Indy Terms_

Silwerskermfees – Independent Films 2021: Terms & Conditions

Are you an established producer looking for an opportunity to develop and produce your film with funding from the Silwerskermfees (the “Festival”) and then premiere it at the 11th anniversary Silwerskermfees?

Now is your chance to be part of this exciting competition at the Festival and to stand a chance to be one of the participants chosen to receive a commission/pre-sale fund of R300 000.00 by the Festival in collaboration with kykNET. The actual number of participants will be determined by the Festival, but will not exceed five.

Film Criteria:

Open to any South African films, under 35 minutes in duration
Original, fresh concept with a unique difference in various genres such as Coming of Age, Edgy, Afrikaans, LGBTQ, Auteur, Festival Awards, Gender, Human Rights, Sexuality, Social Justice, Gender, Feminist, etc
Provocative, but yet broad audience appeal amongst digital viewers
Language: 80% authentic Afrikaans and other South African official languages for the remaining 20%

Entries open on 16 November 2021 and close on 14 January 2022
Entry fee: R500,00 per entry

How to enter:

Register on the Silwerskermfees website, namely https://silwerskermfees.co.za
Complete the entire entry form.
Upload your concept idea with a visual treatment and preliminary financial plans (for production of the film) electronically with your application form.
The size of the document uploaded may not exceed a maximum of 2gigs.
Pay the entry fee of R500,00 and submit.

Your entry implies a binding acceptance of the terms and conditions as per below:

Entries have to reach Silwerskerm/M-Net on or before 14 January 2022.
Entries that do not adhere to the submission requirements will not be accepted or considered. Any entries submitted after the closing date will not be considered, irrespective of the reason for such delay.
Applicants must be 18 years and older and the persons to be contacted by the organisers regarding their submissions.
Applicants must be citizens of the Republic of South-Africa at the time of submitting entries.
All communications submitted must be clearly identified with the title of the film as reference.
M-Net accepts no responsibility related to costs incurred on submitting the entry.
Each participant must ensure that all information supplied is complete and correct. M-Net and its affiliated companies are not responsible for any errors and/or omissions in any information received in reaction to the entry.
M-Net and its affiliated companies are not responsible for any submissions which had not been received by M-Net, be it within the specified time period or not, and irrespective of the reason for such non-receipt. M-Net and its affiliated companies will not be responsible for any problems or technical errors of any telephone networks or –lines, online computer systems, computer service providers or suppliers, computer hardware or software problems, traffic congestion (be it physical or on the internet, telephone lines, or any other service providers, website or any other device or medium), or any combination thereof, or any other technical or other problems not listed herein.
M-Net and its affiliated companies are not responsible for any loss or damage to a participant’s or any other person’s computer, cellular phone or other device used by the participant to enter and or submit or to obtain any material related to the applicant’s entry.
M-Net shall appoint a selection committee which shall select, from the submitted entries, the top concepts to be developed/produced further, which concepts shall not exceed five.
The selection committee shall select, and has the final say on, the top concepts which must be developed/produced in conjunction with M-Net. In this regard, no correspondence shall be exchanged with participants with respect to selections, apart from notifying those whose submissions are selected.
Successful entries will be announced at the Festival on the 26th of March 2022.
M-Net’s funding of the further development/production of each concept will not exceed R300 000.00 (the “M-Net Funding”). Such development/production and the M-Net Funding will take one of two models as follows:
1. Where the production budget does not exceed the M-Net Funding, it will be full funding with further development/production based on M-Net’s standard commissioning terms which include, without limitation: copyright and all other rights in the film produced being owned by M-Net; M-Net being able to exploit the film on any platform in perpetuity;
2. Where the production budget exceeds the M-Net Funding, the participant will source the shortfall from third party funders and M-Net’s rights will not be less favourable than the rights in terms of the standard M-Net pre-sale licensing arrangement, including without limitation: a 10 year license to M-Net throughout Africa and adjacent ocean islands; and the ability to sublicense the film to third parties throughout Africa and adjacent ocean islands. In this case, the M-Net Funding will be split as follows: (i) one third will be applied towards a license fee; and (ii) two thirds will be recoupable on terms set out in the agreement.
Unless the parties agree otherwise at conclusion of the agreement for the further development/production, the M-Net Funding will be paid in four equal instalments upon the fulfilment of the following milestones: (i) signature of the agreement in respect of further development; (ii) commencement of principal photography; (iii) commencement of post-production; and (iv) delivery of the film to M-Net.
After the delivery of the film to M-Net, a selection committee will determine whether the film is suitable for screening at the next Silwerskerm festival. The selection committee’s decision will be final. No further correspondence shall be exchanged in this regard. For suitable films, participants will be expected to sign M-Net’s standard licensing contract for such films setting out the terms of the screening.
Screening of films at the Festival will be scheduled by M-Net, at its discretion.
After the film has been delivered to M-Net, the participant shall be entitled to enter such film into known and established international film festivals – not local film festivals. If the film is officially selected to participate, M-Net will provide the participant with festival marketing support of R25 000.00.
Should a film be nominated for or win an international festival award, at the next festival, the participant will form part of a Short filmmaker festival workshop at the Festival to share their experience.
M-Net and its affiliated companies are not responsible for, and are indemnified from all liability, losses, injury, expense or damage of any nature, caused through negligence or any other reason, suffered by participants forth flowing from the participant’s entry under these terms and conditions, or due to any act or omission by M-Net or our affiliated companies in relation to these terms and conditions.
M-Net reserves the right to: (i) allow participation at the Festival or amendment of any other aspect thereof; (ii) postpone, suspend or cancel such participation for whatever reason M-Net may deem fit. In terms of such amendment, postponement, suspension or cancellation, the participants waive any rights, interests or expectations that they might have in relation to the entry and acknowledge that they will have no right of recourse against M-Net, its affiliated companies or third-party service providers.
In the event of any non-compliance with these terms and conditions by a participant, M-Net will, in addition to any legal recourse available –
1. automatically disqualify the participant; and
2. be entitled to claim any loss or damage it has suffered caused by the participant’s non-adherence to the agreement, including all legal costs (on an attorney-client scale) which M-Net may incur in any steps instituted against the participant.
The participant hereby indemnifies and holds M-Net and affiliated companies harmless against any liability, claims or damage suffered by any person as a result of the participant’s conduct.
For reference purposes “affiliated companies” means any other entity Controlling, Controlled by or under common Control with the M-Net. “Control” (including the terms “Controlling”, “Controlled by” and “under common Control with”) means the possession, direct or indirect, of the power to direct or cause the direction of the management and policies of an entity, whether through the ownership of voting securities, by contract or otherwise.
These terms and conditions will be interpreted and enforced in terms of the laws of the Republic of South Africa.