This is where we start, the dark side of movies, inspired by the legendary Pink Floyd’s album.
We start with the dark side, not visible to the naked eye, mysterious, obscure - a side with blurred boundaries and infinite nuances, where nothing is certain, precise, predetermined. Not visible rather than invisible, lying under the surface, or elsewhere, it’s something that can’t be simplified as it continuously alludes to deeper meanings. It’s the side of cinema that is never accommodating and always inquiring, making us question the meaning of what we see, listen, perceive.
If you look closely, you’ll see that there’s a dark side to everything. You find it in Brothers Grimm’s folk tales, in Fritz Lang’s fantastic and apocalyptic visions, in Stephen King’s archetypes of narrative fiction, in Stanley Kubrick’s unforgettable imagery, in Homer’s poems as in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings epic. From the Holy Scriptures to Game of Thrones, the dark side is the driving force behind every art form and Ravenna Nightmare Film Fest is its cinematographic icon.
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NOTICE SPECIAL FEE FOR MULTIPLE SUBMISSIONS
Considering the high request for participation from film schools and institutions, we established a special fee for multiple submissions from the same school/insitution: 10€/4 short films. Please contact us at info@ravennanightmare.it to take advantage of this discount.
Feelmotion UDIT International Short Film Festival is a shortfilm festival for university students organized by UDIT University in Madrid.
Originally conceived as a film festival for university students, the festival celebrates its first edition in 2012, born from the initiative of the students and Raúl San Julián, director of the festival and professor at UDIT. Since then the festival has celebrated a total of twelve editions, with more than 3000 participating short films from over 50 universities in 33 countries around the world and a total of more than 5000 university students who have participated or collaborated with the festival.
Thanks to the support of our partners, our finalists have been able to use Feelmotion to give themselves momentum and reach such important festivals as the San Sebastian International Film Festival, the New York International Independent Film & Video Fest or the 3D Wire.
Among the outstanding participants are our alumni Diego Porral, nominated for the Goya Award for Best Animated Short Film 2018 for "Un día en el parque" which was selected as Best Feelmotion Short Film 2017 and currently has more than 40 awards and 200 nominations; and José Herrera, winner of the Goya Award for Best Animated Short Film 2019 for "Cazatalentos".
In each of its editions, Feelmotion has relied on a large team of professionals and volunteers from the student body to organize both the contest and its corresponding awards gala and the numerous thematic events of each edition. In total, more than 200 students from different UDIT grades have collaborated with their efforts to make Feelmotion happen.
Feelmotion has also counted on great professionals from the film industry to be part of the juries that each year choose the winners. Professionals such as directors and screenwriters Juan Carlos Rulfo, Borja Cobeaga, Paco Martínez Velasco, Hector Hercé, María Pérez Sanz or Alex Rodrigo; producers and academics Marichu Corugedo, Txepe Lara, José Nolla; actors Tristan Ulloa, Natalie Poza, Olivia Molina, Ana Arias or Jon Viar among others; and a long list of journalists, technicians, academics, etc.
FICSEM Festival, in the Mediterranean area.
For major reasons, and having been immersed in a situation in which we have all been affected, we have decided to adapt to the current situation, and give a new focus to our festival. Maintaining the enthusiasm and passion we feel for the artistic world.
Our festival is aimed at the dissemination and promotion of film authors related to topics of social and/or ecological value.
Because we believe in the power of art as a transformative medium, our contribution from this festival is to give visibility to projects that address environmental and social changes in which we are immersed. We are an international festival because we understand the world beyond barriers, and because we are moved by the need to get to know other cultures and share the best of ours, as it contributes to any improvement in any corner of the world.
The Mediterranean is the climate that surrounds us, and we feel identified with it. In terms of warmth, closeness and transparency. We are a festival that is starting strong, with a large number of committed artists who share our cause, and the desire to share.
And that is why we are not afraid to break the most classic festival patterns. So much so, that in the award for best actor and/or actress, the recognition of the award falls on their social and/or ecological work... And not only on their skills.
Despite having firm ideological foundations. We open ourselves to other artistic areas and initiatives.
Chulpicine began its work in 2002 with the first ever Itinerant Children & Youth Film Festival in Quito. The warm welcome that the project received allowed the festival to become an annual event during the months of July to September, bringing an educational and entertaining event at no cost, to sectors with few cultural activities.
Thanks to the positive reaction, Chulpicine became a cultural and educational non-profit foundation in June 2004. After more than 10 years of experience, Chulpicine have reach a stable proposal and working methodology that has spread at national level. The Festival has promoted the creation of coaching staff; cultural managers working in different communities; and a large group of followers.
Chulpicine has designed a set of activities and workshops for institutions, community organizations or outreach workers to educate and train in different areas related to cinema, audiovisual, communication and Internet used as social intervention tools. These activities and workshops have been the beginning of a formation of learning communities by harnessing the capabilities of young people, as well as the setting up of an active and engaged network of social facilitators through the film and audiovisual work.
The Foundation carries out the following program lines: training; intervention; appropriation of public spaces; diffusion and production. This line of work is an alternative to foster community networks to develop communication skills, analysis and reflection in the various stakeholders of the community, thereby strengthening its organizational and self-development skills.
The foundation has a multidisciplinary team currently working on the projects. These people are responsible for different areas: there is a psychologist, a producer, a programmer, a communicator and an accountant.
In addition, every year about 12 people are hired to assist in the implementation of activities. This group is made up of people who have worked in the past in the festival and some new young people that wish to join the group. Also, each year we have the support of volunteers from different organizations.
Governmental Organisations, and the world’s first festival of films on international development by young directors.
Festival Aims
Encourage filmmakers/creatives to work together to raise awareness of the Three Pillars of Freedom through screening of films created around these themes.
Three Pillars of Freedom and the Environment
* Freedom from want: Through the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals
* Freedom from fear: Through efforts to bring about collective security and peace.
* Freedom to live in dignity: Through the application of justice for all, from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Development: poverty, shelter, healthcare, education, gender, governance, finance
Human Security: conflict prevention, conflict resolution, peacekeeping, shelter, migration
Human Rights: gender, education, dignity, participation
Environment: ecological issues, preparation for and consequences of natural disaster, sustainability, new technologies
Short films: any of the above
Young Film Makers: under 25 years
£2,500 in CASH PRIZES for the EMERGING TALENT from our sponsor Katie Partridge, CEO of the Saphira Group, to support a new generation of filmmakers/artists.
NEW RENAISSANCE LONDON #8
Apart from a high number of UK and International films, NRFF London has a category for EMERGING TALENT (debut or early stage filmmakers embarking on their careers in the film industry).
Previous winners and nominees have gone onto win major international prizes or have directed their first feature film.
ABOUT NEW RENAISSANCE LONDON
Our friendly and welcoming art-house festival based in London is genuinely passionate about promoting the highest calibre of independent cinema around today. New Renaissance has been described as “One of the UK’s top film festivals,” alongside Raindance and Aesthetica (London METRO, O1.08.16), appeared in reputable publications such as Vogue, GQ and iD magazine, and we are a registered IMDB film festival.
Filmmakers are a discerning audience and the 100+ five star reviews from filmmakers around the world is proof of our commitment and respect for the hard work and care that goes into making a film. Since 2021, we have been awarding cash prizes to support talented up-and-coming filmmakers we believe in thanks to a generous sponsor (see below).
SUCCESS STORIES
We have premiered and screened films that went on to win an Oscar (The Silent Child, 2017) or later received a major distribution deal (A Bird Flew, 2022; Avi, 2022; Roy, 2022; A Living Dog, 2021; Into The Mirror, 2019; You Go To My Head, 2019; and Phantompain, 2018) to name just a few.
Despite the festival's relatively small size, there are each year many gems to be found among the many short and feature films in the programme. Furthermore, many filmmakers and actors are traditionally present - and a lot of productive networking takes place.
OUR CURATION: ARTISTICALLY-DRIVEN FILMS, INSPIRING STORIES
Film is a unique medium, and NRFF’s mission is to support and champion inspiring, independent artists and storytellers. This includes experimental work, emotional drama, music, dance, and emerging talent (see below).
Our festival is built around ARTISTS and their STORIES. By doing so, we aim to establish an international COMMUNITY of inspiring storytellers. We are not interested in following current fashions or being politically divisive. We seek out stories that are genuinely imaginative, emotional and life-affirming. At the heart of what we do is our passion to tell great stories.
Curating a festival is never easy but we strive to put together a great programme each year in an environment that is warm, inclusive and truly dignified. You can visit last year's programme online at ww.nrff.co.uk to get a feel for the quality of curation we are known for.
NEW RENAISSANCE LONDON 2025
2025 will be our tenth year in London, a city known for its diversity and innovation in the creative arts. For 3 days in September, we will screen around 100 outstanding films in the heart of London. The programme will include narrative shorts, features, documentaries, animations, dance and music videos, a NETWORKING party and AWARDS CEREMONY.
Running alongside the festival will be a SCREENWRITING COMPETITION, a series of MASTERCLASSES by film industry experts, a filmmaker's PANEL DISCUSSION, Filmmaker Q&A's, and other networking opportunities.
EMERGING TALENT AWARDS
Apart from a high number of UK and International films, NRFF London has a category for EMERGING TALENT (debut or early stage filmmakers embarking on their careers in the film industry). Those selected can win CASH PRIZES. We found a sponsor for this in 2021 and are happy to announce that they continue supporting these cash prizes for emerging talent in 2025.
Please read our Rules & Terms before making your submission.
Key Dates:
Submissions for 2024 will be open. The festival will take place in October 2024, and all contestants will be notified at least 4-6 weeks prior to the event.
SUPPORTING THE INDEPENDENT FILM COMMUNITY
It is our passion to not only provide a stage for our filmmakers but also to strengthen the INDEPENDENT film community, by building an engaged audience through social media - especially Instagram and Facebook. We actively encourage directors, screenwriters, producers and actors to network during the festival and after the event. By doing so, new artistic collaborations have occurred.
NEW RENAISSANCE ALUMNI
Former New Renaissance attendees and or winners include: Oscar winning couple Chris Overton and Rachel Shenton (The Silent Child); Oscar winning actress Whoopi Goldberg (Palace); BAFTA and Emmy winning actress Anna Friel (The Sea); Great Expectations and Top Boy director Brady Hood (Sweet Maddie Stone); Oscar winning writer/director James Lucas (Paint The Dragon's Eyes); BAFTA winning actress Sophia Myles (All That Glitters); BAFTA winning actor George MacKay (Infinite); Ivor Novello winning musician Gary Kemp (InSolo); BAFTA winning and double Emmy nominated documentary director Zoe Dobson (The Cunning Man); BAFTA winning animator Catriona Black (You Are At The Bottom Of My Mind); Emmy winning actress Tatiana Mislany (Souls of Totality); Oscar nominated cinematographer Jarin Blaschke (A Million Eyes); BAFTA nominated director Shona Auerbach (Rudy); Actor Tom Cullen (Souls of Totality); BAFTA nominated actress Celine Buckens (Prangover); Silent Witness actress Emilia Fox (The Ghost); Chicago actor Darren Day (Rudy); Rag Doll actor Ali Cook (The Cunning Man); Olivier Award nominated actress Amy Lennox (Near); student Oscar winner Tristan Holmes (The Fragile King); and student Oscar winner Ariel Heller (Mammoth).
The Barichara Green Film Festival FESTIVER, created by Colombian actors Toto Vega and Nórida Rodríguez, seeks to build a new generation of artists and audience commited to the environment. Through its screenings and a continuous search for resources to create environmental film content, FESTIVER aims to educate and entertain by developing academic, artistic and recreational activities which enrich the Colombian cultural landscape and help build a better world. The 14th edition will take place on September 19-22, 2024 in Barichara, Santander, Colombia.
18 CINETORO EXPERIMENTAL FILM FESTIVAL
CINETORO is projected as a transdisciplinary Festival-School, dedicated to curatorial practice and the training of filmmakers; building bridges between emerging talents and prominent national and international artists, and promoting analysis and criticism related to the production and thinking behind experimental cinema and animation.
We advocate for a cinema where poetry and art dialogue; that draws its limit beyond the perimeter of spectacularity, of technical correctness, of the topics and forms on the agenda. It is an imperfect cinema, which accepts its artisanal condition and is concerned with the recovery of the consciousness of corporeality; reflecting, problematizing and questioning the construction of image and sound.
Cinema with a territorial imprint, which redesigns, mutates and pronounces itself before the world. Resignifying the territory, transforming the perspective on rurality and providing the community with spaces for the appropriation of knowledge.
ABYSSAL CHANTS
Is what we hear alive?
#SeeAndHearDifferently:
A distant sound rumbles in the darkness of the room, a call coming from the abyssal depths of the ocean, a penetrating song that attracts and binds. The listener accesses the time lag and leaps into the void. That leap entails a danger, and at the same time, it is an encounter with the unknown. Those films that jump, that search in the darkness, in the shadow, in the mystery, in the spectral, in the sound but also in the silence, are the ones that interest us in this edition.
Sound as movement, can reveal the temporal dimension of an image —whether still or moving. Rather than merely supporting images semantically, sound may serve as their structural axis. We are looking for films that explore diverse relationships between image and sound or treat sound as plastic material. Whether through a conceptual approach where sound structures the film; or where the voice carries weight not just for what is said, but also for its qualities: the voice as plastic material, as revelation and reverberation; or where music, instead of simply accompanying the image, becomes a structural part of the film itself . Films that take shape through sound.
We want to dive into the depths of sound, so that with our eyes closed we can see and listen as we swim and immerse ourselves—since, from a theoretical or curatorial perspective, little exploration has been done in these waters
The abyssal chants act as a call, and this call is what we want to respond to, in this edition. We are looking for animations, documentaries, fictions, hybrid films and experimentations that resonate with these chants, with this call to see and hear differently.
#AbyssalSongs #DeepListening #Cinetoro2025 #LookAndListenDifferently #LeapIntoTheAbyss #FilmAndSound #ExperimentalFilmFestival #HybridCinema #ExperimentalCinema
#ExperimentalNarrative
The FICAH MEXICO will be held annually and its main objectives are to promote and promote the production, completion and exhibition of independent cinematographic works.
Festival of Future Storytellers has been one of the most important festivals for young filmmakers worldwide since 1981. Each year, it offers young filmmakers from all over the world a platform for presenting their own short films and exchanging ideas about filmmaking. Each November, Munich becomes the focal point of up-and-coming international filmmaking — a place for lively exchange, networking, and discussion.
The short fiction, documentary, and animated films screened in international competition are eligible for valuable prizes, which are awarded by an independent festival jury. In addition, Festival of Future Storytellers presents a DACH Short Film Competition, in which short films from the DACH region will be programmed. An extensive supporting programme with panels and masterclasses complements the film programme.
MACAU INTERNATIONAL SHORT FILM FESTIVAL (“FESTIVAL”) is an annual worldwide audio-visual festival that aims to motivate overseas and Macau short film and music videos productions to compete in this FESTIVAL.
The Festival was previously known as "Sound & Image Challenge" and was first launched in 2010 focusing only on an audiovisual competition for local talent. This initiative was co-founded with professionals in film, music, sound and image fields, with two priorities: to promote the Creative Industries in the audiovisual sector and highlight the local talents in the production of sound and moving image design. Over the years, it expanded across 5 continents, grew and gained recognition, and finally became a short film festival in 2015.
The Festival will be held from 1 to 9 December 2025. A series of cultural programs will be scheduled in venues throughout Macau during the Festival week, such as public screenings of “SHORTS & VOLUME” official selection, Masterclasses of film production, development, International Film Festival curatorship and organising; audience voting for “Audience Award”; as well as gala awards ceremony.
The Paracho International Independent Film Festival (FICIP) was founded in 2012 as a social event for the screening and awarding of audiovisual works that employed cinematic narrative despite having a very low budget. The Paracho International Independent Film Festival is a space for independent filmmakers and producers to showcase their work and learn about the work of others.
Media affirmation association “MAT” (in further text: The Association) is non-governmental and non-profit voluntary association, founded for an indefinite period of time due to media affirmation of all social segments via audio-video material making, press articles and web presentation making. One of the aims of the Association is the organization of festivals which, due to their content, contribute the development of culture. From 2016. one of the organized festivals is International festival of short movies and photography, called “Short cut”.
The Association for Media Affirmation "Mat" from Indjija, has announced a competition for the tenth edition of the International Short Film and photographs Festival "Short cut" Indjija 2025. Short feature, documentary and animated films are shown at the festival. The festival is open to films by domestic authors, as well as to authors from all over the world. The topics of the films should be in the field of: ecology, tourism, life and animated film. The public call for authors of short films lasts from May 15 to 31, 2025. Received films are reviewed by a selection committee that will not consider films that contain offensive or aggressive messages or content.
The International Short Film and Photography Festival "Short cut" Indjija will be held on from August 25 to September 2, 2025. The festival screens short feature, documentary and animated films on the theme of ecology, tourism and life. The festival is open not only for the movies made by native authors, but also for the authors from all over the world. The following program consists of the photography exhibition (the theme is “Objective(s)”),which is a competitive nature too, and will be realized from August 25 to September 2, 2025
COMPETITION FOR PHOTOGRAPHY
The Short Cut Festival organizers organize an exhibition of photographs titled “Objective(s)” in the accompanying program, inviting all interested people to participate in the exhibition, photographs with personal information and contact send on shortcutfest @ gmail.com with an indication for a photo contest “Short cut”, from 15 to 31 May 2025. Photo authors for the competition can send a maximum of 10 photos, the size of the longer page of acceptable digital photos cannot be less than 3,000 pixels, the file type can only be jpg, ie. jpeg and the maximum file size must not exceed 20MB.
An exhibition of selected photographs for the competition will be held from August 25 to September 2, 2025.
CINEfoot - International Football Film Festival is the first film festival in Brazil and Latin America with unique curatorial and conceptual approaches about football. The event aims the promotion, diffusion, reflection and appreciation of football films from all over the world.
ASUFICC - International Contemporary Film Festival of Asuncion is an event born with the aim of bringing contemporary cinema from around the world, through unique authors with works that take risks and invite reflection. Emphasizing social issues that empathize with the Asuncion and Paraguayan society, it seeks, through a program of cinematographic excellence, to form spectators with greater sensitivity and greater awareness of the cinematic experience and the problems of society. Likewise, it seeks to be a space for meeting and promotion of national creators.
