Blog: Film festivals

After successfully conducting the Siliguri International Short Film Festival in Siliguri for the last three years, we are planning to organise the 1st RAIGANJ INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL in the cultural city of North Bengal right from 2022!

Raiganj has a distinct a cultural legacy of it’s own.

There are many budding and aspiring filmmaker, actors and technicians in this town.

The history of Raiganj even boasts of it’s fight for freedom against the British rulers.

The police station was set up 125 years ago and railway connectivity reached the plan 115 years ago. The city hold the 106 years old Raiganj Coronation High School.

Raiganj is also known for Raiganj Wildlife sanctuary (also called the Kulik Birds Sanctuary), home to a large population of Asian openbills and other waterbirds and it is the largest bird sanctuary in Asia.

Raiganj can be a prime seat of the film tourism in near future.

Hence the idea of holding The Raiganj International Film Festival.

English version (Spanish & Portuguese versions below):

AAIFF Americas' 2025 offers 18 awards in 12 categories including Americas' Best Independent Film Director 2025 and America’s Best Independent Film 2025.

As the sister film festival of ÉCU—the European Independent Film Festival, which has been held in Paris for 19 years, the AAIFF Americas' has the ability to harness the rock-solid reputation of the ÉCU Film Festival Group as being one of the World’s foremost independent film festivals groups and to help bring global attention to Americas’ independent filmmakers.

Our objective is to offer excellent opportunities for all the Americas' independent filmmakers to find audiences for their films, to connect with peers, distributors and talent scouts – and importantly to provide them unforgettable film festival experience.

Español neutro :

AAIFF Las Américas 2025 ofrece 18 premios en 12 categorías, incluyendo Mejor Director de Cine Independiente de las Américas 2025 y Mejor Película Independiente de las Américas 2025.

Como festival hermano de ÉCU, el Festival Europeo de Cine Independiente, que se celebra en París desde hace 19 años, AAIFF Américas tiene la capacidad de aprovechar la sólida reputación del ÉCU Film Festival Group como uno de los grupos de festivales de cine independiente más importantes del mundo y ayudar a atraer la atención mundial hacia los cineastas independientes de las Américas.

Nuestro objetivo es ofrecer excelentes oportunidades para que todos los cineastas independientes de las Américas encuentren público para sus películas, se pongan en contacto con colegas, distribuidores y cazatalentos y, lo que es más importante, les proporcionen una experiencia inolvidable en un festival de cine.

Português brasileiro :

AAIFF das Américas 2025 entrega 18 prêmios em 12 categorias, incluindo Melhor Diretor de Filme Independente das Américas 2025 e Melhor Filme Independente das Américas 2025.

Como festival-irmão do ÉCU - o Festival Europeu de Cinema Independente, que é realizado em Paris há 19 anos - o AAIFF das Américas tem a oportunidade de aproveitar a reputação consolidada do ÉCU Film Festival Group como um dos principais grupos de festivais de cinema independente do mundo e ajudar a chamar a atenção aos cineastas independentes das Américas.

O nosso objetivo é oferecer oportunidades para que todos os cineastas independentes das Américas encontrem público para seus filmes, conectem-se com colegas de profissão, distribuidores e caçadores de talentos e, o mais importante, proporcionem a eles uma experiência inesquecível em um festival de cinema.

The deadline to register for the XXIV International Short Film Festival “El Pecado 2025” is open. The festival awards almost €5,000 in cash and five Pata Negra Extremadura hams: €1,500 for the winning fiction short film and €700 for the other four main prizes. The deadline for registration is from Tuesday, April 1st, to Friday, May 23rd of this year. The duration will not exceed 20 minutes (21 including credits). If it has spoken sound, Spanish or subtitles in this language will be used.
Works made before 2023 will not be admitted to the competition. More information at www.certamenelpecado.com.

Awards for short films of animation, fiction, humor and made in Extremadura. We also have a public award.

The festival has the "Friend Festival" seal of the Fugaz Awards. It is a well-established and established festival that has showcased the best short films made in Spain and abroad over the past 24 years. In the last 2024 edition, 1,093 short films were entered into the competition: 794 Spanish short films and 299 short films from 48 countries around the world. The festival attracted an audience of approximately 5,000 people across the festival's various events. More than 85,000 people have attended its various editions, with approximately 12,000 short films entered.

The Fifth Slemani International Film Festival will take place this October, bringing together renowned filmmakers from both national and international stages. This year's festival will feature seven competition sections, with a total of 19 awards to be presented. The festival's theme will focus on the Kurdish language and mother tongue, highlighting linguistic and cultural identity through cinema.

The Sax International Film Festival, in the province of Alicante, qualifier for the Goya Awards, arises through the initiative of the filmmaker and writer Miguel Herrero Herrero. Since its creation in 2006, the festival has had the support of the Sax City Council and is backed by: Generalitat Valenciana, Miguel Hernández University of Elche (UMH), University of Alicante, (UA), Alicante Provincial Council,... In the festival the best short films and feature film projects compete in competition. The event has numerous cinematographic activities: shows, exhibitions, concerts, book presentations, courses, workshops, tributes, master classes and meetings with renowned professionals such as the actor and director Aldo Sambrell, the animator and director Raúl García, the actor Carlos Santos, the director and producer Gonzalo García Pelayo, the actress Sonia Almarcha, the composer Luis Ivars, the writer and critic Carlos Aguilar, etc.

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. Regarding the Unification Program of ARFF International, all 4 editions will gather at Amsterddam November/December 2024, till then Barcelona, Paris & Berlin editions will take place online.


See you Around & Fest Regards

What is the Festival National du Film Scolaire ?

The Festival National du Film Scolaire is the first national cultural and educational event to focus on cinematographic creation in schools. The aim is to develop image education in schools and encourage student creativity through a unifying, motivating, high-quality event.

ACTIVITIES

Film screenings, masterclasses, film workshops and other activities

JURY

Composed of cinema and education professionals

CEREMONY

Closing ceremony for the festival, attended by the jury, prizewinners and guests.

*AN OLYMPIAD FOR FILMMAKERS!*

We desire to see your film! We want to see your dreams, empathise with your heroes, laugh with your jokes, cry with your drama!

Over 900 films from 87 countries participated in a total of 11 Grand Prix competitions and 90 films have been screened in 7 different cinemas across Athens, including Oscar nominated or other highly acclaimed films.

We are one of the few festivals offering money prizes - over 1.500 euros per year - plus an estimated 20.000 euros on services.

oin an exciting Film Festival with unique features;

1) FEEDBACK FOR ALL FILMS, NO MATTER IF SELECTED OR NOT
You DESERVE feedback for your hard work. Film Olympiad is probably the first and only festival to give constructive feedback to everyone - free of any extra charge.

2) RADICAL HONESTY & TRANSPARENCY
You can see how exactly the Jury rated your film in 5 categories and how you compare to other films. We watch films with empathy and love. We believe that filmmakers want to know the truth about how their film was rated, and this will only make them better.

3) MONEY PRIZES & FILM OLYMPIAD MEDALS - EVERY MONTH
The only film festival to award Film Olympiad Medals. 30 categories, 6 nominees, 3 medals (Gold, Silver & Bronze). Every month, National and Individual Medal Tables are updated.

We also have cash prizes, which will be at least:

500 euros for the Best Film Short
100 euros for the Audience Award
100 euros for the Best Director
100 euros for the Best Screenplay
100 euros for the Best Leading Actor
100 euros for the Best Leading Actress
100 euros for the Best Greek Film

of the annual Film Olympiad 2024 Gold Medalists on the categories above

plus 100 euros on every Best Film Gold Medalist, of each Grand Prix

4) NETWORKING & RECOGNITION
With 100 films per month, you have an actual chance to get selected and win a medal. Moreover, you can make your participation viral to your audience, fans and community.

"Yeah, buddy, on Thursday we are up against a film from Japan, and if we win, we qualify to the quarterfinals against either a film from Russia or a film from Germany!".

5) EXCITING COMPETITION SYSTEM - ACTUAL CHANCE
A sports-like competition system. We want an exciting event for our audience and your fans. The Jury gives a new rating to films after every round.

Phase 1 - 100 films are selected every MONTH for the Film Olympiad Grand Prix. All of them are eligible for nominations and medals. We have 6 bi- monthly Film Olympiad Grand Prix every year and an annual Film Olympiad.

Phase 2 - The films are divided into 20 groups of 5. The best films from each group qualify for the knockouts. The audience can watch live the results of the rating in each group, through online live streams with online screenings of some films.

Phase 3 - 32 films get paired in knockouts. This means that if you win 5 matches (Rounds of 32, 16, Quarterfinals, Semifinals, Final), you win the Best Short Gold Medal and the monthly cash prize.

Phase 4 - At least the best 8 films from each month are publicly screened in monthly screenings with a live audience and qualify for the annual Film Olympiad.

With these innovative features, we feel sure that Film Olympiad will soon become a prestigious and established Film Festival. Submit now to represent your country in the Film Olympiad with your film. We can't wait to see it!

We are setting up a unique 5th YEAR , iDEAL INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL iIFF in the world famous state of Maharashtra (INDIA), at city located close to the Ajanta Caves. and the birthplace of saints/artists. Keeping this in mind that this will be a separate platform for small and big artists, efforts will always be made to take the ideal festival to new heights. iDEAL INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL iIFF is established to cherish the emerging talent in the fields of art and films. The main objective is to give platform to the All artists and actors to potray their talent. iDEAL INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL has a modern theme. Films in various categories such as World Competition, Marathi Competition, Global Cinema, Country Focus and Retrospective, from various countries and cultures are introduced. A recognised jury panel decides awards for films in the competitive sections.

iDEAL INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL looks forward for participation of actors,film makers as well as the emerging artists to platform their talent to the world.

After two previous editions where we programmed a film cycle of films made or in which artists from the area participated (Barracas, La Boca, Pompeya and Parque Patricios, Avellaneda, also called Cuenca del Rio Matanza - Riachuelo) in a few weeks. We want to organize this third edition, a call for short and long films, where YOUTH AND WORK are the main theme in the selected works.

Welcome to LuminaFlicks International Short Film Fest, a unique short film event where the light of creativity meets inspiration.

Join us at Kinema Millennium, located on Murat Toptani Street, Tirana, Albania - a picturesque location where the magic of LuminaFlicks will unfold.

About Us:

LuminaFlicks is a new international festival striving to be a beacon for talented filmmakers from around the world. Our goal is not just to organize events, but to create a unique platform for inspiration, creative exchange and discovery in the exciting world of short film

We are proud to offer filmmakers the opportunity to meet and work together, encouraging the exchange of ideas and supporting experimentation in filmmaking. LuminaFlicks is more than just a festival, it is a community of like-minded filmmakers where each member contributes to the enrichment of short film culture.

We believe in creative freedom and diversity of expression, and hence create a platform where every filmmaker can unleash their potential and share their unique story. LuminaFlicks is not just a festival, it is a luminary that illuminates talent and inspires new creative heights

Join us to be part of this exciting journey in the world of short film, where the light of creativity merges with the international spirit of art. LuminaFlicks is more than just an event; it's a platform for the birth of stories, conversations and new ideas. Welcome to our luminous community of filmmakers where every frame is a source of inspiration and exciting discoveries

What sets us apart:

We value every moment in the world of short films, striving to support a diversity of creative voices. LuminaFlicks invites you on a journey where every frame is a chance to discover something new and unique

What to expect from participants:

- Supporting Talent: We invite filmmakers from around the world to join us in creating a celebration of short film

- International Community: LuminaFlicks brings together creative people committed to sharing their vision of the world through short film

- Platform For Discovery: Our festival is an opportunity to make a name for yourself, regardless of experience, giving new talent a chance

Join LuminaFlicks International Short Film Fest and discover the world of short filmmaking with us!

The Universe Multicultural Film Festival seeks to bring to the best of classic and contemporary filmmaking from the world; Committed to enlightening the public with a unique international film program, a forum for cultural understanding and enriching educational opportunities. The Festival focuses on showcasing diverse cultural and heritages films, supports the creation and advancement of innovative and artistic cinematic works of both emerging and seasoned filmmakers and proudly embraces the passion, independent spirit and vision of these talented artists. With the integration of the local community and educational institutions into all aspects of the Festival, the Festival stimulates an interest in the study and appreciation of film and encourages people of all ages and background to participate and share the harmony universe.

The Melbourne Documentary Film Festival (MDFF) is looking for a Melbourne-based or Melbourne-made feature documentary to either open or close our historic 10th edition. You can submit via Film Freeway or email us at info@mdff.org.au.

The festival has become a cultural phenomenon in Melbourne, with sold-out sessions and encores, ranking as one of Australia’s top film festivals. We aim to promote diverse, independent, and creative filmmakers, supporting global and local talent. MDFF has helped filmmakers reach major platforms.

MDFF is known for its commitment to diversity, inclusivity, and safety. We’ve had no reported COVID cases at our events for the last five years and have worked to ensure a safe environment for everyone.

This year, we're excited to host encores for popular short documentaries and have seen great success. We've also become the Film Freeway Top 100 Melbourne Film Festival and are ranked in the top global documentary festivals. We are especially proud to have had 7 documentaries eligible for the 2024 Oscars.

MDFF showcases documentaries that promote critical and independent thinking, debate, and diverse perspectives, with a focus on issues like human rights, equality, social issues, and freedom of speech. We have supported various causes, including BLM, Indigenous communities, and environmental organizations.

MDFF is an indie festival that helps filmmakers make their mark, offering opportunities for premieres, screenings, and networking with industry professionals. The festival takes place at Cinema Nova, one of Australia’s largest independent cinemas, and offers a fun, community-driven atmosphere.

We’re looking for local and international feature documentaries, short films, VR projects, video essays, and web series to compete in our Australian Documentary Awards. Submit your documentary to be part of this prestigious event and help us celebrate the best of the documentary genre.

in-FCTA 2025 – 9th Edition of the Terra Alta Film Festival
Bot, Catalonia – August 3–9, 2025
www.infcta.com

in-FCTA is more than a short film festival — it's a cultural experience that embraces cinema as a total art form. Set in the idyllic region of Terra Alta, in-FCTA combines film screenings with artistic, sensory and immersive events that celebrate creativity, identity and territory.

We welcome films with strong voices and unique perspectives. The festival is committed to showcasing emerging talent and bold storytelling, with a focus on cultural identity, memory, environmental connection and narrative innovation — both locally and internationally.

The festival features several competitive sections, including:

Professional filmmakers

Film students and new directors

High school students

Independent, self-managed creators

Emerging women directors (under 30)


All fiction genres are accepted, including animation.

Awards include cash prizes, cultural experiences in Terra Alta, and the LoFato in-FCTA Award.

Submit your work.


Contact: info@infcta.com

We've finally retreived control of all our hacked emails!

BAKUNAWA FEST [Fantastic Film, Art + Music] is the first fantastic & genre-based film, art & music festival based in The Philippines and ran by volunteer filmmakers and artists. Bakunawa is a dragon-like creature in Philippine mythology that devoured moons. Because we are a genre-bending film fest, we want to flip the Bakunawa's role and we want it to instead symbolize the creative monsters inside us.

Because we've had a rough and tough year, our 11th edition will screen films during the 2024-2025 seasons and will have several screenings starting in December of 2024, culminating to May of 2025. Bakunawa Fest runs annually in one season - spread in fourth months becoming a hybrid festival resulting from the pandemic lockdowns.

Bakunawa was initially created with this principle: "new visions, new voices". We still stand by this principle as we continue to program young promising filmmakers, artists & musicians who either have no access to expensive workshops and may not have the name recognition to be programmed in festivals. Since our third edition, we have included a section that screens curated local and international selected films mainly for educational purposes. Most of our Bakunawa Fest's film camps are done as outreach programs/workshops and are mostly free. Here our participants are scholars paid for by the festival and its partners usually hosted by different cities/municipalities in the Philippines.

[ Please note that, since we are an artist and volunteer-ran filmfest, we can't fund filmmakers to come physically and we don't pay screening fees. ]

We are a fantastic film fest. Our festival is interested in: Horror or Thriller Films / Sci-Fi, Fantasy or Adventure / Fantastic-themed Experimental Films, New Media, Expanded Cinema / Genre-Bending Films / Fantastic-themed Music Videos / Fantastic-themed Documentaries / Contemporary Art / Photography.

"The 9/16 Film Fest is an international film festival in vertical format that aims to foster the creation and promotion of audiovisual content specifically designed in 9:16.

Our objectives are:

- Democratize creation, allowing creativity to flourish independently of available resources.

- Promote collaboration and reward excellence in vertical content, providing a platform for emerging filmmakers.

- Stay at the forefront of technology, following consumer trends, and educating in this format.

The selection is divided into several categories:

- Fiction
- Animation
- Microdocumentary
- One-Minute Video
- Video Art (Music, Dance, Performance...)
- Capaces. (Short films focused on raising awareness and sharing experiences, achievements and challenges of people with disabilities) Category in collaboration with AVIVA

These categories can also compete for:

- "Most Viral" Award
- "9/16" Award (best technical adaptation to the vertical format)

The event also includes non-competitive sections such as screenings, talks, gastronomy..."

MDOC – Melgaço International Documentary Film Festival will select for 2025, documentaries under the themes of identity, memory and border. All films must express the author's point of view on aspects related to social, individual, cultural and identity issues.

In 2003, the non-profit created the International Strange and Unusual Fantasy Short Film Festival, Court Métrange.

The event offers a creative harbor for authors wherein to expose and endorse their ideas. With an irrefutable penchant for a different form of filmmaking, these motion picture partisans fascinate countless audiences, the latter of whom paradoxically struggle to reap the same attention.

The purpose of the Court Métrange Festival is, ultimately, threefold, boasting: a place to screen, a place to scream, letting its "cult" shorts thrive, and a place whose limitless resources endeavor to not only emphasize the credentials of those having fought to make Fantasy film what it is today, but also attribute to them what is rightfully theirs. Court Métrange has become crucial not only in putting back on the radar screen the artistic and cultural value in a certain category of works, but also in breaking down barriers between film genres.

Sole member specializing in short films of the renowned European Fantastic Film Festival and CNC Category 1 Festival, Court Métrange is, in a way, a rite of passage for some authors in the quest for validation of their work with their sights set on becoming the directors of tomorrow. As a result, it is unrivaled, and plays an influential role on the short film scene in Europe.
Artistically agile, film communicates in a number of languages. The Fantastic is one of them. Court Métrange has chosen to hand over the mic and screen to those who share the same speak. For Fantasy filmmakers, this moment with their audiences is invaluable. Theaters teeming with fans and backing from a significant part of the profession have, in turn, legitimized the festival in its entirety. The enthusiasm and support from the teaching community and the active involvement of its student population in the educational and cultural initiatives organized by the festival come full circle with the idea that Fantastic films are a formidable breeding ground for culture and reflection.

Alongside its screenings, the Festival also strives to open up channels for exchange between film and other creative disciplines in order to broaden and boost the manner in which the "Fantastic image" materializes. Every year, conferences, exhibits, music, encounters, and debates round out the Court Métrange agenda.

7TH INTERNATIONAL CRAFT AUDIOVISUAL EXHIBITION

The International Craft Audiovisual Exhibition, promoted by the Catalan Government through the Consortium of Commerce, Crafts and Fashion (CCAM), is a meeting point for two fields:
crafting and audiovisual. It was created to generate synergies and promote the creation of quality audiovisuals based on artisanal creative processes and focusing on artisans and their crafts.

The exhibition is the only one of its kind to be held in Catalonia and throughout Spain. This year it reaches its seventh edition to show the diversity and creative richness of the crafting world, through unique and contemporary stories from artisanal crafts around the world.

In past editions we have seen projects showing the commitment to sustainability and feminism, documenting the fusion between technological innovation and crafts or audiovisuals explaining the roots of crafting in the territory.

In this seventh edition, we will value quality proposals with more accurate and exigent audiovisuals. Format and content innovation will be the main spotlight but also international projects opening cultural dialogues and allowing diversity.

The pieces must be original and unpublished, and they will be presented at the Gala that will take place at the Disseny Hub Barcelona on the 27th of September. The films will then be available on the FILMIN cinema platform, the CCAM website and the ‘Exhibition on the Road’.

Once more, the coordination and management will be taken care of by bbintervencions. We will guide you and help you with any questions you might have during the process.

Welcome to the 7th International Craft Audiovisual Exhibition, welcome to the joy of crafting!

AVANCA Film Festival was awarded first place in 2011 contest of the support film festivals sponsored by ICA / Ministry of Culture.

An additional thematic programming has happened over all these years, giving space to screening of significant works of contemporary cinema appropriately framed in concerns and / or well-defined objectives.

The AVANCA is known as a space for workshops led by personalities of world cinema, and being more than a "master class", has allowed a unique cinema practice. Every year we have workshops, bringing together participants from all over Europe. The media have written that this is the largest European area of professional workshops in the field of cinema.

AVANCA is the only festival that congregates a Cinema International Competition, works from the television area, video and new supports of multimedia, with a special concern of exhibit the best world productions done in each category.

Since the first edition, the festival only accepts unprecedented films in Portugal.

The World Premiere competition is unique in our country and was only possible because Avanca became a passage point of unpublished authors and movies with great quality. Films that have their world premiere in the festival, independently of the submitted category, are also participating in the World Premiere Competition.

AVANCA is the Portuguese festival with the highest percentage of worldwide unpublished movies that find here their first showing.

Since 2010, we have organized the international film conference AVANCA | CINEMA, becoming the most important conference in the field of cinema in the Iberian Peninsula. This conference brings together speakers and participants from around the world.
Thematic exhibitions, editions of books, bibliographic presentations and various projects have marked these last 10 years of AVANCA with the quality that compels the festival and the participants obviously require.