ALL FILMS MUST BE BASED ON A TRUE STORY OR REAL EVENT! PLEASE DO NOT SUBMIT ANY FILMS THAT ARE FICTIONAL WITH NO PERSONAL OR HISTORICAL NARRATIVE, THEY WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.
The second annual MidCoast Film Fest brings the audience original movies, long and short, narrative and documentary that are based on a true story or events. From biography to historical fiction it is where history comes to life.
We will be screening the entirety of the festival at the historic Lincoln Theater where movies have been showing since the early 20th century on one of the largest screens in the state. The theater has recently gone through extensive renovations, seats over 200 people and sits smack dab in the middle of beautiful downtown Damariscotta.
Damariscotta is in the heart of MidCoast Maine, one hour from Portland and three hours from Boston. From its world-class oysters and brewpubs to its scenic coastline and with a thriving arts community it will seem like a place born to host a film festival.
Our submission fees are super low to entice filmmakers of all ages from all corners of the country and world to submit.
The second annual MidCoast Film Fest brings the audience original movies, long and short, narrative and documentary that are based on a true story or events. From biography to historical fiction it is where history comes to life.
We will be screening the entirety of the festival at the historic Lincoln Theater where movies have been showing since the early 20th century on one of the largest screens in the state. The theater has recently gone through extensive renovations, seats over 200 people and sits smack dab in the middle of beautiful downtown Damariscotta.
Damariscotta is in the heart of MidCoast Maine, one hour from Portland and three hours from Boston. From its world-class oysters and brewpubs to its scenic coastline and with a thriving arts community it will seem like a place born to host a film festival.
Our submission fees are super low to entice filmmakers of all ages from all corners of the country and world to submit.
We are extremely honored to welcome you to the fifth edition of Shades Festival. The impetus for the festival came from a need to find out and showcase the best of shorts each year.
The last edition concluded on the third week of March 2023 screening 20 short films which got selected from the films sent around the globe.
As in the previous editions we are providing a great platform to showcase your creative works with a great panel of jurors. In this edition we have introduced new category, Documentary
We will continue to raise the bar in standards and we hope you will have an exciting festival this year.
Write to secretary@shadesfestival.org for your concerns.
Asha Achy Joseph
Festival Director
VISIONI FANTASTICHE (Fantastic Visions) is a film festival addressed to schools of all types and levels focusing on fantastic cinema and all its declinations, ranging from sci-fi to fairy-tale, mystery, adventure, fantasy, using specific languages depending on targeted ages. As specified by Plan Mic – MIM, the purpose of VISIONI FANTASTICHE is to contribute contrasting iconic illiteracy through a Festival project where the educational, formative and spectacular elements find their point of conjunction.
10th CALIBÉLULA International Children’s and Youth Film Festival 2026
We joyfully celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Calibélula International Children’s and Youth Film Festival, an experience built together with filmmakers, institutions, and especially with children and teenagers who have found in cinema a means of expression, participation, and transformation.
Throughout this decade, the Festival has grown without losing its essence: wonder, creativity, and a sensitive way of looking at the world. In this commemorative edition, we reaffirm our commitment to new generations by incorporating new forms of audiovisual creation and opening space for narrative and technological innovation.
Since 2017, Calibélula has established itself as a space for:
• Film exhibition
• Audience development
• Audiovisual creation
With a presence in:
• Movie theaters
• Educational institutions
• Cultural and community spaces
• Mobile screenings and touring programs
The Festival includes an educational approach through Calibélula in the Classroom, where children and teenagers participate in:
• Audiovisual creation workshops
• Educational processes
• Meetings with filmmakers
• Critical viewing experiences in relation to cinema
We invite national and international filmmakers to participate with works aimed at children and youth audiences that promote:
• Creativity
• Critical thinking
• Diversity
• Coexistence
• Connection with the environment
The Festival has been able to consolidate itself thanks to the results achieved, following the participation of important directors, producers, and filmmakers who, through their cinematic and audiovisual works, have made high-quality content possible, as well as thanks to the participation of public and private sector organizations that have supported the Festival and the development of new training initiatives prior to the final event.
COMPETITION CATEGORIES
OFFICIAL INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION
• Feature Films (46–90 min)
• Short Films (up to 25 min)
• Series – Maximum 2 Episodes
• Libelulit@s (works created by children and youth)
NATIONAL COMPETITION – COLOMBIA
• Feature Film
• Short Film
• Series – Maximum 2 Episodes
• Libelulit@s
SPECIAL CATEGORY: CINEMA AND NEW TECHNOLOGIES
As part of the 10th anniversary of the Calibélula Festival, a special category is being launched dedicated to new forms of audiovisual creation, in which works that integrate emerging technologies into their creative process may participate.
This category seeks to explore new narratives, innovative visual languages, and experimental forms of creation aimed at children and youth audiences.
The use of Artificial Intelligence will be allowed as a creative tool within different audiovisual genres, including:
• Animation
• Fiction
• Documentary
• Experimental
• Hybrid narratives
• New audiovisual formats
Artificial Intelligence may be integrated into different stages of the creative process, such as:
• Script development
• Visual creation
• Animation
• Editing and post-production
• Sound design
• Character and environment creation
Evaluation criteria
• Narrative creativity
• Innovation in audiovisual language
• Creative use of emerging technologies
• Narrative coherence
• Relevance for children and youth audiences
• Ethical approach to the use of technological tools
LIBELULIT@S CATEGORY
Category aimed at children and young people between 7 and 17 years old.
Priority will be given to:
• Original idea
• Personal expression
• Relationship with their environment
• Audiovisual creativity
The festival will offer diverse program, featuring films of the famous directors, debutants and animation students from various countries, many of whom were awarded at numerous international animation festivals.
International Animated Film Festival "Tindirindis "- is not a commercial film scene. The festival's mission - to deliver the widest range of the animation world: the different styles, the schools work, to show the animation, which encourages creativity.
Artistic animation, author retrospectives, the films, which stimulate creativity. 22 years festival is running every year in Lithuania, showing the best non-commercial animation works from around the world. Competition programs include short and feature films for children, adults, experimental, student, debut, and music clips. Since 2018 new nomination - "Best Animadoc". From 2019, a new nomination "For the Best Work of Applied Animation" will be introduced, with the aim to introduce new animation forms: performances, interactive media works, applications, installations, advertisements, educational works, works of virtual reality. The purpose of the festival is to reveal the wide variety of animation, diversity and perspectives. During the festival we present retrospectives of animation masters, organizing meetings with viewers, animation workshops, Master classes for students and industry employees with famous animation creators from abroad and Lithuania.
THE FESTIVAL .
Universo Corto is an international short film festival that began in Pisa in 2004 and will have its XV edition in 2022.
It is an independent review of free theme short films organized by the cultural association Giovani Persone.
The Festival is directed primarily to university, post-graduate and cinema accademies students, but it's also open to indipendent cinema's directors. Since the first edition, the presidency of the event has been permanently held by the director Roberto Faenza.
Our former jury Chairmen: Roberto Faenza, Marco Bellocchio, Oliviero Toscani, Mario Dondero, Roan Johnson, Luca Lionello, Leslie & Robert Zemeckis, Eros Galbiati.
The shnit worldwide shortsfestival is a premier platform for the exhibition and promotion of short films. This festival is a unique transnational event held simultaneously in up to ten cities across five continents.
All winners of the WORLDWIDE COMPETITION & INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION will be eligible to enter the 2027 Oscars® [via Cinematic release | in accordance with the rules of the 99th Oscars®].
Over the past twenty-four years, shnit has evolved into a major international short film festival, continuously reinventing itself. Originally a local initiative, it is now a global event connecting and inspiring filmmakers and audiences from different cultural backgrounds. The festival promotes diversity, originality, and artistic exchange. With its high-quality cinematic selections, shnit attracts over 30,000 visitors, making it one of the leading short film festivals worldwide.
shnit is a non-profit organization, coordinated in collaboration with festival executives. The festival operates on principles of excellence and professionalism, fostering its international expansion.
LA Underground Film Forum (LAUFF) is dedicated exclusively to independent, experimental, and auteur cinema. It focus on avant-garde, art-house, independent and no/low budget filmmaking.
Our program provides a venue for filmmakers to reinvent and explore new approaches, to foster new forms of media art and to build an audience for such work. We aim to present a wide range of work exploring the many definitions and interpretations of the concept of “underground”.
We’re looking for films made with passion, obsession and drive; films that go beyond expectations and genre; films, video and audio projects that strive to push the boundaries of accepted form and content. A strong sense of authorship is a must.
LAUFF accepts all forms and genres: from drama, documentary, experimental, cult, art-house, foreign language, comedy, horror, sci-fi, fantasy, animation, LGBT, indigenous, erotica to slow cinema and video art …
Puglia, southern Italy.
In 1945 the American army landed in southern Italy for the "liberation" campaign and suddenly passed through Molfetta, our base city. During their stay the allies reported some neighborhoods as "OUT OF LIMITS" due to the "social danger" of the people who lived there. In the first two editions, 2013 and 2014, our festival took place in two squares, Piazza San Michele and Piazza delle Erbe, near the areas still considered by many to be "out of bounds", in Molfetta.
The “Out Of Bounds” film event is run by filmmakers and focuses on empowering the best independent artists and encouraging all aspects of independent film production. We seek the unconventional, the unusual, the underground, the intuitive, the innovative and the true.
Subsequent editions took place in the cloister of the church of San Domenico, in the port area of the town and in the ancient arena of the castle of Barletta, an evocative and historic medieval place and at the Artists' Citadel of Molfetta.
The special sections chosen for this edition are "Dystopian shorts”, short films dealing with themes related to pollution, war, and the exploitation of resources, including dystopian scenarios, and “Shorts on gender equality, even those directed by a male director" (INTERNATIONAL AND NATIONAL).
There is no submission fee for short films from Iran, Palestine, Ukraine, Venezuela, Sudan, Yemen or a State in a critical political situation.
Dear friends,
First and foremost, we want to thank you. This 2026, AricaDoc celebrates its 10th anniversary, and your films have been fundamental in walking this path. That is why we want to celebrate this milestone by inviting you once again to share your works with the communities of audiences that have grown around our festival.
We know that the global context can seem daunting and that uncertainty often weighs heavily on our hearts. With that in mind, we want to offer you a space for gathering, celebration, and care. We want to commemorate that, against all odds, we have managed to sow a place in the far north of Chile where human creative power can express itself through hope rather than destruction.
For ten years, we have continued walking obstinately as a small crowd. Together, we have built a community whose primary interest is to come together around filmmaking, dialogue, and the possibility of imagining other ways of inhabiting this world.
That is why we want to invite you to send us your films, the essential ingredient of this celebration through which we seek to continue nurturing diverse ways of feeling, thinking, and sharing life in a world that is wounded, yet still capable of healing.
We look forward to welcoming you with joy.
The AricaDoc Team
THE XII edition of the CALI INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL (FICCALI) is organized by the Secretaría de Cultura de la Municipalidad de Cali, Colombia.
FICCALI opens its competitive section for national short films.
DEADLINE: AUGUST 31, 2020
Horror Minutes 2023
Minutes of Terror 2023
Bases of participation 2023
The call is open from April 2 to June 30, 2023.
All those interested in the genre of Suspense, Horror and Sci-Fi may participate without restriction of age or professional career.
In this fourteenth edition we are
Short films produced or co-produced in Mexico will compete for the "Juan Mora Catlett" award in honor of the director.
Each team or participant may present an unlimited number of works.
ENTRETODOS 19 - Is a free entrance Festival dedicated to the exhibition and award of short films, with up to 25 minutes, of all genres and formats, that addresses issues related to Human Rights.
The Festival takes place in São Paulo. Produced by Prefeitura de São Paulo, Spcine and ESTATE Produções.
ENTRETODOS Festival team.
The sole purpose of BEFF is to develop a film culture that inspires and brings together all types of film makers, irrespective of their film making genre. BEFF also aims to appreciate and promote creativity in all forms, be it a film or photography to the world and to a diversified audience.
The event is a glamorous red carpet event in Kolkata. The participants have excellent opportunities to exchange their ideas, ideologies and cultural innuendos. The winners have a chance to meet with the audience after screening.
What’s your Genre?
The Threadbare Film Festival is an eclectic and eccentric celebration of genre, inter-genre, and underground cinema, here in the tell-tale heart of Michigan.
As the Michigan Film and Digital Media Office said:
"Think of the Threadbare Mitten Film Festival as the anti-genre, but all-genre film festival, if that makes any sense. Truly a grassroots festival if ever there was one." - June Newsletter 6/12/18
We won't push you into a box:
Horror, Sci-Fi, Absurdist Comedy, Exploitation and Grindhouse, Documentary and Mockumentary, Experimental and Non-Narrative, Animation and Puppetry, Noir and Neo-Noir, Fantasy and Magical Realism, Surrealism and Liminality, Contemporary Western or Samurai, Psychological or Sex Thriller, 80s Action Homage, Splatterpunk, Creature Feature, Zombie/Everything, Road Trip, Afrofuturism, Underground, and genres not mentioned or yet to be celebrated... whatever weird quirks and kinks spark your camera rolling, we want to give you an exhibition home to exorcise them with an appreciative audience (…and if being pushed into a box is your thing, well ok, show us that!).
We categorically reject festivals that require filmmakers to sort their submissions by genre, pay multiple submission fees for awards, or don’t even screen films for an audience! It’s our job to categorize and program films, not yours. We take great pride in our thematic programming, each film block sequenced like the songs on an album. Every year’s festival is guaranteed to be different than what came before, based upon the characteristics of the films received.
We particularly advocate work that articulates across the ineffable gap between genres, films that surprise, that do not have precedent or prior comparables.
Our Festival Director personally watches every submission and makes all selection decisions. There is no selection advantage for early submission deadlines; we have and will select films submitted on the final day.
Threadbare is an ethos. Whether your budget is $10 or $10 million, your stars are old high school friends or SAG actors, your camera a potato or an Arriflex, we’re focused on the artistry of the work on screen, not any seams that may occasionally show. Independent film production requires a punk mentally to ignore the gatekeepers and go your own way, to make your art personal and powerful.
While we do not put limits on when a submitted film was completed, for this edition we are generally interested in films made since we went on hiatus at the end of 2021.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NEW FOR 2027:
A GUY A GIRL AND A GUN FILM COMPETITION: we are launching our own film competition inspired by Jean-Luc Godard’s famous quote: “All you need to make a movie is a girl and a gun.” Competition films must be shot and finalized during the month of June, with top films screening in a special program at the Threadbare festival. Separate competition trophies will be awarded at the screening.
More details here: threadbarefilmfestival.org/competition
Registration link: https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/a-guy-a-girl-and-a-gun-film-competition-registration
SHOT ON A POTATO: We are introducing a new discounted category for films shot on unusual formats, including Super 8 and 16mm celluloid film, VHS and DV video, still and pinbox cameras (basically anything outside the typical digital cinema camera, handicam, or cellphone aesthetic). Films must still be submitted, and will be screened, in digital format as per our Rules.
DISABILITY FILMMAKER DISCOUNT: Any filmmaker with a disability may email director@threadbarefilmfestival.org for a submission fee discount code. As a working filmmaker with a neuromuscular disability, our Festival Director is offended by the existing disability focused festivals that seem only interested in films explicitly centered on the experience of disability, rather than supporting the vast community of disabled filmmakers and the art we make. If your film is a fit for us, please take advantage of this discount.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HISTORY: For five years, the original Threadbare Mitten Film Festival developed a wonderful community of oddball filmmakers and cineastes, with unique thematic programming in a variety of venues, free community events, live band accompaniments, and filmmaker discussions. We pivoted to secure online screenings through a local company during the pandemic, before enduring a lengthy hiatus. Now we’re back with a slight rebrand and regular theatrical screenings, with the same focus on independent and Great Lakes filmmakers, and the same core of dedicated and experienced volunteers. Why bring it back? Because too many established and storied Michigan film festivals have folded in the interim, and our community needs what we can offer.
We’ve exhibited films in an independent cinema, listening room theatre, and arts gallery, with special screenings in a public park, pub, coffee shop, under a pole tent in an alley, and online through Festivee.
We’ve screened films from established filmmakers like Oscar winning director Jonathan Glazer and nominee Yorgos Lanthimos, with recognizable stars like Will Ferrell, Matt Dillon, Margaret Cho, and William Jackson Harper, and from local luminaries like Devin Cameron, Jackson Ezinga, Bret Miller, and Michael McCallum. Hell, we turned down more films with ‘names’ than most regional festivals have the luxury to judge. We are especially partial to filmmakers from Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, and Ontario, collectively the Great Lakes Region states and provinces.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ABOUT US: The Threadbare Film Festival is a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, because we don't operate to maximize revenue off the backs of independent filmmakers.
We are passionate filmmakers, dedicated to growing our film community and providing a viewing experience worth the time and effort of everyone involved from ourselves to the filmmakers and the ticket buyer. We respect the film and the filmmaker, the cast and the crew, as does our audience. We support local and regional film, student film, international film, diverse voices, and quality craft regardless of budget or thematic content. We take an expansive view of what a genre festival can be, pushing the boundaries of expectations to include the most gripping and unusual documentaries we've seen.
About the only thing we DON'T want are straight-up 'indie' dramas and serialized content that does not provide a complete narrative.
As the Lansing City Pulse commented:
“When Kofoed talks about the films playing at the festival, he was unceasingly enthusiastic. His passion for film - especially locally produced, DIY films - is immediately apparent.” - September 4, 2020.
Our festival is neither a vanity exercise nor a party for ourselves, and we do not screen our own films or shower our friends with prizes. We strive for quality of presentation and experience across all our venues.
OUR HOME: We are proudly of and from Lansing, Michigan’s oft overlooked capital city, a vibrant rustbelt dystopia full of creativity and festivals. Our opening night will be hosted by Stage One at Sycamore Creek, a newly renovated performance space next to the Eastwood Town Center on the Northside. Our all-day Saturday screenings will take place in The Fledge, a wonderful nonprofit community hub tucked away in the Eastside neighborhood just off the downtown core. Both venues are within easy travel of numerous restaurants, bars, and shops in the Lansing metro. As is tradition, we’ll pregame the festival with a free community program on Thursday at a surprise local business.
Awards & Prizes
Unique laurels and hand-crafted Trophies for each of 10 Award Categories. Award nominations are made by the Festival Director, with award winners determined by an independent panel of judges.
___Juried Category Awards___
Best Short Film (all short/micro films eligible)
Best Feature Film (all feature/mid-length films eligible)
Stranger than Fiction (all documentary films eligible)
___Audience Award___
Michigan Masterpiece (all Michigan made films eligible)
___Juried Special Recognition Awards___
A+ B-Movie (for the best 'bad' movie)
Bloody & Brilliant (for fluid fun)
Eye of the Beholder (for exceptional visuals)
Not Just a Pretty Face (for acting excellence)
Subversive Selection (for defying formal or social expectations)
Special Jury Award (for anything else that grabs our attention)
See our Wall of Fame for past years' Award Winning films: www.threadbarefilmfestival.org/awards
San Diego Underground Film Festival (SDUFF) is San Diego's premier showcase of experimentation in video, film, and audio based mediums. A strong DIY ethos, combined with an art school brain and a punk rock heart makes the San Diego Underground Film Festival a unique place for films, videos, and audio pieces that strive to push the boundaries of accepted form and content. Films and videos that dissent radically in form or technique will be our priority in selections. Narrative films and documentaries that expand on narrative structure, or cover subjects related to subcultures or esoteric topics; animations both narrative and experimental; experimental films and video art; all will be considered for selection. Films and videos must show a strong sense of authorship.
Lo-fi films, punk rock films, skate/surf films, cooking shows, NO WAVE, glitter pop. Surprise us.
"In a middlebrow city like ours, such an event challenges the soft and conventional programming that has become the status quo. Yet Betschart and Nakawatase seem downright positive about their radical objective ...Ambition runs deep with these two, and it shows in their programming." - San Diego City Beat
This festival is non-competitive and is held in sunny San Diego, CA, USA.
**** Beyond Categories ****
※ If you are looking to submit an installation or expanded cinema performance, please see "Rules " for more information.
※ If your film is finished on film, please visit for more information.
4th edition of Fantástic Film Festival is mainly intended for short films and feature films of fantastic genre
Berriozar Films Kultural “Lantzeluze” announces the XVIII Edition of the “International Festival of Social Themed Short Films” in Berriozar, which will take place from October 14th to 17th, 2026.
Category:
Single category. Social theme.
