Vanakkam Maxx Short Film Contest 2026
TERMS & CONDITIONS
The Vanakkam Maxx Short Film Contest 2026 (“Contest”) is organized by VanakkamMalaysia DotCom Sdn Bhd (“Organizer”) for its OTT platform and brand, Vanakkam Maxx.
By registering and participating in this Contest, all participants agree to comply with and be bound by the following Terms & Conditions.
- ELIGIBILITY
1.1 The Contest is open to Malaysian citizens only.
1.2 Participants must be aged 18 years and above at the time of registration.
1.3 Participation is strictly on a team basis only.
1.4 A non-refundable registration fee of RM100 is applicable for each participating team.
1.5 Employees, affiliates, representatives, and immediate family members of the Organizer may be restricted from participation at the sole discretion of the Organizer.
- CONTEST REQUIREMENTS
2.1 All submitted short films must:
– Be original works created specifically for this contest;
– Be produced in the Tamil language only;
– Include English subtitles;
– Have a duration between 12 to 15 minutes only.
2.2 Submitted films must be intended for publication, streaming, and distribution exclusively on Vanakkam Maxx upon selection by the Organizer. Any content that has been simultaneously submitted, licensed, published, distributed, screened, uploaded, or made available on other platforms, broadcasters, OTT services, social media platforms, festivals, or media channels may be rejected or disqualified at the sole discretion of the Organizer.
2.3 Previously published, released, broadcasted, uploaded, screened, or commercially distributed content on any platform including YouTube, Vimeo, OTT platforms, television, or social media shall not be accepted.
2.3 Participants may submit more than one entry, subject to separate registration and payment requirements.
- TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS
3.1 All submissions must comply with the following technical specifications:
– Format: MP4 (H.264) – Short Film ; Teaser ; Trailer
– Resolution: 1080 x 1920 (Landscape – HD)
– Audio: Clear and clean audio quality
– Video: Stable and viewable visual quality
– Subtitle Requirement: English subtitles mandatory
3.2 The Organizer reserves the right to reject submissions that do not meet the required technical specifications.
- SUBMISSION PROCESS
4.1 Submission instructions and upload links shall be provided separately by the Organizer.
4.2 All submissions must be made by 31/07/26.
4.3 The following materials are compulsory and must be submitted together with participant’s final film submission:
– Official teaser and trailer;
– Two (2) promotional posters in both vertical and horizontal formats
4.4 Incomplete submissions or failure to comply with any submission requirements may result in disqualification.
4.5 The Organizer shall not be responsible for failed uploads, corrupted files, late submissions, internet disruptions, or technical issues experienced by participants.
4.6 Participants are required to complete the registration fee payment in accordance with the payment instructions provided by the Organizer. All payments must include the following payment reference format:
Payee Reference: VMSFC – [TEAM NAME]
Participants are responsible for ensuring that accurate payment reference details are provided for verification and identification purposes.
- BRIEFING SESSION
5.1 The Organizer may conduct a physical or online briefing session for registered participants. Details of the briefing session shall be informed at a later stage.
- CONTENT GUIDELINES
6.1 Submitted films must not contain:
– Political propaganda;
– Religious extremism or sensitive religious content;
– Nudity or explicit sexual content;
– Hate speech or discriminatory material;
– Defamatory, unlawful, abusive, or offensive content;
– Copyright-infringing material;
– Unauthorized use of music, footage, trademarks, logos, or intellectual property;
– Commercial brand promotions, sponsorship placements, or advertising elements.
6.2 The Organizer reserves the right to reject or remove any submission deemed unsuitable, inappropriate, offensive, unlawful, or detrimental to the reputation of the Organizer or Vanakkam Maxx.
- AI-GENERATED CONTENT POLICY
7.1 The use of assistive artificial intelligence (AI) tools for editing, enhancement, subtitles, sound cleanup, color correction, workflow automation, or similar production support purposes is permitted.
7.2 Films containing substantial generative AI-created content, including AI-generated characters, performances, voices, scripts, music, or scenes, must be disclosed during submission.
7.3 Fully AI-generated films or content that infringes copyright, personality, likeness, or intellectual property rights may be disqualified at the sole discretion of the Organizer.
- COPYRIGHT, OWNERSHIP & USAGE RIGHTS
8.1 All submitted entries, materials, footage, promotional assets, posters, trailers, clips, and related content submitted under this Contest shall become the property of VanakkamMalaysia DotCom Sdn Bhd.
8.2 The Organizer shall retain perpetual rights to stream, publish, edit, reproduce, distribute, exhibit, market, promote, publicize, and use all submitted content across Vanakkam Maxx and related platforms for commercial, promotional, publicity, branding, and marketing purposes.
8.3 Participants shall not be entitled to any additional payment, royalty, compensation, or claim beyond the officially announced contest prizes.
8.4 The Organizer reserves the right to:
– Add platform branding, subtitles, introductory bumpers, overlays, or watermarks;
– Edit, crop, resize, compress, reformat, subtitle, or adapt content for platform compatibility and promotional purposes;
– Create trailers, teasers, promotional edits, social media clips, or advertisements using submitted materials.
- BRANDING REQUIREMENTS
9.1 Participants shall include the official Vanakkam Maxx logo and intro bumper provided by the Organizer in their submissions.
9.2 All submitted films must include the following credit in the end credits section:
“Produced for Vanakkam Maxx”
9.3 The Organizer reserves the right to issue additional branding requirements where necessary.
- RELEASES, CONSENTS & RESPONSIBILITIES
10.1 Participants are solely responsible for obtaining and maintaining all necessary permissions, consents, approvals, and clearances required for the production and submission of their film.
10.2 Participants shall sign and submit an undertaking form provided by the Organizer at a later stage upon completion of registration, confirming that:
all necessary permissions, consents, and clearances have been duly obtained the submitted content is original and does not infringe any third-party rights the content has not been and will not be simultaneously submitted, distributed, published, licensed, or made available to any other media platform, OTT service, broadcaster, festival, or similar outlet in a conflicting manner during the Contest period the participant agrees to be fully bound by all Terms & Conditions of this Contest issued by the Organizer
10.4 Any disputes, claims, legal actions, or liabilities involving third parties, sponsors, cast members, brands, locations, music rights, or intellectual property shall be the sole responsibility of the participating team.
10.5 The Organizer shall not be held liable for any claims arising from submitted content.
- JUDGING & WINNERS
11.1 All submissions shall be reviewed and evaluated by a judging panel appointed by the Organizer.
11.2 The decision of the judges and Organizer shall be final, binding, and not subject to appeal or dispute.
11.3 The Organizer reserves the right not to select winners if submitted entries do not meet the required standards or contest objectives.
11.4 Winners announcement dates shall be communicated separately by the Organizer.
- PRIZES
12.1 The Contest prize structure is as follows:
– First Prize: RM10,000
– Second Prize: RM6,000
– Third Prize: RM4,000
– Four (5) Consolation Prizes: RM500 each
- DISQUALIFICATION
13.1 The Organizer reserves the right to disqualify any participant or submission that:
– Violates these Terms & Conditions;
– Contains false or misleading information;
– Infringes intellectual property rights;
– Uses unauthorized content;
– Contains prohibited or inappropriate material;
– Fails to comply with submission requirements;
– Engages in misconduct affecting the reputation of the Organizer or Vanakkam Maxx.
13.2 Disqualification decisions made by the Organizer shall be final.
- MODIFICATION, POSTPONEMENT & CANCELLATION
14.1 The Organizer reserves the right to amend/revise these Terms & Conditions at any time without prior notice where necessary.
- GENERAL
15.1 By participating in this Contest, participants acknowledge and agree to all Terms & Conditions stated herein.
15.2 Any matters not expressly provided for herein shall be determined solely by the Organizer.
15.3 These Terms & Conditions shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of Malaysia.