Málaga Talent 2026 is an international program for training and developing audiovisual talent, part of the industry area of the Málaga Festival. It is aimed at young filmmakers from Europe and Latin America with projects in development. The program offers mentorship, specialized workshops, and networking activities to strengthen professional skills and help consolidate creative projects.
The call accepts projects of all formats and genres, including short films, feature films, series, fiction, documentary, animation, and experimental works. Completed works are not required; creativity and development potential are prioritized.
Twenty participants will be selected, who must be under 28 years old, with intermediate to advanced Spanish or English skills, and prior experience in areas such as directing, screenwriting, production, editing, cinematography, or sound. Projects must also have institutional or industry backing from the participant’s home country.
The on-site program will take place from March 4 to March 14, 2026, in Málaga, Spain. Although applications are not yet open, the deadline is expected to be February 1, 2026, so applicants should prepare their projects and documentation in advance. Málaga Talent offers a unique opportunity to advance innovative audiovisual projects and connect with industry professionals.
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Málaga - TALENT
For the Cartagena de Indias International Film Festival – FICCI, the new talents of the film industry are a central focus of interest.
From this perspective, FICCI 64, with the support of Ibermedia, opens the call for La Residencia FICCI as a program of screenwriting aimed at directors and/or screenwriters from Ibero-America and Italy who have verified experience in short films and are developing their first or second feature-length fiction film.
The objective of La Residencia FICCI is to support participants in the initial phase of writing their feature-length screenplays in order to consolidate their artistic and conceptual proposals. In order to nourish the development stage of the projects, participants will also receive complementary inputs during LA RESIDENCIA FICCI on topics such as audience analysis, financing, marketing possibilities, distribution and circulation of the films, as well as other related topics.
FICCI invites the participation of emerging talents who are immersed in the deep exploration of cinema as an art, whose interest consists in reaching art to its contours, imagining new (or antique) ways and routes of relating to the world. Therefore, FICCI is interested in the multiplicity of ways of understanding and imagining filmmaking.
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The Residency - FICCI
IDFA Project Space – Development & Production is an international development lab for creative feature-length documentaries, aimed at filmmakers working on their first or second feature film. The program takes place between June and September 2026 and combines online modules with a one-week in-person workshop in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
The call is open to international applicants and focuses on projects in development or early production stages. Through mentoring, group feedback sessions, and intensive workshops, the lab supports filmmakers in strengthening their creative vision, narrative structure, and production strategies.
The program is dedicated exclusively to feature-length documentaries and does not accept short films or series. The application deadline is February 1, 2026, which is the final date to submit projects to this line of IDFA Project Space.
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Project Space – Development & Production - IDFA
The Locarno Residency is a program by the Locarno Film Festival supporting emerging filmmakers developing their first feature film. The 2025 call is open until June 3, 2025. The program has two phases: first, an in-person meeting during the festival in August where 10 participants present their projects to a jury, which selects three outstanding projects. The second phase offers one year of personalized mentoring, including online sessions and in-person meetings, with travel and accommodation expenses covered. One selected project will receive the Dopodomani Prize, worth 3,000 CHF. Requirements include being under 40 years old, having short film experience, and presenting a project in English for a first feature to be shot after September 2026. The application fee is 30 CHF. It’s an excellent opportunity for filmmakers seeking professional support and international exposure.
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Locarno Residency
The FantasoLab 2026 Fantastic Genre Short Film Laboratory opens applications from January 22 to February 20, 2026. This is a training‑focused lab designed for creators of fantastic genre short films — including science fiction, fantasy, and horror — who want to develop their projects through workshops, mentorship, and work sessions. The emphasis is on short films in development, between 7 and 15 minutes, with a first draft script ready at the time of submission.
The main laboratory activities will take place from April 6 to April 11, 2026, with preliminary sessions and individual work from late March to early April. Although based in Colombia, the call accepts international applications, especially from Ibero‑American creators, with priority given to Colombian talent. This initiative is not primarily a competition or market but a creative development environment to support and strengthen fantastic short film projects.
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Lab Cortos - Fantasolab
