Commerce · 4 Rounds
Istoria: Director's Cut
A blockbuster only exists if the money says so.
Step into the shoes of directors and producers on the journey to creating the next blockbuster. Pitch to investors, fight for funding, battle through high-stakes auctions, and navigate studio crises to bring your film to the big screen.
Register for Istoria: Director's Cut
The Rounds
How it unfolds
- 01
Round 1 — The Pitch
Every studio starts with a genre, an audience, and a budget that won't stretch far enough. One shot to build a film concept from scratch and sell it hard.
- 02
Round 2 — Casting Calls
Original budget plus investor money hits a live auction floor. Bid on actors, music rights, film sets and everything a production needs. Every rupee counts.
- 03
Round 3 — Studio Intervention
Production never goes to plan. A lead demands more money, PR erupts overnight, a budget cut lands with no warning. Minutes, not hours, to reallocate funds and keep the film alive.
- 04
Round 4 — The Grand Premiere
A set window to shoot a one-minute trailer. Then judgment day: the audience holds up hit-or-flop cards live as the trailer plays.
Rules & Regulations
Event rules for Istoria: Director's Cut
- 01
Teams must pitch their original film concept within the time given in Round 1 — no extensions.
- 02
All auction bids in Round 2 (Casting Calls) are final once verbally placed; retracting a bid is not allowed.
- 03
Budget spent cannot exceed the funds raised through pitching + auction winnings — overspending disqualifies the team from that round.
- 04
Round 3 crisis cards must be resolved within the stated time window; unresolved crises carry a scoring penalty.
- 05
The Round 4 trailer must be shot within the designated time and space — no pre-shot or pre-edited footage.
- 06
Judging in Round 4 is based on audience "hit-or-flop" cards plus judge scoring on creativity, marketing appeal, and commercial instinct.
Universal Rules
Apply to every event.
These rules are binding across all ten events at Plutus 2026. No exceptions.
- 01
No AI tools permitted. Use of ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, or any generative AI tool — for research, content generation, calculations, or decision-making — at any stage of any round is strictly prohibited and will result in immediate disqualification of the team.
- 02
Judges' and organizers' decisions are final and binding on all matters, including scoring, disqualification, and rule interpretation.
- 03
Reporting time is mandatory. Teams arriving late to their round may lose time from their allotted slot or forfeit their turn, at the organizers' discretion.
- 04
Original work only — any pitch, script, design, or presentation must be created live/on-site during the event unless a round explicitly allows pre-prepared material.
- 05
Respectful conduct is required toward judges, volunteers, and other teams; unsporting behavior, verbal abuse, or sabotage of another team's materials leads to disqualification.
- 06
Substitutions are not allowed once a team is registered, except in case of a genuine emergency and with prior organizer approval.
Next event
Zeus' Verdict