Festival Internacional de Cine de Valdivia (32)

Festival start: 13 October 2025      Festival end: 19 October 2025

Valdivia International Film Festival showcases Chilean and international cinema in five competitive categories: Feature Competition, Youth Feature Competition, Latin American and Caribbean Short Film Competition, Latin American and Caribbean Children’s Short Film Competition and Chilean Short Film Competition for Film Students. Its non-competitive program includes historical retrospectives, contemporary filmmakers’ retrospectives, political cinema, avant-garde cinema, genre, and a children-family oriented cinema slot.

1.- OBJECTIVES
The festival aims to offer Chilean and foreign filmmakers a place to screen and to compete, and by doing so, promoting national and international film works of artistic quality.

2. DATES
The festival will be held from October 13th to 19th, 2025, in Valdivia, Chile.

The jury for the different official categories of 32nd Valdivia International Film Festival will award the following prizes:

I.- Feature Film:

- Best International Feature Film

- International Special Jury Award

- International Special Jury Mention

II.- Youth Feature Film:

- Best Youth Feature Film

- Youth Feature International Special Jury Award

III.- Latin American and Caribbean Short Film:

- Best Latin American and Caribbean Short Film

- Latin American and Caribbean Short Film Special Jury Award

- Latin American and Caribbean Short Film Special Jury Mention

IV.- Children’s Latin American and Caribbean Short Film

- Best Children’s Latin American and Caribbean Short Film

- Children’s Latin American and Caribbean Short Film Special Jury Award

V.- Chilean Short Film Competition for Film Student:

- Best Chilean Film Student’s Short Film

- Chilean Film Student’s Short film Special Jury Award

VI.- Chilean Cinema

- Special Award for Best Chilean Feature Film (to be delivered to the best Chilean movie among the films selected in Feature Competition and Youth Feature Competition).

REGULATIONS
32nd VALDIVIA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
October 13th -19th, 2025

Founded and Organized by Universidad Austral de Chile
Produced by Centro Cultural de Promoción Cinematográfica de Valdivia.

Invited by Ilustre Municipalidad de Valdivia, Gobierno Regional de Los Ríos and Codeproval

INTRODUCTION

Valdivia International Film Festival showcases Chilean and international cinema in five competitive categories: Feature Competition, Youth Feature Competition, Latin American and Caribbean Short Film Competition, Latin American and Caribbean Children’s Short Film Competition and Chilean Short Film Competition for Film Students. Its non-competitive program includes historical retrospectives, contemporary filmmakers’ retrospectives, political cinema, avant-garde cinema, genre, and a children-family oriented cinema slot.

1.- OBJECTIVES

The festival aims to offer Chilean and foreign filmmakers a place to screen and to compete, and by doing so, promoting national and international film works of artistic quality.

2. DATES

The festival will be held from October 13th to 19th, 2025, in Valdivia, Chile.

3. COMPETITIVE CATEGORIES:

FEATURE FILMS:

I.- Feature Film Competition: Official selection oriented to the screening of feature films, fiction, animation, documentary or experimental film, Chilean or foreign, with a minimum duration of 40 minutes, delivered in the stipulated formats detailed below (see projection formats in point 7, section e).

II.- Youth Feature Film competition: Official selection oriented to the screening of feature films films aimed to a youth audience from 14 to 20 years old, in the genres of fiction, animation, documentary or experimental film, Chilean or foreign, with a minimum duration of 40 minutes, delivered in the stipulated formats detailed below (see projection formats in point 7, section e).

SHORT FILMS:

III.- Latin American and Caribbean Short Film Competition: Official selection oriented to the screening of works, fiction, documentary, experimental film or animation; in any format, with a maximum duration of 30 minutes, credits included; shot by Chilean, Latin American and Caribbean directors in Chilean, Latin American and Caribbean ground (see projection formats in point 7, section e).

IV.- Children’s Latin American and Caribbean Short Film Competition: Official selection for works filmed by professionals for a child audience, in fiction, documentary, experimental and/or animation, in any format, with a maximum duration of 20 minutes, credits included; developed by Chilean, Latin American or Caribbean filmmakers, filmed in Chilean, Latin American or Caribbean ground (see projection formats in point 7, section e).

V.- Chilean Short Film Competition for Film Students Competition: Official selection oriented to the screening of works, fiction, documentary, experimental film or animation; in any format, with a maximum duration of 20 minutes, credits included; shot by undergraduate students of film and audiovisual schools in Chile (Universities, Professional Institutes and Technical Training Centers) (see projection formats in point 7, section e).

4. – CONDITIONS TO PARTICIPATE:

a) Films completed from March 1st, 2024 on may be submitted for consideration.

b) The participating films may not be exhibited in CHILE before or during the contest under any circumstances or by any means.

c) The films submitted, in all the categories, will be submitted through a selection process by the programming team of the Festival.

d) In order to participate, filmmakers must register in the festival via FESTHOME, which is the only way to be part of the process. Films submitted in any other way won’t be considered.

e) By submitting a work, the participant accepts the totality of the terms and conditions stipulated in this document. In particular, by the mere fact of submitting your application form, the signatory declares to be in power to authorize in effect public communication of the submitted work during the Festival in Valdivia, according to Chilean Law Nº 17.336 on Intellectual Property. Furthermore, the signatory of the application declares, that in case his/hers project commits, affects or includes usage of total or partial works protected by national or international law on Intellectual Property, and the holders of copyright are different people than the project applicant, the applicant has clear authorization for the usage of such work by the copyright owner, in compliance with formalities indicated in the stated terms and conditions, subjected to the exceptions referred to in Title III of the stipulated law.

Authorization is the permission granted by the owner of copyright in any contractual way, for usage of a work in some of the ways and by some of the means established by Intellectual Property Law.

f) The organization reserves the right to take the decisions it deems appropriate for those cases not covered by these regulations.

g) Works that have participated in any stage of previous versions of the Valdivia International Film Festival will not be accepted.

h) Producers and distributors of films in the Official Selection, as well as those films awarded in all categories, commit to include in their publicity and press kit the phrase: "Official Selection – 32nd Valdivia International Film Festival", using the wreaths provided by the festival. This requirement applies to theatrical releases and to distribution by any means.

i) Producers and distributors of the films in the Official Selection hereby authorize expressly to Centro Cultural de Promoción Cinematográfica de Valdivia to exhibit their works up to three (3) times for nonprofit screenings. The applicant knows and accepts this clause when submitting the film.

j) The organization will determine the screening rooms and schedules for the films’ exhibitions.

5. – JURY

a) The jury will be formed by professionals in filmmaking, arts and cultural sectors, both national and foreign, except for competitions aimed at children and young people, who will be evaluated by children and young people.

b) People directly involved in the films in any competition can’t be part of the jury.

c) The jury’s decision is final.

6. - awards
The jury for the different official categories of 32nd Valdivia International Film Festival will award the following prizes:

I.- Feature Film:
- Best International Feature Film
- International Special Jury Award
- International Special Jury Mention

II.- Youth Feature Film:
- Best Youth Feature Film
- Youth Feature International Special Jury Award

III.- Latin American and Caribbean Short Film:
- Best Latin American and Caribbean Short Film
- Latin American and Caribbean Short Film Special Jury Award
- Latin American and Caribbean Short Film Special Jury Mention

IV.- Children’s Latin American and Caribbean Short Film
- Best Children’s Latin American and Caribbean Short Film
- Children’s Latin American and Caribbean Short Film Special Jury Award

V.- Chilean Short Film Competition for Film Student:
- Best Chilean Film Student’s Short Film
- Chilean Film Student’s Short film Special Jury Award

VI.- Chilean Cinema
- Special Award for Best Chilean Feature Film (to be delivered to the best Chilean movie among the films selected in Feature Competition and Youth Feature Competition).

7. – deadline FOR REGISTRATION and DISPATCH OF MATERIAL:

a) Application via FESTHOME will be open from March 10 to April 25, 2025 as deadline until 18.00 Chile Standard Time (UTC -4).

b) Official Selection will be announced in September at www.ficvaldivia.cl. By the mere fact of applying under these terms and conditions, selected works automatically authorize image extracts for publicity purposes of the Festival’s Official Selection.

c) The non-selection will be duly informed via Festhome to the participants and under no circumstances neither the festival nor programmers will give explanations on this decision.

d) Original copies must arrive in Valdivia until September 10th, 2025.

e) Projection formats are:

FEATURE FILM COMPETITION:
- DCP (with H264 backup)

SHORT FILM COMPETITION:
- DCP (with H264 backup)

f) All non-english speaking films participating in the Feature Competition must send a screening copy with english subtitles.

g) All Spanish speaking short films of the Short Films competition must send a screening copy with english subtitles. All non-Spanish speaking short films must send a screening copy with Spanish subtitles.

h) All selected films must send a digital file of the film in H264 separately from the exhibition copy.

8. - SHIPPING

a) Screening copies must be sent only to the Centro Cultural de Promoción Cinematográfica de Valdivia.

b) All films’ transportation costs, both for pre-selection process as for the competition as such are the responsibility of the applicant. The competition’s organization only will be in charge of the return of such works.

c) All material selected for the Official Selection must be sent with the necessary measures to protect its content.

9. – INSURANCE OF COPIES

a) The organization is not responsible for any damage or loss suffered during transport of copies.
b) In case of serious damage or loss during the Festival, and while in its possession, the organization will respond for the replacement cost of the copy, as long as this situation is notified during the event.

10. GENERAL INQUIRIES
Any doubts or queries regarding the current call can be sent, in english or Spanish, via email to convocatoria@ficv.cl. No other type of queries will be answered in this email.

We invite you to be informed of all the activities of the Valdivia International Film Festival in www.ficvaldivia.cl and in our social media accounts in Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.