Blog: Film festivals

Cortomontagna prize is exclusively dedicated to short films.

The prize’s main theme is Mountain life, told and documented through a video that expresses the author's point of view and interpretation.

Possible takes on the main theme can range from the narration of sporting activities (skiing, climbing, hiking - for example), to naturalistic-environmental themes, to facts and life stories of communities or mountain territories.

Everyone can take part in this competition.

International Western Film Festival.

The European Short Film Festival Villamayor de Cine emerged in 2008 in the picturesque village of Villamayor de Santiago, located in the province of Cuenca. Its main mission was to create a space where short films took a prominent place and young directors had the opportunity to shine.

This festival takes place annually during the month of August, in intense days where a team of over forty young professionals, under the direction of the festival's founder, Javier Alonso, tirelessly works to bring the best of short cinema to Villamayor de Santiago.

Renowned Spanish actor Jesús Guzmán was the Honorary President of this film event until his unfortunate passing in 2023. In his honor, the award for the best fiction short film bears his name, keeping his memory and legacy alive in the world of cinema.

The festival's host is Luis Mottola, a highly esteemed professional actor and presenter. His presence elevates the festival with his experience and talent. Mottola feels a profound affection for Villamayor, just as the town appreciates him. @luismottola

Equilibrium Studio Cinematografico organizes the second edition of its "CineFest - Changes".

Equilibrium Studio Cinematografico is a Social Promotion Association based in Palermo, born with the intent to promote the development and diffusion of film culture, a passion shared by the members of our team. This year the festival focuses on the theme of change, today more and more sudden and the reason for a highly liquid society. Nothing is well defined anymore: space, time, body. Everything is always changing and flows quickly.

The association Equilibrium Studio Cinematografico is composed of three women who are experts in cinema and communication, as well as lovers of creative and artistic expression represented through images and videos. The Equilibrium CineFest is, in fact, a means to offer a space of expression to all filmmakers who want to share their thoughts through the short film, a tool that has the power to communicate in a few minutes a message with a high emotional impact.

Seoul International ALT Cinema & media arts Festival (NeMaf) is the annual festival that shows media-based art with innovative spirit in its themes and forms.

The types of works we show include single-channel video arts, media arts, documentaries, found-footage films, essay films, experimental films, and so on. It takes place at multiple cinemas around Seoul.

It has been founded and showcased more than 2,000 media-based works and discovered 1,000 artists since it was founded in 2000.

NeMaf now opens for submissions and seeks innovative films and media art works.

- Submission Deadline
MAY 17, 2024 11:59 PM (Korea Standard Time)

Penitente Film Fest is the first Boyacense festival dedicated to genre cinema, emphasizing Sci-Fi, fantasy and terror. It was created as an alternative to the existing festivals in the department and in the country, whose focus is not so particular. From the organization, we believe that the genre cinema remains in force, with the same capacity to amaze, wonder, and unsettle us while transverse or parallel offers new ways to interpret and shape our reality and that of filmmakers around the world.

We begin a journey towards unknown universes, Penitente Film Fest announces its first call, which will take place from April 21 to July 15, 2023.

¡Hola! We are SEVIFF • Sevilla Indie Film Festival, an international independent film festival in the city of Seville in Spain, and member of the IBERIFF • Iberia Indie Film Festivals, which celebrates and showcases new productions and independent artists from all over the world in Madrid (MADRIFF), Barcelona (BARCIFF), València (VALÈIFF), Seville (SEVIFF), Lisbon (LISBIFF) and Montpellier (MONTIFF), that you can also find them here, in Festhome!

SEVIFF shares the mission of their associate festivals of supporting emerging talents, encouraging artistic exploration, fostering networking, promoting cultural exchange and engaging the local community by providing a platform to present the work of independent filmmakers.

Fiction films, animation, documentary and experimental of any genre and subject are welcome!

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.

Golden Eye—is an international festival for movie and TV cameramen and camerawomen .

Festival’s main goal is to motivate cameramen and camerawomen and people in movie-TV industry, and support their professional development.

The International Festival of Golden Eye will cover the cost of flight and accommodation of the nominees.

Organized by the Brazilian Vegetarian Society, the event was launched in 2009, in the city of Curitiba, and aims to create a debate on animal rights and the socio-environmental impacts that the interaction of humans with other animals can bring.

The films are shown to the general public free of charge, and previous editions brought together renowned artists, environmentalists, activists, authorities, writers and, above all, admirers and defenders of animals.

Organized in Pérols, near Montpellier in Hérault, by the OVNI LANGUEDOC association during its annual congress on 5, 6 november 2022.

The 2nd Ufological Film Festival is aimed at directors who wish to present their short films, fictions and documentaries on the theme of Ufology, UFOs and extraterrestrial life.

We want to take the serious cinema culture to the people. It is also our aim to develop a fundamental understanding of cinema in the next generations. It is our endeavor that, through this, we can organize progressive and democratic cine artists who uphold human values; and explore the possibilities of making more and more films with social consciousness.

Vision

As a unique creative and learning experience, we curate innovative programs that develop artists and leaders, inspiring them to conceive and create powerful works and ideas that are shared with the world. We believe film as an art form has the power to bridge cultures and illuminate the universality of the human experience. Our principles objectives encompass promoting film to an ever-widening audience as a powerful medium that inspires creativity, encourages introspection and compels exploration.

Mission

ICA International Cultural Artifact Film Festival exists to inspire artists and leaders to make their unique contribution to society. We aspire to be the global leader in arts, culture, and creativity. Our mission is to cultivate and promote the art and science of film through education and cross-cultural awareness. The Festival supports the creation and advancement of innovative and artistic cinematic works from both emerging and seasoned filmmakers and proudly embraces the passion.

The 11th MIAX International Art and Independent Film Festival will take place in November (date to be confirmed and subject to changes to provide the best conditions for the event) as the main venue in the state of Jalisco, Mexico.

Enlace de la convocatoria para participar. https://drive.google.com/drive/u/1/folders/1OJRkaV08Iv-VZW0zl99kPA-XyGW-8Qx2

Call for Entries

Esto Es Para Esto is a cinema collective group dedicated to independent cinema screening, spreading and film discussion, based in Monterrey City, México.

We seek for different forms of cinema, transcending media’s conventions and traditions that challenge the established. Cinematographic mirages, audiovisual delirium, dreams in motion, video-mutations, images and sound that travel through blood and brain cells to the screen, without format, duration or genre prejudices at all. We want to share your delirious audiovisions, pour them into the receptacle of light and discuss what might detonate in the minds of those who observe and listen.

GO Film Goiânia Film Festival is a Festival for short movies done in the heart of Brazil. Its in the 5th edition with a competitive premiation with a special awards in many categories.

The 20th TODOS SANTOS FILM FESTIVAL (FCTS) to be held from November 24 to November 27, 2024, call filmmakers from Baja California Sur or residents of Mexico to participate with their Cineminuto films in a competition inspired by the ecology of Baja California Sur and caring for your environment.

My town without garbage, sponsored by Cero Basura, is the project of 20 FCTS who, since its creation, has been dedicated to the conservation of our environment, through the dissemination of its films, documentaries, animations and its films produced by the School Cinema film Leonardo Perel.

Through the powerful of film, we creatively express in direct and concise messages the beauty of BCS, the need to protect our seas, towns and cities, the richness of its flora and fauna in our peninsula. The FCTS will disseminate the most outstanding films produced during the next 20th edition, as well as in collaboration events with other festivals and film clubs.

The Henri Langlois Association, with its new presidency, launches the first edition of the HENRI LANGLOIS FESTIVAL. There will be three editions this year with three themes and three screening days. The festival promotes contemporary short films responding to a specific theme every edition. Each edition will be screening a heritage film illustrating the theme.

The next edition will take place on June 19th, 2022 at the ‘Théâtre des Déchargeurs’ (Paris).
Theme: TO DEVOUR

The first edition took place on March 20th (on the theme "Wandering").

The fourteenth edition of the Student Film Festival FENACIES Uruguay opened its inscriptions on April 1st, and will remain open until June 10th. As every year, all the students from all over the world (from Primary to University) can register their short films totally free, which will be displayed in Montevideo from September 9th to 15th.

FENACIES is an organization founded in 2011 that started with the aim of creating a cinema festival specifically to youth, where competition would be fair and creativity and effort of these would be valued.

At first, the festival was avowed of cultural interest by the Ministry of Education and Culture, educational interest by the Primary Education Council, and tourist interest by the Ministry of Tourism and Sport. Furthermore, in 2015 UNESCO declared it of educational and cultural interest.

The main aim of the festival is to strengthen the audiovisual education between the youngest, and through the short films realization they can express their ideas so that then they can see reflected on the big screen.

During the week, the short films that are selected will be shown in a public and state cinema. On September 15th will be announced the winners in the closing ceremony.

International film festival of entertaining, fantastic and arthouse free genre films.

The Obscura Filmfest was founded by David Ghane in 2016 and has been run by him alone ever since. He is a passionate genre film fan since 1996, attends several film festivals per year since 2004, sometimes helps out there, acts as an extra in horror films and is an extreme film collector.

The Obscura Filmfest specialises in entertaining and fantastic B-movies, films that are rarely shown in cinemas. They show mostly big blockbusters or arthouse films that can be found at most other ordinary film festivals. Even comparable festivals are expanding their programmes to include more and more arthouse. Those who instead like entertaining, smaller and special independent films, but can also imagine bigger productions from far away countries, will find what they are looking for at the Obscura Filmfest: Films that are fun with rough edges, raw and uncompromising; from nasty little horror films to Asian battle epics, there is something for every fan, just no boredom.

It started with small, offbeat, trashy and depraved underground grindhouse films, meanwhile the Obscura also screens commercial, mid-sized films that are traded on the big film markets.

Highlights of the previous festival editions included the German premieres of the Argentinian fantasy sci fi cyberpunk action film "Daemonium", the Ukrainian thriller "Egregor", the Filipino zombie shocker "Day Zero", the Danish horror film "Finale", the ghost comedy "Deadtectives" and the two Backwoods films "What the Waters Left Behind" and its sequel "Scars" 5 years later.

The European premieres of the Indonesian comic superhero film "Valentine" and the Backwoods film "Drifter" were also screened.

Another highlight was the crazy Japanese splatterfest "Kodoku - Meatball Machine" which can look back on a long festival history including the biggest festivals of its kind, as well as the Universal/Blumhouse production "The Hunt".

With "Redbad" and "The Great Battle", two big battle epics were also screened at the Obscura.

The German premiere of the hard-hitting exploitation film "Trauma" in Hanover was even attended by visitors from the Ruhr area.
After its international premiere at the Obscura, the cowboy backwoods film "Lasso" was shown a few months later at the famous british Frightfest.

In 2022, the Obscura had its first two feature-length film world premieres with "All through the Hall" and "Hidden in the Woods II".

At each Obscura there were film guests who introduced their film in person and were available for a Q&A. They came from Ireland, UK, Belgium, Finland, Denmark, Spain, Greece, Hungary, USA, Argentina, Mexico and of course Germany.

More information incl. an archive on the new and old websites:
https://www.obscurafilmfest.com
https://dvdscot.wixsite.com/obscura