Main objectives:
To offer film-makers and cinema buffs a cultural platform upon which the former can screen their latest productions and the latter can catch up with the cream of short films created over the past year.

Venue for screenings of the Official Sections: Hort del Xocolater, c/ Casas de la Virgen, s/n Elche – Alicante - Spain

Dates: From 24th to 31st July 2009

Organiser: The Caja Mediterráneo saving bank's Social Commitment Division

Collaborators: Elche City Council, the Ciudad de la Luz Film Studio Complex, Miguel Hernández University, the University of Alicante and the Luis Buñuel Cine Club.

Who can enter? Any natural person or legal entity of any nationality.

Number of films per entrant: A maximum of two productions that have not previously been submitted to this event and which were made after 1st January 2008.

Competition categories: Fiction, animation and documentary.

Official Sections:

• 1 FICTION SECTION in 35 mm
• 2 FICTION SECTION on video
• 3 ANIMATION SECTION on video or 35 mm.
• 4 DOCUMENTARY SECTION on video or 35 mm.
• Competition sections:
• - the abovementioned, plus
• - the CORTOS EN CAMON short film section.

Permitted formats: 35 mm and video.
Entrants in the Cortos en CAMON short film section may upload their work with the following extensions: asf, asx, avi, divx, dv, dvx, m4v, mov, mp4, mpeg, mpg, qt, wmv, 3g2, 3gp, 3ivx and 3v.

Length: Maximum 25 minutes, except for the Documentary section, which may run to 35 minutes.
The length of entries in the Cortos en CAMON short film section will be restricted to 5 minutes.

Subtitling: Films containing dialogue in a language other than one of Spain's official languages must be submitted with subtitles in Spanish. The Jury may consider any exceptions to this rule where appropriate due to the quality of the film.

How to submit a short film: Entries must be registered electronically by filling in and submitting the online entry form, which is available from the following website:

www.festivalcinelche.com

Furthermore, if the short film is to be entered into any of the Official Sections, the following documentation and material must also be sent to the address below:

FESTIVAL INTERNACIONAL DE CINE INDEPENDIENTE DE ELCHE
Aula de Cultura CAM.
C/ Kursaal, 1
03203 ELCHE (Alicante) SPAIN

1. A signed and completed copy of the entry form (to be found on the final page of these rules).
2. Two DVD copies of the short film being entered into the competition. Each short must be submitted on a separate DVD.
3. One or several stills of the submitted short film, to be sent on a CD along with the DVD of the short or attached to the online submission.
4. The technical and artistic credits for the film.
5. A photocopy of the C.I.F. (Spanish company tax code), N.I.F. (Spanish tax ID number), N.I.E. (ID number for foreigners residing in Spain) or passport of the person or entity who would receive the prize in the event of an award (the beneficiary).

Submissions to the Festival are free of charge and should be made by the director, producer or their legal representatives. The postage costs for sending the works must be borne by whoever makes the submission.

Failure to comply with any of the requirements stated will result in rejection of the film.

None of the abovementioned materials will be returned by the Organisation.

Specific Instructions for Entrants to the Cortos en CAMON Short Film Section:
To participate in this section you must register at www.tucamon.es and become a member of this community. This is an essential step to allow you to post your video. The website also provides information on the required documentation that must be attached.

Entrants to this section must not send any documentation or materials through the regular postal service, with the exception of any high-definition copies required should your work be selected for the CAMON award.

The short films entered in this unofficial section will be available at www.tucamon.es

A jury comprised of experts in the field will select the best entries and award the CAMON prize to the most outstanding short film in this section. The winning work may also be submitted for the Caja Mediterráneo prize in the Official Section.

.Format: Entrants to the Cortos en CAMON short film section may upload their work with the following extensions: asf, asx, avi, divx, dv, dvx, m4v, mov, mp4, mpeg, mpg, qt, wmv, 3g2, 3gp, 3ivx and 3v.

.Maximum length: 5 minutes. Files are also restricted to a size of 500 Mb.

.Reproduction licence: The videos submitted must hold a Creative Commons licence. You can find more information on this licence in SECTION 5.3.2.3 OF THE TUCAMON.ES WEBSITE'S CONDITIONS OF USE (www.tucamon.es/condiciones-de-uso).

Selection for the Official Sections: A Selection Committee comprising people of recognised standing within the film world will select what they consider to be the most qualified works to form part of the various official sections of the Festival. Their decision will be made public as of 17th June 2009.

The originals of the works selected in 35 mm, plus the high-definition copies of those selected for the CAMON award, must be in the possession of the Organisation of the Festival before 1st July 2009.

Judging the Official Sections: The Organisation will convene a Jury comprising various leading figures from the film and communications world. Their decision, which cannot be appealed, will be announced at the closing ceremony on Friday 31st July 2009.

Prizes:

- CAJA MEDITERRÁNEO PRIZE FOR THE BEST SHORT FILM in any format and/or category. The winner will receive 10,000 euros and a DAMA statuette.

- ELCHE CITY COUNCIL PRIZE FOR THE BEST FICTION SHORT FILM in 35 mm. The winner will receive 5,000 euros and a DAMA statuette.

- RUNNER-UP PRIZE FOR THE BEST FICTION SHORT FILM in 35 mm. The winner will receive 3,500 euros and a DAMA statuette.

- PRIZE FOR THE BEST FICTION VIDEO. The winner will receive 3,000 euros and a DAMA statuette.

- PRIZE FOR THE BEST DOCUMENTARY. The winner will receive 3,000 euros and a DAMA statuette.

- PRIZE FOR THE BEST ANIMATED PRODUCTION. The winner will receive 3,000 euros and a DAMA statuette.

- AUDIENCE AWARD. The winner will receive 2,500 euros and a DAMA statuette.

- PRIZE FOR THE BEST SUBMISSION DEALING WITH SOCIAL VALUES. The winner will receive 1,000 euros and a DAMA statuette. This prize will be awarded to the work that best defends and/or champions social values.

- CAMON PRIZE. The winner will receive 500 euros and a DAMA statuette.

Any copies of the winning shorts made after the announcement of the award must feature the logos of the Elche Film Festival and the Caja Mediterráneo Social Commitment Division, and must specify which prize they won.

DAMA Statuettes:

In addition to the aforementioned prizes, the Jury may also honour any film with a DAMA statuette for any of the following categories, where appropriate, stating the reasons for their decision:

- Best Director
- Best Screenplay
- Best Male Performance
- Best Female Performance
- Best Photography
- Best Editing
- Best Soundtrack.

Payment of Prizes and Collection of Statuettes:

Prizes will be paid by way of a cheque issued by the Organisation and made payable to the person or entity who is named as the beneficiary on the entry form and holds the identification submitted (DNI, NIE, NIF or passport) . Prizes are subject to current tax legislation.

Both prizes and statuettes must be collected by the winners at the closing ceremony. If unable to do so, they may collect them from Festival headquarters as of 15th September 2009.

Special Conditions:
All DVD copies received (of submissions in both video and 35 mm formats) will remain in the possession of the Organisation for inclusion in the Festival archives and screening on the appropriate cultural circuits.

Since Festival entries may be screened simultaneously at different venues within the Caja Mediterráneo operational area, selected entrants authorise the Organisation to project their films at said venues, whether in the original format or not.

Creators of the selected shorts authorise Caja Mediterráneo to screen a mini-montage of their film (maximum length 3 minutes) for promotional purposes.

The Organisation will retain copies of the two main winning entries - the Caja Mediterráneo Prize and the Elche City Council prize - in their original format. These copies will only be used for activities of a socio-cultural nature staged by the Festival Organisers or by Caja Mediterráneo.

The Return of 35 mm Shorts:
As previously stated, the 35 mm shorts that were selected but did not win will be returned to the address provided in the entry form for this purpose as of Friday 31st July 2009.
For entries to be sent to a different address, which must nevertheless be within the same country of origin, the Organisation must be informed in writing before the 20th July.

The Organisation is insured for the copies while these remain in its possession. The insured amount may not exceed the cost of one copy in accordance with laboratory charges for standard copies.

The postage costs for submissions will be borne by the entrants and the return postage costs will be borne by the Organisation. The Organisation accepts no responsibility for the costs of forwarding any mail.

Participation in this competition implies the authorisation of the film-maker or production company for Caja Mediterráneo to exercise the reproduction rights on the intellectual property in order to use the short film for purposes of documentation and the potential release of a DVD featuring all the shorts that participate in this Festival. The film-maker or production company also grants the right to distribute said DVD free of charge. Likewise, for the purposes of promoting this Festival, the film-maker or production company authorises the right to publicly broadcast the submitted shorts, for their screening in socio-cultural promotion activities organised or sponsored by Caja Mediterráneo, including their internet broadcast on websites owned by this entity. In any case, Caja Mediterráneo will exercise these rights free of charge and without receiving any consideration, in order to publicise the short films participating in this Festival and to bring them to the attention of the greatest possible number of beneficiaries.

By entering the competition, participants fully accept these terms and conditions.

If you have any queries, or you would like further information, please call +34 902 365 735. Alternatively, you can send an email to festivalelche@cam.es or visit the Festival website at www.festivalcinelche.com and/or www.tucamon.es

KEY DATES for the 2009 edition