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HKAIIFF-FEST-2027-004 · v1.4 · en
Download English PDFSubmission Materials and Stages
| Material category | When required | Content and Applicable Conditions |
|---|---|---|
| Required to complete an entry | Before final submission and the materials deadline | Core work information, poster, trailer, complete film and necessary English-language support, principal contributors and contact details, AI creation and source information, and required declarations. All files are uploaded after payment is confirmed for this work. |
| Provided by work type or award category | Before assessment of the relevant work or achievement | Operating instructions and start and stop conditions for interactive or generative works; the scope, version, contributions and representative evidence for each Silver Award achievement submitted; explanations of applicable third-party rights or restrictions. |
| After an invitation to screen | Upon receipt of explicit invitation and delivery requirements | Screening masters, subtitles, audio tracks, promotional materials, and equipment arrangements confirmed by venue; screening and publicity authorisations are confirmed separately. |
File Inventory
Files must be identifiable by purpose, version, and language. Names, dates, and technical data already recorded by the platform need not be re-entered; applicants should verify their accuracy. Use clear work short titles and version descriptions, for example: FilmTitle_Review_2027-01-15.mp4. Private data and confidential evidence must be stored separately from public-facing summaries, posters, and images.
Consistency
Jury files, subtitles, creation disclosures, and forms must correspond to the same version. Linked content must not be substituted without prior notification to the festival. File hashes or other reliable identification methods may be used to assist verification; applicants are not required to adopt a specific commercial product.
Submission Scope
Initial entry does not require all large screening masters or complete production project files. If a special format cannot meet the compatibility guidance below, provide a review version that enables understanding of the work and explain its original form. Conversion does not prejudge the artistic value of that original form.
File limits by purpose: poster 20 MB (the platform may compress it), trailer 1 GB and complete film 10 GB. The platform may limit replacements to manage storage resources; interrupted retries should reuse the same upload session. Additional evidence requests must identify the issue and a reasonable deadline. Conditions that do not apply require no empty attachment. Payment, file receipt, encoding readiness and final submission are recorded separately.
Core Data and Contributor Records
| Item | Completion guidance |
|---|---|
| Title and Language | Retain the original title and its language; translations shall be listed separately. Film language, subtitle language, and document language must not be conflated into a single field. |
| Work Version | Confirm the completion date and the file submitted for assessment. Verify automatically detected running time, format, resolution and checksums; do not re-enter information already available. |
| Contributors | Name or public credit, individual/team/organisation, actual role. Multiple roles per person and shared roles among multiple persons are permitted; private contact details shall be listed separately. |
| Authority to Represent | Identify the submitting representative and the basis of their authority. A concise declaration is normally sufficient initially. Necessary supporting evidence is requested for specific questions, credit disputes or rights checks. |
| AI Use | Select the stages in which AI has a substantive role, list the main tools with known versions and purposes once, and provide a short explanation of human decisions. AI-use percentages are not repeatedly requested. |
| Sources and Restrictions | Indicate applicable third-party works, music, real-person likenesses or voices, and other restricted materials. Provide the basis of use and restrictions only for applicable items. |
Relationship Between Attachments and Fields
Citations of previously submitted attachments, timestamps, or existing records need not be fully re-entered. Automatically extracted, translated, or pre-filled data must be correctable and require applicant confirmation; authorship or licensing scope cannot be automatically presumed.
Data Status
Public credit and brief, private contact details, juror evidence, and separately confirmed commercial conditions shall be handled according to their respective purposes. Existing records may assist verification, but their public status does not automatically extend to new submissions.
Fixed Film and Language Materials
| Item | Delivery requirements for assessment |
|---|---|
| File Format | Preferably MP4 files with H.264 video and AAC audio, playable on standard computers. Other formats must provide clear playback instructions and confirm compatibility. |
| Video | Maintain the original aspect ratio and frame rate required for the creative work, avoiding stretching, accidental cropping, or frame interpolation. A 1080p review copy is recommended; a lower-resolution original will not disqualify the submission. |
| Sound | Synchronised audio-visual content, with no clipping or unexpected silence beyond what is necessary for the creative work. A 48 kHz stereo review copy is recommended; multi-channel, immersive sound, or silent works must be clearly indicated. |
| Subtitles | For non-English dialogue and any text essential to understanding the work, provide full English subtitles or equivalent language support. Embedded subtitles are acceptable, or SRT/WebVTT files encoded in UTF-8. |
| Non-linear content | Key branches and dynamic text must provide appropriate language support; where necessary, include a glossary, operational translation, or searchable transcript. |
| Viewing link | Should be accessible securely by jurors, without inserted advertisements or unnecessary payment requests. Passwords must be provided separately and remain valid throughout the review period. |
An English synopsis may assist initial understanding but cannot substitute for the subtitles or language support required to fully comprehend the work. Cultural terms in the native language may be retained, accompanied by concise annotations to aid understanding.
If a work's key achievement relies on special colour, sound field, spatial design, or projection method, this must be explained at submission to allow the festival to arrange appropriate verification; it must not be assumed that a standard juror copy fully presents this achievement.
Interactive and continuously generated works
| Materials | Specific content |
|---|---|
| Executable version | Build date, version name, start and stop instructions, and an application or protected environment accessible to jurors. |
| Operating conditions | Operating system, hardware, network, browser, external models or service dependencies; specify minimum required conditions. |
| Experience pathway | One recommended path, instructions for exploration chosen by the juror, typical experience duration, principal branches or range of variation, and ending conditions. |
| State and reset | Character or world memory, data persistence, restart, recovery, and version update procedures. |
| Constraints and fees | Known faults, service quotas, generation latency, and potential fees. Reviewers shall not be required to purchase additional services themselves. |
| Data and security | Whether reviewer input, audio, video, or other data is recorded; purpose, retention, and deletion methods; secure exit and sensory cues. |
Test accounts must use minimum necessary permissions only. Do not submit passwords for primary accounts, API keys, payment credentials, or any data that could control private assets. When dedicated equipment or on-site demonstration is required, arrange this appropriately at the time of registration.
Also provide a video showing the work in operation as a technical backup. Video cannot replace the necessary hands-on testing of interactivity, real-time responses or continuous generation.
Evidence for the three Silver Awards
Creative Method
Provide the problem and objective, principal steps, human interventions, tool dependencies, input-output comparisons and locators in the work. Include at least one representative repeat test, identifying success conditions, failures and a reasonable quality range. Comparisons of speed, cost or quality require a baseline, sample scope and calculation conditions.
Digital Character
Submission of the core identity, behaviour, and expression settings of the character, along with at least two realised performances in different scenarios. Identify relevant segments, key performances, control contributions, image and sound sources, and character versioning and usage restrictions. The character need not possess dialogue or real-time generation capabilities.
Worldbuilding
Submit a world overview, key rules and relationships, at least two realised scenarios, and an explanation of how they adhere to a consistent world logic. Provide a description of how consistency is maintained when introducing new characters, events, or scenes, along with the corresponding implementation materials.
Common Requirements
For each achievement, identify the primary associated entry, achievement title, version, contributors and claimed scope. For an existing achievement, distinguish pre-existing elements, third-party elements and new contributions made for this submission. Brand names, sales presentations and intended uses cannot replace evidence from the work.
If several works demonstrate the same achievement, list them in one achievement application. Co-creators must use a consistent achievement title, version and credits. Duplicate submissions do not provide additional opportunities for assessment.
Confidentiality and Screening Delivery
Limited Disclosure
First provide a summary explaining how trade secrets, unpublished methods or restricted third-party information relate to the claim being checked. The festival may arrange designated reviewers, redaction of unrelated material, controlled demonstrations or other reasonable measures. Confidential evidence must not appear in published jury reasons without separate permission.
Complete private contracts, identity documents, or unnecessary third-party personal data must not be entered directly into public registration fields. Materials requiring verification must be submitted via the festival's designated secure channel. Descriptions of sources must honestly reflect known information; applicants are not required to fabricate supplier training data they cannot ascertain.
Screening Confirmation
Following shortlisting, the festival will confirm the projection format, audio track, subtitles, equipment, and delivery method based on the actual venue. Digital Cinema Packages (DCP) or specific exhibition equipment will only be required if necessary for the actual screening and subject to mutual confirmation.
Before authorisation, specify the work version, screenings, media, territories, period and whether admission is charged. Applicants should submit a checked master and confirm that subtitles, end credits and content advisories match the authorised scope.
Pre-Delivery Checks
Each file must be individually verified for readability, valid links and passwords, correct aspect ratio, audio-visual synchronisation, complete subtitles, version consistency, availability of necessary equipment, removal of private data, and validity of emergency contact details.