Blog: Film festivals

Ostia International Film Festival 2025, now in its 6th Edition, promotes, encourages and spreads all the activities relating to the world of Cinema, including through TV, Streaming, Theatre, the Web, Social Media.

Purposes:

in collaboration with public and private entities, the promotion and spreading of culture, cinematographic and artistic production and of the audiovisual works submitted every year to the Festival;

organize happenings, shows, events and exhibitions related to the Audiovisual, Artistic and Cultural sector at national and international level through the Festival;

bring together and promote the training of people and artists of any age and social background involved in creative film and audiovisual production;

Create works connected to the world of Cinema, Art, Photography and Culture in general.

The purpose of the festival refers to awareness of both the external filters on the screen, including censorship (commercial, ideological, aesthetic), and the internal filters of screen perception and projection, including self-censorship. NEFILTRAVANAE KINO is an exploration of aestheticization and commodification in art. The next aim of the festival is to expose the complexity, manysidedness, and variety of filmmaking.

NEFILTRAVANAE KINO is a film festival that is held by the Short Movie Club, the platform for cinematic projects. NEFILTRAVANAE KINO is ADAMI Media Prize qualified festival. The International Film Studies Conference is held at the same time as the film festival. In this way, film theory and practice are integrated together at the NEFILTRAVANAE KINO.

Originally the festival was held in Belarus, but because of political repression and publicly stated anti-war stance, screenings and events can be held in different countries. First of all in Lithuania (Vilnius). For example, the 10th Nefiltravanae Kino took place in Berlin, Vilnius and Helsinki last year. There were selected 63 films for 12 film programmes. https://shortmovie.club/programmes/10-2024/

The concept of the NEFILTRAVANAE KINO (Unfiltered Cinema):

ALIENATION PROBLEM

We live in a world of malls and cinema multiplexes. We see that indie cinema and non-commodity art go to the periphery of public attention. Primitive attractions replace the cinematography. The escape audience is alienated behind the big screen. So modern mainstream cinema is part of a manipulating tool that leads to the society of alienation. Thus the tendency is that indie cinema becomes more unreadable for the wide audience. We should understand the context of the filmmaker to understand the independent cinema. That is why the NEFILTRAVANAE KINO concept implies the physical presence of filmmakers.

FILM SELECTION PROBLEM
Filmmakers shoot millions of movies. And thousands of short film festivals organize screenings all over the world every year. On average, several thousand films are submitted to a film festival. So various good films can be neglected for whatever reason. Often selecting probability is like winning a lottery. As a result, filmmakers are left with no feedback. It is a paradox that no one can hear you in the age of the Internet! The mainstream culture prefers attractions and casual viewing.

Also, this idea is based on the film selection problem. Perhaps it’s no surprise one person, i.e. programme director at best, or even students of film schools make a preliminary decision to select a movie. Сoncordance of judges or previewers is more seldom thing than the difference of background, tastes. So selection or judging can be one-sided or perfunctory. It is not bad as the programme director has a good taste and aesthetic sensitivity, of course. But we’ve discovered another conception of “unfiltered cinema”. We matched it against “the best of the best” way. This way aids to perceive cinematic idiom without the dictate of art-curators.

CELEBRATION OF INDIE CINEMA
So the Unfiltered Cinema Film Festival tries to avoid “the best of the best” way but it does not ignore it completely, sure. The festival selects fiction, animation, documentary, experimental and virtual reality sections. A jury awards the best film in every section. The festival holds the screenings at cinema theatres, the National Centre for Contemporary Arts, and art-spaces.

Our aim is to gather people in art, to have a dialogue to be happy with smart communication. Cinema is art but not sport. The key point of our project is to establish communication between the filmmaker and the audience.

Please, read about the festival history through the link to the festival's website. http://shortmovie.club/history/

The Short Movie Club provides constructing of CinemaVan ( see https://www.behance.net/gallery/33392769/Cinema-van-Mobile-library-Amphibia ).

Only for Spanish film-makers

IX edition of the Zinetxiki Zinemaldia - International Film Festival for Children and Youth, organised by the cultural association Begira Elkartea, will take place in Bilbao and other Basque cities and towns from 14 to 29 December 2024.

Zinetxiki Zinemaldia aims at offering worldwide quality audiovisual contents to a family audience. Through the projection of selected works in several competitive categories, the festival seeks to promote the audiovisual education and the creation of new audiences.

In an age where looks and presentation are everything, the music video is almost as important as the song itself. The LA Music Video Awards recognizes the best music videos from this past year.

Nominations are open until May 1st. Finalists will be announced on May 18th and winners will be determined by a combination of industry insiders and fan votes. A red carpet, cocktail hour and awards ceremony will be held at the Covina Center for the Performing Arts.

Antakya Film Festival, is an International, competitive festival. (AFF) is a major destination on the Festival circuit and recognized by the sinema Academy as a Qualifying Festival in all film categories. Antakya Film Festival, It is the first meeting point of this region for the international film and media industries.

Mission is to provide a public forum in Antakya in order to advance public interest in films and the independent production of films. To draw worldwide attention to Antakya as a center for cinema. To encourage the rights of all Antakya residents to access and experience the power of independent filmmaking, and to promote artistic excellence and the creative freedom of artists without censure.
In 2023, the Festival presented 800 films, representing work that was shot and produced in 45 countries. The event offers well rounded, and for many, career-establishing experiences. Submit your work before the final deadline!

The festival is for and by independent filmmakers. The organizers of Antakya Film Festival bring 10 years of festival experience to this annual event. Antakya Film Festival accepts submissions in six categories: Narrative Features, Documentary Features, Short Narrative, Short Documentary, Experimental, Short Student, and Animation.

Submissions are open from October to September of the year, the final selection of 150 + films is announced in September, and the film festival takes place in October. Selected films in each category are eligible for several awards. In addition to our lineup of films, the festival also hosts multiple filmmaker parties and networking events at venues around Antakya and Hatay.

ONLY FOR ITALIAN FILMMAKERS // SOLO PARA CINEASTAS ITALIANOS

Mcguffin Film Fest (#mcguffinfest) is the international film festival for teens. It is held annually in Moscow since 2016.

McGuffinFest consists of:

— Contest
Teen-made films on the big screen including Q&As, discussions and international jury evaluation

— 'McGuffin Talents' educational platform
for the participants to extend their knowledge and skills in the field of cinematography and video production, create new ideas and just have fun together

— Master-classes and workshops with famous cinematographers
for participants and festival guests

— Business program
Panel interviews, presentations and discussions

McGuffin Talents

is the unique educational platform for participants during the festival days in the best traditions of "Class A" film festivals.
Supervised and held by young acting cinematographers who share their experience with youngsters and create new ideas together.

In 2020 McGuffin Film Fest takes place in Moscow October 19-25.

If you know us, you already know.

If you‘re just discovering us, it's pretty simple. We strive to be that independent fest that loves filmmakers, screening films, and then talking about them in the most convivial of ways. That’s us. That’s Boston SciFi aka Boston Science Fiction Film Festival & Marathon. We love the possibility of ‘if’, and we love the film culture. By now it we be pretty good at it. We’ve been doing it for 46 years.

So we got history.

The legendary Orson Welles Cinemas is where it started. Legendary? Yep, the first manager was some dude named Tommy Lee Jones, and people like Peter Bogdanovich, Neil Young, Errol Morris and many more experienced formative cinematic awareness there. It was a 3-screener, it had a restaurant. There was a film school and more. It burned in 1986, and we are all that survived. Making films, showing them, and celebrating the creators is in. our DNA.

Today we are housed in the vintage, independent Somerville Theatre. That’s in Davis Sq, the front door to Tufts University, and just T stops (Boston’s subway system) to Harvard, MIT, Boston University & Northeastern.

We are an 11-day event with two distinctive parts. "The Fest" and “The Thon”.

The Fest is 9 days of submitted and judged films. Tossed into this will be curated films, some classics, some global discoveries. There are also workshops, panels, and other special events. There a number of events/parties for filmmakers including weekend brunches and evening parties. They are convivial networking opportunities with fellow filmmakers and the industry.

The closing event is part two of Boston SciFi. It is “The Marathon”, aka The Thon. Where the greats, the not-so-greats, the not-even-close-to-great screen in a 13 film, 24 hour roller coaster of cinema and community. Some will even be in 35mm, and we’re always looking for a 70mm. Think of it binge viewing with 700 of your best friends, even if you just met. Since we’ve been doing this for 46 years, we consider ourselves the “Original Binge View.”

That’s the layout. When it comes to asking yourself to submit, you probably have questions. Hopefully you can find the answers here. One question often asked is how do we define science fiction. If Rod Serling played it on the original TWILIGHT ZONE, then who are we to argue? Whether it shorts, features, documentaries, animation, webisodes, whatever, we'll screen it. In our world, good scripts are more important than a conveniently placed piece of SFX. Although a well-done, nicely timed big boom is fun.

The organizers of BostonSciFi are industry professionals with decades of experience. One of the biggest reasons to enter your film is to get exposure to audiences AND the industry. It is this latter piece where our experience helps. We invite our friends to come, and we recommend BostonSciFi films to those we know.

So welcome to SF46, the Boston Science Fiction Film Festival, the US’ longest-running fest, and perhaps the coolest, SciFi festival in the US with a passion for film that comes age.

It's about exploring new worlds.

The Barcelona Olympic Foundation, with the support of the Barcelona City Council, organizes the BCN Sports Film 2025 – 15th BARCELONA INTERNATIONAL FICTS FESTIVAL and forms part of the WORLD FICTS CHALLENGE 2025.

The BCN Sports Film 2025 will be held in Barcelona from 17th to 25th February 2025. This fifteenth edition of the Festival will have a competitive nature.

The fifteenth edition of the festival will have a hybrid format so, there will be face-to-face screenings and online screenings. The rights that the authors assign, therefore, are both for the face-to-face sessions that are held in the official venues of the contest, as well as for the sessions that will be held online through an online platform.

These Rules & Regulations have been approved by the BCN Sports Film 2025 Organising Committee. Your taking part in BCN Sports Film 2025 implies the total acceptance of these regulations.

A STEP TOWARD THE OSCARS
for FOX, NBC, CBS and Authority Magazine.

REVIEWS
"My favorite festival" Alex Proyas (I Robot, The Crow, Dark City)

"Other nominees included already famous people! It really was an honor to be nominated alongside such great nominees" Lisa Hurel.

“I truly cannot say enough good things about the Paris Art and Movie Awards. My experience with this event was easily the best and rewarding” - Ev Duran.

"One of the most organized and professionally run festivals I've been to! The official selections were of a high standard and the networking was incredible" - Jami Ramberan.

"One of the best festival experiences I've had. Magnifique!" Warren Paul Glover.

"The Fisherman's Diary" won twice at the PAMA in 2020, and is now selected to the 2021 , to represent its country.

"Game Changer" won an, his director Aviv Mano then worked on Disney’s COCO and TOY STORY 4 (2018).

"The Wishgranter" won an, an EMMY AWARD, and a (2016).

"Legacy of Lies" is distributed by Lionsgate (2020).

"Sgt Stubby", an unlikely hero, got a distribution deal at (2018).

"Curpigeon" got selected to, won the AMAZON VIDEO DIRECT Film Festival Stars (2016).

"Whisper" screened at FILMQUEST (2015).

"None of That" was STAFF PICK by (2015).
through the years included:

- John Lunn, 2 times Prime Time Emmy Award Winner, composer of "Downton Abbey"
- Monica Cruz, "Un Paso Adelante"
- Olivia Sandusky, journalist, NBC
- Mark Dacascos, actor, "John Wick III"
- Samuel Arnold, actor, "Emily in Paris"
- Patrick Fabian, actor, Emmy Award Nominee “Better Caul Saul"
- Claire Kopsky, Emmy Award-winning Journalist, CBS
- Jamie Campbell, producer, "Sex Education"
- Cindy Mollo, Eddie Award Winner, 4 time Emmy nominee, editor for "Ozark"
- Rena Owen, actress, "Star Wars Ep II" & "ep. III"
- Fola Evans-Akingbola, actress, "The Night Agent", "Siren", "Game of Thrones'
- Michelle Tesoro, SXSW winner, Eddie Award Winner, editor, "The Queen’s Gambit"
- Paz de la Huerta, actress, Boardwalk Empire
- Brent Huff, director & actor "The Rookie", 'The Rookie Feds", 'The West Wing"
- Max Markson -rep. A. Schwarzenegger, Mel Gibson, JCVD...
- Cole Sibus, actor "Stumptown', Olympic Gold Medal Athlete
- Mina Sundwall, actress, Netflix’s “Lost in Space”, DC’s “Legends of Tomorrow”

Our line up included through the years: Kirsten Dunst, Sam Rockwell, Vladimir Cosma, Kristanna Loken, Mark Dacascos, Caterina Murino, Andrew J. West, Hugo Becker, Jansen Panettiere, Leslie Bibb, Melanie et Alain Doutey, Macarena Gomez, French Prime Minister Edith Cresson, French Minister Frederic Lefebvre, Emma Bell...


We celebrate filmmakers and we focus on the humans making the movies : each director/attendee gets to talk about his movie.

You meet new audience, screen and show your latest work, connect with fellow professionals, share your passion with screenings and special events all over the city, including red carpets, movie premieres, parties, filmmaker’s networking, numerous Q&A's, international spotlights, industry talks and masterclasses, art performances and exhibitions, live music…


AN INDEPENDENT MOVIE FESTIVAL WITH
- Awards
- Photocall
- Artistic Recognition
- Networking
- award ceremony

Documentaries, fictions, animations and experimental.

Political, social, racial, gender issues, etc.

The Lyon Young Film Festival accepts shorts films less than 25 minutes and made by directors under 28. Every directors will be invited to talk after screenings.

The XV Film Festival: Childhood and Adolescence -2024, is a festival with spaces for circulation and audiovisual training for children, adolescents and young people, with exhibitions, recreational activities, workshops, panels and discussions, whose main objective is to promote Bogota as a pioneer city in Latin America in terms of a visible, protagonist and full of rights childhood and adolescence through audiovisual construction. Participation is free of charge to the activities of exhibition and circulation of audiovisual content.

The Contest will be held from September 7 to 13, 2024.

Children and adolescents will have access to an audiovisual program made up of national and international animation and fiction short films, television series and the "FESTICINE AWARD" category, which is given to audiovisuals made by Colombian children. They will be accompanied by playful activities of reflection on the thematic axis: "TERRITORIES OF KNOWLEDGE, BIODIVERSITY AND INCLUSION THROUGH FILM".

Cinema Show Lo + Prohibido, the exhibition where censored, banned, extreme, cursed, unusual, annoying, singular, morbid, violent and politically incorrect cinema comes together.

Here anything it´s possible.

Our first and only rule: PROHIBITED PROHIBIT

The City Council of Noia convenes the "24th Short Film Showcase Vila de Noia 2023", to be held in the last quarter of this year.

The first edition of the Zafra’s documentary film exhibition will be held between the 9th and the 12th of July of 2020. This exhibition is devoted to showcasing international and independent documentary film, concerning social issues.

Szczecin Film Festival is a film event, a forum for meetings and cooperation in the field of film, directly on the Polish-German borderland. The festival is organized by the Polish OFFicyna Association, located at 3-4 Lenartowicza Street in Szczecin (71-445), Poland. The festival program is carried out in partnership with a Polish-German network of organizers, and presented in Szczecin/Poland.

The main goal of the European Competition for documentary films at Szczecin Film Festival '21 is to seek out films that broaden the concept of documentary cinema and break its stereotypical image. Each year, the competition presents several dozen carefully selected titles. The chosen documentary films are a cross-section of works that stand out against the background of tired formulae and seemingly played-out topics. Creators known by few and film veterans alike will have a chance to confront their productions with the opinions of the jury and the festival audience. Thanks to the availability of technology and the ease with which people can communicate globally, we can enjoy an innovative and exciting cinema that abolishes our prior perception of a documentary film and broadens our horizons.

The films presented at the festival are selected by a Polish-German Selection Team. Its members search for productions that cross the formal boundaries and exhibit an unconventional approach to reality – productions that are documentary trailblazers. Premieres are considered especially significant. Awards are given by an international jury, which is assembled by the organizers. Apart from film screenings, a relevant and characteristic part of the European Competition are discussions with the presented films' creators.

Calling all independent filmmakers! Screamfest® Film Festival is back for its 25th annual 10-day event, showcasing the best in horror cinema from around the world. Held this October at the TCL Chinese 6 Theatres in Los Angeles, our festival is a must-attend event for horror fans and industry professionals alike.

Don't just take our word for it - some of the biggest horror publications have dubbed us the 'Sundance of Horror.' Our festival has also been featured in 2024 New York Times at Top 5 Halloween Festivals Worth Traveling For. Moviemaker Magazine's lists of 50 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee for 2023, 50 Best Genre Fests in the World 2021, 25 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee & 13 Film Festivals to Die For, and 30 Bloody Best Genre Fests in the World 2019.

As the largest and longest-running horror film festival in the United States, we have a proud history of discovering and showcasing groundbreaking films. Paranormal Activity, for example, was discovered and premiered at our festival in 2007.

Join us for a spine-tingling lineup of new genre films and premieres, including past hits such as Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension, Dead Ant, Trick 'r' Treat, 30 Days of Night, The Human Centipede, and American Mary. And don't forget to check out our YouTube channel at https://bit.ly/2MYvdFt, where you can view past Screamfest® short films. Submit your work now for your chance to be a part of the legacy!

Our association Pulp Vision, which brings together students interested in cinema, is organising the 12th edition of its short film festival "Tournez-court", which will take place on 25 September 2024. This year's theme is blue, and we'll be showing not only French but also international short films. It's a special edition because we're partnering with the Envie d'Sup association, which works to give secondary school students from priority education areas access to a variety of cultural events. So our festival is keen to contribute to this initiative and give a boost to Rouen's cultural life.