GIFF 2023 OFFICIAL RULES

NO FEE OR PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN.  Void where prohibited or restricted by law. By entering, you agree to be bound by these Official Rules and our decisions, which are final in all matters relating to the Geocaching International Film Festival (“GIFF”). Our use of your personal data is governed by these Official Rules and our Privacy Policy.

SPONSOR:  Groundspeak, Inc. DBA Geocaching, 837 N. 34th Street, Suite 300, Seattle, WA USA

SUBMISSION DEADLINE:  11:59 PM (PDT) on August 3, 2023. All submissions for the GIFF must be received by us as the Sponsor before the Submission Deadline. We are not responsible for computer, website or other malfunction resulting in late, lost or misdirected submissions.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:  Only films submitted in accordance with these rules will be eligible for consideration.

  • Entrants must be at least 18-years-old, although a parent or legal guardian may submit on behalf of their minor child.

  • Your film must tell a geocaching story or at a minimum have some connection to geocaching.

  • Your film must be family-friendly, i.e. no nudity, sexually explicit or suggestive content, profanity, firearms or other weapons, racist, harassing or otherwise offensive content or content that would be inappropriate for children, such as violent or frightening content.

  • Any genre is acceptable: narrative, documentary, music video, animation, experimental, etc.

  • Your film submission must not contain any commercial or corporate advertising, including, corporate logos, brand names, and slogans or promotion for Geocaching Events, even if such advertising is unintentional and even if it’s geocaching-related. Therefore, no geocaching apps and/or geocaching related services or branded goods are allowed unless they are our brand and products. If you choose to incorporate our brand and/or products into your film, the use should be only in connection with your entry in GIFF.

  • Only include content (video, music, photos, illustrations, etc.) in your film that you own, have permission to use, or to which you otherwise have the necessary rights. Do not include other people in your film unless you have their permission. Be ready to provide verification of permission if requested. If you are unable to provide verification, your entry may be disqualified.

  • If you are “spoiling” a geocache in any way in your film, you must have geocache owner permission.

  • Total film length should be between 1 and 4 minutes, including credits. Films that exceed this limit may be disqualified.

  • Only 2 film submissions per person will be accepted. A separate submission form is required for each entry.

  • All languages are accepted. Non-English language films must be subtitled in English. If you are selected as a finalist, we will require a version of the film that does not have subtitles hard-coded into the film.

  • You must be at least a Basic Member of Geocaching.com and agree to our Terms of Use and these Official Rules to submit an entry.

  • You may not re-submit any entry from previous GIFFs unless your entry was disqualified and you have made corrections to address the issue.

  • You must not share your submission anywhere until after GIFF 2023 is complete on November 19, 2023.

  • If selected as a finalist, we will require an English language transcript of your film.

SUBMISSION PROCESS:    

  1. Create a geocaching film.

  2. Upload your video using one of the following options:

    1. Upload to Google Drive (google.com/drive), click on Share > Get link > “Anyone with this link can view” link. 

    2. If you have a premium Vimeo account, upload to Vimeo (www.vimeo.com) in a Vimeo-friendly format. Password protect your submission on Vimeo with the all caps password “GIFF2023”. Turn on downloading capability for the video, so we can download your submission from Vimeo.

  3. Fill out the submission form. Incomplete or inaccurate entries may be deemed void.

  4. Click “Submit” on your submission form to submit your entry.

JUDGING:  All eligible submissions will be judged by a Geocaching HQ panel of judges who will choose approximately 16 finalist films, based on the criteria below. The 16 finalist films will be shared outside of Geocaching HQ with selected geocaching community volunteers from around the world. These geocaching community volunteers will view the finalist films and choose an overall winner (the Signal Award). The Geocaching HQ judges and the geocaching community volunteer judges will judge all submissions based on the following criteria:

  • Production quality

  • Content

  • Creativity

  • Contribution to the global geocaching community

All judging for finalist films will be completed by August 31, 2023. Potential finalists will be notified by email following the completion of judging. Judging for the Signal Award will take place after the finalists have been selected. Geocaching HQ reserves the right to include an audience award with the judging to be completed by viewers of the GIFF finalist films. The overall winning submission (Signal Award) will be announced by Geocaching HQ on or around the time of the worldwide GIFF events. Any audience award would be announced sometime after the worldwide GIFF events time period.  

WORLDWIDE GIFF EVENTS:  All finalist films will be screened at worldwide GIFF events held November 9, 2023 through November 19, 2023. Geocachers may apply to organize and hold a GIFF event. Events that are approved as GIFF events may allow attendees to vote on their favorite films or may organize their own awards and/or prizes. Any such voting, awards and/or prizes will be strictly at the discretion of the GIFF event organizers and are not sponsored by Geocaching HQ.

PRIZES:  Finalists in the Geocaching HQ judging will receive a special GIFF coin. All finalists except the overall winner (Signal Award and Audience Award) will receive a one-year Premium Membership to Geocaching. The Signal Award winner will receive a five-year Premium Membership to Geocaching. In the event of an audience award category, the prize will be of negligible value. Only one Premium Membership will be given away per winning entry. Each one-year Premium Membership is valued at approximately $40 USD. The five-year Premium Membership is valued at approximately $200 USD. All prizes are non-transferable, with no cash redemptions, equivalents or substitutions except at our discretion. All prize details not specified in these Official Rules will be determined in our sole and absolute discretion. Prize details and availability are subject to change. In the event that we are unable to provide a winner with their prize, we may choose to provide such winner with an alternate prize of comparable or greater value. Winner is responsible for all taxes and any other costs, expenses or fees associated with prize acceptance.

USE OF ENTRIES:  By submitting your film and as consideration for your entry in the GIFF, you grant us permission to:

  • Share your film internally at Geocaching HQ and with various geocaching community volunteers around the world;

  • Distribute your film to Geocaching Event organizers and others upon request to allow them to screen your film in connection with their event;

  • Include your film as part of a compilation of entries received to be publicly displayed and distributed, including via the internet;

  • Use your film, including excerpts and still shots for our marketing and promotional or other purposes;

  • Use your name, username, voice, appearance and information about you contained in your submission for marketing and promotion in connection with GIFF if your submission is one of the finalists.

The permissions above are perpetual, irrevocable, sublicensable and include the right to copy, distribute, modify, publicly display and perform, translate, and combine your film with other material in any and all media, including digital and electronic media without your review, notice, approval or compensation.

GOVERNING LAW:  All disputes and questions regarding the construction, validity, interpretation and enforceability of these Official Rules, or concerning our rights and obligations as Sponsor or yours as an entrant, shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Washington, without giving effect to any choice of law or conflict of law rules or provisions that would cause the application of the laws of any jurisdiction other than Washington. The invalidity or unenforceability of any provision of these Official Rules shall not affect the validity or enforceability of any other provision. If any provision of these Official Rules is determined to be invalid or otherwise unenforceable, these Official Rules shall be construed in accordance with their terms as if the invalid or unenforceable provision was not contained there.

INELIGIBLE:  The Geocaching International Film Festival is not open to officers, directors, or employees of Groundspeak, Inc., their immediate family members, children, spouses, and persons living in their households.

RELEASE:  You acknowledge and agree that to the best of your knowledge, you are duly authorized to submit your film to GIFF and to grant permissions related to its use and distribution. You acknowledge that you will not receive any compensation for our use of your film in accordance with these Official Rules. To the extent permitted by law, you agree to release, hold harmless and indemnify us as Sponsor, our officers, directors and employees and GIFF prize suppliers (“Released Parties”) from and against any claim, cause of action, expense or any liability whatsoever (including reasonable attorney fees and expenses) arising out of your participation in the GIFF or your submission, including for infringement and for injuries or damages of any kind including death or injury to person or property. You agree that any prize you receive is provided as-is without any warranty, representation, or guarantee, express or implied, in fact or in law.