Festival statute

Statutes of the International Comedy Film Festival 2026

Aim of the festival
The aim of the International Comedy Film Festival is to showcase a selection of the very best short and feature-length live-action comedy films every year.
The next festival will take place 23 – 30 May 2026 in Jindřichův Hradec, Czech Republic.

Registration conditions

Films which premiered in the period of 1 January – 31 December 2025 can be registered for inclusion in the competition.
Only the following can be registered:

short live-action comedy films (lasting up to 60 minutes),
feature-length live-action comedy films (lasting longer than 60 minutes).

Registered films are assessed by an expert committee, which serves as an advisory body to the festival programme board. Individual applicants will be notified of the outcome of the selection process.

Rights and obligations of applicants

The applicant is responsible for costs associated with transporting the copy of the film to the festival and for its insurance until the moment of its acceptance by the festival, unless agreed otherwise.
The festival shall not be responsible for insurance of the external storage device against loss or damage while in its possession. In the event of loss or damage, the festival shall only be responsible for costs associated with replacing the external storage device.
Claims regarding the technical condition of returned copies must be made no later than 30 days after receipt of the copy.

The applicant is obliged to notify the rights holder of selection of the film, unless the applicant is the rights holder itself. If the film is unable to be included in the competition, the applicant must inform the festival of this fact within one week of receiving notification of being selected.
If the applicant does not submit an objection within the specified period, the inclusion of the film is considered to have been confirmed.

Judging of films

The expert jury is made up of five prominent film professionals. Each member of the jury will select two films in the given category which they consider to be the best from their professional point of view. The jury will then vote to select a winner from these nominations.
Each juror is entitled to nominate a maximum of one film in which they have collaborated.
All members of the jury are bound by confidentiality.
The festival director or members of the festival programme board may attend meetings of the jury but do not have voting rights.

The jury awards prizes in the following categories:

Screenplay
Sound
Editing
Cinematography
Directing
Best actress in a supporting and leading role
Best actor in a supporting and leading role

The audience votes after each screening. In the event of a tie, the result will be decided by the expert jury in cooperation with the festival director.

Participation in the awards ceremony

Each film included in the competition should send a representative to the awards ceremony, which will take place on 30 May 2026 in the main hall of KD Střelnice.
The names of the representatives must be communicated to the festival production team no later than by 20 May 2026.

Selected screenings (particularly evening screenings at 8:00 p.m. / 9:00 p.m.) may be followed by a short debate with the filmmakers or an autograph session.
We therefore kindly ask applicants to send a delegation to the festival together with their film (e.g. the director and an actor).
Please list the names of these delegates in the notes section of the application form, or provide them later after acceptance of the film, no later, however, than by 10 May 2026, otherwise the festival production team cannot guarantee that accommodation will be available.

Delegations of competition films screened in the evening will be provided with free accommodation by the festival (two double rooms per film).

Legal provisions

By submitting a film, the applicant confirms that:

all copyrights to the film, including any music used, have been cleared,
they have the right to dispose of the film and to provide it to the festival for public screening in 2026,
they agree with these statues.

In the event of any disputes or situations not covered by the statutes, the Director of the International Comedy Film Festival will make the final decision.

The organiser reserves the right to make changes in particularly serious cases.