1. Preamble

The Docudays UA Travelling International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival (hereinafter referred to as the Festival) is held in 2024 from October through November and takes place across various regions of Ukraine. The Festival programme consists of a selection of documentary films from the program of the Docudays UA International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival, held in Kyiv, as well as other related events.

2. Goal of the Festival

To promote the observance and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms, affirm the understanding of human dignity as the highest value, increase the level of civic activity in Ukraine, support the development of documentary filmmaking.

3. Mission of the Festival

We create opportunities for everyone in Ukraine to watch talented and relevant documentary films from around the world that highlight human rights. We shape an active civic stance and respect for human dignity. We support the development of the Ukrainian film industry.

4. Organisers of the Festival

• Non-governmental Organisation “Docudays”
• Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union
• Charity Organisation “Charity and Health Fund”
• Centre for Modern Information Technology and Visual Arts
• Regional partners

5. Regional partners of the Festival

5.1. The organisers of the Festival in the regions can be civil society organisations, cultural organisations, charitable foundations, central government bodies, and local self-government bodies that share the values, goal, and objectives of the Festival, support the Declaration of Ethical Principles, and meet the following criteria:

  5.1.1. The applicant organisation has sufficient resources to provide the technical, informational, and other conditions for screening films and hosting Festival events in their region.

  5.1.2. It has a strong reputation in the cultural sphere and among civil society activists in its region.

  5.1.3. It has experience in organising cultural and human rights events.

  5.1.4. It is not affiliated with any political party or religious denomination.

  5.1.5. It is prepared to commit to upholding copyright laws when using films provided by NGO Docudays. Regional partners confirm this commitment in a special agreement.

5.2. To obtain the status of a regional partner of the Festival, the applicant organisation must submit an application and provide confirmation of compliance with the above-mentioned criteria by writing to: [email protected].

5.3.The decision to grant the status of a regional partner is made by the Executive Director of NGO Docudays, taking into account the opinion of the Festival organisers.

5.4. NGO Docudays may terminate cooperation with a regional partner, including but not limited to, on one of the following grounds:

  5.4.1. The regional partner violates these Regulations.

  5.4.2. The regional partner violates the terms of the Cooperation Agreement.  The regional partner does not adhere to the Festival's Declaration of Ethical Principles and Values.
  5.4.3. The regional partner fails to meet the deadlines for submitting documents during the Festival's preparation and/or the reporting deadlines.

  5.4.4. A representative of the partner organisation, without valid reasons and prior notice to the management team, does not participate in the seminar on Festival preparation and organisation or does not conduct the Festival for more than 1 year.

  5.4.5. The quality of the Festival conducted by the regional partner does not meet the criteria outlined in section 11 of these Regulations, developed by the Festival's management team and approved by the Executive Director of NGO Docudays.

 6. Preparations for the Festival

6.1. Representatives of partner organisations annually attend the Docudays UA International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival in Kyiv, where they have the opportunity to familiarise themselves with the festival programme, watch films, attend the DOCU/CLASS documentary workshop, participate in human rights events, and various networking meetings.

6.2. The management team forms the Festival programme, communicates with the rights holders of the selected films, and obtains permissions for their screening and the number of screenings in the regions of Ukraine. The final list of films for screening within the Festival is provided by the management team to the regional partners no later than 30 days before the start of the Festival.

6.3. No later than one month before the start of the Festival, the management team organises a seminar where regional coordinators can delve into the subject and programme of the Festival, participate in lectures and workshops on promoting the Festival and improving its quality, etc.

6.4. Two weeks before the start of the Festival, the management team creates and sends to regional partners a basic package of visual materials for promoting the Festival: constructors for posters, announcements, schedules, images for social media, the Festival trailer.​​

6.5. During the preparation of the Festival, regional partners submit the relevant documents to the Festival’s management team, which form the basis for the programme and cooperation principles. The forms for these documents are provided to the regional partners during the seminar for regional coordinators.

6.6. The list of documents for Festival preparation includes:

  6.6.1. Application for Festival funding with Annex B (budget), which is emailed to [email protected] no later than 3 weeks before the start of the Festival.

  In the event of unforeseen circumstances and with prior notification to the Festival management team, the application may be accepted later, but no later than 10 days before the start of the Festival.

  6.6.2. Annex A (schedule of planned events) is filled out online, which should also be reported by email to [email protected] no later than a week before the start of the Festival.

  6.6.3. Agreement on Cooperation is signed via the Vchasno online service no later than a week before the start of the Festival.Request for downloading the films is sent with an indication of the Agreement number by email to [email protected] no later than a week before the start of the festival.

6.7. Regional coordinators must coordinate a promotional plan, present the final visual materials they plan to use on social media.

6.8. NGO Docudays enters into agreements with regional partners on the transfer of a non-exclusive property copyright for the public demonstration (public screening) of Festival films (the titles of the films and their duration are specified in Appendix No. 1 to the Agreement, which is an integral part of it).

6.9. In accordance with the agreement mentioned in Paragraph 6.8 of these Regulations, NGO Docudays ensures the transfer of films to regional partners in digital format, provides informational materials on the films, as well as simultaneous translation or subtitling before the start of the respective film screening.

7. Programme of the Festival

7.1. The Festival programme includes public and specialised events, as well as closed events.  

  The public programme of the Festival includes events that are open and accessible to everyone. These include film screenings, lectures, workshops, and discussions held in open venues and public spaces: cinemas, houses of culture, galleries, bookstores, etc.
  Specialised events are those intended for a previously invited audience, but they are accessible to anyone interested.
  Closed events are film screenings and lectures designed for a specific audience, access to which is restricted.

7.2. When forming the Festival programme, regional coordinators are advised to:

  7.2.1. Adhere to the thematic balance of the Festival and cover its subject to the maximum extent.

  7.2.2. Maintain a balance between open and closed or specialised events. Due to russia's military aggression against Ukraine, the planning of the Festival must be conducted in accordance with the level of threats in the region (city) and with consideration of safety components.

  7.2.3. Study relevant problems in cities, towns and villages, and organise productive discussions with the participation of moderators and local experts. Cinema can always serve as an occasion for discussing broader problems and for professional discussions.

  7.2.4. Engage experts in discussions. Plan the budget in advance to include fees for the moderator and photographer.

7.3. For event venues, it is advisable to choose popular locations in the city that have their own audience and event programmes, and that also engage in promotion.

Due to russia's military aggression against Ukraine, the planning of the Festival must be conducted in accordance with the level of threats in the region (city) and with consideration of safety components.

8. Preparation and organisation of the public programme of the Festival

8.1. The regional coordinator ensures timely promotion and quality screening of the films from the Festival programme, as well as facilitates productive discussions after the screenings, organises and conducts human rights educational events. Due to russia's military aggression against Ukraine, the planning of the Festival must be conducted in accordance with the level of threats in the region (city) and with consideration of safety components.

8.2. During the preparation and conduction of the Festival, the regional coordinator may seek consultations and support regarding the programme and promotion of the Festival from the Festival's management team.

8.3. The schedule of the Festival's public programme must be sent by the regional coordinator for review no later than one week before the first event to the following email: [email protected].

 8.4. If there are several partner organisations conducting the Festival in the same region, they jointly develop the schedule of the public programme and the promotion plan, as well as distribute duties and areas of responsibility.

8.5. Only one organisation may be responsible for the public programme in a city if the partners agree that the others will focus more on closed or specialised events.

8.6. The public programme of the Festival in the region must have a clearly defined period of implementation. The recommended duration is no more than 2 weeks.

8.7. A press screening or press conference is organised jointly by the regional partners in one region. The press conference is intended to announce the Festival and therefore should take place at least a week before the start of the Festival. Other formats for announcing the Festival are discussed and agreed upon in advance with the Festival's management team.

8.8. The Festival does not involve generating income from its events; however, to reduce the costs of renting cinema halls, regional partners have the right to allow cinema owners to sell entry tickets — provided that the ticket price does not exceed the cost of compensating for the technical expenses of the screenings. The organisers are not entitled to receive any profit from the sale of entry tickets.

8.9. The Festival is a non-commercial, non-political, and non-religious project. Regional partners cannot:

  8.9.1. Conduct any events jointly with or in support of specific political parties and/or religious organisations.

  8.9.2. Invite representatives of political parties and/or religious organisations to events as speakers, experts, or moderators.

9. Requirements for the promotion of Festival events

9.1. Promotion of the Festival must be conducted in advance and cover the entire Festival programme.

9.2. Promotion should utilise all available means of communication.

9.3. Public announcements about the Festival must highlight the Festival's subject and be informative, accessible, concise, and appropriate.

9.4. Public announcements about the Festival must not distort information, provide false data, or resort to discriminatory, offensive, or subjective statements.

9.5. Visual materials related to the Festival that appear in the public domain must adhere to the visual concept of the Festival and the design developed by the Festival’s management team, including fonts and image sizes.

9.6. After conducting the Festival events, the regional coordinator must send the Festival’s management team photographs (from at least 2 Festival events), as well as at least 2 texts about the Festival implementation in their region. The submitted materials must meet the requirements of the Festival’s management team.

10. Compliance with copyright laws

10.1. During film screenings, the regional partner is responsible for compliance with copyright laws and taking all necessary measures to protect the film from piracy.

10.2. The number of screenings for each film cannot exceed the number specified in the Agreement between NGO Docudays and the regional partner.

10.3. After the expiration of the licence for the public screening of films within the Festival, regional partners are obligated to delete the films provided to them from all storage media where they are kept.

10.4. The regional partner conducts online film screenings by sharing exclusively the collective viewing link provided to them by the Festival’s management team.

11. Monitoring of the Festival

11.1. During the Festival, the management team may organise monitoring trips for the purpose of analysing the quality of the Festival's preparation and implementation by regional partners, as well as to prepare recommendations for improving the quality of the Festival's events. The monitoring involves studying and directly attending the Festival programme in various regions and evaluating it based on, but not limited to, the following criteria:

  11.1.1. Thoughtfully selected content: the programme should accessibly and comprehensively present and cover the Festival’s subject.

  11.1.2. Alignment of the programme with the target audience.

  11.1.3. Choice of location that ensures accessibility, quality projection, and audio support for the events.

  11.1.4. Engagement of popular venues for hosting cultural events in the city/town.

  11.1.5. Timely and effective promotion of the Festival using both offline and online communication tools. Due to russia's military aggression against Ukraine, the planning of the Festival must be conducted in accordance with the level of threats in the region (city) and with consideration of safety components.

  11.1.6. A rich and diverse programme, an understanding of the local context, its problems and potential, relevant discussions and training sessions, human rights educational events.

  11.1.7. Engagement of appropriate experts and partner organisations for the events.

  11.1.8. Coordinated cooperation among regional partners within the same region.

  11.1.9. Ability to plan and take into account the available opportunities for organising events.

12. Reporting

After the conclusion of the Festival, the regional partner must provide a descriptive report and complete the reporting section of Appendix A within 10 days, and notify about the report's readiness to the following email: [email protected]. 

13. Special format of conducting the Festival

13.1. In 2024, due to the continued military aggression by russia against Ukraine and the ongoing hostilities in Ukrainian territory, the specialised and closed events of the Festival will take place in a special format.

  13.1.1. The Festival takes place from 1 October to 30 November 2024.

  13.1.2. The deadline for submitting a funding application for the Festival is 21 days before the start of the Festival in the region. In the event of unforeseen circumstances and with prior notification to the Festival’s management team, the application may be accepted later, but no later than 10 days before the start of the Festival.

  13.1.3. The format (online, offline, or combined) of an individual event or the Festival in the region (city) as a whole is determined independently by the regional partner based on the level of threats in the region (city) and must be communicated to the Festival’s management team in the funding application and in the schedule of public events.

  13.1.4. During the conduction of offline and combined events, the regional partner is responsible for ensuring compliance with all safety regulations in place under martial law in the city (region) during the Festival.

  13.1.5. The regional partner, with the aim of expanding the audience for public educational events held online, engages media resources and platforms to broadcast (stream) the Festival’s educational events.

  13.1.6. Under the conditions imposed by Decree 64/2022 of the President of Ukraine of 24 February 2022 “On implementing martial law in Ukraine,” approved by the Law of Ukraine 2102-IX of 24 February 2022 (with amendments); the Procedures for Conducting Events during the Introduction of Curfew and Establishment of a Special Light Masking Regime in Specific Areas where Martial Law Has Been Implemented, approved by Cabinet of Ministers Decree 573 of 8 July 2020; the Law of Ukraine “On the legal regime of martial law” and other legislative and regulatory acts adopted by government bodies due to russia’s military aggression against Ukraine, as well as for the purpose of preventing the emergence of or eliminating threats to the life and safety of individuals, the interests of society or the state, and ensuring public order, the organisers reserve the right to make changes to these Regulations with further informing of all the interested parties by publishing the changes on www.docudays.ua and https://travelling.docudays.ua.

Official website of the Festival: https://travelling.docudays.ua.