize winnings, and they should seek independent financial advice prior to acceptance of their Prize.

By accepting the Prize, the winner agrees to participate in and cooperate as required with all reasonable media editorial requests relating to the Prize, including but not limited to being interviewed, photographed, and filmed.

By accepting the Prize, the winner agrees to travel with Monster Children Films to Wānaka, New Zealand, between September 4th, 2023, and October 15th, 2023 (the production window) to direct and co-produce a short film. All travel expenses will be covered. The short film will be distributed via Monster Children and Wanaka's digital channels and promoted via social media and PR.

Prospective winners must be able to travel to Wānaka in the nominated production period sometime between September 4th, 2023, and October 15th, 2023 (the production window)

In consideration for the Promoter awarding the Prize to the winner, the winner hereby assigns to the Promoter all rights, title, and interest in and to all copyright in any material created pursuant to the winner's participation in any aspect of the Prize. The winner acknowledges that the Promoter is free to use the Works and to exercise its rights in relation thereto, and the winner will not be entitled to any fee for such use.

Should an entrant's contact details change during the Promotion Period, it is the entrant's responsibility to notify the Promoter. A request to access or modify any information provided in an entry should be directed to the Promoter.

The Promoter may use the information provided by an entrant to the promotion in accordance with the following:

Communication via the Promoter's email newsletter 'The Monster Children Newsletter'

As part of contests, invitations and loyalty programs to communicate with finalists and winners by the Promoter.

Communication regarding future 'Monster Children Short Film Awards' or contests.

The Promoter will not share data captured with Sponsors or 3rd parties unless agreed upon when entering the competition.

The Promoter reserves the right, at any time, to verify the validity of entries and to disqualify any entrant who submits an entry that is not in accordance with these Terms and Conditions or who tampers with the entry/voting process.

Failure by the Promoter to enforce any of its rights at any stage does not constitute a waiver of those rights.

If the promotion is interfered with in any way or is not capable of being conducted as reasonably anticipated due to any reason beyond the reasonable control of the Promoter, the Promoter reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to the fullest extent permitted by law (a) to disqualify any entrant; or (b) subject to any written directions from a regulatory authority, to modify, suspend, terminate or cancel the promotion, as appropriate.

If for any reason, the promotion is not capable of running as planned due to any reason including, but not limited to, infection by computer virus, bugs tampering, unauthorised intervention, fraud, technical failures, or any other causes beyond the control of the Promoter which corrupts or affects the administration, security, fairness, integrity or proper conduct of the promotion, the Promoter reserves the right in its sole discretion to disqualify any individual who tampers with the entry process, and to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the promotion.

The Promoter reserves the right to disqualify any entrant who, in the opinion of the Promoter, engaged in conduct in entering the promotion which is fraudulent, infringes third-party intellectual property rights, is misleading, deceptive, or generally damaging to the goodwill or reputation of the Promoter or Sponsors. The Promoter reserves the right to disqualify a winner if the Promoter becomes aware that the winner and/or the winner's entry is of a type described in this clause.

It is a condition of accepting any prize that the winner may be required to sign a release of liability in a form to be determined in the absolute discretion of the Promoter.

Collection, use and disclosure of information: The Promoter ('we', 'us') collects the information that the entrant ("you") choose to provide to us – for instance, by providing us with information by entering into a promotion (including this promotion) that we are conducting. We adhere to privacy legislation by only using your personal information for the purpose it was collected or consented to be collected (for instance, by agreeing to separate terms and conditions) and for directly related secondary purposes. By entering the promotion, the Promoter and its related entities may use this information in any media for future promotional, marketing and publicity purposes without any further reference, payment, or other compensation to you, including sending the entrant electronic messages. For websites you visit in connection with us, the collection, use, and management of your personal information while visiting the websites may be governed by additional privacy policies and terms and conditions. You should consult the website and its host for more details.

By providing information in connection with this competition, each entrant grants to the Promoter and all Sponsors, a worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive, non-transferable, absolute and irrevocable licence, right and permission to use, re-use, publish, re-publish, publicly display, perform, transmit, exhibit, and reproduce the information including any photograph entered as part of this promotion, the entrant's Name, address, email address, statements, video, voice, photograph, or other likeness, in whole or in part, individually and/or in conjunction with other material, including without limitation, text, photographs, or images, in any medium (whether now known or hereafter invented) and for any and all purposes, including but not limited to publicity, promotion, packaging, and trade, throughout the world without restriction as to manner, frequency, or duration of usage, but only in connection with this promotion (which, without limitation, includes the Promoter and all Sponsors' websites and Social Media (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Vimeo, YouTube) pages used in connection with the promotion). Each entrant consents to any infringement of their moral rights.

Each entrant agrees that their Name, address, email address, statements, video, voice, photograph, or other likeness may be used with whatever visuals, copy, or other elements the Sponsors may determine, in its sole discretion, for all media usage (including, but not limited to, usage on the Internet), but only in connection with this promotion (which, without limitation, includes the Promoter's and/or the Sponsors' websites and Social Media (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Vimeo, YouTube) pages used in connection with the promotion). Nothing herein shall obligate the Sponsors to use the entrant's Name, address, email address, statements, video, voice, photograph, or other likeness.

Each entrant represents and warrants that they have the right to grant The Promoter and Sponsors the above-mentioned rights without obtaining the permission of, or making any payments to, any third party or entity. Each entrant hereby waives any right they may have to inspect and approve the finished product and the publicity copy that may be used, and hereby release and discharge, indemnify and hold harmless the Sponsors and its officers, directors, employees, contractors, agents, and any designees, including without limitation, the Sponsors' licensees, successors, and assigns, from and against any and all liabilities, losses, claims, demands, costs (including without limitation attorneys fees) and expenses arising out of or in connection with any use granted hereunder, including but not limited to any claims for defamation, invasion of privacy, right of publicity or copyright infringement.

Except for any liability that cannot be excluded by law, the Promoter and the Sponsors (including their officers, employees and agents) exclude all liability (including negligence) for any personal injury or any loss or damage (including loss of opportunity) whether direct, indirect, special or consequential, arising in any way out of the promotion including, but not limited to, where arising out of the following: (a) any technical difficulties or equipment malfunction (whether or not under the Promoter's, the Sponsors control); (b) any theft, unauthorised access or third party interference; (c) any entry or Prize claim that is late, lost, altered, damaged or misdirected (whether or not after their receipt by the Promoter) due to any reason beyond the reasonable control of the Promoter; (d) any variation in prize value to that stated in these Terms and Conditions; (e) any tax liability incurred by the winner or entrant; or (f) use of the Prize.

The Promoter reserves the right to change or amend any of the Terms and Conditions outlined above with adequate and fair notification to all participants involved in the promotion and in no way is held responsible for any consequential actions stemming from these changes.