50 Film Festivals worth the entry fee - MovieMaker Magazine
20 essential International Film Festivals - MovieMaker Magazine
10 most exciting European Film Festivals - The Guardian
Mallorca International Film Festival enters its 13th edition, with a clear mission statement; BRIDGING CULTURES – BRIDGING PEOPLE. This is reflected in the film's storytelling, the shooting locations, or the cast and crew. The idea is to screen films that are inclusive, diverse, and invite the audience to experience a variety of languages and cultures.
MIFF is recognized as one of the fastest-growing international film festivals in Europe, using independent film to shape a creative community, allowing filmmakers to feel inspired, network, and thrive in this idyllic Mediterranean island paradise.
THE hub for networking, MIFF brings together the brightest local and international minds in cinema in Mallorca’s buzzing and the culturally rich city of Palma. For seven days EMIFF’s program is curated to showcase a culturally diverse, inclusive and provocative mix of feature films, short films, documentaries, music videos, films for kids, experimental films, animation shorts, student films and a feature film and short film screenplay competition.
Some of our resent programs included award winning films such as:
Triangle of Sadness
Corsage
Un Amor
Perfect Days
The Promised Land
With competitive screenings unfolding at the most striking island locations, MIFF is an ideal place for filmmakers to rub shoulders with industry professionals at the festival’s Producers Club, Cinematography Focus, Pitch Forum, and numerous workshops. Speakers and mentors have included Oscar Winners Erik Messerschmidt, ASC, Melissa Leo, Director Ruben Östlund, DP ED Lachman, Actor Mads Mikkelsen, Director Isabel Coixet and many more.
MIFF is proud to be part of MovieMaker’s list “TOP 50 Film Festivals Worth The Entry fee” SEVEN years in a row, as well as appearing continuously on the 100 Best Reviewed Film Festival list on Freeway, ranking in the top 1.5% of more than 10,000 film festivals and creative markets around the world.
Sofia MENAR Film Festival is organized by Pozor company.
Sofia MENAR Film Festival makes Bulgarian audience familiar with the culture and traditions of the Islamic world. The programme of Sofia MENAR Film Festival presents the best of Middle East and North Africa cinema productions, including feature films, documentaries and short projects. A lot of accompanying events are organised within the frames of the festival. These events are particularly selected and bound up with the countries of this region, representing traditions and customs of the ethnic groups that inhabit its lands.
The festival is held every year in January and runs at the same time in Sofia and other major Bulgarian cities. MENAR is organised by "Pozor" as one of a kind Balkans` largest cultural event representing Muslim world and its traditions.
Amongst the directors whose films have been presented during the festival are names such as Abbas Kiarostami, Majid Majidi, Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Ümit Ünal, Asghar Farhadi, Panahbarkhoda Rezaee, Hany Abu-Assad, Bahman Ghobadi, Reza Mir-Karimi, Eran Riklis, Derviş Zaim, Hüseyin Karabey, Susan Youssef, Nacer Khemir, Nadir Mokneche ...
Sofia MENAR Film Festival continues the tradition of "Flowers of the Qu`ran" Film Festival, organised 4 years on end, from 2009 to 2012 making the Bulgarian audience acquainted with more than 120 film productions that bring the spirit of the East.
The term MENAR, for "Middle East and North Africa Region", is an acronym often used to cover an extensive area, stretching from Morocco to Iran, including the majority of both the Middle Eastern and Maghreb countries.
The Death's Parade Film Festival is born from our fear-- and love -- of the unknown. The lurking shadows, the bumps in the night, the feeling of eyes watching you sleep. We can't wait to share my adoration and obsession of horror with the San Francisco Bay Area.
Since this is our inaugural run, the theme of this event will be INSPIRATION. What excites you? What gets you going? Show us what drives you to create that wonderful, terrifying, insidious art. Show us the passion, the energy!
It is our goal to provide you, the filmmaker, a dark and brooding platform to display your talents within the horror genre. The Death's Parade Film Festival will carefully select the best of the best in regards to horror shorts, features, and animations to present to our San Jose audience.
**Prospective winners and selectees will have submissions reviewed by our production partner Reel Nightmare Films for potential distribution deals.**
The Death's Parade Film Festival is happening October 4th and 5th 2019, at the Towne 3 Cinemas in San Jose California ; a 240-seat venue with a built-in stage, equipped with cutting-edge HD digital projection, and a booming surround sound system.
The festival will feature short films and feature films from around the world, with an emphasis on paranormal, psychological and body horror, found footage, experimental, killers, monsters, zombies, gore, and dark comedy. Visit https://www.deathparadefilmfest.com/ for more.
Local horror filmmakers will be especially encouraged to showcase their work in front of a large audience. Should your film be selected into our festival you are welcome to attend, and be invited on stage for a Q&A session with our host.
This event also serves as the California Bay Area's first horror-centric film festival in three years. You will not find any sci-fi or fantasy here. Just horror. You may find some laughs, however; be prepared for thrills and chills!
We invite you to participate in the fourth edition of ANIMAL Film Fest, which will take place on October 3, 4 and 5, 2024 with a hybrid model (online and in person) in the city of Morelia, Michoacan, Mexico.
We recommend reading the entire call before registering your short films. Registration and participation in the 5th edition of this festival implies full acceptance of these regulations.
OPEN CALL
ROT Movie Makers invites general public, as well as independent and professional filmmakers, film students, communication, animation, visual arts, multimedia and careers related, to participate in the ANIMAL Film Fest 5th edition, which will take place on October 3, 4 and 5, 2024, in the city of Morelia, Michoacán, Mexico.
AFF is a ROT Movie Makers’ production.
We want to position Miscellaneous GLBT International Film Festival of Panama, as the best choice for film screenings with issues related to sexual diversity.
Muestra de Cine Social
Luminiscence.
Presentation
The Social Film Festival organized by Luminiscence Studio since 2013 has no competitive character, our intention is to screen projects with a clear social commitment, bringing the works presented to the public closer so that a link can be created between filmmakers, the public and organizers.
March 7-9
Irish Cinema Showcase
Contemporary animated, live action and documentary feature length and short Irish films from local and international filmmakers.
YoFi Microfest is a cousin to YoFiFest, the Yonkers Film Festival.
The Micro Fests were created to bring year round themed screenings and programming that connects audiences to films with specific topics or genres.
The YoFiDMAC (Digital Media Arts Center) is conveniently located in the booming downtown Yonkers waterfront, a 30 minute train ride from midtown Manhattan, along the scenic Hudson River. We draw filmmakers and audiences from New York City, Westchester County and the Lower Hudson Valley, Rockland County, New Jersey, and Connecticut.
What we could never have imagined has happened: a pandemic and a global confinement.
We are living a new historical experience that affects all dimensions of human life. But, in the digital age, we can also overturn this situation. We need to be creative: redefining our social relations and our relationship with nature.
DocuVir.20 is a laboratory of socio-cultural innovation. We invite you to participate in this project. We are seeking for cultural vaccines and social antidotes. Antidotes to everything that poisons social life and human interaction: fake news, lies, misinformation. Antidotes for isolation and loneliness.
Put your imagination to work. Put it to work with the instrument that today allows us to be even more connected than ever before: your mobile phone or any other tool that can record how our life is changing.
Important note on COVID-19: None of the Indie Short Fest live events will be cancelled. Although are currently postponed, all of the screenings and Q&As will be scheduled for the first safe opportunity, even if they have to be merged in large events. Until then, ISF-LA has also optional streaming opportunities for who wants to join, namely VOD or monthly subscription via our TV channel.
This means that our event dates designate, at this temporary stage, the day for the announcement of the award winners of each season. The respective live events will take place as soon as possible.
Everything else is working as usual.
IMDb qualifier Indie Short Fest (ISF-LA) is an LA-based international film competition with red carpet live screenings and Q&A at the Raleigh Studios in Hollywood, CA, every two months.
ISF-LA is looking for independent projects from all genres, particularly low or no-budget ones, as well as from all countries, especially from those traditionally underrepresented in the global film industry.
Each round, all submitted projects are featured in ISF-LA site and social media (with the publication of synopsis, stills and a trailer/teaser) as part of a general promotional action of indie production. Submitter has the option of decline any public highlight, as long as notified ISF-LA, keeping however his project(s) under consideration. These projects are judged by a random team of invited experts from academia and film industry from Los Angeles area, against a high standard of merit. From the pool of official selection, which has a very competitive acceptance rate, ISF-LA chose the nominees and award winners of the season. All of them can add their projects to IMDb. Some of the award-winning projects, selected by the programmers of ISF-LA, are publicly screened in Los Angeles at the end of each round.
Before submitting, please read carefully the following:
Every submission can add numerous additional judging categories increasing the chance to become a multi-award-winning. In these cases, the name(s) to be credited should be included in the submission.
Notice that any entry is judged only according to the nature of the submitted category or categories. After the preliminary evaluation, ISF-LA can email the submitter with recommendations to other categories in which the entry can be more suitable to and have more chances to be a good competitor. Still, the decision to submit to other categories, and the payment of the associated fees, belong exclusively to the submitter and does not guarantee any award or the official selection.
Founded in 2003, IN THE PALACE International Short Film Festival is dedicated to short films, new media and digital arts. Originating as a competitive forum for student films, it has grown to be a recognized platform for the expression of both young artists and established professionals – the only one of its kind in Bulgaria serving this particular sector of contemporary culture, and one of the oldest short film forums on the Balkans.
IN THE PALACE is a Goya Awards qualifying festival, Student Academy Awards® qualifying festival, and an Academy Awards®/OSCAR® qualifying festival for shorts in the categories of Best Animation, Best Fiction, Best Documentary, and Best National Film. IN THE PALACE is a member of the international network of festivals and institutions serving the short film sector – the Short Film Conference.
22nd IN THE PALACE will take place in the Palace of Culture Pernik (Pernik, Bulgaria) from June 28th until July 5th 2025.
IN THE PALACE is an established international festival dedicated to short films and digital arts and also presents special competitive programs for feature films and film series.
The program consistс of several main components:
• International and national, professional and student competitive programs in fiction, documentary, animation, experimental - for short and feature films and series
• ON FOCUS film programs & screenings
• Q & A sessions
• FILMER FORGE: industry market, industry meetings, film pitching session, educational program
• International Interdisciplinary Science Conference
• Video library
• Film events and initiatives for general audience
• Parties
IN THE PALACE takes place over a week and offers a range of events, activities, and programs for both - local and international film industry and audience. IN THE PALACE is a cultural meeting point of film industry, artists, students, educational institutions, and the general public, that provides access to the latest trends, developments, and learning in the arts and culture through screenings, training and interdisciplinary exchange. Since 2018 the Festival organizes the International Interdisciplinary Science Conference.
Official Website:
https://www.gzdoc.cn/en/index.aspx
Official Email Address:
film@gzdoc.cn / screen@gzdoc.cn / project@gzdoc.cn / docshop@gzdoc.cn
[Important]
1.All emails should be regarded as official only when they are sent from the official email addresses listed above. Please do not make a promotion of selection if you only get an email from Festhome without any confirmation from our official email address.
2.We will only notify selected films by film@gzdoc.cn. If you haven't been notified by email by the end of November, it means your film has not been selected.
Introduction of GZDOC Four Main Sessions:
GZDOC is the only state-level professional platform with documentary financing and trading functions and has become the pioneer in China's documentary industry, showcasing national industrial policies and international development trends. Dedicated to the documentary festival for two decades, GZDOC has turned into a comprehensive cultural event integrating competition, screening, pitching, training, forums, and market.
①Golden Kapok Award Competition
The Competition section is dedicated to honor outstanding documentaries that can promote the exchange of various cultures, communicate universal emotions and values through excellent filmmaking techniques and high-level production. This section does not contain any public screenings. If the production team has the intent to do so, please also register for the screening section.
②Golden Kapok Screening
This is the non-competitive screening section that aims at presenting a variety of documentary films to the public, showing the audience the latest films with brilliant story-telling skills, authentic expressions, or experimental narratives.
③GZDOC PITCHING SECTION
GZDOC recruits work-in-progress projects for and from global market.
The 21st edition will invite Chinese and international buyers, broadcasters and key players from the industry as the decision makers, in the aims of developing the pre-sale, co-production and commission of documentary projects.
④GZDOC DOCSHOP
The DOCSHOP is a year-round marketplace for filmmakers, distributors, buyers and commissioners, etc. It contains three kinds of copyright cooperation modes:
1) On-demand Screening System
The DOCSHOP will set aside a screening area at the GZDOC venue. Participants will watch the films submitted to DOCSHOP through the on-demand screening system. Screening reports will then be generated, recording the viewers' purchasing interests. GZDOC staff will process these requests after the festival.
If necessary, the DOCSHOP will also set up an online on-demand screening system on official website(www.gzdoc.cn). The online on-demand system will be only available for registered guest, and only release film trailers.
2) Daily Operation
The GZDOC DOCSHOP will keep recommending films to various platforms in a bid to facilitate trades throughout the year.
3) Industry Screenings
Industry Screenings are film screenings at the GZDOC venue for registered delegates and industry professionals. On the spot publicity could be arranged, in a bid to promote the films.
The ACCIONS 3E Non-Profit Cultural Association is convening and organizing the 29th SUNCINE International Environmental Film Festival, to be held on November 2-10, 2023.
SUNCINE, formerly known as FICMA, was first held in 1993 and is positioned as the oldest Environmental Film Festival in the world; it is a reference in its genre.
SUNCINE is a multi-screen festival (in-person, online and televised). Its primary objective is to promote, disseminate and publicize environmental audiovisual works to raise awareness about the state of the environment, biodiversity and the planet’s sustainability.
The FICTU is a festival that focuses on short films and seeks to connect the audiovisual production of Boyacá with the current national and world cinema.
The festival has 4 competitions which are:
- Boyacá short films competition
- Colombian short films competition
- International short films competition
- Colombian feature film competition
Since 1995, The Victoria Film Festival (VFF) has presented the best Canadian and international feature, documentary, and short film to Victoria and Vancouver Island in a ten-day celebration of cinema. This year marks our 30th festival! Eclectic and inspiring, the festival hosts a wide array of film directors, producers, distributors, and programmers as guests and participants. With a continuing legacy of great workshops, installations, filmmaker lounges, and the opening Gala, this year’s celebration of film and filmmakers is taking place in British Columbia’s capital city February 2rd -11th 2024!
NIFF is a space for criticism, denunciation, impact and social growth through the dissemination and promotion of cinema.
NIFF aims to be a statement against non-involvement, disregard and lack of commitment, which is the real disease of this century, where we produce more than we can consume, and happiness is subject to the law of supply and demand.
NIFF was born with the intention of triggering, debating the issues that are hidden under appearances and confronting the public with the social realities that show each individual as a part of those that make us complex, unique and human.
Africa in Motion (AiM) is an annual African film festival taking place in Scotland, consisting of film screenings and complementary events. Now in its fifteenth year, AiM brings the best of African cinema to Scotland—making it possible for Scottish audiences to engage with African stories and industry professionals from the continent. AiM has established itself as a major annual event within the Scottish cultural calendar, whilst also maintaining an international profile as one of the leading African film platforms. The festival caters to a varied and diverse audience from all over Scotland, the UK and further afield. A core aspect of AiM’s organisational work is its partnership development with various cultural and artistic networks and venues, with particular efforts made towards engaging the African diaspora community living in Scotland. Africa in Motion has grown from strength to strength over the past 14 years. Our own statistics show that we have screened around 680 African films to over 45,000 people in Scotland since the inauguration of the festival in 2006.
The Nîmes En Court Festival welcomes you to Nîmes from Wednesday 15th to Saturday 18th April 2020 for its second edition!
Competition of short films, favorites, compétition 48h, compétition photo, scenario workshop, master class ... we prepare a beautiful edition!
Our short film show intends to celebrate and disseminate the film creation made by women.
We want to create a diverse and heterogeneous show, we will not value positively that the theme of the short film is related to gender, because we want to exhibit the feminine creation in its pure gesture, for its cinematic value and not for its theme.
We will value positively that the director can attend the exhibition, since our intention is to create a dialogue with the public about the work of the directors.
