Terms & Conditions of Application
These conditions govern direct submissions to the third Rome AI Festival, organised by VIA AI Group S.R.L. By completing a submission, the entrant accepts these conditions.
1. Organiser and scope
The Rome AI Festival / Visual Innovation Awards (the “Festival”) is organised by VIA AI Group S.R.L., Corso Vittorio Emanuele II 83, 10128 Torino (TO), P.IVA / C.F. 13483300011 (“VIA”). These conditions apply to applications submitted through this portal for the Festival taking place on 19 September 2026 at Cinema Adriano, Piazza Cavour 22, Roma.
2. Eligibility
- The entrant must be at least 18 years old and have legal capacity and authority to submit the work.
- Filmmakers may enter from any country.
- The submitted film must have been completed after 1 January 2024.
- Films may be in any genre but must not exceed 20 minutes including credits.
- A film not primarily in English must include integrated English subtitles.
- Generative AI must be a significant creative component of the project, not merely an incidental administrative tool.
3. Competition categories
Each direct submission must select one category. Entrants wishing to compete in more than one category may submit a separate entry for each category. The available categories are:
- Best AI Documentary by James Drake Media
- Best AI Narrative Short Film
- Best AI Experimental Short Film
- Best AI Animation
- Best AI Music Video
- Best AI Branded / Commercial Content
- Best Italian AI
The Festival may move an entry to a more appropriate category after notifying the entrant, or consider it for additional festival-wide recognition, without imposing an additional fee.
4. Submission materials
The entrant must provide accurate contact and film information, the selected category, a poster, an AI statement, and either a complete movie upload or a working downloadable private viewing link. Optional stills, credits, and supporting materials may also be supplied. Links, passwords, and uploaded files must remain accessible and usable throughout selection and, for selected films, until the Festival has received the exhibition master.
5. AI statement and transparency
The entrant must accurately identify the principal AI tools used and explain the human and machine contributions to the work. VIA may request reasonable clarification concerning models, source or reference materials, prompting, editing, performance, sound, post-production, or tool licences. Materially false or misleading disclosure may result in disqualification.
6. Ownership, clearances, and warranties
The entrant retains ownership of the work. By submitting, the entrant represents and warrants that they are the author, rights holder, or duly authorised representative; that all information is accurate; and that they possess the licences, permissions, releases, and consents required for the film, music, voices, performances, likenesses, trademarks, source material, AI-generated elements, exhibition, and promotional uses described here. The work must not unlawfully infringe intellectual-property, privacy, publicity, personality, contractual, or other third-party rights.
7. Prohibited or unsuitable material
VIA may refuse or remove content that is unlawful, defamatory, threatening, discriminatory, exploitative, fraudulent, malicious, technically harmful, or submitted without the necessary authority. The Festival may also decline material that creates an unreasonable safety, legal, reputational, or operational risk. This provision does not limit artistic freedom or permit unlawful discrimination.
8. Selection, jury, and awards
Submission does not guarantee acceptance, screening, nomination, prize, feedback, or attendance. VIA may reject incomplete, late, ineligible, inaccessible, unlawful, miscategorised, or technically unsuitable entries. Programming, nominations, and jury decisions are final, except that VIA may correct an evident administrative error. Awards or partner opportunities have no cash value unless expressly stated in writing.
The channel feature will be coordinated with James Drake Media. Any paid creative engagement will be governed by a separate written agreement between the winner and James Drake Media. The London prize includes reasonable, pre-approved travel, accommodation, and event-related expenses arranged or reimbursed by James Drake Media. The winner is responsible for holding valid travel documents and satisfying applicable entry requirements. Practical details will be confirmed in writing, and equivalent arrangements may be made if events outside the organisers' reasonable control materially affect the trip or event.
9. Festival screening and promotional licence
If a work is selected, the entrant grants VIA a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free licence to:
- screen and technically reproduce the film as reasonably necessary for the Festival’s physical, online, press, jury, and industry activities;
- use the title, synopsis, credits, entrant and creator names, supplied poster, trailer, stills, and excerpts of up to 30 seconds to announce, document, report on, and promote the Festival and the selected work;
- retain selection records, laurels, titles, credits, posters, stills, and promotional excerpts in the Festival’s historical archive.
This licence does not transfer ownership, does not prevent distribution elsewhere, and does not authorise commercial exploitation of the complete film outside the uses expressly stated here.
10. Escape.ai digital showcase
A selected “Best of Festival” winner or Official Selection may be invited to the Rome AI Festival channel on Escape.ai. If VIA notifies the entrant that the film is included in that showcase, the entrant grants VIA and the platform a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free licence to host and stream the complete film for 12 months from first publication on that channel, together with the promotional materials described above. The entrant remains free to exploit and distribute the film elsewhere. Any use beyond that period or scope requires further permission.
11. Curatorial and analytical use
VIA may review the film and submitted metadata for jury assessment, internal quality control, curatorial research, aggregated trend reporting, and technical optimisation of festival screening workflows. Public reports will use aggregated or appropriately de-identified information unless the entrant has separately authorised attribution. Submitted films will not be used to train a commercial generative-AI model without separate, express permission.
12. Delivery and technical requirements
Selected entrants may be asked to provide an exhibition master, subtitles, captions, artwork, credits, and technical information by a stated deadline. VIA may make technically necessary copies or format conversions for secure review and screening. Failure to provide usable materials in time may result in replacement or withdrawal from the programme.
13. Free direct submission and withdrawal
An entrant may request withdrawal before the work has been finally programmed by writing to info@romeaifestival.org. Once a selected work has been publicly announced or technical exhibition preparations have begun, VIA will consider a withdrawal request in good faith, taking account of existing programme, press, venue, platform, and partner commitments.
14. Indemnity and responsibility
To the extent permitted by applicable law, the entrant will indemnify VIA, the Festival, its venue, and their officers, staff, jury, contractors, and partners against third-party claims, losses, and reasonable costs arising directly from the entrant’s breach of the warranties or obligations in these conditions. VIA is not responsible for loss caused by an entrant’s inaccessible link, corrupted file, inaccurate information, unauthorised material, or failure to maintain a backup. Nothing in these conditions excludes or limits liability that cannot lawfully be excluded or limited.
15. Event changes and force majeure
VIA may make reasonable changes to dates, times, venue, programme, jury, screening format, partner participation, or awards where required by operational, safety, legal, technical, public-health, or force-majeure circumstances. VIA will communicate material changes affecting selected works where reasonably possible. If the event cannot proceed as planned, VIA may postpone, relocate, adapt, or cancel it without owing a submission-fee refund because direct entry through this portal is free.
16. Personal data and communications
Personal data is processed according to the Privacy Notice. Acceptance of these application conditions is required for entry. Consent to VIA marketing and consent to communication of data to Festival partners are separate choices and may be refused or withdrawn without affecting eligibility. Cookie information is provided separately in the Cookie Policy.
17. Changes to these conditions
The version accepted at the time of submission governs that entry. VIA may update these conditions prospectively for operational, legal, or regulatory reasons. A material change affecting an already submitted work will be communicated where required, and will not retroactively remove rights already granted to the entrant by mandatory law.
18. Governing law and jurisdiction
These conditions are governed by Italian law. Any dispute shall be subject to the courts competent under applicable Italian law. Where the entrant qualifies as a consumer, any mandatory consumer-protection rules and mandatory court of residence jurisdiction remain unaffected.
19. General provisions
If any provision is held invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions remain effective to the fullest extent permitted by law. A failure or delay by VIA to enforce a provision is not a waiver. These conditions, together with the Privacy Notice and the information submitted in the application, form the agreement governing the direct entry.
20. Contact
Questions, rights notices, withdrawal requests, or concerns about these conditions may be sent to info@romeaifestival.org.