Privacy Policy

Astana AI Film Festival is operated under the laws of the Republic of Kazakhstan (Legal basis: Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan No. 94-V "On Personal Data and its Protection", Law No. 18-VIII "On Online Platforms and Online Advertising", Law No. 274-IV "On Protection of Consumer Rights"). For questions about this policy, contact:

Astana AI Film Festival · desk@aaiff.ai

When you submit a film through our form:

• Name and email address
• Instagram handle
• Film title
• YouTube or Google Drive link to your film
• Section you are applying to

Automatically, when you visit the site:

• IP address and approximate location
• Device type, browser, and operating system
• Pages visited, time on site, and clicks (via cookies and tracking pixels — Meta Pixel, Google Analytics, TikTok Pixel, Cloudflare)

We do not collect payment data. Submission is free.

• To process your film submission and communicate with you about it
• To send you updates about AAIFF (you can unsubscribe any time)
• To run advertising and measure its performance across platforms
• To understand how people use the site and improve it
• With your separate consent — to show finalist works on partner platforms (e.g. Freedom Media and others)

Under the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan No. 94-V "On Personal Data and its Protection" (as amended), we process your data on the following bases:

• Contract — processing your submission and communicating with you about it (Art. 7(1))
• Consent — marketing emails, advertising cookies, profiling via Meta/TikTok pixels, sharing finalist works with partners, cross-border transfer to the USA (Art. 7(1), Art. 8, Art. 16(3)(1))
• Legitimate purpose — site security, DDoS protection via Cloudflare, fraud prevention (Art. 9(5))

Your consent covers (as required by Art. 8(4) of the Law on Personal Data): Operator — AAIFF; term — until withdrawn or account deleted; third-party transfer — permitted (see Section 6); cross-border transfer — to the USA (RevenueCat, Google, Meta, TikTok) based on your consent under Art. 16(3)(1); no distribution in public sources; data list — as set out in Section 2.

We use the following tools that set cookies or collect data on our behalf:

• Meta Pixel — tracks visits and actions for Facebook/Instagram advertising (Meta Platforms Ireland Ltd., EU–US Data Privacy Framework participant)
• Google Analytics / Google Ads — measures site traffic and ad performance (Google LLC, EU–US Data Privacy Framework participant)
• TikTok Pixel — measures ad performance on TikTok (TikTok Technology Limited)
• Cloudflare — security, performance, and DDoS protection (Cloudflare Inc., US and EU)

Meta Pixel and TikTok Pixel use profiling (automated processing) to show you targeted advertising. In accordance with Art. 19-1 of the Law on Personal Data, you may object to automated processing at any time by contacting us at desk@aaiff.ai. We will respond within 3 business days.

When you first visit the site, we ask for your consent to non-essential cookies (Law No. 18-VIII, Art. 10(1)). You can change your preferences at any time via the Cookie settings link in the footer.

• Service providers helping us run the festival (email delivery, hosting, analytics) — bound by data processing agreements
• Partner platforms (e.g. Freedom Media) — only for finalist works, only with your explicit consent
• Authorities — if required by law of Kazakhstan or an applicable international treaty

We do not sell your personal data. In accordance with Art. 19 of the Law on Personal Data, if we transfer your data to a third party, we will notify you within 10 business days (where required).

Some of our service providers (Google, Meta, TikTok, Cloudflare) are based in the United States. Transfers to the US are made on the basis of your consent (Art. 16(3)(1) of the Law on Personal Data), since the US is not recognised by Kazakhstan as providing an adequate level of data protection. Transfers to CIS countries (Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Moldova) are made in accordance with Art. 16(2) of the Law on Personal Data, as those countries are parties to the CIS Agreement on cooperation in personal data protection. By using our site or submitting a film, you acknowledge that your data may be transferred as described.

• Submission data — for the duration of the festival cycle and up to 3 years after, for record-keeping
• Analytics and cookie data — up to 26 months
• Email marketing — until you unsubscribe or ask us to delete your data
• Technical logs — 90 days

Depending on where you are located, you have the following rights:

For everyone — Kazakhstan law (Law No. 94-V, Art. 24):

• Access your data
• Correct inaccurate or incomplete data
• Request blocking or deletion
• Withdraw consent (Art. 8(7) — we will cease processing within 15 business days)
• Object to automated processing (Art. 19-1 — response within 3 business days)
• Lodge a complaint with the supervisory authority

If you are in the EU or UK (GDPR / UK GDPR):

• Data portability
• Object to processing based on legitimate interests
• Lodge a complaint with your local supervisory authority

If you are in California (CCPA):

• Know what personal information we collect and how we use it
• Delete your personal information (with some exceptions)
• Opt out of the "sale" or "sharing" of your personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising
• Non-discrimination for exercising your rights

If you are in a CIS country (Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Belarus, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Moldova):

• Your data is processed in accordance with the CIS Agreement on cooperation in the field of personal data protection
• You have the same rights as listed under Kazakhstan law above

To exercise any of these rights, email us at desk@aaiff.ai. We will respond within 30 days (or 45 days for complex requests). For deletion or blocking requests, we will act within 1 business day (Art. 25(2)(8) of the Law on Personal Data). We do not sell personal data as defined by the CCPA.

We use HTTPS, access controls, and work only with reputable providers. If a personal data security breach occurs, we will: (1) immediately notify the supervisory authority — the Ministry of Digital Development, Innovation and Aerospace Industry of the Republic of Kazakhstan (MDDIAI) — in accordance with Art. 25(2)(8) of the Law on Personal Data; (2) promptly notify you in accordance with Art. 10(4) of the Law on Online Platforms.

• We make this Privacy Policy available before you complete any registration or submission (Art. 10(1))
• We ensure the integrity, security, and confidentiality of your personal data (Art. 10(2))
• We do not distribute your personal data without your consent (Art. 10(3))
• We will promptly notify you if your personal data confidentiality is breached (Art. 10(4))
• Our recommendation systems (if any) and any profiling are disclosed in this policy (Art. 12)
• The interface of our site does not mislead or obstruct your decision-making (Art. 9(3))

Our site and submission process are not directed at children under 16. We do not knowingly collect data from anyone under 16. Content submitted to AAIFF must comply with Art. 39 of the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan "On the Rights of the Child" — content harmful to the health or development of children is not permitted. If you believe a child has submitted data without parental consent, contact us and we will delete it promptly.

Although AAIFF is a free festival and does not sell goods or services, we publish the following information as required by Art. 33-2 of the Law on Protection of Consumer Rights: you may contact the Committee for Consumer Rights Protection of the Ministry of Trade and Integration of the Republic of Kazakhstan (www.mti.gov.kz) or the Unified Information System for Consumer Rights Protection (www.cpca.kz). For any complaint or query, you may also contact us directly at desk@aaiff.ai — we will respond within 10 calendar days (Art. 42-4).

We may update this policy from time to time. When we do, we will update the "Last updated" date. Material changes will be communicated via email or a prominent notice on the site.

Astana AI Film Festival
desk@aaiff.ai
aaiff.ai