Organizer
The Sarajevo Film Festival has established the Heart of Sarajevo Awards for TV series (in further text the Awards) in 2021. The founder and organizer of the Sarajevo Film Festival is Obala Art Center from Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Sarajevo Film Festival is an international film/TV series festival held annually in Sarajevo.
Goals
The goal of the Awards is to promote regional TV series of the highest quality and to establish a platform through which regional projects will receive additional promotion and the opportunity to present themselves to the international audio-visual market. The establishment of these awards seeks to encourage the development and quality of regional audio-visual content and open space for the co-creation of regional projects.
Giving recognition to series, authors, actors, and other deserving individuals will increase interest among audio-visual producers and broadcasters to elevate the quality of produced content. Additionally, the Awards will encourage greater investment in the audio-visual production.
Date of the event
The award ceremony will take place during the 30th Sarajevo Film Festival (from August 16 to 23, 2024).
Application eligibility
The owners of the rights to High End TV series (both drama and comedy series) produced during the 2023/2024 season are eligible to apply with:
· Drama and comedy series premiered between April 1, 2023, and April 30, 2024;
· Made by producers/broadcasters from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo*, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, and Slovenia;
· TV series that began airing by March 11, 2024;
· To be eligible for nomination, all episodes of the series must be submitted and made available to the Professional Jury.
· Only the producer or rights holders can submit the series in the desired categories. The list of categories for the Heart of
Sarajevo Awards for TV series is available in the ‘Heart of Sarajevo Awards for TV series – Categories 2024’ section;
· Deadline for applications - Applications will be accepted until March 29, 2024 at 23:59.
If two seasons of the series have aired within the period specified by this Terms & Conditions, only one season may be submitted, at the discretion of the producers/rights holders of the TV series.
Heart of Sarajevo Awards for TV series – Categories 2024
The Awards in 2024 are presented in the following categories (Sarajevo Film Festival reserves the right not to present awards in certain categories each year):
DRAMA SERIES
1. Best Drama Series (the award goes to producers and creators)
2. Best Leading Actress
3. Best Leading Actor
4. Best Supporting Actress
5. Best Supporting Actor
6. Rising Star
7. Best Director (for the episode)
8. Best Screenplay (for the episode)
In the categories for the best leading and supporting roles in drama series, production companies can submit one candidate each. If the series has an ensemble cast, feel free to suggest two or more actors/actresses.
COMEDY SERIES
1. Best Comedy Series (the award goes to producers and creators)
2. Best Leading Actress
3. Best Leading Actor
4. Rising Star
5. Best Director (for the episode)
6. Best Screenplay (for the episode)
In the categories for the best leading roles in comedy series, production companies can submit one candidate each. If the series has an ensemble cast feel free to suggest two or more actors/actresses.
Please note: For the Heart of Sarajevo Awards for TV Series in the categories of Best Drama Series and Best Comedy Series, presented to the producers and creators of the nominated drama and comedy series, the production company or rights holder must select either one creator or one producer by July 1, 2024 and inform the Sarajevo Film Festival representative of their choice via email at tvseries.awards@sff.ba. The designated recipient will accept the award on behalf of the team in the event of a win at the ceremony.
Selection
· The Organizing Committee of the Sarajevo Film Festival will assess the submissions and transmit to the Professional Jury to watch and review qualifying entries;
· The Professional Jury consists of 477 film and television professionals with voting rights, including, among others, previous nominees and winners of the Heart of Sarajevo Awards. Jury members are from countries eligible for participation.
· Voting for the winners of the Heart of Sarajevo Awards for TV Series takes place online, through a voting form, in two rounds. In the first round of voting, the Professional Jury selects the nominees by watching and voting for the submitted series that meet the criteria (qualifying entries). After the official announcement of the nominations, the Professional Jury votes again in the second round to select the award winners.
· All members of the Professional Jury vote for all categories;
· The Professional Jury reviews all submitted series that meet the criteria (qualifying entries) and selects the nominees.
· Based on the nominations, the Professional Jury votes for the winners of the Heart of Sarajevo Awards for TV Series in all categories.
· From April 4 to May 31, 2024, the Professional Jury watches all submitted series that meet the eligibility criteria. The first round of voting, in which the Professional Jury votes for nominations, takes place from April 30 to May 31, 2024;
· Each category can have a minimum of 3 and a maximum of 8 nominees;
· Nominations are formed based on the votes of members of the Professional Jury. Sarajevo Film Festival has the right to add 1 nomination per category;
· Nominations will be officially announced in early June 2024;
· Production companies/rights holders whose submitted TV series are not nominated will be informed prior to the official announcement of the nominations;
· The nominated series will be available for viewing by the Professional Jury by July 31, 2024, on the digital platform of the Sarajevo Film Festival;
· The voting for the award winners will be conducted online, through a voting form, from July 1st to July 31st, 2024, until 23:59;
· The decision on the award winners in all categories is solely made by the Professional Jury.
Application deadline
Applications for the TV series are open until March 29, 2024.
Responsibilities & requirements for attendance and participation
The producer or rights holder agrees to ensure that the nominated members of the series cast (including the creator, producer, director, scriptwriter, and actors) are present in Sarajevo and attend the Awards ceremony. The Organizer will cover the expenses for two nights of accommodation in Sarajevo for all nominees.. The Organizer will not cover any additional costs.
All nominees commit to participating in official promotional events and PR activities organized by the Sarajevo Film Festival to promote the series, nominations, and the awards ceremony, including the official red carpet event.
Instructions and application materials for TV series
All applications must contain the following:
· Properly completed application form;
· Links to all episodes of the submitted series.
Please read our Terms & Conditions carefully and submit your TV series accordingly. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us at tvseries.awards@sff.ba.
Application fees
Submissions are free.
Multiple series submissions are permitted. It is mandatory to complete separate applications for each series being submitted, which can be done using the same Eventival account.
Responsibilities of production companies / rights holders
Once nominations have been officially announced in all categories, it is not possible to subsequently withdraw a nominated series from the selection.
Details regarding nominations must remain confidential until the official announcement by the Festival.
Nominated TV series must provide all accessible promotional materials of the series, including stills, trailers, posters, and other promotional content. The Organizer reserves the right to utilize these materials in a format deemed suitable.
Participants of the Festival are required to adhere to the rules and regulations stated herein by the Organizer.
Format
All episodes of the series will be made accessible on the digital platform of the Sarajevo Film Festival, solely for the viewing of the Professional Jury.
All TV series must be submitted in the original language. Drama series must be subtitled in English.
You need to submit each file individually with the following maximum specifications:
· Video resolution: 1920x1080 pixels;
· Video bitrate: 2000 kbps;
· Video codec: H.264 in ".mp4" container - Video file size: Up to 1GB;
· Audio format: AAC Stereo Mix or AC3;
· Subtitles: Embedded or separated subtitles in English (if the dialogs in the file are not in English and if applicable) in “.srt” file format;
· Without any watermark or embedded logo/message.
Promotional material
The Organizer reserves the right to utilize all provided promotional material (such as photographs, trailers, or clips from the series in digital format shorter than 3 minutes, etc.) on its official promotional and communication channels, in a format and length determined by the Organizer. Additionally, the Organizer will require the submission of the series trailer and poster in digital format.
Conclusion
By submitting for the Heart of Sarajevo Awards for TV Series at the Sarajevo Film Festival, participants also acknowledge their acceptance of the obligation to adhere to all aforementioned rules and criteria. The Board of Directors of the Sarajevo Film Festival retains the right to decide on all disputed matters not explicitly regulated by these regulations.
Submit TV series HERE.
If you have additional questions, please contact the e-mail address: tvseries.awards@sff.ba.
* This name, without prejudice to the status of Kosovo, is in line with Resolution 1244 and the ICJ opinion on the Kosovo Declaration of Independence.
