Snapdragon Shorts Award

If you’re shortlisted, you are required to submit the below by 31 July 2027:

a) Independently create a short film (5 to 20 minutes) using the tech equipment provided by Snapdragon before 31 July 2027

b) A 30 second, social media-ready trailer used to promote your film

c) Independently document the creative process (pre-production, production and post-production) and produce a “behind the scenes” 30 - 60 second video reel featuring the use of the toolkit provided in the making of the film e.g. pre-visualization, storyboarding, limited VFX enhancements
 

The Sony Future Filmmaker Awards supports creators in order to protect the image rights of all artists.

The Snapdragon Shorts Award is an initiative within the Sony Future Filmmaker Awards providing additional opportunities and global exposure for shortlisted filmmakers.

Five entrants are selected for the Snapdragon Shorts Award and are selected from the Sony Future Filmmaker Awards’ shortlist.

By entering the Sony Future Filmmaker Awards entrants must agree to the competition terms and conditions.
In being selected for the Snapdragon Shorts Award, entrants must agree to the additional competition terms below for the Snapdragon Shorts Award.

SNAPDRAGON SHORTS AWARD
CONTEST
COMPETITION RULES

Definitions:

“Competition” The Snapdragon Shorts Award contest as set out in clause 1, 2 and 3 below

"Competition Rules" The rules of the Competition as set out in this document

“Entry” Each video submitted into the Competition as set out in clause 2 below

“Entrant” The five individual filmmakers selected for the Competition

“Event Partners” Companies that serve as Partners to the Promoter for the Competition; for the avoidance of doubt Event Partners include but is not limited to Sony Corporation,

"Judges" A panel of judges appointed by the Promoter.

“Principle Competition” The Sony Future Filmmaker Awards’ Fiction, Non-Fiction, Animation, Student and Immersive categories

"Prize" The prizes awarded for the overall winner and Shortlisted Entrants

"Terms and Conditions" The terms governing the access to and use of www.sonyfuturefilmmakerawards.com, accessible at www.sonyfuturefilmmakerawards.com

In these Competition Rules:

(a) the singular includes the plural and vice versa and the use of any gender includes the other genders; and
(b) any phrase introduced by the terms “including” or “in particular”, or any similar expression, shall be construed as illustrative and not limiting of any preceding words.

1.1 By entering the Competition You hereby accept these Competition Rules and the Terms and Conditions. Any capitalised terms that are not defined in these Competition Rules shall have the same meaning as given in the Terms and Conditions. These Competition Rules and the Terms and Conditions shall together be the "Official Rules".

1.2.1 The Competition is free to enter.

1.2.2 The Competition is open to all entrants to the Principle Competition, except:
employees of Promoter or its holding or subsidiary companies; or
employees of agents or suppliers of Promoter or its holding or subsidiary companies, who are professionally connected with the competition or its administration.

1.2.3 All entries to the Principle Competition will be automatically considered for the Competition

1.2.3.1 Entrants are able to opt-out for consideration

1.2.4 Five (5) Entrants to the Competition will be selected by a panel of judges from the shortlist of the Sony Future Filmmaker Awards

1.3 Each Entrant shall be notified that they have been selected for the Competition by 26th February 2027.

1.3.1 Each Entrant shall be required to acknowledge and agree to these Competition terms.

1.4 By entering the Competition, You agree and acknowledge that the Promoter is permitted to receive Your registration data. All personal information will be used by the Promoter in accordance with its Privacy Policy.

1.5 The promoter of the Competition is Creo Arts Group Limited of 9 Manchester Square, London, W1U 3PL, United Kingdom (the "Promoter").

2. ALL Entrants understand that if selected, they will submit an Entry before 31st July 2027 which shall comprise:

a) Independently create a short film using the tech equipment provided by Snapdragon.
b) Independently document the creative process (pre-production, production and post-production) and produce a 30 - 60 second video reel. The video reel must show the use of the tech equipment provided by Snapdragon during the process; inclusive of a software with AI functions for e.g. pre-visualization, storyboarding, limited VFX enhancements.
c) A 30 second, social media-ready trailer used to promote your film

2.1 Prizes for all Entrants to the Competition include: an array of tech equipment provided by Snapdragon, an additional day in LA and a demonstration of the tech equipment during the workshop program.

2.1.2 Entrants will receive a "Produced with Snapdragon" production document and an optional support session with entertainment and tech producers provided upon request during the film creation process.

2.1.3. In receiving the tech kit each Entrant shall be required to create their Entry and submit their Entry.  If an Entrant is not able to fulfil the obligations under these Competition terms the Entrant shall be required to return the tech kit at their own cost.

2.2. All Entrants must be able to supply a high-resolution Entry with resolution of 1080 pixels ProRes HQ MOV and a minimum of 24 frames per second.

2.3 Each Entry must be submitted as a streamable link to the Promoter via email.

2.4 Filmmakers will be contacted by email to ratify Entry to the Competition and arrange for the awarding of the Prizes as soon as reasonably practicable, using the contact details provided with the entry to the Principle Competition. If the Promoter does not hear from the Entrant by the date specified in any correspondence and is therefore not able to ratify the Entry, that Entrant will be disqualified and replaced by another Entrant.

3.1 A winner will be selected, in August 2027, from Entrants by a Jury and announced during the Snapdragon Summit in Maui, Hawaii.

3.1.1The Promoter will publish the surname and country of Entrants, winners and their winning Entries.

3.2 Prizes for Competition winner include: an all-expenses-paid trip to the Snapdragon Summit in Maui, Hawaii for an official announcement and film premiere, distribution through the Snapdragon social channels, an invitation to join the Snapdragon Studios Preferred Affiliate Program as well as Snapdragon Insiders.

3.3 The Winning Entry shall be released on SD channels.

3.4 The decision of the Judges and the Promoter is final and no negotiation will be entered into with respect to any such decision.

4.1 The Promoter reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to disqualify and remove any entry that does not comply with the following requirements, even after the entry is submitted on the Website. You warrant and represent, in respect of each entry submitted by Entrants (“Entry”), as follows:

4.1.1 You are the sole owner and author of each Entry.

4.1.2 You have the right to make Your Entry available to the Competition.

4.1.2.1. To enter any of the six categories you must hold the ownership rights and/or have the permission of the rights holder to the film you are submitting. The Promoter reserves the right to demand appropriate proof of these rights and to reject the submission upon failure to provide it. 

4.1.3 Each Entry does not contain any infringing, threatening, false, misleading, abusive, harassing, libellous, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, scandalous, inflammatory, pornographic or profane content.

4.1.4 Each Entry does not contain any material that could constitute or encourage conduct which would be considered a criminal offence, give rise to civil liability, or otherwise violate any law.

4.1.5 Each Entry does not infringe upon the copyrights, trademarks, contract rights, or any other intellectual property rights of any third person or entity, or violate any person’s rights of privacy or publicity, including:

4.1.5.1 trademarks owned by third parties.

4.1.5.2 copyrighted materials owned by third parties (including movie dialogue or musical compositions).

4.1.5.3 Entries that contain any commercial content that promotes any product or service other than that of the Promoter.

4.1.6 No animals were harmed, manipulated or distressed in the making of the Entry.

This includes, but is not limited to:

a) Deliberately disturbing or provoking an animal to capture a reaction
b) Using tape lures or decoys to attract animals or trigger a behaviour
c) Live baiting of any kind
d) Using flash on nocturnal birds
e) Failing to adhere to applicable laws, rules and permissions when working with wildlife and in natural environments, for example with protected species or protected environments.

4.1.7 Drone usage must comply with the laws, rules, and permissions of the country in which the video was taken. The Promoter may request proof of permissions where applicable.

4.1.8 All archival images or videos must be used with the required permissions. Usage of archival images must be stated in the description.

4.1.9 Each Entry complies by the terms and conditions of any 3rd party platform used in hosting the Entry as set out in clause 2.

4.1.10 All Entries must originate from and be directed by an accredited person in the crew.

4.1.10.1 Each Entry may incorporate the use of various experimental and digital processes across different stages of the film’s production.

4.1.10.2 If AI assisted in creating any elements of the film this must be clearly stated in the entry process and include exact details and timestamps.

4.2 You agree to fully indemnify the Promoter and/or its Event Partners in respect of all royalties, fees and any other monies owing to any person by reason of Your breaching any of the foregoing.

4.3 You confirm that each person depicted in the Entry has granted permission to be portrayed as shown. Any costumes, props or other materials used must be rented or borrowed with the permission of the owner, and all other relevant permissions must have been obtained.

4.4 You acknowledge that the Promoter reserves all rights to disqualify You if Your conduct is contrary to the spirit or intention of the Competition or otherwise not in accordance with these Competition Rules.

5.1 If you are under 18, you have Your parent’s or legal guardian’s consent to participate in the Competition.

5.2 If the Promoter does not receive a valid signed parental or legal guardian consent form for any shortlist under the age of 18 within 7 clear days of the Entrant being declared a winner (excluding the day on which such declaration is made by the Promoter) the Promoter will be entitled to select an alternative winner from among the Entrants.

6. The Promoter may run an online rating process whereby members of the public may vote for a favourite Entry. If there is sufficient evidence (in the Promoter’s sole discretion) to suggest malpractice and manipulation of the rating process by an Entrant, then the Promoter has the right to remove the relevant Entry and, if necessary, award the Prize to a different Entrant. The Promoter’s decisions are final.

7.1 The Promoter recognises the author of each Entry retains full ownership of the copyright in such Entry.

7.2 All Entrants understand that any Entry submitted to the competition may be used by the Promoter, and its Event Partners, for marketing and promotional purposes of You the Entrant and the Competition only, for a maximum of three years after the Announcement Date. Entrant grants the Promoter and its Event Partners a non-exclusive, irrevocable, sub-licensable licence in each Entry throughout the world for three years in all media for any use connected to the promotion of You the author and the Sony Future Filmmaker Awards Contest event and/or competition, including, but not limited to:

(a) judging the Competition
(b) displaying the trailer of the winning, shortlist and commended Entry at public screenings promoting You the author and the Sony Future Filmmaker Awards Contest
b(i) if an opportunity arises to display the winning, shortlist or commended Entry at public screenings promoting You the author and the Sony Future Filmmaker Awards Contest, the Promoter will ask for You the author’s permission
(c) inclusion within the Website, or similar
(d) inclusion within any materials in any media promoting the Competition and / or any exhibition organised by the Promoter and/or its Event Partners, in the promotion of the Promoter and/or its Event Partners
(e) sub-licensing the Entry to the press for reproduction in connection with the Competition and any screening
(f) allowing viewers of the Website and/or Event Partners websites to view Entries on a computer screen, PDA or mobile telephone and store such pages in electronic form on disk or on a PDA or mobile telephone (but not on any server or other storage device connected to a network) for their personal, non-commercial use only. Please also refer to clause 9.
(g) displaying the winning Entry at the Award Ceremony

7.3 All Entrants understand that the Entrant’s information, including Entry name and description, may be shared with Event Partners and media as per clause 7.1, 7.2 and 8.

7.4 All entrants are required to enter under their correct names, and all entrants are responsible for providing this information accurately. The Competition is structured around providing opportunities and exposure to individual filmmakers  and as such we do not award anonymously or accept pseudonyms.

8. Any Entry used by the Promoter or its Event Partners shall carry a credit line. Any failure to provide such credit line shall not be deemed to be a breach, as long as the Promoter or its Event Partners uses its reasonable endeavours to rectify such failure within a reasonable period from the date of notice of such failure.

9. The Promoter assumes no responsibility for any incorrect, inaccurate or incomplete information, whether caused by website users or by any of the equipment or programming associated with or utilised in the Competition, and the Promoter assumes no responsibility for technical, hardware or software failures of any kind, for lost network connections, garbled computer transmissions, other problems or technical malfunctions with regard to the Competition. The Promoter assumes no responsibility for any error, omission, corruption, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operation or transmission, communications line failure, theft or destruction or unauthorized access to or alteration of Entry. The Promoter is not responsible for any problems or technical malfunction of any telephone network or lines, computer on-line systems, servers, computer equipment, software, failure of any e-mail addressed to the Promoter on account of technical problems, human error or traffic congestion on the internet or any website, or any combination thereof, including any injury or damage to Your or any other person's computer related to or resulting from participation or downloading any materials in the Competition. If for any reason a contestant’s entry cannot be viewed or is not capable of running as planned, including infection by computer viruses, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud or technical failures, the Promoter assumes no responsibility.

10. Each Entrant releases and holds harmless the Promoter, the Event Partners, and their respective parents, subsidiaries, affiliates, officers, directors, shareholders, employees and agents (the “Released Parties”) from any loss, damage, personal injury or death occurring as a result of taking up the Prize won except where it is caused by the negligence of the Released Parties. Each Entrant agrees to indemnify and hold the Released Parties 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 Released Parties due to or arising out of your Entry or your conduct in creating an Entry, including but not limited to: claims for trademark infringement; copyright infringement; violation of an individual’s right of publicity or right of privacy; or defamation.

11. You agree to participate in related publicity and to the use of Your name and likeness for the purposes of advertising, promotion and publicity without additional compensation.

12.1 The workshop program will be conducted in English with no translation available.

12.2 Valid Visas to the US are needed to attend the ceremony and workshop program. It is the responsibility of the Entrant to acquire their own visa. The Promoter is not responsible for the Entrant’s visa application.

12.2 Entrants receive tech equipment as part of the prize.. It is the Entrants responsibility to pay any income taxes related to the Prize in compliance with their own country’s law. In such cases the winner agrees to indemnify and keep the Promoter, its parents, affiliates or partners indemnified against any tax liability, charges, fines, penalties or interest or any other liability incurred by the winner which liability arose as a result of Prizes provided to the winner. 

12.3 There are no cash alternatives available for Prize winners.

13.1 If there is any reason to believe that there has been a breach of these Official Rules, the Promoter may, at its sole discretion, reserve the right to exclude You from participating in the Competition.

13.2 The Promoter reserves the right to hold void, suspend, cancel, or amend the Competition where it becomes necessary to do so.

13.3 These Competition Rules shall be governed by English law, and the parties submit to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.