Our IMDb qualifying festival champions independent filmmakers with original ideas. We are primarily a Short Film Festival but award feature length submissions and include clips and trailers at our awards events. Award Winners are welcome to add their accolades to our IMDb page.
Winners will receive Official Laurels and Digital Certificates. Printed Certificates are presented at live events only.
Award winners can add their accolades to our IMDb page here: https://m.imdb.com/event/ev0073770/2025/1/
Folkestone Film Festival are recognised by the Global Recognition Awards for our significant contribution to independent cinema and our commitment to inclusive filmmaking. We try to minimise financial barriers for filmmakers by keeping submission costs low.
Subscribe to our YouTube Channel:
https://youtube.com/@folkestonefilmfestival?si=D-ntZzi7Li9k0hEF
We are a small festival who love to hold Q&A sessions with filmmakers. We thank you for your patience when waiting for us to respond to emails and uploading online content. Selected submissions will be notified via Festhome and Email.
We look forward to seeing your films soon!
A big thank you to our sponsors A. Simmons, the Jewellers of the South East. Our festival partners, Silver Screen Cinema. BritFlicks, FilmmakerDASH, StudentFilmmakers Magazine & Kent Kino.
SIMFEST is a TV and film festival – competition, the only one of this kind in Romania and one of the few in Europe. It is organized every year by "SIMFEST Cultural Association", which supports and promotes the creators in visual arts. SIMFEST stands for professionalism and for the freedom of expression of the journalists and the media producers. The festival promotes, at the same time, local journalism and community mass-media.
It is a complex manifestation for electronic mass-media. It is the annual meeting point of the TV's and film’s world specialists from Romania and from all of the world, of students, independent producers, and of media enthusiasts; it is a competition that it's designed to find and form values and talents, to give them the needed validation and for connecting them with the medium in which they can develop. It is a competition and, at the same time, a media school and a cultural event.
The SIMFEST components are:
- The Competition
- The Summer School for journalists and media creators
- The official program of the festival
The Competition is opened to all the media creators, reporters, cameramen and media producers from Romania but also from other countries, but is also opened to freelancers, to students and territorial correspondents of central televisions, production houses, as well as to all multimedia creators. It has eight sections.
- PUBLISHING (REPORTAGE/ DOCUMENTARY/ INQUIRY/ ESSAY / TALK-SHOW etc.)
- ENTERTAINMENT
- VIDEO
- MULTIMEDIA
- STUDENT PROJECTS (fiction and non fiction)
- TOURISTIC FILM
- FICTION (short movie and feature film)
- ANIMATION
The jury of the competition consists out of well-known personalities in the field of journalism, TV and cinema from Romania and from other countries.
The Summer School for journalists and media creators was founded and included within the festival in 2007, and through it, SIMFEST became in the past few years an institution of non-formal education of media creators, especially from the audiovisual section.
The journalists Romeo Couți and Brândușa Armanca (TVR), the writer Bogdan Hrib, Assoc. Prof. PhD. Ion Stavre (SNSPA), Assoc. Prof. PhD. Lucian Ionică (West University of Timișoara), the director Ștefan Fischer (Germany), Charles Fletcher, MBE (Scotland), TV producer Codruț Pânzaru, TV producer Tamas Barok (Hungary), the director Copel Moscu (UNATC Bucharest), Iulia Badea Gueritee and Raymond Clarinard (Courrier International Paris), Beata Biel (Google expert, Poland), Ovidiu Gyarmath (Director of photography), Prof. PhD. Laura Baron (UNATC Bucharest), grat Romanian actors like Marcel Iures and Dan Puric, JC Guest film producer 2023 Emmy Award Winner and many others held lectures and led workshops or held masterclasses within the Summer School.
The official program of the festival is available for the public with the purpose to, on one hand, construct a way of communication between the creators of media and those whom they serve: the consumers of information in order for the audience to correctly understand the messages transmitted through mass-media. On the other hand, it offers a space of free expression and a non-formal platform for professional development for the journalists and filmmakers. Therefore, SIMFEST is a festival not only a TV and film competition but also a cultural complex.
International recognition: SIMFEST is known and recognized in the Romanian mass-media as a role model in the promotion of artists' free expression and for the promotion and being an advocate of real media professionalism. Most of the creators attending SIMFEST for the past years, have also won international recognition at competitions organized in Sibiu, Prague, Belgrade, Bucharest, London, Kishinaw and Tel Aviv. SIMFEST is also in collaboration or in partnership with other similar manifestations: CRONOGRAF Chishinaw, DETECTIVEFEST Moskow, CINEPOLITICA Bucharest etc.
Event Date: October 14 - 17, 2026 - Venue: Cinema Maldà, Carrer del Pi, 5, (C.P. 08002 Barcelona - Spain) Multiples Venues stay tuned!
Venue 2: Comediarte Theater, Carrer d’Ausiàs Marc, 143, cerca del Arco de Triunfo
Love & Hope International Film Festival - Barcelona (L'HIFF) invites both emerging and established filmmakers, from all over the World to take part in film experience, based in the most glamorous location in Europe.
We offer you the opportunity to attend industry events, masterclasses, workshops, guest speaker talks, film premieres, financing advisers, director Q&A’s recorded, film screenings and network with like-minded creators.
4 days cinematic fest, providing an unique platform for filmmakers to meet, network and do business, supported by our diverse team of professionals. All CROWNED, with a fabulous Gala Night on Saturday Oct 4 th 2025, 21:00h when the winners will be announced.
We have the right people and skills to make IT happen. We want to provide you with expertise and help your movie to be seen internationally.
Be bold, be glamorous and send us your art. It all can begin for you here, at Love & Hope International Film Festival - Barcelona (L'HIFF) 2026 Edition.
Animals spending their entire lives behind bars. Lives waiting for their last moments in the cold air of slaughterhouses. And there, those suffering inside laboratories.
AFI, an organization working toward a world without lab animals, wants to listen to these voiceless beings and thus is hosting the <1st AFI Animal Film Festival>.
Through the language of film, we convey their voices, and envision a world where all life coexists.
IF YOUR FILM HAS IN AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE FOR THE WORLD, THIS FESTIVAL IS FOR YOU.
JOIN THE WORLD'S BIGGEST SUSTAINABILITY FILM FESTIVAL LED BY OSCAR-, BAFTA- & EMMY-WINNING CELEBRITIES. GET YOUR FILMS FEATURED ON EUROPE'S BIGGEST SCREEN - LONDON'S ICONIC PICCADILLY LIGHTS.
OUR FILMS HAVE BEEN AWARDED AND NOMINATED FOR THE BAFTAS, OSCARS AND EMMY AWARDS. THE FILMS HAVE REACHED MILLIONS IN 120+ COUNTRIES. ALL WINNERS ARE FEATURED ON EUROPE'S BIGGESTS SCREEN, LONDON'S ICONIC PICCADILLY LIGHTS - AN EXCLUSIVE PRIVILEGE AND HONOUR!
ALL FILMS COMPLETED AFTER 1 JAN 2023 ARE ELIGIBLE FOR SUBMISSION.
PUBLIC SCREENING IS OPTIONAL, WINNERS ARE DECLARED AT AWARDS GALA IN LONDON AND PUBLICLY ANNOUNCED ON LONDON’S ICONIC PICCADILLY LIGHTS.
FILMS WITH ALL TYPES OF SUSTAINABILITY THEMES ARE WOLCOME, INLCUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO:
CLIMATE ACTION
PEACE & JUSTICE
MIGRATION
INEQUALITY
INCLUSION & DIVERSITY
DISCRIMINATION
MARINE LIFE
LIFE ON LAND
BIODIVERSITY
GENDER EQUALITY
MENTAL HEALTH
POVERTY
HUNGER
HEALTH AND WELL-BEING
EDUCATION
CLEAN WATER AND SANITATION
AFFORDABLE AND CLEAN ENERGY
SUSTAINABLE INNOVATIONS
The festival and gala awards is organised by the Big Syn Institute, a part of the Centre for Big Synergy, which is a CSO of the United Nations. The festival educates and inspires millions to act on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs).
FIVE REASONS TO SUBMIT YOUR FILMS.
1. Be part of history; inspire action, create change.
2. Get recognition from OSCARS-, BAFTA- and EMMY-winning Grand Jury.
3. Screenings across the world and the UK.
4. Red carpet gala awards in London; meet celebrities, industry, press & TV. (TBC)
5. Covered by major UK and international news and media including the BBC.
Please follow us on all SM to be informed of more details and special prizes.
IMPORTANT
If your film has an important message for the world, this festival is for you. All films should touch upon or cover major issues faced by the planet and the people; around social, economic or environmental sustainability.
Entry fees paid are not refundable under any circumstances, so please read rules before submitting your films.
The following types of films (premiered and unpremiered), are eligible for the festival.
- Features
- Shorts
- Animations
- Series/web
- Documentaries
- CSR videos
- Charity films
- Public Service announcements
The Mumbai Independent Film Festival is an ultimate gathering of original storytellers and audiences seeking new voices and fresh perspectives. We celebrate the art of cinema and provide impactful experiences for the local, national and global community we are a part of. The aim is targeted at raising awareness and promoting independent cinema in all its forms, in essence, art, entertainment and as an industry, in the spirit of freedom and dialogue across the globe.
Mumbai Independent Film Festival is specially designed for independent filmmakers who would like to present their creativity with an understanding that the work is submitted to a jury comprising of actors, producers, filmmakers & independent scriptwriters. As MIFF is organized to promote the upcoming filmmakers from various genres, we’ve kept the entry fee reasonable.
You are welcome to submit your current project(s) in multiple categories classified as Films based on duration (qualifies to compete for film and crew awards), Actors (qualifies to compete for cast/performer awards) and Screenplay/Script (qualifies to compete for screenplay/script awards).
We have planned the screening of a few selected films from 5th to 9th November 2025, from 11.00 am to 4.30 pm. The screening will be followed by a panel discussion on film making and acting in the contemporary situation of entertainment Industry. We intent to open conversations with such discussions to help budding filmmakers and actors. The timings for the same will be from 5.30 pm to 7.00 pm.
The FOC: Freak On Camera – International Fantasy Film Festival is a unique celebration of bold and experimental cinema that will take place in October 2025 in Godella, Valencia. Over the course of two days, the festival will bring together filmmakers and audiences to enjoy a one-of-a-kind selection of short films from fantastic genres: horror, science fiction, fantasy, thriller, experimental, and animation. With a focus on the most provocative and daring stories, FOC is a platform for creators who challenge the norms of traditional cinema and explore new narrative boundaries.
The program will include screenings of the selected short films, talks, and industry meetings, as well as an opening ceremony, an awards gala, and a post-party with live music. Participants will have the opportunity to connect with fellow filmmakers and enjoy a unique and creative environment.
SHORTS in TRANSILVANIA
We know how hard it may be, for filmmakers, to produce and distribute their works, especially if those are short films and independent productions. TRANSILVANIA SHORTS [International Short Film Festival] is the useful tool for every filmmaker, in order to further showcase their films, and get their deserved public feedback and recognition. The films selected in the festival competition are further on promoted, screened at the festival, and evaluated by a team of experts in the industry. Transilvania Shorts supports filmmakers in gaining the recognition of the public passionate about cinema, and that of mass-media, and, also, in being rewarded for their work.
Come celebrate and share your passion for cinema! Held in beautiful and medieval cities like Cluj-Napoca, Sibiu, Braṣov, and Târgu Mureș, Transilvania Shorts brings short films, from all over the world, to beautiful Transilvania. In the future, the festival will be extended, in order to be present in all major cities of Transilvania. This year’s Festival Program will showcase a wide variety of international short films, in the categories of: Narrative, Animation, Student, Commercial Video, Documentary, Experimental, Music Video, Stop-Motion.
We love horror and we're very excited to watch your films!
The Dark Scream Film Festival (DSFF) is an international festival seeking for the best horror films.
The Selected films will be recognized and awarded in various categories.
DSFF has made a point to keep our entry free as to give everyone the chance to enter, and we offer number of award categories!
DSFF's panel of judges is set in different parts of the world and comes with a variety of horror film expertise.
Your drive, your vision and the often seemingly insurmountable challenges that you face bringing your ideas to life are what makes us proud to champion your films and bring them in front of a highly appreciative audience.
Submit your film to us today and let us help and support you to gain true recognition and become a celebrated winner of the Dark Scream Film Festival.
We're very excited to see your creations!
“Cinechicú Short Film Festival”, organized annually by the “Instituto de Cultura y Turismo de Tenjo - IMCTT”, is an event dedicated to the exhibition of short audiovisual films that allows the public to approach and enjoy the creativity and diversity of cinematographic language, while providing scenarios for meeting, reflection and training around the audiovisual.
The sixth edition of the festival will take place between October 17 to 24, 2025 in an itinerant manner in Tenjo - Cundinamarca under the slogan ”NARRATIVES THAT INSPIRE FROM SPORT", focusing—but not exclusively—on works that address topics related to sports, fostering a culture of life, recreation, and collective care.
Audiovisual works will be received about free themes and genres between 3 and 30 minutes long, produced from 2023 onwards.
More information at: https://tenjoculturayturismo.gov.co/festival-de-cortometrajes-conectando-la-sabana/
The ETHEREAL CODE International AI Film and Art Festival stands as a global celebration of the transformative synergy between artificial intelligence, filmmaking, and art. This pioneering event is dedicated to exploring the endless possibilities that AI brings to the realms of creative expression, pushing the boundaries of what is achievable in storytelling, cinematography, and artmaking.
The festival serves as a vibrant platform for innovation, imagination, and collaboration, bringing together filmmakers, technologists, artists, researchers, and audiences from around the world. By showcasing groundbreaking AI-driven films and artworks, it seeks to illuminate the ways in which artificial intelligence can revolutionize traditional approaches, creating entirely new paradigms in creativity.
At its core, the festival is more than an exhibition—it is a movement that fosters dialogue about the evolving relationship between art and technology. Through screenings, exhibitions, panels, workshops, and interactive experiences, participants are invited to engage with cutting-edge technologies and explore their role in shaping the future of cinema and art.
Our mission is to inspire a global community of visionaries to embrace AI not merely as a tool, but as a partner in the creative process. By empowering artists and creators to experiment, innovate, and redefine their craft, we aim to cultivate a space where the impossible becomes possible and where the future of visual storytelling is written today.
Through this convergence of art, science, and technology, The ETHEREAL CODE International AI Film and Art Festival aspires to build a legacy of creativity that transcends boundaries, sparking a new era of cinematic and artistic excellence.
Around International Awards ✈ Barcelona ✈ Paris ✈ Amsterdam ✈ Berlin.
Annual Independent event with 4 major programs for all Features, Shorts, Documentaries, Experimental, Commercial, Music Video, Animations, Student Films, TV, Series, and New Media. The international community evaluates the all-genre creations to serve ARFF Official Laurels and to certify the awarded filmmakers at the end of the annual festival run. Thus, all the ARFF Finalists will be mentioned multiple times to have the best out of the entire year altogether. Submit today to participate in all 4 programs, regarding the unique system of ARFF International. Submissions made via Festhome are getting evaluated and selected, directly for the yearly festival run and participating in the Official Certificate Program exclusively. Monthly selection is available on other associated platforms.
See you Around & Fest Regards
El objeto de esta convocatoria, en régimen de concurrencia competitiva, es la promoción de un concurso abierto para fomentar la creación cultural, ayudando a aumentar la calidad de las producciones de creadores o creadoras en el marco del sector audiovisual.
En el festival, denominado «Torrerífico», los cortos deben tener una temática de terror y se proyectarán las películas seleccionadas como finalistas, dándose a conocer las personas ganadoras. En este sentido, el personal asistente al certamen votará para el premio del público.
A tal efecto, el Vicerrectorado de Cultura, Deporte y Extensión Universitaria de la Universidad de Alicante organiza el Concurso de Cortometrajes, a través de la Sede Universitaria de Torrevieja, en colaboración con la Concejalía de Juventud del Ayuntamiento de Torrevieja y la Asociación Juvenil La Comarca
Making its fourth appearance on 12th October 2025 and again at our beautiful home at Etcetera Theatre in Camden, London, Noli is the festival for short films too experimental, too daring, too real or simply too long for the mainstream circuit.
Our third edition was our most successful yet and continued our mission of building a network of like-minded artists and collaborators across London and beyond. Our fourth edition promises to be even more special as our name spreads further both at home and abroad- this is your chance to be part of something that matters.
We are looking to champion a British New Wave of filmmaking, from narrative to essay to experimental films that have a unique perspective on cinema and on modern life. We love pieces that eschew traditional, commercial narratives in favour of a bold vision, innovative techniques, and a clear aim in perspective & idea on the world through art.
Art needs to reclaim its lost sense of verve, daring to push the held conventions of current cinema and society to usher in a new wave of creation and reflection. The medium is currently stagnant and we want to be the change we wish to see by bringing art back to its grass-roots approach, jumpstarting an unshackled form of cinema that is once again subversive, in the name of entertaining avant-garde fables, piercing essay films, innovative and exciting animations or art pieces, or honest and well-crafted narratives.
We want to reflect the new, in a way that is authentically inclusive of fringe artists that are truly contributing to the medium but feel like they have no home, whether you've frequented the institutional channels like BFI, or are indie through-and-through.
As such, we are looking for realised FILMS.
Previous programmes included a pulpy modern noir following an online erotic fiction writer trying to inspire new ideas by stranding his real-life lovers in overlapping fantasies and dreams until reality itself begins to dissolve, a satirical punk-DIY essay film with an acid tongue, tying in blues music with the royal family, parallel Pierrot puppets, a Bill Forsyth-esque comedy showing an alienated young night security guard trying to make friends wherever he can, a striking Daido Moriyama & Bresson-inspired hard-hitting drama on a subversive nocturnal journey, a beautiful documentary about a reclusive author living in a yurt in Normandy, a poetic reflection on the distance between an immigrant's life in the far east and life in England with images worthy of Hou, a vision of UFOs and fairies on an English common, a moodily dreamlike experimental number following the pain of a man with a TV for a head, sun-drenched aquatic journeys along the Cornish coast, a scathingly hilarious mockumentary take on the day in the life of a dishevelled Tory MP and a showcase of animations that displayed raw emotion and hand-crafted talent.
This is exactly what we love!
Our previous events have been sell-outs, with an audience comprised of the general public, fellow film-makers and industry professionals.
We want to establish an independent network of our own that values cinema and creativity, outside of the corporatised events that have come to dominate the scene.
We're looking to fill a programme running to roughly three hours.
All submission costs go towards helping us to keep this festival running.
With this event, you are buying into cinema culture, which means having an atmosphere to be part of, a place to hang out, your own corner of London in a medium that can often be isolating and exclusive.
NOLI is all about cutting-edge cinema, where you can join us in standing for something exciting and true!
We are different to the usual festival set-up, as we are not about industry griping, but giving fresh & passionate talent a chance to contribute to something meaningful and sustainable and establish a network of (y)our own.
Hence – TOO LONG, TOO DIFFICULT, TOO REAL.
Ie. – TOO CREATIVE. TOO HUMAN.
We are named in honour of Jacques Rivette’s opus ‘Out 1’. Rivette scrawled the Biblically-derived message ‘Noli Me Tangere’ (‘do not touch me’ in Latin) across 13-hours worth of film canisters to indicate he did not want the work cut further; this instruction is sometimes included now as the film’s subtitle. We hope to carry forward his uncompromising but generous spirit.
We are not looking for:
- Visual Art pieces without a clear, personal perspective
- Films with graphic sexual assault or violence (if your film includes sexually violent or violent imagery, but is still a fully-realised piece, please just add a content warning on your submission).
- Loose projects that aren't fully conceptualised
The 8th edition will take place November 6–8, 2026, at the Community Center of Yucca Valley, CA. It will be in person.
In 2025, the Yucca Valley Film Festival was featured in more than 480 news outlets across North America:
https://yuccavalleyfilmfestival.com/assets/
We feature the longest red carpet in the Hi-Desert, measuring 20 feet.
The Yucca Valley Film Festival is the official festival of the Town of Yucca Valley since 2019.
The Yucca Valley Film Festival and its participants have been recognized as a Cultural Contributor by:
– The U.S. Congress
– The California Senate
– The California Secretary of State
– The County of San Bernardino
– The Yucca Valley Chamber of Commerce
– The Basin Wide Foundation
In 2025, our Masterclass headliner, James Morrison (24, Twin Peaks), was honored by both the Secretary of State of California and San Bernardino County:
https://yuccavalleyfilmfestival.com/2025/11/28/james-morrison-honored-after-headlining-the-8th-yucca-valley-film-festival/
Pictures from 2025 and previous editions can be found here:
https://yuccavalleyfilmfestival.com/gallery-2025/
Masterclasses
– 2025: James Morrison
– 2024: Shane Stanley
– 2023: Rosanna Arquette
– 2022: Brent Huff & Mina Sundwall
– 2021: Michael Dante
– 2020: William Baldwin
– 2019: John Stanier
State of Hollywood and other industry events:
https://yuccavalleyfilmfestival.com/state-of-hollywood-2024/
2026 Anticipated Program
Friday 11/6
Red carpet, Mayor’s welcome and opening speech, opening films, Q&A, photobooth, popcorn and picture signing, launch party.
Saturday 11/7
Screenings, Kids Section, State of Hollywood panel with guests, screenings, Q&A, picture signing, photobooth, Saturday party.
Sunday 11/8
Brunch and Industry Event Mixer, screenwriters’ roundtable, screenings, awards distribution and pictures with the Miss Yucca Valley Court, closing speech by the Mayor.
Meet & greets will also be included in the program at different times.
2025 program page for reference:
https://yuccavalleyfilmfestival.com/detailed-program-yvff-2025/
Each filmmaker’s presentation will include a short introduction, film screening, and an opportunity for a brief Q&A with the audience.
Introduction
Yucca Valley is the economic hub of the Morongo Basin and the natural gateway to Joshua Tree National Park, which received 2.9 million visitors in 2024.
The town lives to the rhythm of artists and creative minds who come to Yucca Valley in search of the perfect place to create and find a receptive audience.
The festival started in 2019, generating strong local interest with packed screening nights and red carpets, attracting international filmmakers, and benefiting from extensive press coverage.
The Yucca Valley Film Festival has become a recurring, family-friendly annual gathering for the Hi-Desert community, film lovers, and art lovers. Our screenings are attended by engaged audiences eager to watch and support your film.
Yucca Valley also has a rich movie heritage, including the historic movie sets of Pioneertown. In 2016, Tim Burton filmed scenes of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children on Old Woman Springs Road. More than 50 titles list scenes shot in the area on IMDb.
In 2025, the three-day festival welcomed close to 1,500 attendees. We are a small festival, but our community truly loves movies.
Local Filmmakers
Local filmmakers can submit for free.
More details: https://yuccavalleyfilmfestival.com/submit-2
«The Oscars of the university cinema»
Villanueva Showing Festival is an International Short Film Festival for young people between 15 and 25 years old, organized by Universidad Villanueva. This initiative aims to encourage young people to reflect on universal human values through audiovisual language. For this reason, each edition challenges the young cinematographic promises to create their own piece on a specific theme based on a universal value.
This festival, in which more than $ 22,000 in prizes are awarded every year, offers great visibility to young cinematographic talents before an international jury of experts, producers, directors, scriptwriters, actors and other professionals from the sector who attend the ceremony annually of awards ceremony, held in an iconic place of the capital of Spain, presented by a recognizable figure from the film world.
IMPORTANT / MANDATORY
In this edition Villanueva Showing Film invites us to reflect about the following topic: "The Force of Character". All short films presented must be related to this topic.
IFF ZOOM - ZBLIZENIA (Jelenia Góra) is one of the largest and most important independent cinema festivals in Poland. Its aim is to present the author's cinema, ambitious, high artistic value, moving independent and original subject matter, as well as promotion of independent film art.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
due to the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, we would like to inform you that the Russian films which will be submitted to the 29. IFF ZOOM-ZBLIŻENIA 2026 will not be eligible for competitions.
