FAQ

FAQ. Submissions for pitching for In-Development, Work-in-Progress, and Market Presentation projects

General questions

Who can submit?
Production companies.
Unfortunately, you cannot submit a project without a producer on board.

When and how do my production company submit the project?
The call for projects is open from 27 February until 19 April 2024. The link to the submission form is available on industry.younghorizons.pl/submit-your-project page.

To enter the submission form you need to create an account on the Young Horizons Industry platform powered by FestiCiné. Please complete the online form by 19 April 2024 and click the “Save my project and submit” button. The information about your submission will appear on your account on the platform.

In case of any problems, please contact: magda.wylezalek@nowehoryzonty.pl

What kind of projects can be submitted?
The submission is open for: full-length films and series, live-action, animation, documentary, transmedia projects, all genres, with international potential and looking for international partners. The projects need to be aimed at young audiences: preschoolers, kids, teens, young adults.

You cannot submit a short film.

At what stage should a submitted project be?
Depending on the stage of the project you can submit it to one of the following sections: In-Development, Work-in-Progress, Market Presentation.

To submit a project to the:

In-Development pitching section

• the project needs to be in a stage of development
• have a treatment
• have at least 10% of the financing secured

Work-in-Progress pitching section

• the project needs to be at production or postproduction stage with shooting started by the end of August 2024
• have a treatment (full script in English available on request)
• have at least 70% of the financing secured

Market Presentation

• the project needs to be finished or nearly finished (production year 2024/2025)
• have at least 90% of the financing secured

How many projects can one production company submit?
Each production company can submit two projects in total. Please remember that we can only select one project per company for each section. If you want to submit more than one project, please keep in mind that the project needs to be well-developed and ready to be presented in front of international industry professionals.

Is submission open for projects outside Europe and the European Union?
Yes, submissions are open to the projects from all around the world.

Does my project have to have a co-producer, distributor or sales agent on board?
No, you don’t have to have any of them. In fact, the Young Horizons Industry forum is a great place to meet your potential co-producers, distributors, sales agents, etc.

But if you already have a co-producer or other partners confirmed, please let us know in the online submission form together with the information what your aim is at the forum so we can meet your needs and help you achieve your goals in Warsaw.

I’m not sure to which section I should submit my project. Can you help?
Please check the criteria regarding the conditions of each section available in this document or on our website.

If you are still not sure which section would be the best option for your project, please contact: magda.wylezalek@nowehoryzonty.pl, we are happy to help.

The final decision whether the project will be presented in the In-Development, Work-in-Progress or Market Presentation section is being made by our team and in cooperation with a producer after the project is selected.

Please don’t submit the same project to more than one section.

I’ve already applied in the past. Can I submit the same project again?
Yes, you can. But, please let us know in the application what has changed since you first applied to our event.

If your project was presented in the In-Development or Work-in-Progress section and it entered the pre-production, production or postproduction stage you are more than welcome to submit your project to Market Presentation. The same rule applies if you presented the project in the In-Development section in the past and want to present the project in the Work-in-Progress section.

My project was not selected or I don’t have a project. Can I attend the forum anyway?
Of course. Please, fill in the accreditation form available on our website. The accreditations will be on sale from June or July.

Even if you are not part of the pitching sections you can still schedule 1:1 meetings with our guests and experts to discuss your project. You can also set up a meeting with Pitching Teams and other producers to become their co-producer or partner.

If you have any further question, please contact us: magda.wylezalek@nowehoryzonty.pl

FEE and additional expenses

Is there any submission fee?
The submission is free of charge. However if the project is selected there is an Accreditation fee. The special accreditation price for the Pitching Team (max. two people) is 100 EUR excl. VAT. This type of accreditation includes: 2 online Pitching Trainings, accommodation (2 nights for two people in singles rooms), lunches and coffee breaks, access to the whole event during the Young Horizons Industry forum and free admission to all the screenings of Young Horizons IFF, access to the Young Horizons Industry online platform.

My project is selected to the pitching. Do you cover the accommodation or travel expenses?
The accreditation fee (see above) for the Pitching Team includes accommodation (2 nights for two people in singles rooms). Travel expenses need to be covered by you.

What if I want three or more people in my Pitching Team? Do I have to pay extra?
The accreditation for the Pitching Team covers only participation costs for two people. If the production team behind the selected project would like to include more than two members to be present at the forum, the cost of the accreditation for any extra members and all the other expenses need to be covered by the Pitching Team.

Budget conditions

How much finance do we need to have secured to apply to the Young Horizons Industry?
It depends on the pitching section you want to apply to. Projects submitted to the following sections need to have a:

• In-Development: 10% of budget in place
• Work-in-Progress: 70% of budget in place
• Market Presentation: 90% of budget in place

It doesn’t mean that you have to have money in the company bank account. It might be money that you will have based on LOIs or other agreements between your company and your partners. Secured money cannot only be your in-kind contribution.

What is Planned financing structure and what is the difference between Planned financing structure and Financing structure?
When submitting the project to the In-Development or Work-in-Progress section, we ask you to attach a Planned financing structure to the application. It can be a one-page financing plan in pdf and it must be calculated in euros. Please check the “Attachments” sections below.

As we realise that projects are at different stages, we don’t expect that your production company has a ready and confirmed finance plan and all the money secured. This is why we ask you to submit a Planned financing structure to see if there is a potential to find partners at our forum. But if the production company submit the project to Market Presentation we expect that you already have a financing structure and most budget confirmed.

Attachments

Please make sure to attach all the required materials in the requested formats. Sending submission without attachments is not possible.

In case you don’t have a photo or visual of the project, please let us know before submitting the project. Contact: magda.wylezalek@nowehoryzonty.pl

Materials and attachments needed for the submission:

• Photo or key visual of the project
• Logline, synopsis, treatment (film), episodes outlines (series)
• Planned financing structure (in euros) (In-Development and Work-in-Progress) and Financing structure (Market Presentation)
• Moodboard
• Optional link to the film materials/ footage (this is obligatory if you are submitting a project to Market Presentation)
• Optional materials: green and sustainability concept, marketing concept, bible, pilot treatment, dialogue scene, concept on diversity represented in the project

Why do you need logline, short synopsis, and treatment or episodes outlines?
All documents are needed for the selection process.

Keep in mind that if the project is selected, we will publish logline and synopsis in the catalogue, on Young Horizons Industry website and online platform. We can also use your logline and synopsis to promote your project via our newsletter or social media.

Your treatment and episode outlines will be used only for the purpose of the selection process.

What if our treatment or episodes outlines are longer or shorter than requested. Is it possible to submit the version we have?
The treatment for film should have approx. 5200 characters including spaces, which is 4 pages, and episode outlines should have approx. 2600 characters including spaces, which is 2 pages.

It should be saved in reader-friendly format so the letters are easy to read. Longer texts may not be readed by our selection committee. Shorter texts may not fulfill the potential of your project, so please use the maximum words to describe your project.

What should Planned financing structure or Financing structure contain?
Your Planned financing structure or Financing structure is part of your submission. It should indicate the names of parnters/companies attached to the project and the type of financing they are providing. It can be money coming from investors, presales, development or production support, in-kind contributions. Please indicate which ones are confirmed.