Rules & Guidelines

• Open to all CUNY students: All students, regardless of their major, are eligible to participate.
• Enrollment requirement: Students must have completed at least one class during the Summer or Fall 2024 semester, or be registered for at least one class in the Spring 2025 semester. Proof of student status will be required upon submission of your video.
• Academic standing: Students must be in good academic standing.
• Collaboration: Students may collaborate with other CUNY students, and each student must be credited for their role in the project.
• Non-CUNY collaboration: Collaboration with non-CUNY students is not permitted.

• Free: There is no cost for submitting a video.
• One submission per student: Each student may submit only one video, but may collaborate on other submissions.
• Submission platform: Videos must be submitted digitally via FilmFreeway (https://filmfreeway.com/FrameForward).
• Length: Videos must be at least 20 seconds long and no longer than 3 minutes.
• Awards eligibility: Only the student submitting the video will be eligible to receive awards.
• Upload to YouTube: Unless the student opts out, all submissions will be uploaded to the CCNY CWE YouTube channel under the festival’s playlist for a wider audience.
• Submission Categories: Videos can be submitted under one of the following categories: include:
  • CCNY CWE: For students from CCNY’s Division of Interdisciplinary at the Center for the Worker Education (CCNY CWE).
  • CCNY: For students from City College of New York (CCNY).
  • CUNY: For all students from The City University of New York (CUNY).
    
    📝 Note: You can only submit to one category.

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• Original Work: The video must be an original creation made by the student specifically for the festival.
• Theme: The video must align with the festival theme, "Featuring Student Life Through the Eyes of Those Living It."
• Language: Videos with elements in languages other than English must include English subtitles.
• Creative Freedom: Videos can explore student experiences in a variety of ways and may encompass a wide range of topics and formats. Examples include:
  • Reciting poetry or performing spoken word
  • A day in the life showcasing daily routines and activities
  • Photomontage of memorable moments during college
  • Cooking tutorial using items from the college's free pantry
  • Commute stories, while traveling to and from campus
  • Classroom tutorials explaining a concept learned in class
  • One-shot videos capturing a single moment or experience
  • Fast-paced vlogs or slow, reflective pieces that highlights personal perspectives
  • All forms of expression are welcome!
• No Public Sharing: Videos must not be publicly shared/uploaded to any platform until the competition has finished and the winners have been announced.

• Creativity and Originality: Videos will be judged on how creative and unique they are, as well as how clearly they express the student’s message.
• Relevance to the Theme: Judges will look for how well the video reflects the theme of the festival: “Featuring Student Life Through the Eyes of Those Living It.”
• Personal Storytelling: Judges will consider the personal stories shared in the video, valuing the diversity of experiences and perspectives within our student community.
• Judges Panel: A panel of storytellers, academics, community builders, communicators, life-long learners, and filmmakers from CCNY’s community will select the winners. The panel will focus on the impact of the story rather than technical aspects.
• Public Choice: The winner of the public choice award will be determined by the number of likes on YouTube, highlighting the importance of audience engagement. The video must be an original creation made by the student specifically for the festival.
• Selected Works on YouTube: All selected videos will be uploaded to the CCNY CWE YouTube channel under the festival’s playlist for visibility after the selection and winners are announced.

• By submitting a video, participants grant CCNY CWE (CCNY’s Division of Interdisciplinary Studies at the Center for Worker Education) the right to display and promote their work in connection with the festival.
• Participants also agree that their video may be used on CCNY CWE’s social media platforms to promote awareness of the division and its activities.
• The full video will remain on the official YouTube channel for ongoing exposure, but participants retain all rights to their original work.
• If requested by the participant, the video can be made unpublished on the official YouTube channel.

For questions or more information, please email Lorena De Miranda Marques at lmarques@ccny.cuny.edu