Contest Regulation

Cartoons on the Bay International Festival of Animation, Transmedia and Meta-Arts (hereinafter referred to as “Cartoons on the Bay” or “Festival“) is organised by Rai Com S.p.A. a single-member company, registered office at Via Umberto Novaro 18, 00195, ROMA (RM), Fiscal Code, VAT and registration with the Companies Register of Rome 12865250158, R.E.A. (Economic Administrative Index) no. RM – 949207, Share Capital Euro 10,320,000 fully paid-up, subject to management and coordination activities exercised by RAI-Radiotelevisione italiana S.p.A. (with registered office in Viale Giuseppe Mazzini 14, 00195 Roma (RM); FC and VAT 06382641006; hereinafter “RAI“) (hereinafter “Rai Com” or “Organiser”) and promoted by RAI to support and represent the panorama, the evolution and the new trends in the Media and Entertainment Sector.

To this end, a contest artistic event is also organised as part of Cartoons on the Bay, with the aim of awarding by an International Jury (as better identified in point 3 of this Regulation) of the so-called “Pulcinella Awards” that will go to the best works and/or professionalism identified (hereafter the “Contest“).

The 28th edition of Cartoons on the Bay will take place in Pescara from 29 May to 2 June 2024.

Any updates in relation to the venues, dates and modalities of the Festival will be communicated via the official festival website www.cartoonsbay.rai.it

The Contest will open on February 16^th and close on April 10^th 2024. The Organiser reserves the right to inform participants – via the modalities mentioned above – of the modification of one or more of the aforementioned dates.

•          The President of Cartoons on the Bay is the President of Rai Com;

•          The Artistic Director of Cartoons on the Bay, identified by Rai Com, takes care of, coordinates and determines the Festival guidelines;

•          The Editorial Board of Cartoons on the Bay has the task of assisting the Artistic Director in the realisation of the Festival;

•          The Pre-selection Jury of Cartoons on the Bay has the task of assisting the Artistic Director in choosing the products, among those entered in the Contest section/page on the website www.cartoonsbay.rai.it (and for the Feature Film section), that will be part of the Official Selection, determining among these the products in Contest (Nominations) and the products Out of Contest (International Panorama);

•          The International Jury of Cartoons on the Bay, composed of 5 (five) members chosen among professionals with proven experience in the world of animation, assigns the Pulcinella Awards to the products in Contest in the Official Selection;

•          The International Feature Film Jury, composed of a minimum of 3 (three) members chosen from among professionals with proven experience in the world of animation, assigns the Pulcinella Awards for the Best Feature Film in Contest and the Special Mentions (better identified below in point 7.1).

The Artistic Director, in his/her sole discretion: chooses the members of both the Editorial Committee and the Juries, who, in turn, carry out, in their sole discretion, the tasks and activities pertaining to their respective duties with regard to the selection of works and the choice of those to be awarded; he/she proceeds with any other awards envisaged by this Regulation.

•          Participation is restricted to works in animation, hybrid or live action of any nationality made in the years 2022, 2023 and 2024 in English or with English subtitles (except for works without dialogue);

•          The registration of works for Cartoons on the Bay is free of charge for all the sections in the Contest and takes place through the online registration of the work by completing the form available online on the Festival website – Contest section (www.cartoonsbay.rai.it) during the period from February 16^th 2024 to  April 10^th 2024 and by sending the materials to the Festival Offices by the deadlines and in the ways established by this Regulation. For participation in the Contest to be valid and effective, the online registration of the work shall take place no later than April 10^th 2024. If contest participants shall not meet the deadline, they will not be allowed to participate in the Contest.

For the Feature Film section, registration is carried out in the aforementioned manner, i.e. by registering on the Festival website – Contest section(www.cartoonsbay.rai.it) no later than April 10^th 2024. Those who are registered on the FilmFreeway platform, will have to register for the Contest in the same way, but will be able to submit materials directly via the FilmFreeway platform, again in the period February 16^th – April 10^th 2024.

It is understood that on the website www.cartoonsbay.rai.it and on the page dedicated to Cartoons on The Bay on the FilmFreeway platform, possible extensions for the registration and/or for the sending of materials may be indicated; it is not possible to withdraw the work entered after the deadline for registration has expired.

•          The sending of the materials is at the sole expense and charge of the person submitting the work; materials sent to the Festival Offices will not be returned; the use of these materials, including their contents, for the purposes of the Festival shall be understood to be exclusively free of charge, therefore no fees of any kind are envisaged for such use.

•          Works that have already been registered in previous editions of the Festival will not be taken into consideration, with the exception of successive seasons of TV Series and works previously registered in another category that have undergone different developments (in this case, it is the participant’s responsibility to give specific indication of this at the time of registration). Works that have already been nominated in the past in the Contest section (Nomination) may only be included in the Official Selection in the section Out of Contest (International Panorama) and, in this case, it is the responsibility of the participant to give specific indication to this effect in the registration form.

•          Registration of the work shall not guarantee accreditation to the Festival. Accreditation is free of charge and may be requested on the Festival website.

•          It is understood that the responsibility for the entry and participation of the work in the Festival is the sole responsibility of the subject proceeding with the registration; said subject indemnifies and guarantees the organisers and promoters of the Festival in relation to any claims and/or disputes that may be brought by third parties in this regard. Similarly, the subject proceeding with the registration undertakes to respect and enforce all the terms and conditions set out in this Regulation for such third parties, possible authors and/or participants in the realisation of the work.

•          In the event that technical or organisational reasons prevent, in whole or in part, the Festival from taking place in the manner and within the terms set out in this Regulation, Rai Com will take the appropriate measures by giving notice through the Festival website www.cartoonsbay.rai.it on which all information and updates on the Festival itself will also be available. Similarly, for the Feature Film section, all announcements and updates will be given on the Festival website.

Any requests for clarification or further information may be addressed to the Festival Offices by e-mail to the address entry.cartoonsbay@rai.it

5.1 First phase – Online registration

To register for the Festival, it is necessary to register the work online at www.cartoonsbay.rai.it in the “Contest” section no later than April 10^th 2024 (it is understood that possible extensions for registration may be indicated on the site). If contest participants shall not meet the deadline, they will not be allowed to participate in the Contest. At the end of the registration process, an e-mail will be sent confirming successful registration; if the e-mail is not received, please contact the Festival Offices at the address: entry.cartoonsbay@rai.it.

5.2 Second phase – Activation of personal users

The participant will receive a subsequent e-mail (which will be sent within an average time of one week after the completion of the First phase), which will communicate the username and password (credentials) with which to access the portal https://fileportal.rai.it to carry out the next phase. These credentials are strictly personal. If the e-mail is not received, please contact the following address: entry.cartoonsbay@rai.it.

5.3 Third phase – Submission of materials

No later than the date of April 14^th (it is understood that on the website www.cartoonsbay.rai.it possible extensions for sending the materials may be indicated), the materials shall be sent – in a single submission – all named with the title in English of the work and the “registration number” (Web ID), assigned at the end of the registration procedure (e.g. “121_ANNE’S ADVENTURES”), according to the procedure indicated below:

Through access to the portal https://fileportal.rai.it, a folder with the following materials shall be sent:

•          the video of the work in its entirety, in English or with English subtitles and without any watermark, with the specifications indicated below (for the interactive multimedia works category, the trailer shall be submitted):

            h264 codec mp4 container, 1080p bitrate resolution between 5 and 8Mbps, alternatively

            h264 codec mp4 container, 720p bitrate resolution between 4 and 6 Mpbs

•          3 representative images of the work without logos or titles at 300dpi with a resolution of 1920×1080 pixels;

•          Signed registration confirmation e-mail (entry form).

With specific reference to the Contest Category “Works in Interactive Animation” (better identified in 8.5 below), in addition to the above, a copy of the game shall be submitted for each of the platforms available in each version marketed.

With specific reference to the Feature Film Contest Category, for participants through the FilmFreeway platform, material may be submitted through the platform itself.

For the Feature Film Contest Category, following pre-selection, only participants selected in Contest will be asked to submit (at their own expense) the film in its entirety, in English or with English subtitles, in DCP format with CRU, possibly unencrypted or with KDM open for the entire duration of the Festival. The KDM shall be sent by e-mail with the title in English of the work and the “registration number” (Web ID), assigned at the end of the registration procedure (e.g. “121_ANNE’S ADVENTURES”), to the following address entry.cartoonsbay@rai.it; the film may not have watermarks; failure to send it will result in the exclusion of the work from the Contest.

For any anomalies in the content uploading procedure, please contact the following e-mail address: entry.cartoonsbay@rai.it

It is understood that, only in the event of proven reasons and by prior agreement with the Festival Offices, delivery of the aforementioned digital materials by traditional post may be authorised. This means sending the same materials with the same technical specifications on a hard disk/pen drive to be delivered by the deadline indicated above (the postmark will serve as proof) to the following address:

RAI COM S.p.A.

Cartoons on the Bay

Via Umberto Novaro 18

00195 – Rome, Italy

Tel +39 06 331 78032

The above characteristics shall be carefully checked before sending the materials. Materials sent to the Festival will not be returned. In the event of incomplete material or material not meeting the above requirements, the Festival may reserve the right to exclude the work from the selection.

If the materials submitted are – for any reason whatsoever – incomplete, do not comply with the specifications of the Regulation, are damaged and/or are not legible, the work shall not be deemed to have been entered and registered for the Contest, unless the participant, on the instructions of the Festival organisation, rectifies the case. The utmost care is therefore recommended when packing, packaging and shipping them. It is understood that the responsibility for the successful uploading of files or the arrival at destination of any consignments by traditional post remains with the applicant; for digital consignments, therefore, it is recommended to use a connection suitable for this purpose, with a bandwidth of not less than 20 Mbs

The Festival organisation will announce the results of the Official Selection in the dedicated section on the Festival website www.cartoonsbay.rai.it (alternatively, an e-mail may be sent to the proposing subject). Additional material, including multimedia, may be requested for works entered in the Contest (Nomination).

The Official Selection comprises works in Contest (Nomination) and works Out of Contest (International Panorama); in both sections, works are divided into the Contest Categories indicated in point 6.

7.1 WORKS IN CONTEST (NOMINATION)

Works in Contest (Nomination) are nominated for the Pulcinella Awards, which are presented during the Festival by the International Jury. This section includes 5 (five) works for each Contest Category (with the exception of the Feature Film Contest Category, for which the number of works in Nomination may vary at the discretion of the Artistic Director).

For each work in Contest (Nomination), the Festival provides:

•          online publication of the work file (with images, credits and synopsis) on the Festival website www.cartoonsbay.rai.it in the dedicated sections;

•          inclusion of the work file (as per the previous point) in the Festival’s official catalogue in printed, digital and/or online form on the Festival website www.cartoonsbay.rai.it (Festival Official Catalogue);

•          inclusion of the production and distribution companies of the works in the Festival Official Catalogue;

•          free inclusion of the work in the Festival Digital Video Library that may be viewed by all professionals present at the Festival (the Video Library service will be active for the duration of the Festival);

•          awarding of a participation Diploma, which will be sent after the end of the Festival in digital or paper version;

•          public screening of the work for non-commercial purposes during the Festival in relation to the Feature Film Contest Category and, at the sole discretion of the Artistic Director, any other categories;

•          possible inclusion of the work in the Festival Show-reel for related use, also for promotional purposes, by Rai Com and companies of the RAI Group in other contexts in the reference sector;

•          The right for the owners of the work to include the wording and/or logo of the Festival (and/or, in the case of an award winner, also the title of the award) in their promotional activities.

The Festival reserves the right to vary the visibility given to works on the basis of the organisational requirements of the current edition.

7.2 WORKS OUT OF CONTEST (INTERNATIONAL PANORAMA)

Works Out of Contest (International Panorama) offer a picture of the cultural, technological and industrial trends of the sector in the different geographical areas of the planet, with a special focus on the most innovative realities.

For each work Out of Contest (International Panorama), the Festival provides:

•          inclusion of the work file (with images, credits and synopsis) in the Festival Official Catalogue;

•          inclusion of the production and distribution companies in the Festival Official Catalogue;

•          free inclusion of the work in the Festival Digital Video Library that may be viewed by all professionals present at the event (the Video Library service will be active for the duration of the Festival).

The Festival organiser reserves the right to vary the visibility given to works on the basis of the organisational requirements of the current edition.

The Official Selection is divided into the following Contest Categories:

• PRESCHOOL TV SHOW (2-4 yo)
• UPPER PRESCHOOL SHOW (4-6 yo)
• KIDS TV SHOW (7-11 yo)
• YOUTH TV SHOW (11+ yo)
• INTERACTIVE ANIMATION
• LIVE ACTION AND/OR HYBRID SHOW
• TV PILOTS
• SHORT FILMS
• ANIMATED FEATURE FILM

The Festival organisation reserve the right to move a work by category following registration if they deem it appropriate. It will be the task of the organisation to give appropriate notice of this at the pre-selection phase.

8.1    TV SERIES

Categories reserved for animated TV Series are divided by target audience:

• Preschool – 2 to 4 yo
• Upper Preschool – 4 to 6 yo
• Kids – 7 to 11 yo

The following guidelines shall be followed:

Only one episode per TV series shall be submitted, chosen at the discretion of the proposing company.

For TV series whose episodes last less than 1 minute, three episodes shall be submitted.

8.2    LIVE ACTION TELEVISION SERIES AND/OR HYBRIDS

TV series dedicated to children and young people exclusively or partially realised through live action techniques.

8.3    TV SERIES PILOTS

The pilots and zero episodes of animated TV series – which represent a comprehensive narrative synthesis with the technical, artistic and content characteristics of the intended series – shall necessarily be entered in the TV Series Pilots category and not in the other categories divided by target audience.

8.4      YOUTH

This category includes television series (live action and/or hybrids and animated series) intended for an audience over the age of 11.

8.5     WORKS IN INTERACTIVE ANIMATION

All fiction and/or documentary Works with an interactive and video game character, aimed at entertainment and/or educational, information and artistic promotion, with commercial, educational and/or research and experimental purposes. 

8.6    SHORT FILMS

Animated short films with the appropriate technical, artistic and narrative characteristics for possible, and desirable, television programming. The aim of this category is to promote the broadcasting of short animated films in broadcasters’ programming.

8.7   FEATURE FILMS

Animated feature films with the following technical, artistic and narrative characteristics: animated feature film with a minimum length of 40 minutes; characters created using a frame-by-frame technique; work consisting of a minimum of characters and animation not less than 75% of the total length of the work (the Motion Capture technique alone will not be considered valid).

. 9.1    PULCINELLA AWARDS

The International Jury awards the following among the works in Contest (Nomination) per Contest Category:

•          Pulcinella Award Best Preschool TV Show (2-4 yo)

•          Pulcinella Award Best Upper Preschool Show (4-6 yo)

•          Pulcinella Award Best Kids TV Show (7- 11 yo)

•          Pulcinella Award Best Youth TV Show (11+)

•          Pulcinella Award Best Interactive Animation

•          Pulcinella Award Best Live action and/or Hybrid Show

•          Pulcinella Award Best TV Pilot

•          Pulcinella Award Best Short Film

The International Feature Film Jury awards the following from among the works in Contest for the Feature Film category:

•          Pulcinella Best Animated Feature

And the following Special Mentions for works in Contest in the Feature Film category:

•          Best Screenplay

•          Best Director

•          Best Animation

•          Best Soundtrack

The Artistic Director, in agreement with the members of the Editorial Board, is entitled to award the following Special Awards:

•          Pulcinella Career Award

•          Pulcinella Award Studio of the Year

•          Pulcinella Special Award

•          Pulcinella Transmedia Award

•          Pulcinella Meta Award

•          Pulcinella Arlecchino Award

The Artistic Director, in collaboration with UNICEF, will award the following Special Award:

“Special Award for the Best Product with a Social Character” chosen from all the categories in the contest

Works submitted to Cartoons on the Bay will be treated confidentially. It is understood that by registering the work online and sending the material to the Festival organisation, those who do so:

•          authorise Rai Com and the RAI Group to use the work entered as part of the various initiatives of the Festival and through its media, during or outside the Festival;

•          authorise Rai Com and the RAI Group to use the work entered to promote the Festival and its subsequent editions in any context;

•          authorise Rai Com and the RAI Group to use the work also on platforms, websites etc. of possible partners of the Festival and/or platforms of the RAI Group and give specific consent for those uses and exploitations of the works entered (and presentation material etc.) that the Organiser may define and implement at its discretion for the purposes of the Festival and its future editions;

•          authorise Rai Com and the RAI Group to use extracts from the work entered for journalistic and promotional purposes of the Festival and its subsequent editions;

•          guarantee that they are legitimately authorised to use the work, and that therefore, participation in the Festival and any use by Rai Com and the RAI Group in the context of the Festival and its related initiatives, will not be in violation of third-party rights, expressly indemnifying Rai Com and the RAI Group from any damage or claim, none excepted, that may be caused to them, also regarding the title of the work;

•          guarantee, in civil and criminal law terms, the lawfulness of the content and form of the work;

•          guarantee that they are the author or in any case the owner of all the rights of exploitation of the work required by this Regulation and of its various constituent elements, indemnifying Rai Com and the RAI Group from any third-party claims in this regard;

•          acknowledge that the work included in the Official Selection may be presented by the organisers of the Festival in its various forms, including in excerpts, and related processing (e.g. in clips or trailers) during the Festival and its subsequent editions (inter alia: during the professional programme; during viewing in the Video Library; through a public screening for non-commercial purposes);

In particular, pursuant to this Regulation, the work may be used for: screenings to professionals accredited to the Festival and/or to a wider audience during the Festival; for other promotional/advertising uses inherent to and connected with the Festival (and its subsequent editions);

•          authorise the use of the work for the purpose of viewing by international buyers and distributors in the Video Library;

•          authorise the use of the work – and of all related materials and information provided to the Festival at the time of registration (inter alia: trailers, digital videos, photos, materials and various data/information) – for the realisation and/or production of information and marketing materials in relation to the Festival (and its subsequent editions), for example for bilingual (ITA / ENG) publications related to the Festival. To this end, it is specified that the materials of the work may also be translated and/or reworked in relation to their length according to communication needs.

It is understood that it is in the discretion of Rai Com to suspend, interrupt, postpone and/or cancel the Event and/or the Contest without any objection being raised by the participants and those who entered the works. Rai Com shall also have the right to amend this Regulation, even after publication thereof, undertaking to inform those concerned in due time.

Should technical or organisational reasons prevent, in whole or in part, the holding of the Event from taking place in the manner and within the terms provided for by this Regulation, Rai Com will take the appropriate measures by notifying the Contest participants by e-mail.

Contest participants acknowledge and accept that the entry of a work in the Contest and any subsequent participation in the Event entails the following:

•          full acceptance of this Regulation and the total respect of all the indications contained therein and in the possible integrations on the Festival website cartoonsbay.rai.it; acceptance of the work and of the unquestionable judgement of the Representative Figures with express waiver of recourse against both Rai Com, the RAI Group and the Representative Figures;

•          acknowledgement and awareness of the general ethical principles of honesty and observance of the law, pluralism, professionalism, impartiality, fairness, confidentiality, transparency, diligence, loyalty and good faith, as well as of the contents of the RAI Group Code of Ethics (hereinafter the “Code of Ethics”) and of the Organisation, Management and Control Model pursuant to Legislative Decree 231/2001 of RAI and Rai Com (hereinafter each individually referred to as the “Model”), as well as the RAI and Rai Com Three-year Corruption Prevention Plan, having clearly, fully and exactly acknowledged them, in their entirety and in every single part, as available through telematic link to the following websites: https://www.raicom.rai.it/statuto-e-normative/

•          declaration of acknowledgement and awareness of the content of the personal data processing policy drafted by Rai Com pursuant to art. 13 of Reg. (EU) no. 2016/679 and of the privacy regulations in force, referred to on the registration form – under the terms of this Regulation – by Rai Com and/or third companies appointed by Rai Com, including the Companies of the RAI Group.

BRIEF POLICY* PURSUANT TO ART. 13 OF REG. (EU) 2016/679 (“GDPR”) AND CURRENT PRIVACY REGULATIONS

Rai Com S.p.A. (hereinafter referred to as “Rai Com” for brevity), in its capacity as Data Controller, informs that the personal data provided directly by each data subject – when registering for the Contest, when sending the material and/or in order to participate in the Festival – will be used exclusively for the purposes set out in this Regulation or to enable participation in the Festival and/or the Contest (including activities deriving from the outcome of the Contest itself). The processing carried out is lawful insofar as it is necessary to allow the Data Controller to manage the data subject’s registration in the Contest and eventual participation in the Festival, subject to the data subject’s acknowledgement and acceptance of this Regulation (art. 6.1.(b) of the GDPR).

. Failure to provide the aforementioned personal data shall not allow participation in the Contest and/or the Festival.

Personal data may be processed by Rai Com and/or third companies appointed, including the Companies of the RAI Group – manually and/or by electronic means – for the purposes set out in this Regulation. Data subjects may exercise their rights under articles 15 et seq. of the GDPR and current privacy regulations, including the right to obtain the deletion, updating, rectification and integration of data, as well as to oppose, for legitimate reasons, the processing thereof. These rights may be exercised by contacting: Rai Com S.p.A., Via Umberto Novaro, 18 – 00195 Rome, e-mail: privacy.raicom@rai.it. The Data Protection Officer may be contacted at the following address: dporaicom@rai.it.

*The extended policy may be viewed at https://cartoonsbay.rai.it/, clicking on the “Policy” link at the bottom of the “Registration form”.