Statute of the International Film and Television Festival
of Public-Interest and Documentary Programs
”The Crystal Heart”

Section 1

The festival is an annual show of audiovisual (film and television) production in the field of documentary, educational and public-interest programs.
The show accepts applications from televisions companies and individuals.

Section 2

The main organizers of the festival are : the agency C.D.G. spol. s r.o. and the agency EURO ZEUS s.r.o.
The co-organizer is the city of Poděbrady.
Any corporation or organization that accept the festival statute and provides organizational or financial assistance may become an co-organizer (sponsor) of the festival.
The FESTIVAL COMMITTEE presided by the festival director decides all main issues related to the festival.
All co-organizers participate in organizing the festival in the agreed extent. They provide the organizational and financial assistance according to the decision of the festival bodies and the executed contracts.

Section 3
Goals and Mission of the Festival

The international festival ”The Crystal Heart” focuses on, judges and awards the best documentary, educational and public-interest films and television programs related to the festival’s motto:
MEN IN TODAY’S WORLD.
It means that besides evaluating the professional and artful aspects of the work the Committee would consider the humanistic message of the works entering the competition.
The goal and mission of the festival is to give the authors a chance to exchange their experience and ideas, popularize their work that is often confined to an outer edge and serves different needs of the mass and minority audience. At the same time it brings integrity to diverse cultures and languages, extends the national, regional and international common ground of people and understanding of the social, ecological, economical, political, cultural and technological environment, or focuses on preserving the freedoms of individuals, freedom of speech and other fundamental value of democratic regimes.

Section 4
Festival Bodies

1. The festival bodies are the Festival Committee and the Organizational Crew.
2. The Festival Committee manages the preparatory works and the festival. The members of the Festival Committee are elected by the main festival organizers (see Section 2).The Festival Committee is the superior executive body of the festival and it represents the festival’s organizers.
3. The Organizational Crew takes care of the technical and organizational issues.
The members are elected and the Crew is controlled by the Festival Committee.
4. The elected representatives of the Festival Committee presided by the festival director form the executive body of the Festival Committee and the Organizational Crew, and in the extent specified by the Festival Committee they act as representatives of the festival.
5. The competing programs will be evaluated by the professional panel and by the audience panel. Soutěžní pořady hodnotí odborné poroty festivalu a divácká porota.
6. Based on the proposals submitted by the professional panel and the audience panel the organizers confer the following awards:
a) the main festival award: ”THE CRYSTAL HEART” and the great crystal cup from the city of Nový Bor;
b) the main awards of each category;
c) other awards of the organizers.
7. The panels have the right to combine two awards. The awards must not be divided. No award may be given to a program whose co-author is a member in any of the panels.
8. The festival awards are conferred by the co-organizers and other institutions according to the agreement with the Festival Committee.
9. The main award – ”The Cup” – is conferred by the general sponsor and is meant for the most successful TV company.

Section 5
Periodicity

The festival takes place every year in the city of Poděbrady.

Section 6
Financial Resources

1. The main organizer together with the co-organizers takes care of the preparatory works and organization of the festival regarding the financial issues, in the extent and form agreed upon with the Festival Committee in contracts concluded each year.
2. The budget and costs management of the festival must be approved by the main organizer.

Section 7
The Festival’s Content

1. The festival consists of the following:
 
a) projection of competing programs selected from the received works complying with the statute (see Section 3 and Section 8);
b) projection of non-competing programs – introduction of other exceptional documentary, educational, public-interest and possibly other programs broadcasted in the previous two years;
c) workshops of authors, business meetings of producers, free discussion and press conferences focusing on the main mission and goals of the festival.
2. Different cultural and other events will be organized for the participants, festival guests and the citizens.

Section 8
Competition of Film and TV programs

1. The festival is of a competing nature. No final list of the competing programs will be issued, but the best works will be selected in each category and given a prestigious award.
2. The festival is ready to accept applications from Czech and foreign TV companies, possibly also from individual authors.
3. The festival’s main topic is specified in Section 3 of hereof.
4. The competition has the following categories:
 
a) documentary programs;
b) public-interest programs.

Section 9
Enrolling to the Competition, Evaluating
and Awarding the Competing Works

1. The competing programs are enrolled to the competition based on the application submitted by the producers, representatives or the authors.
2. The works enrolled to the competition must comply with the goals and mission of the festival and the required technical conditions. The deadline for submitting applications and the exact term of the festival will be specified by the Organizational Crew in the application brochure. The programs that have already participated in other competitions will be accepted. A brief description of the work must be enclosed to the application.
In case of serials the applicant must select a single part that will be viewed as a separate and independent work.
3. Only the works not longer than 45 minutes that were broadcasted in the previous years, or if it was agreed in a contract that the program would be broadcasted, may enroll to the competition.
4. The panel elected by the Festival Committee and the co-organizers’ representatives decide whether the individual works would be accepted to the competition.
The selecting panel has the following rights:
 
a) reject works that do not comply with the goals and mission of the festival or promote racism, drugs, violence, pornography or war;
b) decide about the most suitable category for the given work.

Section 10
Professional Panel

1. The professional panels for categories I and II consist of five members from among the television and film professionals, critics and journalists.
2. The Festival Committee appoints the panels in writing.
3. The panel elects its chairman who represents the panel in relation to the festival bodies.
4. The panel will issue a final protocol concerning its work and the protocol must be submitted to the festival director after all competing programs have been presented and the final meeting took place.

Section 11
Audience Panel

1. The audience panel consists of five members from among the organizing television companies, possibly the festival’s guests and the Poděbrady citizens.
2. The panel is appointed by the festival director on the basis of a proposal of the organizers.
3. The panel elects its chairman who represents the panel in relation to the festival bodies.
4. The panel will issue a final protocol concerning its work and the protocol must be submitted to the festival director after all competing programs have been presented and the final meeting took place.

Section 12
Non-competing Programs

1. The Festival Committee may decide about projection of non-competing programs as per Section 7 hereof.
2. Non-competing programs must comply with the goals and mission of the festival and the requested technical conditions.
3. The Festival Committee decides about participation of a non-competing program in the festival on the basis of a proposal of the producer, representative or author of the given work.
4. The applications containing all requested details must be submitted at least one month before the festival starts. The Festival Committee may at its own discretion accept application even after the specified date.

Section 13
Technical Conditions

1. Only the films and videos on the carriers specified by the festival organizers may participate in the festival competition.
2. The same technical conditions apply for the non-competing programs.
3. The applicant is obliged to deliver the competing works to the selecting panels.
4. All non-competing works must be delivered directly to the festival headquarters.
5. By submitting an application the applicant undertakes to comply with the specified festival conditions arising from this Statute and to follow all principles of the festival and instructions of the festival bodies.

The competing works of each category will be evaluated by the professional panels that will decide about conferring the following awards:

- the great cup from the city of Nový Bor (180 cm) for a foreign and Czech television company;
- the Crystal Heart and miniature replicas of the cup for the best works.

The main prize for the children’s category ”The Little Crystal Heart”, in which the best 30 works would be selected, is a personal car and other nine prizes.

The Festival Committee
   
   
Festival Director ………………….. Alexander Hemala
Festival Assisting Director …...…… Jiří Seidl
Panel Director …………………….. Vlastimil Venclík
FUZZY CZ a.s. …………………. Václav Janeček
Organizational Crew Director ………. David Seidl
Representative of the Poděbrady city ……….. Radoslav Simjancev

The Festival Committee may appoint other members from among the television companies, state institutions and major sponsors.

All detailed information can be obtained on the phone numbers 0324/4408, 0324/5747 or send an email to: cdg@cdg.cz

Seidl David
Executive Manager C.D.G. spol. s r.o.
T.G.Masaryka 1130
290 01 Poděbrady