Prizes in various categories of up to €250. 25% off until 2 May!!
Deadline 18 May 2026
Prize 250€
The Locarno Residency is a program by the Locarno Film Festival supporting emerging filmmakers developing their first feature film. The 2025 call is open until June 3, 2025. The program has two phases: first, an in-person meeting during the festival in August where 10 participants present their projects to a jury, which selects three outstanding projects. The second phase offers one year of personalized mentoring, including online sessions and in-person meetings, with travel and accommodation expenses covered. One selected project will receive the Dopodomani Prize, worth 3,000 CHF. Requirements include being under 40 years old, having short film experience, and presenting a project in English for a first feature to be shot after September 2026. The application fee is 30 CHF. It’s an excellent opportunity for filmmakers seeking professional support and international exposure.
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Locarno Residency
The FantasoLab 2026 Fantastic Genre Short Film Laboratory opens applications from January 22 to February 20, 2026. This is a training‑focused lab designed for creators of fantastic genre short films — including science fiction, fantasy, and horror — who want to develop their projects through workshops, mentorship, and work sessions. The emphasis is on short films in development, between 7 and 15 minutes, with a first draft script ready at the time of submission.
The main laboratory activities will take place from April 6 to April 11, 2026, with preliminary sessions and individual work from late March to early April. Although based in Colombia, the call accepts international applications, especially from Ibero‑American creators, with priority given to Colombian talent. This initiative is not primarily a competition or market but a creative development environment to support and strengthen fantastic short film projects.
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Lab Cortos - Fantasolab
Mexico - Industry Academy is an intensive training program designed for young professionals in the film industry working in areas such as distribution, sales, marketing, exhibition, and festival programming. This program takes place within the framework of the UNAM International Film Festival (FICUNAM), which is held annually in Mexico City.
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Industry Academy México
El Instituto Sundance tiene varias convocatorias abiertas o próximas para 2025‑2026 dirigidas a artistas y proyectos independientes. Entre las fechas más recientes: el 2026 Episodic Lab cierra postulaciones el 9 de noviembre de 2025, la Merata Mita Fellowship el 3 de noviembre de 2025, la Graton Fellowship el 8 de diciembre de 2025, y el Native Lab acepta hasta el 22 de diciembre de 2025. La Sundance Ignite x Adobe Fellowship tiene como fecha límite de postulación el 12 de febrero de 2026 y el Feature Film Producers Track culmina el 11 o 12 de febrero de 2026. Además, el Ignite Challenge está abierto hasta el 1 de julio de 2026. Estas convocatorias corresponden a distintos programas de apoyo, desde laboratorios y becas para cineastas emergentes hasta competencias y mentores en narrativa audiovisual. Los programas son principalmente internacionales, aunque algunos, como el Native Lab y la Graton Fellowship, tienen criterios específicos de elegibilidad comunitaria o geográfica. También existen ventanas de envíos para proyectos de cine y episodios del propio Festival de Cine Sundance 2026, cuyas fechas de proyección serán entre 22 de enero y 1 de febrero de 2026.
DIFERENTES FECHAS PARA ACTIVIDADES
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Instituto Sundance
Syncro Lab 2025 is the training and development call of the Syncro Film Fest, aimed at people over 18 years old residing in Argentina. It is a short film script competition open to fiction, non-fiction, or hybrid projects, with a maximum length of 20 pages (PDF format, Courier 12, single spacing).
Submissions are open from February 3 to May 7, 2025, with an entry fee of ARS 7,000. Up to 10 scripts will be selected, and their authors will take part in group mentoring and development sessions during the festival, which will be held June 16–19, 2025 in Buenos Aires.
A jury will choose one winning script, which will receive ARS 500,000, plus professional post‑production services (5.1 mix, color grading, DCP and export deliveries), distribution by Hablemos de Langostas, and support for material delivery. Technical prizes must be used within one year.
Syncro Lab is an excellent opportunity to boost your short film project and connect with the independent film industry.
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Syncro Lab