Festival start: 06 August 2025
Festival end: 09 August 2025
The Villamayor de Cine European Short Film Festival was born in 2008 in the charming village of Villamayor de Santiago, located in the province of Cuenca. Its main mission from the beginning has been to create a space where short films take center stage and young directors have a chance to shine.
Every August, the festival comes to life through the dedication of a team of over forty young professionals. Under the guidance of its founder, Javier Alonso, they work tirelessly to bring the best of European short cinema to Villamayor de Santiago.
Renowned Spanish actor Jesús Guzmán served as the festival’s Honorary President until his passing in 2023. In his memory, the award for Best Fiction Short Film now bears his name, keeping his legacy alive in the film world.
The festival is hosted by acclaimed actor and presenter Luis Mottola, whose professionalism and charisma add great value to the event. Mottola holds a special affection for Villamayor, and the town, in turn, holds him in high regard. @luismottola
Cash Prizes: 750€
- Jury Globalcaja - Jesús Guzmán Award for Best Fiction Short Film (awarded with 300€ and a trophy).
- Audience Award for Best Fiction Short Film (awarded with 150€ and a trophy).
- Jury Award for Best Documentary Short Film (awarded with 300€ and a trophy).
- Jury Award for Best Foreign Language Short Film (awarded with a batch of typical local products and a nameplate).
- Jury Award for Best Actor (awarded with a batch of typical local products and a nameplate).
- Jury Award for Best Actress (awarded with a batch of typical local products and a nameplate).
- Jury Award for Best Director (awarded with a batch of typical local products and a nameplate).
- Jury Award for Best Screenplay (awarded with a batch of typical local products and a nameplate).
- Jury Award for Best Editing (awarded with a batch of typical local products and a nameplate).
- Jury Award for Best Cinematography (awarded with a batch of typical local products and a nameplate).
- Jury Award for Best Sound (awarded with a batch of typical local products and a nameplate).
OFFICIAL SECTION RULES OF THE 2025 SHORT FILM CONTEST
1. Application
All producers and filmmakers of short films from European countries are eligible to participate, with no age limit.
Fiction or documentary short films of any production format can participate.
The festival will take place on August 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th, 2025.
2. Conditions
Each participant can submit a maximum of two works, produced after January 1st, 2023.
The duration cannot exceed 25 minutes.
Works that do not guarantee proper technical projection will be rejected.
Works that have participated in previous editions of the festival cannot participate.
The Festival assumes that the holders of the submitted short films hold the exhibition and promotion rights for the works and materials they represent and declines any responsibility regarding the infringement of this rule.
Productions not in Spanish must present their works with corresponding subtitles in Spanish for screening at the Festival.
3. Registration
The registration period will be from April 21, 2025 to June 8, 2025. Registration must be done as follows:
online registration procedure (more information at https://fecvillamayor.es/)
When registering the work, certain data will be requested to complete the registration form. Therefore, participants who submit online do not need to send anything else by postal mail or email. Any questions will be addressed at fecvillamayor@fecvillamayor.es.
Participants authorize the organization to use excerpts from the films for dissemination in any media to promote the festival, as well as the use of film photographs for press and other media advertising.
4. Selection
From all received films, a total of seventeen will be selected for participation in the festival (twelve fiction short films and five documentary short films). The selection of films will be carried out by an organization committee, under strict quality criteria. The selection results will be made public on July 15th, 2025. The results will be communicated to all participants via email, as well as on our social networks and website where the selected films will be published. The selection committee's decision is final.
Selected films must be in the possession of the organization by July 31st, 2025, in the following format:
Codec: H.264 - Resolution: 1920 x 1080 - Fps: 25p
The festival has sufficient guarantees and insurance to cover expenses related to possible damages or loss of screening copies or any other material provided by participants, with the festival taking immediate responsibility for their replacement. Additionally, the festival will cover the return of screening copies (USB drives, hard drives, or optical media) only when such shipment is within the national territory. Selected films will be screened in public sessions at the designated venue, at the times and dates specified in the festival's official program or as determined by the organization.
The organization appreciates the presence of representatives from each short film and will cover their accommodation and meals expenses, but cannot cover their travel costs for economic reasons.
5. Jury
The Official Jury, composed of professionals with recognized experience in the cultural field, will be responsible for awarding the prizes.
The jury may declare any category void due to lack of quality or absence of submissions, or award prizes ex aequo. Its decisions are final.
The awards will be presented at the awards Gala in the municipality of Villamayor de Santiago on August 9th, 2025. The organization appreciates the presence of representatives from each short film and will cover their accommodation and meals expenses.
The audience present during screenings will award the Best Short Film prize through an online voting process after each screening session. The audience's decision is final.
6. Awards
Each of the winning short films will be awarded a trophy created for the occasion. Listed below are all the categories.
- Jury Globalcaja - Jesús Guzmán Award for Best Fiction Short Film (awarded with 300€ and a trophy).
- Audience Award for Best Fiction Short Film (awarded with 150€ and a trophy).
- Jury Award for Best Documentary Short Film (awarded with 300€ and a trophy).
- Jury Award for Best Foreign language Short Film (awarded with a batch of typical local products and a nameplate).
- Jury Award for Best Actor (awarded with a batch of typical local products and a nameplate).
- Jury Award for Best Actress (awarded with a batch of typical local products and a nameplate).
- Jury Award for Best Director (awarded with a batch of typical local products and a nameplate).
- Jury Award for Best Screenplay (awarded with a batch of typical local products and a nameplate).
- Jury Award for Best Editing (awarded with a batch of typical local products and a nameplate).
- Jury Award for Best Cinematography (awarded with a batch of typical local products and a nameplate).
- Jury Award for Best Sound (awarded with a batch of typical local products and a nameplate).
The Jury Award and Audience Award are cumulative. All fiction films, national and European compete for the Audience Award
7. Acceptance of the regulations
The registration implies the acceptance of these regulations and the decisions of the organization, selection committee and festival jury. Any issue not foreseen in the regulations will be resolved by the organization of the festival
General Conditions
-The copies of the not selected films will become part of the audio-visual archive of the festival, and may be used, prior communication to the producer, for its exhibition in parallel events to the festival. The producer can completely deny this exhibition.
-The festival may organize different information sections, prior communication and authorization of the producer, with the short films not nominated, parallel to the Official Section.
- The producers of the selected short films authorize the use of a fragment of the works (maximum three minutes), for its dissemination as an information material in any media, including the Internet.
- The date and place may be modified by the organization, which will be communicated to the interested parties with sufficient time in advance.
- The organization reserves the right to modify some of these bases as well as to interpret them in case of doubt. The decisions adopted by the organization will be unappealable.
- If the festival is delayed or canceled for reasons beyond the control of the organizers, the participants will not be entitled to any compensation, but their work will remain pending to compete in it, as soon as normality is restored. Participation in this Festival implies acceptance of these rules.
- For any additional information or clarification you can contact by mail, email or telephone, writing or calling the headquarters of this festival. Phone: 637 515 209 (from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.), e-mail: fecvillamayor@fecvillamayor.es or writing to Festival Europeo de Cortametrajes. Casa de Cultura Quijotes y Sanchos. Avda. Olímpica, 3 - 16415 Villamayor de Santiago (Cuenca).
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Festhome holds accountable fees festivals by holding the payment of the fees of most newer festivals until they have viewed the submissions, held their festivals and other methods. 