Entry Rules of 2023(15th) Xiamen International Animation Festival (XIAF)

Cyber Sousa Award Competition

I. Objective

The Cyber Sousa Award of the Xiamen International Animation Festival is designed

to explore outstanding domestic ACG works and talents, encourage the application of

animation technology in various industries and fields and promote the development of

the ACG industry through the exchange and the works competition events.

II. Schedule

February – March 27, 2023

Call for entries

April 2023

Pre-selection, initial evaluation, and initial

shortlist announcement

May 2023

Final evaluation

the second quarter of 2023

Announcement of winning entries (subject to the

festival time)

III. Categories of Entries

1. Animated Feature Film: Entries should be animated films produced for theatre

screening with a duration of at least 60 minutes that have been filed by the State

Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film, and Television.

2. Animated Series: Entries of the work are produced for TV or online platforms, and

the relevant content is supposed to be divided into episodic production. The domestic

animation series must have been registered and approved by the State Administration

of Press, Publication, Radio, Film, and TV.

3. Animated Short Film: Entries should be animated short story films (including

online animations) between 30 seconds to 60 minutes of the time range.

4. Student Animated Film: Entries should be created by current students at school ,

and submitted by students individually or collectively selected by the school

(excluding training institutions).

5. Strait Star Special Animation Award: Entries should be all types of animated works

with complete plots, regardless of genre. This category is only open for submission by

companies and studios registered in Fujian or Taiwan with independent legal status.

6. Best Comic: Entries should be narrative comics (with at least 8 pictures) in all

forms of drawing, well-structured, and at least one full chapter of a complete story

plot. The form and type of the work are not limited.

7. Student Comic: Entries should be narrative comics created by current students at

school, and submitted by students individually or collectively selected by the school

(excluding training institutions).

8. Strait Star Special Comic Award: Entries should be narrative comics in all forms of

drawing. This category is only open for submission by companies and studios

registered in Fujian or Taiwan with independent legal status.

IV. Prizes

In 2023, the 15th Xiamen International Animation Festival (XIAF) Cyber Sousa

Awards Animation Competition has 9 general awards with a total prize of 1.3 million

RMB. The specific settings are as tabled below.

Animation awards

Gold

(one)

Silver

(two)

Nomination

(three)

Entrepreneurshi

p/Landing

Award for Gold

winners

Best Animated Feature

Film (China Mainland)

60,000

50,000

10,000

20,000

Best Animated Series

(Worldwide)

60,000

50,000

10,000

20,000

Strait Star Special

Animation Award

(Fujian & Taiwan)

50,000

30,000

10,000

20,000

Best Animated Short

Film (China Mainland)

40,000

30,000

10,000

Best Animated Short

Film (Overseas)

40,000

30,000

10,000

Best Student Animated

Film (China Mainland)

40,000

30,000

10,000

Prize summary

1,000,000

Comic Awards

Gold

(one)

Silver

(two)

Nomination Awards

(three)

Best Comic (Worldwide)

30,000

20,000

10,000

Best Student Comic

(China Mainland)

30,000

20,000

10,000

Strait Star Special Comic

Award (Fujian and

Taiwan)

30,000

20,000

10,000

Prize Summary

300,000

Special Notes:

1. The prizes are all tax-inclusive, and the personal income tax related to the prize will

be withheld and paid by the Xiamen International Animation Festival Organizing

Committee (hereinafter referred to as the Organizing Committee).

2. The landing entrepreneur incentive bonus for Gold winners: This award/bonus aims

to support the Gold Award winners in the Animation category to start their businesses

and settle in Xiamen. The Organizing Committee will provide more details about the

awards and the procedures to claim the prize after the award is announced.

3. If there are less than 12 works received for a category, the Organizing Committee

reserves the right to leave the award vacant .

V. Submission Requirements

1. Entries must be the works completed after January 1, 2020. Please submit the work

in accordance with the requirements of the awards settings. Each work can only be

submitted once (for one award).

2. The region of the work is determined by the agreement of the copyright holder or

the region of the creative team.

3. The following materials should be submitted together with the work:

(1) Registration form: Fill in the entry information through the online registration

system of Cyber Sousa Award here (http://cybersousa.com.cn) an entry number will

be generated after the online submission. Print off the registration form to sign or

stamp on it. Only a complete and fully signed (or stamped) registration form can be

effectively registered, and the deadline for registration is 23:59 on March 27, 2023.

(2) Format Requirements

① Animation: Entries should be submitted in one of the following formats: MP4,

AVI ， WMV ， AFS ， MOV. One episode of animated series is required for

submission if a single episode of the series is longer than 20 minutes; two

episodes are required for the series shorter than 20 minutes per episode.

②

Comics: Works should be submitted in the format of JPG or PNG with a

resolution of no less than 300DPI. Pictures should remain the original size and be

named in reading sequence. Scroll comics are required to have a width of no less

than 800px with no height restriction.

③ No company watermarking or the word "sample" shall appear in the works.

④ Language requirements: Chinese or English. If the original language

is neither Chinese nor English, please add Chinese or English subtitles.

(3) Posters of the work: All entries must provide one poster or 3 screenshots (in JPG

or PNG format) that contain the main scene(s) or character(s) of the work.

(4) Trailers of the work: Trailers of animation entries should be provided and the

duration should be no more than one minute.

(5) Other Supporting Materials: Entries for Best Animated Feature Film (China

Mainland) and Best Animated Series (Chinese Mainland) should have been filed by

the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio and TV. The relevant documents

should be stamped officially and submitted along with the entries.

All works apply for the Strait Star Special Animation Award and the Strait Star

Special Comic Award, the studios/enterprises are required to submit a copy of

business licenses or equivalent licenses. Otherwise, it will be deemed ineligible.

4. The Organizing Committee has the right to disqualify the following works: the

content violates or attacks the political system and legal system of the people's

Republic of China; the content involves the excessive depiction of pornography,

violence, blood, etc.; the content is suspected of copying, plagiarizing and infringing

others' copyright; or the content violates other provisions of Cyber Sousa Award

Competition of Xiamen International Animation Festival.

VI. Submission

1. Online submission via www.cybersousa.com.cn

Mini APPs: search Xiamen International Animation Festival “

厦门国际动漫节

”in

WeChat Mini APPs.

2. Mail submission

(1) Save all the materials (entry works, posters, trailers, etc.) on a USB drive or CD

and name the folder with the corresponding entry number generated after online

submission before it is mailed out with the original registration form and other paper

supporting materials to the Organizing Committee.

(2) Mails to the XIAF Organizing Committee should be paid off in advance. The

following declarations may be included if necessary: No Commercial Value! Cultural

Use Only! Competition Entry Use Only!

(3) All USB drives and CDs sent with entries will not be returned unless there is a

special request and pre-payment of the postage fee. The Organizing Committee does

not assume any responsibility for the loss of the entries during the mailing process.

XII. The Judging Committee

1. The Judging Committee members are selected and determined by the Organizing

Committee and will be responsible for selecting qualified entries for the Cyber Sousa

Award Competition through the evaluation of the entries.

2. No member shall participate in the selection of any entry works with any form of

connection.

3. The Judging Committee shall judge the submitted works upon their production and

aesthetic quality, especially on the creativity and innovation of the works.

XIII. The Jury

1. The judging team of the official competition consists of no less than 12 people.

2. No member shall participate in the selection of any entry works in which he or she

has any form of connection.

3. The selection procedures and criteria f of the awards are specified by the judging

committee. In case of special circumstances, the jury may recommend the awards of

vacancy in writing to the Organizing Committee who will decide whether to leave the

awards vacant.

4. The jury committee will select the winning entries for each award and determine

the winners.

XIIII. Copyright

1. Each entrant must be the original author or legal owner of their entry. If the work is

created collectively, the entrant must provide a written guarantee of legal ownership

of the work; if this is not possible, the work must be entered in the name of all

authors.

2. The copyright of the entries belongs to the entrant, and the Organizing Committee

may digitally save the selected entries. Entrants are deemed to have granted the

Xiamen International Animation Festival Organizing Committee the right to use

(without further notice or payment) in the following circumstances:

(1) Entries and related materials are to be used for the promotion of events related to

the official media, cooperative media, and cooperation platforms of the Organizing

Committee.

(2) Entries and related materials are to be used in the award ceremony.

(3) Entries and related materials are to be displayed in the competition exhibitions

(including touring exhibitions).

(4) The shortlisted works and related materials are to be collected and published.

(5) The winning works are to be displayed and screened at the Xiamen International

Animation Festival ACG Carnival Screening Week. The Organizing Committee has

the right to determine the order, classification and schedule of the film screening.

X. Invitation

1. Representatives of all the shortlisted entries will be invited to attend the XIAF

Cyber Sousa Award ceremony and other supporting activities, whereby limited

accommodation and meals will be provided, subject to the final notification of the

Organizing Committee.

2. All shortlisted entries will be recommended to the Organizing Committee partners

on a priority basis.

XI. Awards Presentation

1. The awards presentation ceremony is currently scheduled to take place in the

second quarter of 2023 and shall be organized by the Organizing Committee.

2. The Organizing Committee will invite representatives of the finalists of the Cyber

Sousa Award to attend the award ceremony. The invited representatives should be the

main author (individual works) or the vice president or above of the enterprise (for

enterprise works) to attend the award ceremony. Winners who are not available can

authorize a substitute to receive the award on their behalf, and the recipient must

submit a written power of attorney and corresponding identity proof to the Organizing

Committee. In case of special circumstances, please contact the Organizing

Committee in advance. Failure to explain the situation in advance and no-show will

be considered as forfeiting the award.

3. The Gold and Silver Award winners will receive the Cyber Sousa Award trophies,

certificates, and prize money. The nomination winners and Individual Animated Short

Film Award winners will receive the Cyber Sousa Award certificates and prize

money.

4. With the winners' consent, the Organizing Committee may arrange exclusive media

interviews.

XII: Legal Items

1. The entrants must ensure that information in the registration forms is authentic and

valid, that they are the legal owners of the entries and the copyrights who should

shoulder corresponding legal responsibilities. In the event that others claim rights for

the entries, the entrant shall bear all losses incurred. In case of any serious influence

or losses to the Organizing Committee or the competition, the entrant shall assume the

compensation liability.

2. Entrants are free to participate in other similar competitions or related commercial

activities before or after the XIAF competition, however, any consequences caused

from the conflicts with other competition regulations should be borne solely by the

entrants.

3. Entries who have submitted complete registration forms will be deemed to have

unconditionally accepted the rules and regulations established by the Organizing

Committee. In the event of any disputes, they shall be referred to the Xiamen

Municipal Arbitration Commission for arbitration. Only the Chinese version of these

Rules has the force of law.

XIII: Supplementary Provisions

1. Other provisions together with these Entry Rules will be released by Organizing

Committee on the official portal website of the XIAF (www.cybersousa.com.cn).

2. These Entry Rules will take effect since the day it is released.

3. The Organizing Committee of the XIAF Cyber Sousa Award reserves the right to

final interpretation of the Entry Rules.

XIV: Contact Information

1. The Organizing Committee of Xiamen International Animation Address: C09 F4,

No. 33 Guan Ri Rd., Xiamen Software Park II, Fujian Province, China.

Postcode: 361008

Telephone: 86-(0)592-5953932 Fax: 86-(0)592-5913901

Email: 5953932@xmigc.com

2. ASIFA-CHINA

Address: Room 908, MaoHua Building, NO.17 ShidaiHuayuanNan Rd., Shijingshan

District, Beijing, China.

Postcode: 100043

Telephone: 86-(010) 62662716

Fax: 86-(010)-88792568

Email: works@asifa.cn

The Organizing Committee of the Cyber Sousa Award of Xiamen International

Animation Festival

Feb. 7, 2023