Festival Internacional de Animación Ajayu - Perú ()

Festival start: 02 October 2024      Festival end: 05 October 2024

The 9th Ajayu International Animation Festival is a cultural event organized by Sapa Inti Studios and the Ajayu Cinematographic Association. For the ninth consecutive year, it stands as the only animation festival in Peru, carrying out hybrid film and educational activities from the highest point of the Peruvian highlands to the world.

This event, which also includes various cultural activities, has become a crucial event for the Animation industry in our country over the years, also promoting the cultural and tourist industry in the southern region of Peru. Additionally, through our in-person activities, we aim to boost tourism in our region by creating a tourist route with a cultural and historical focus.

This year's festival will take place from October 2 to October 5, 2024, renewing the commitment to showcase the artistic expression of animation.

Participants include artists from the animated audiovisual field and other disciplines, from the Puno region, Peru, and various countries around the world, who through their expression make each edition a contemporary Andean experience.

Cash Prizes: 900$

The awards will be divided as follows:

- Ajayu Grand Prize of the Jury (Trophy and digital certificate).

- Best International Animated Short Film (Trophy and digital certificate).

- Best Peruvian Animated Short Film (Economic Prize with a cash sum of three thousand soles - S/. 3,000,000 -, Trophy, and digital certificate).

- Best Latin American Animated Short Film (Trophy and certificate).

- Best Thesis or Graduation Animated Short Film (digital certificate).

- Best Animated Feature Film (Trophy and digital certificate).

- Best Animated Series (Trophy and digital certificate).

- Audience Award (digital certificate).

- Special Mentions of the Jury (digital certificate).

I. PARTICIPANTS

Individuals over 18 years of age from any nationality can participate, either individually or collectively, except for the "Short Films Made by Children" category, where individuals under 18 years of age will be considered.

Productions in languages other than Spanish must include subtitles in .SRT or .pdf format in Spanish and/or english.

Each participant can submit up to three works.

Registration is free for the categories: Peruvian Short Films, Latin American Short Films, and Feature Films from any country throughout the call for entries.

Animated productions that have been part of the Official Selection in competition or exhibition in previous editions of the AJAYU Festival will be automatically disqualified.

Animated projects completed after May 30th, 2021, are eligible to participate.

II. RECEPTION deadlineS

The reception period will be from June 3 to August 31, 2024, until 11:59 pm (Peru time). Projects submitted after the deadline will not be considered unless the organization decides to extend the call for entries.

The following deadlines will be considered:

-Early Registration: until July 3, 2024.

-Regular Registration: from July 4 to August 4, 2024.

-Late Registration: from August 5 to August 31, 2024.

III. COMPETITIVE AND EXHIBITION CATEGORIES

3.1. Categories in COMPETITION:

International Animated Short Films.

Peruvian Animated Short Films.

Latin American Animated Short Films.

Thesis or Graduation Animated Short Films.

Animated Feature Films.

Animated Series.

3.2. Categories in EXHIBITION:
Short Films Made by Children (Ajayito).
Productions selected by the festival.

- Considerations:

Productions can compete in only one category.

Short films must not exceed 20 (twenty) minutes.

Feature films must be longer than 60 (sixty) minutes.

For series, only one episode can be selected, which must not exceed 30 (thirty) minutes.

For the International Animated Short Films category, only works that do not belong to Latin America and Peru are accepted.

The decision to project works out of competition will depend on the organization.

The best productions can compete for the Ajayu Grand Prize, the most prestigious recognition of the festival.

Productions selected for exhibition can compete for the Audience Award (in-person screenings).

IV. REGISTRATION

Works can only be submitted online through application platforms, and the links can be found on our website: www.ajayufest.com.

V. COMPETITION CONDITIONS

The received animated productions may be used for promotional purposes of the Festival (using parts of the video, not its entirety; teasers or trailers may also be used).

The individuals responsible for the submission as directors, producers, and/or distributors must have the rights to the submitted work and agree not to present audiovisual materials and/or photographs for which they do not have usage rights.

The Festival organization is not responsible for the works or any misuse of intellectual property rights by the authors.

VI. PRESELECTION

The preselection process will be as follows:

After the submission deadline, the received material will be preselected by the Programming Team designated by the Festival's organizing committee.

The official selection is divided as follows:

Official Selection in Competition:

Official Selection of International Short Films.

Official Selection of National (Peruvian) Short Films.

Official Selection of Latin American Short Films.

Official Selection of Thesis or Graduation Short Films.

Official Selection of the Ajayu Grand Prize for Short Films.

Official Selection of Feature Films.

Official Selection of Animated Series.

Official Selection in Exhibition:

Official Selection of Short Films Made by Children (Ajayito).

Productions selected by the Festival Organization.

Following the preselection process, a list of preselected works will be compiled before the publication of results, and the selected participants will be notified by email on September 15th, 2024. It is important to note that the PRESELECTED participants must fill out and sign an AUTHORIZATION form (which will be sent to the provided email), confirming their participation and authorizing the screening of their work during the festival days on all authorized platforms, both in-person and virtual, as well as in future itinerant exhibitions. For virtual platforms showcasing the works, directors will have the option to choose geolocation.

Sending this authorization form is a mandatory requirement to be part of the Official Selection 2024.

VII. SELECTED WORKS
The animated production that has been chosen as part of the Festival's Official Selection must provide:

One or two still images from the short film with a minimum quality of 300 dpi.
A photograph of the director(s) (optional).

An image of the short film poster or a still image (optional).

A trailer or teaser (optional).

The director and/or producer of the animated production AUTHORIZE its inclusion in AJAYU's video library and itinerant exhibitions, virtual screenings, for reproduction, public communication, and exhibition of their work in exclusive free exhibitions of the festival aimed at audience development, which will take place on the website www.ajayufest.com, through CINE AJAYU, with prior registration and password during the festival days. For virtual platforms showcasing the works, directors will have the option to choose geolocation.

VIII. Awards

The awards will be divided as follows:
Ajayu Grand Prize of the Jury (Trophy and digital certificate).

Best International Animated Short Film (Trophy and digital certificate).

Best Peruvian Animated Short Film (Economic Prize with a cash sum of three thousand soles - S/. 3,000,000 -, Trophy, and digital certificate).

Best Latin American Animated Short Film (Trophy and certificate).

Best Thesis or Graduation Animated Short Film (digital certificate).

Best Animated Feature Film (Trophy and digital certificate).

Best Animated Series (Trophy and digital certificate).

Audience Award (digital certificate).

Special Mentions of the Jury (digital certificate).

IX. EVALUATION

The Competition categories (See section VI) will be evaluated by renowned specialists in cinema and animation.

The Audience Award will apply to the productions in general that are in competition and will be determined by votes during in-person screenings throughout the Festival.

Special Mentions are at the discretion of the judging panel and the organization, and if awarded, they will be screened in future itinerant exhibitions

X. JURY

The Jury will be established by the organization and will consist of distinguished personalities from the cinema and animation industry, who will decide the awards in the competitive categories.

The Jury's decision is final, and awards may be declared vacant if they do not meet the quality standards set by the jury or if a consensus is not reached.

XI. PUBLICATION OF FINAL RESULTS

The Official Selection in Competition and Exhibition will be announced on September 22th, 2024, on the website www.ajayufest.com and the Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/ajayufest. The corresponding laurels will be sent via email.

XII. AWARD CEREMONY

The award ceremony will take place during the closing day of the Festival on October 5th, 2024. Winners can include the received award and the Festival's laurel in the opening credits of their work.

XIII. ACCEPTANCE OF THE TERMS

Participation in this Festival implies acceptance of these terms. The absence of any important information in the registration, as well as the failure to submit the required materials and comply with the established deadlines, may result in the non-participation of the corresponding work in the Festival.