Regulations For the 9th Next Wave Awards  International Student Documentary Competition

I. About Next Wave Awards International Student Documentary Competition

Supported by GZDOC，Next Wave Awards is the top-level student documentary competition in China. It was established in 2014 and has been held for seven consecutive times. There are hundreds of colleges and universities at home and abroad participating in this competition every year. NEXT WAVE Awards Competition is the sub-unit of GZDOC Competition Section and open only to students(college students,undergraduate,postgraduate and doctoral students) works.

Next Wave Awards is committed to discovering the new generation of elite talents who can enlighten the wave of the industry. By offering Competition, Campus Screening Tour, Masterclass, Training Camp, Academic Forum and University Media Association，Next Wave Awards not only brings industrial insights to the students, but also allows them to learn deeply about production, marketing, distribution, and post-production. Passion, curiosity, determination, and perseverance, are the spirits that Next Wave Awards sheds spotlights on.

II. Date of Event

The 9th Next Wave Awards will be held simultaneously during GZDOC 2022.

III.Eligibility and Instruction

1.The film must have been completed no earlier than 1st, January, 2020;

2.The film submitted must be works created by registered students (college students,undergraduate,postgraduate) during their study in school. Films can be course assignments or graduation works completed under the guidance of tutors. The attachment of the director's student certificate (enrollment or graduation certificate issued officially by school) is required to be uploaded during the submission;

3. Open for 3 types of films:

-Documentary Feature: more than 40mins;

-Documentary Short: 40mins or less;

-Micro-documentary: 5mins or less.

4. Films that, in any version (including the re-edited version), had participated or been screened in previous editions are not eligible;

5. Advertising films, promotional films, and TV programs are not eligible;

6. Films must be subtitled in English or dubbed in English;

7. Films must not display any festival laurels won;

8. There will be no public screening of the film during the selection stage；

9. A confirmation email will be sent to the applicant automatically if the submission is successful.

IV.Submission Guidance

(i) Submission Deadline : September 20, 2022

(ii) Application process and required materials

Please register online at GZDOC official site,www.gzdoc.cn, click "Submission·Registration-Next Wave Awards" to complete the online submission form.

(iii) Required materials for film:

1. Online Screener:

-mov. / mp4.

-Vimeo link only.

-No less than 3 months validity of the link.

2.Trailer (Downloadable)

-mov. / mp4.

-Vimeo link only.

-No less than 3 months validity of the link.

3. Poster（1-3 pics）；

4. Stills（3-5 pics）；

5. Director(s) Headshot；

6. English Subtitles File（SRT or ASS is acceptable）

(iii) Registration fee

Free Entry

V. Awards

Best Feature Documentary (1)—awarded 10,000 CNY

Best Short Documentary (1)—awarded 10,000 CNY

Best Micro-documentary(1)—awarded 5000 CNY

Best Emerging Director(1)—awarded 10,000 CNY

Best Creative Expression(1)—awarded 10,000 CNY

Best Chinese Theme Documentary(1)—awarded 10,000 CNY

Special Jury Mention(3)—awarded 5000 CNY

Best Team(1)

* Above bonus are pre-tax.

VI.Selection Procedure

The selection procedure is divided into 3 stages: pre-selection, semi-final selection, and final vote. All the entries that apply to this section will be watched by our selection committee members to decide whether they can enter the next stage. The OC is responsible for setting up the Selection Committees and the Jury.

(i) Pre-selection

The Pre-selection Committee is responsible for selecting the longlist from all submissions. The longlists will be notified by email within 2-4 months after application, and the list will be announced on our official website.The longlist will be offered an e-certificate through email. Films not longlisted will not be notified separately.

(ii) Semi-final Selection

The Semi-final Selection Committee is responsible for selecting the shortlist from the longlist. The films shortlisted will be notified by email within 1-3 months after being longlisted, and the list will be announced on our official website. The shortlist will be posted a certificate and some festival souvenirs. Films not shortlisted will not be notified separately.

(iii)  Final Vote

Winners will be voted from the shortlist by the Jury, which will be announced at the Next Wave Awards Ceremony. The winner of each award will be offered an exquisite award trophy, an Award Certificate, Laurels, and festival souvenirs.

VII. Notification for Finalist&Winner

(i) Confirmation

The applicant shall reply and confirm within 2 working days after receiving the finalist notice (email from nextwave@gzdoc.cn) issued by the OC. Once the applicant confirms to accept the selection, it shall not withdraw the shortlisted films for any reason.

(ii) Promotion

The OC will provide the laurel logos with the shortlisted films and winners. The film must be presented in all subsequent publicity materials with the Next Wave Awards laurel logo.

For the winners of the Next Wave Awards, the closing credits of their next non-fiction films will include the mention that they have been made with the support of the Next Wave Awards.

VII. Statement

(i) The use of application information

1. The OC has the right to use the information provided in the application form during the whole selection procedure, and to publish it on the festival’s official platforms for promotion. Before publishing, we will contact the applicant for confirmation；

2. The applicant shall ensure that there is no dispute over copyright of the film, guarantee it has acquired the copyrights/authorizations from the copyright owners for the music, video, image and text contained and used in the films; ensure the original contents in the film do not violate the copyrights or legal rights of any other third parties. Any disputes, damages or compensations arising out of or in relation to the copyright infringement of the film shall be borne by its applicant. The OC reserves the right to disqualify any film with unauthorized copyrighted materials;

(ii) The update of application information

1. If the applicant wants to update any information, please contact nextwave@gzdoc.cn for inquires.

2. For any follow-up of the film, the OC will give priority to the submission contact. Please keep the mailbox accessible.

3. If there were any situations that are not specified above, the the OC  reserves all rights for the final explanation of the regulations.

Next Wave Awards International Student Documentary Competition Department

May,2022

E-mail: nextwave@gzdoc.cn