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Festival start: 21 September 2022      Festival end: 25 September 2022

The Włodzimierz Puchalski International Nature Festival, with its motto ” The promotion of European nature and landscape” is not only the biggest presentation of nature films in Poland, but above all, it is a great festival of ecologists, filmmakers- naturalists, photographers and painters, who are aware of the issues of the present world and the nature surrounding us. The Festival has been held every second year in Lodz since 1980, and in 2001 it changed its status to international.

The goal of the Festival is promoting Polish and international nature films, evaluation of the present state and future prospects of the nature film development, defining the possibilities of using nature films in educating the young and honouring the most valuable films and TV programs dealing with nature issues. The films which participate in the Festival are short or medium – length, dealing with problems of nature, environment protection, the coexistence of man and nature, and related topics.

The main prize of the Festival is Włodzimierz Puchalski Grand Prix for the best film participating in the competition. The total amount of the festival prizes is € 12,000.
The Festival is known internationally. The Selection Committee receives films from all over the world. Producers and filmmakers, as well as organizers of film festivals from many countries arrive in Lodz during the Festival film competition.

The Włodzimierz Puchalski International Nature Festival belongs to the ECOMOVE International organization, which has been formed for nature film festivals from Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Russia, Portugal, Japan and Italy, thus promoting Polish cinematography, especially this particular branch – the nature film.

Apart from competition viewings the Festival offers various, unique accompanying events. The participants of the Festival take part in photography and picture previews with talks, meetings discussing the presented films or field trips where they can see what is done in real life to save the environment. The workshops conducted during the Festival aim to teach the youth how to express their emotions and knowledge, how to use various artistic means of expression : there are photography, film and art classes.

The Festival is named after Włodzimierz Puchalski, who was born in 1909 in Mosty Wielkie near Lvov. He was an engineer of agronomy, studied at the Academy of Agriculture in Dublany, at the Department of Agriculture and Forestry. He assisted professor Witold Romer at the Department of Photochemistry of Lvov Polytechnic, where he developed a method of making nature films. His great love for nature together with his skills as a photographer and filmmaker resulted in renowned photography albums and nature films. They brought him popularity and recognition in Poland and abroad. In 1937 he received the gold medal at the Great Hunting Olympics in Berlin for his photography “ Wild Boar in Winter”, and the premiere presentation of his nature film “Bloodless Hunt” in 1939 was a sensation. “A Film Poland Has Never Seen” – that was the title of one of the reviews. In the 1950s he began his cooperation with the Educational Film Studio in Lodz. He made 58 films; won many awards at Polish festivals and abroad. He died in 1979 on King George Island, during the film expedition in the Antarctic.

CHAPTER I

General Information

The Włodzimierz Puchalski International Nature Film Festival is held periodically, at least every two years.
The 19th edition of Włodzimierz Puchalski International Nature Film Festival will be held in Łódź on 21-25 September 2022.
Each time, the Festival is held under the same banner: "THE PROMOTION OF EUROPE’S NATURE AND LANDSCAPE".
The motto of the 19th edition of the Festival is: "REBUILDING ECOSYSTEMS".
The Festival is organised by:

Wytwórnia Filmów Oświatowych Sp. z o.o.,
"Film - Przyroda - Kultura" Association,
Botanical Garden in Lodz.

The Festival’s Programme Council, chaired by Dorota Mańkowska, the Head of the Botanical Garden, oversees, on behalf of the organisers, the form and programme of the Festival.
The Programme Council appoints the Director of the Festival.
As requested by the Council, Sławomir Kalwinek - Vice-President of the Management Board of Wytwórnia Filmów Oświatowych sp. z o.o.. – has been appointed the Director of the 19th edition of the Festival.
Address of the Festival Office:

Wytwórnia Filmów Oświatowych Sp. z o.o.

93-106 Łódź, ul. Kilińskiego 210,

phone 42 689 23 45; fax 42 689 23 46

email: wfo@wfo.com.pl



CHAPTER II

Festival Objectives:

Popularisation of the national and international nature film output.
Evaluation of current condition and perspectives of nature film growth opportunities from the perspective of educational activity for sustainable development and environmental awareness increase as well as respect for diversity and environmental protection.
Identification of the opportunities for using nature film as an element of the education of young people.
Beneficial impact on the development of creativity within this domain.
Recognition of the most valuable films and programmes dedicated to nature-related topics.



CHAPTER III

Festival Participation Terms and Conditions.

Films eligible to participate in the Festival:
short-length films (up to 40 minutes long) and medium-length films (40 - 70 minutes long) dedicated to Europe’s nature, environmental protection, coexistence of man with the world of nature and related issues,
popular science, science, documentary and animation films, nature TV programmes as well as other film forms of the running time not exceeding 60 minutes,
films made after 1st January 2020, which did not take part in the 18th Włodzimierz Puchalski International Nature Film Festival in 2017,
Copies of films selected for the Festival competition must be delivered to the address of the Studio on a physical digital medium in formats:
DCP (Digital Cinema Package), Blu-ray disc
QuickTime ProRes 4.2.2. HQ
The costs of sending and returning the medium shall be borne by the Applicant.
Films may be submitted by producers and individual filmmakers provided that they hold the distribution rights to the film.
A Selection Committee decides whether a given film is admitted to the competition.
Films and TV programmes shall be submitted in writing, using the forms (available at wfo.com.pl FESTIVAL tab) should be made by e-mail to: wfo@wfo.com.pl, by 30 June 2022, with a note "Puchalski Festival".

All entries should include:
entry form,
film copies in Full HD MP 4 (max 5GB) uploaded to the Studio's FTP site (User Manual in Appendix 1),
dialogue lists and commentary in *.srt file (for foreign films, in English),
film stills along with the consent to use them in the Festival Catalogue, of the resolution of at least 2600x2600 pixels, stating also the name of the author,
the list, including names of animal and plant species featured in the film, in Latin,
short description of the film, serving as a suggestion of a text to be inserted in the Festival Catalogue (maximum 500 characters),
declaration, asserting the ownership of copyrights and related rights to the submitted film,
production crew list and film details.

The above-mentioned materials and documents must be delivered by 30 June 2022 to the email address wfo@wfo.com.pl with the reference "Puchalski Festival".

Film submissions addressed to the Selection Committee of the Youth Nature Film Competition Films in MP4 format (max. up to 2 GB) should be sent together with the entry form by 31 July 2022, to the email address wfo@wfo.com.pl, with the reference "Youth Nature Film Competition".

The Youth Nature Film Competition will only admit films with a screening time of 3 to 15 minutes, whose authors are 10 to 20 years old, made after 1 January 2020, which did not take part in the 18th Włodzimierz Puchalski International Nature Film Festival in 2020.
Participants will be informed about the positive decision of the Selection Committee when the Committee completes its works and they shall have the obligation to send film copies within two weeks following prior confirmation receipt.
The organiser has the right to copy the materials for the needs related to the organisation of the Festival’s programme.
All the films submitted and promotional materials shall become a part of the Festival archive.

Screening of the 19th Edition Films

During the 19th Edition of the Festival, due to the threat of COVID -19, festival screenings may take the form of open screenings using electronic means of communication. By submitting a film to the Festival, its authors and producers agree to make their films available to the public in such a way that everyone can access them at a time and place selected by them (online). The consent shall cover the duration of the Festival in accordance in accordance with the Schedule. Should a filmmaker object to the way in which a film is made available online, the decision to admit the film to the competition shall be made by the Festival Director

in consultation with the film producer. 2.

Films presented at the Festival will be available to the audience only twice - in real time of the course of events - according to the Schedule, without the possibility of recording, including:

- one competition screening stationary or online;

- second screening stationary or online in case of winning an award in Main Competition and Youth Competition. 3.

Films may be presented using electronic means of communication allowing reception only by users logging in from Poland and Europe.



CHAPTER IV

Awards

All films and TV programmes qualified for the Festival are judged by a Jury appointed by the organisers of the Festival. The prize pool is approximately 12.000 EURO (subject to change).
The Jury has the right to award distinctions, honour diplomas and special prizes not included in the regulations.
Decisions of the Jury are final and cannot be appealed.



CHAPTER V

Final Provisions

The organisers reserve the right to change the dates connected with the preparation work and the realisation of the Festival.
Submitting a film to the Festival is equivalent to accepting the conditions of these regulations.
The Entrants declare that they are entitled to all the proprietary copyrights and related rights to the submitted film and consent to the use of the film or its fragment for the promotion of the Festival in a television broadcast, on the website and in the Festival's social media, the Organisers and Sponsors, as well as at special screenings organised before, during and after the Festival.
The Entrants consent to screenings of the awarded films as part of non-commercial post-festival reviews in 2022-2023 in all locations in Poland.
The Entrant agrees to the use of the supplied promotional materials for IFFP publications, including publication in the festival catalogue, placement on the Festival website and social media, as well as the Organisers' and Sponsors' websites.
The Submitter agrees to use the materials listed in items. 4, 5 above for the needs of the websites of subsequent editions of the Festival, in particular as part of the festival archive maintained on the Festival's websites.
A Submitter who is a natural person, providing in the entry form (for the needs of participation in the Competition - selection of Films) the personal data indicated therein, consents to communication for purposes connected with the realization of the Competition within the framework of the Festival. Providing personal data by the Entrant is voluntary, but failure to provide such data will make it impossible to participate in the Competition as part of the Festival.
In the event that the personal data given in the application form concern a natural person other than the Entrant (in particular, if the Entrant is a legal person), the Entrant declares that he or she has the consent of the natural person to have his or her personal data processed by the Organiser.
In the event of a difference of opinion on matters not covered by these regulations, the Festival Organisers will make the final decision.