A Place Called Sacramento Competition Rules And ENTRY

To compete in this year’s PCS script competition submit the below required elements:

• Submit a 10-minute screenplay (Ten formatted pages or less) of original content, that features the Sacramento region, to the office or via web submission along with your registration. Script submission fee is $25.00 if mailed or dropped off to the Access Sacramento office or submitted online.
• Entrants will be required to sign the standard “A Place Called Sacramento” Agreement as part of the submission form. If under the age 18, a parent or legal guardian must sign on the minor’s behalf.
•  All costs associated with the production of the entry are the responsibility of the entrant(s).
• The Sacramento Community Cable Foundation, d.b.a. Access Sacramento, holds no responsibility for submission failures and encourages all entrants to submit well in advance of the deadline. This is to ensure that technical issues do not prevent you from competing.
• Screenplays not meeting the deadline are ineligible for competition. DEADLINE 5PM on March 14, 2024
• Eligible entries will be judged based on the judging criteria stated below.
• Competition winners agree to self-produce a high definition film of their script in 2024 by the DEADLINE Noon, Tuesday, September 5, 2024 deadlines of this competition.
• Competition winners must Premiere their film at the “A Place Celled Sacramento” Premiere Event.  Any submissions that are screened to an audience or judges before the October event will be disqualified.  A World Premiere is defined as, “a debut of a work”.  Part of the PCS experience is a proper debut of the entrant’s work.

1. Project Terms of Submission

By submitting into this screenplay competition and film festival (hereafter the “Project”), each Entrant warrants and represents that the Entrant owns all rights to the Entry he/she is entering, including, without limitation, the script, screenplay, video or digital recording, and the performance contained in each Entry, with the exception of any assets provided by Access Sacramento for use by Entrants in connection with this Project. Each Entrant further warrants and represents that, if the screen play is accepted for production, that the Entrant has obtained permission from each person who appears in any produced film to grant the rights to the Project Parties described in these PCS Rules, and will submit copies of such permissions to the Project Parties if requested. By submitting an Entry, Entrant agrees to the PCS Rules, and further agrees to indemnify and hold the Sacramento Community Cable Foundation dba as Access Sacramento, Project Parties and their respective affiliates, officers, directors, agents, co-branders or other partners, and any of their employees (collectively, the “Project Indemnitees”), harmless from any and all claims, damages, expenses, costs (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) and liabilities (including settlements), brought or asserted by any third party against any of the Project Indemnitees due to or arising out of the Entrant’s entry materials in this Project, or the Entrant’s conduct during and in connection with this Project, including but not limited to trademark, copyright, or other intellectual property rights, right of publicity, right of privacy or defamation. Entrant agrees to release, indemnify and hold harmless the Sacramento Community Cable Foundation dba Access Sacramento and the Project Parties from any and all claims that any advertising, presentation, web content or any other material subsequently produced, presented, and/or prepared by or on behalf of the Sacramento Community Cable Foundation dba Access Sacramento.

2. Selection of Screenplay Winner

Entries will be judged by a process in which a qualified panel of judges (“Judges”) will evaluate each eligible Entry based on the following judging criteria:

• Creativity (40%) Must be a Family-Friendly Entry and Project.
• Technical Merit (30%)
• Adherence to the Prominence of Sacramento (30%)

Entrants agree that the management of Sacramento Community Cable Foundation dba Access Sacramento has the sole right to decide all matters and disputes arising from this Project and that all decisions of the Sacramento Community Cable Foundation dba Access Sacramento are final and binding.

3. General Conditions

By participating, Entrant agrees to these PCS Rules which are final and binding in all respects.

4. Limitations of Liability and Release

No liability or responsibility is assumed by Sacramento Community Cable Foundation dba Access Sacramento or the sponsors resulting from any entrant’s participation in or attempt to participate in the Project or ability or inability to upload or download any information in connection with participating in the Project. No responsibility or liability is assumed by the Sacramento Community Cable Foundation dba Access Sacramento or sponsors for technical problems or technical malfunction arising in connection with any of the following occurrences which may affect the operation of the Project: hardware or software errors, faulty computer, telephone, cable, satellite, network, electronic, wireless or Internet connectivity or other online communication problems; errors or limitations of any Internet service providers, servers, hosts or providers; garbled, jumbled or faulty data transmissions; failure of any e-mail transmissions to be sent or received; lost, late, delayed or intercepted e-mail transmissions; inaccessibility of the Website in whole or in part for any reason; traffic congestion on the Internet or the Website; unauthorized human or non-human intervention of the operation of the Project, including without limitation, unauthorized tampering, hacking, theft, virus, bugs, worms; or destruction of any aspect of the Project, or loss, miscount, misdirection, inaccessibility or unavailability of an email account used in connection with the Project. Sacramento Community Cable Foundation dba Access Sacramento is not responsible for any typographical errors in the announcement of prizes or these Official Rules, or any inaccurate or incorrect data. Sacramento Community Cable Foundation dba Access Sacramento is not responsible for any personal injury or property damage or losses of any kind which may be sustained to user’s or any other person’s equipment resulting from participation in the Project. By participating in the Project, Entrant agrees to release, indemnify and hold Sacramento Community Cable Foundation dba Access Sacramento harmless from any and all claims, damages or liabilities arising from or relating to such Entrant’s participation in the Project.

5. Film Making Rules

The following rules apply to each participating Entrant:

A. The finished film must be a maximum of 10 minutes in duration, including credits. B. Credits at the end of each film are to be limited to a maximum of 60 seconds.

C. Sound recordings and Sound Effects: Sound recorders are allowed. As with music, pre-recorded sound effects are allowed, but Entrant must have all rights for their use and distribution.

D. Films must be submitted as a high definition video file format approved in advance by festival organizers. Films must be submitted in 29.97 frames per second to accommodate television airing.

We recommend each Entrant do an initial :60 test export soon after post production begins and no less than three weeks before the film entry deadline to ensure export parameters are correct. Improperly exported movies may be subject to elimination from the festival. Failure to ensure compatible entry video formats may cause a film to be eliminated from the festival.

E. Before the finished film begins, the Project should have:

• A title card that reads: This film is made for the “A Place Called Sacramento” Film Festival
• 2 seconds of black
• Your film title
• These title cards are not included in the 10-minute maximum film time

F. All films received before the deadline (on-time) will be screened, presuming they are eligible. To ensure the best screening, please follow the instructions below:

Sound levels should be relatively even throughout the film. (If your film has uneven sound or sound that peaks that exceed accepted theatre or broadcast levels, it may be modified to protect the playback equipment.)

Note: Projection specs vary from theater to theater and are beyond the control of the Sacramento Community Cable Foundation dba Access Sacramento. If your film is very dark, it may be difficult to see in the theater.

G. Each team must secure talent, crew, music releases and location releases, copies of which must be provided to the festival organizers with the finished film/video if requested up to three years after the Project Premiere showing.

H. To be eligible for the Festival, Project Entries must be the original work of the Entrant; must not infringe third-party’s rights; must be suitable for publication (i.e., may not be obscene or indecent); must not contain obscene or pornographic material; may not contain defamatory statements about any person, company, organization or entity; may not invade privacy or other rights of any person, company or entity; may not in any other way violate applicable laws and regulations; and may not contain any copyrighted elements (other than as owned by the Entrant and/or Sacramento Community Cable Foundation dba Access Sacramento). Entries containing prohibited or inappropriate content as determined by the Sacramento Community Cable Foundation dba Access Sacramento, in its sole discretion, will be disqualified. Sacramento Community Cable Foundation dba Access Sacramento reserves the right to make the final determination as to which Entries are eligible. Festival decisions are final.

I. Participating entrants are encouraged to work with a local composer and/or musicians to write and record music for the films. It is permissible for a participating group to use pre-recorded music; however the participating group must have the rights to any music used in its film and must provide a release to the festival organizers for all music used along with the finished film.

J. No entry documents will be returned.

K. The Sacramento Community Cable Foundation dba Access Sacramento organizers may add to or amend these rules at any time prior to 14 days before the film submission deadline.

L. Entrants agree to complete “A Place called Sacramento” Submission Form providing Name, address, phone, email address, Title of the Script, Intended Running Time, a 100-word description of story and characters, plus acknowledgment of Entrant’s intention to self-produce the film or to request the Sacramento Community Cable Foundation dba Access Sacramento to be co-producer; with additional production element notes and explanation of project benefit.

6. Distribution

The Sacramento Community Cable Foundation dba Access Sacramento is hereby granted non-exclusive distribution rights for films submitted to the challenge for screening. In consideration for my providing an entry, and for no subsequent remuneration, Entrant(s) hereby, on behalf of myself, my heirs, executors, and administrators authorize the Sacramento Community Cable Foundation dba Access Sacramento to use live or recorded on tape, film, or other media currently in use or formats to be devised, my entry video/film, my name, voice, likeness, or performance for television, internet, film or video distribution throughout the world and for audio/visual distribution, sale and general promotion/information/education purposes in perpetuity, Entrant further agrees on behalf of myself and others as above stated that my video/film, name, likeness, and biography may be used for promotion purposes and other uses. Further, I agree to indemnify, defend, and hold the Sacramento Community Cable Foundation dba Access Sacramento, Board of Directors, staff, production company, cable company and others harmless for any and all claims, suits, or liabilities arising from the entry and the use of any of my materials, name, likeness, or biography.

Entrant further agrees that the “World Premiere” will occur during the “A Place Called Sacramento Red-Carpet Premiere Event” and will not enter the project for external judging or screening on dates that occur before the World Premiere.  Any project publicly screened or judged before the World Premiere will be disqualified.

 

$25.00 Submission fee if submitted to Access Sacramento office or for online Script entry into 2024 “A Place Called Sacramento” Film Festival.

Script Submissions have closed.  Please try again next year.  Thank you!