Blog: Film festivals

£2,500 in CASH PRIZES for the EMERGING TALENT from our sponsor Katie Partridge, CEO of the Saphira Group, to support a new generation of filmmakers/artists.

NEW RENAISSANCE LONDON #8

Apart from a high number of UK and International films, NRFF London has a category for EMERGING TALENT (debut or early stage filmmakers embarking on their careers in the film industry).

Previous winners and nominees have gone onto win major international prizes or have directed their first feature film.


ABOUT NEW RENAISSANCE LONDON

Our friendly and welcoming art-house festival based in London is genuinely passionate about promoting the highest calibre of independent cinema around today. New Renaissance has been described as “One of the UK’s top film festivals,” alongside Raindance and Aesthetica (London METRO, O1.08.16), appeared in reputable publications such as Vogue, GQ and iD magazine, and we are a registered IMDB film festival.

Filmmakers are a discerning audience and the 100+ five star reviews from filmmakers around the world is proof of our commitment and respect for the hard work and care that goes into making a film. Since 2021, we have been awarding cash prizes to support talented up-and-coming filmmakers we believe in thanks to a generous sponsor (see below).

SUCCESS STORIES

We have premiered and screened films that went on to win an Oscar (The Silent Child, 2017) or later received a major distribution deal (A Bird Flew, 2022; Avi, 2022; Roy, 2022; A Living Dog, 2021; Into The Mirror, 2019; You Go To My Head, 2019; and Phantompain, 2018) to name just a few.


Despite the festival's relatively small size, there are each year many gems to be found among the many short and feature films in the programme. Furthermore, many filmmakers and actors are traditionally present - and a lot of productive networking takes place.

OUR CURATION: ARTISTICALLY-DRIVEN FILMS, INSPIRING STORIES

Film is a unique medium, and NRFF’s mission is to support and champion inspiring, independent artists and storytellers. This includes experimental work, emotional drama, music, dance, and emerging talent (see below).

Our festival is built around ARTISTS and their STORIES. By doing so, we aim to establish an international COMMUNITY of inspiring storytellers. We are not interested in following current fashions or being politically divisive. We seek out stories that are genuinely imaginative, emotional and life-affirming. At the heart of what we do is our passion to tell great stories.

Curating a festival is never easy but we strive to put together a great programme each year in an environment that is warm, inclusive and truly dignified. You can visit last year's programme online at ww.nrff.co.uk to get a feel for the quality of curation we are known for.

NEW RENAISSANCE LONDON 2025

2025 will be our tenth year in London, a city known for its diversity and innovation in the creative arts. For 3 days in September, we will screen around 100 outstanding films in the heart of London. The programme will include narrative shorts, features, documentaries, animations, dance and music videos, a NETWORKING party and AWARDS CEREMONY.

Running alongside the festival will be a SCREENWRITING COMPETITION, a series of MASTERCLASSES by film industry experts, a filmmaker's PANEL DISCUSSION, Filmmaker Q&A's, and other networking opportunities.

EMERGING TALENT AWARDS

Apart from a high number of UK and International films, NRFF London has a category for EMERGING TALENT (debut or early stage filmmakers embarking on their careers in the film industry). Those selected can win CASH PRIZES. We found a sponsor for this in 2021 and are happy to announce that they continue supporting these cash prizes for emerging talent in 2025.

Please read our Rules & Terms before making your submission.

Key Dates:

Submissions for 2024 will be open. The festival will take place in October 2024, and all contestants will be notified at least 4-6 weeks prior to the event.

SUPPORTING THE INDEPENDENT FILM COMMUNITY

It is our passion to not only provide a stage for our filmmakers but also to strengthen the INDEPENDENT film community, by building an engaged audience through social media - especially Instagram and Facebook. We actively encourage directors, screenwriters, producers and actors to network during the festival and after the event. By doing so, new artistic collaborations have occurred.

NEW RENAISSANCE ALUMNI

Former New Renaissance attendees and or winners include: Oscar winning couple Chris Overton and Rachel Shenton (The Silent Child); Oscar winning actress Whoopi Goldberg (Palace); BAFTA and Emmy winning actress Anna Friel (The Sea); Great Expectations and Top Boy director Brady Hood (Sweet Maddie Stone); Oscar winning writer/director James Lucas (Paint The Dragon's Eyes); BAFTA winning actress Sophia Myles (All That Glitters); BAFTA winning actor George MacKay (Infinite); Ivor Novello winning musician Gary Kemp (InSolo); BAFTA winning and double Emmy nominated documentary director Zoe Dobson (The Cunning Man); BAFTA winning animator Catriona Black (You Are At The Bottom Of My Mind); Emmy winning actress Tatiana Mislany (Souls of Totality); Oscar nominated cinematographer Jarin Blaschke (A Million Eyes); BAFTA nominated director Shona Auerbach (Rudy); Actor Tom Cullen (Souls of Totality); BAFTA nominated actress Celine Buckens (Prangover); Silent Witness actress Emilia Fox (The Ghost); Chicago actor Darren Day (Rudy); Rag Doll actor Ali Cook (The Cunning Man); Olivier Award nominated actress Amy Lennox (Near); student Oscar winner Tristan Holmes (The Fragile King); and student Oscar winner Ariel Heller (Mammoth).

GRRL HAUS CINEMA is an ongoing program of short films and video art made by women, non-binary, genderqueer, and trans people. A mix of local, national, and international artists present work from a variety of disciplines: narrative, documentary, experimental, and conceptual. With an emphasis on low budget and DIY, GRRL HAUS is a space for underrepresented voices in the arts today.

For 2021 our main screenings will be held in July at two outdoor film events taking place in Berlin Germany.

In addition all submissions will also be considered for our monthly curated online screenings, which includes interviews with the filmmakers.

If we have permission (due to pandemic) to make more live events throughout the year - we will! And we hope to continue our end of the year event at the Brattle Theatre in Cambridge, MA.

GRRL HAUS is not your typical film festival, instead of having one big event - we have multiple events throughout the year. Our goal is to show as many quality short films made by women, non-binary, genderqueer, and trans people to an international audience.

We completely celebrate DIY culture and focus on sharing works to all different types of audiences. This can include audiences at international museums or to audiences at underground clubs. We believe that every audience deserves the chance to see these works, rather than just the typical film festival networking crowd. We want to reach all audiences and celebrate the inclusivity of creative and unique work in film.

OUR HISTORY:
GRRL HAUS started in 2014 at the Brattle Theatre in Cambridge, MA, USA. Since then the event has showcased over 400 filmmakers, including multiple musical performances, video art installations, exhibitions and local vendors. In 2016 GRRL HAUS relocated to Berlin Germany and started hosting small screenings of local films. As we established are identity in Berlin we began to include music and arts.

Within the past few years we have grown to not just showcase films, but also art, music, dance, photography, handmade crafts and clothing, and even tarot, astrology and spiritual meet ups. The idea of GRRL HAUS is constantly expanding. We believe in no boundaries for creativity and are constantly looking for new ways to celebrate the work of underrepresented people.

For our complete history of screenings, events, exhibitions, concerts and parties - you can view all our teasers and selected artists on our Media page : https://www.grrlhauscinema.com/media.html

OUR PROJECTS:
International Screenings:
Our international screenings are curated from our over 400 yearly submissions. Through these submissions we select our favorite short films. This includes our end of the year festival screening at the Brattle Theatre and museum screenings at the prestigious Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston.

Mobile Kino Screenings:
We hold 3-4 screenings through Mobile Kino Berlin a year. These screenings we curate around the best of our local short film submissions and a selection of international short films. We invite the filmmakers to Q&A’s following the screenings, where they discus their works.

Loophole Monthly Screenings:
Once a month GRRL HAUS hosts screenings at Loophole Berlin. These events focus on sharing local films by local filmmakers. All of these screenings are free to enter and enjoy. We believe it’s important to keep some events free for the public.
These events build up our sense of local community and follows through with one of our founding principles : sharing our excitement and love for low budget, DIY events and making them accessible to everyone.

Online Screenings / Gimme 5:
At GRRL HAUS CINEMA we were forced to cancel all our events during this Corona season, and every artist on our program list was left without a show venue. Energized and in defiance of the virus, we wanted now more than ever to keep going. We want the artists to keep going. We want to encourage them to stay active, to create, and most importantly to show their work. We want to reverse the status quo of art being left behind in times of crisis when it is needed most.

For past year (and into the future) we have been running online screenings, which we have been curating and presenting live on our online platform. We have been hosting these themed screenings on our website and Vimeo, as well as promoting all the films on our social media platforms. We host 10-15 short films on our site for a week. And then we remove them and continue hosting other themed sets.

Through these screenings our audiences are able to watch amazing short films in the comfort and safety of their home. All of the online screenings are free to watch, so they are accessible to anyone in these uncertain times.

Media:
http://grrlhauscinema.com
https://www.facebook.com/GRRLHAUSCINEMA
https://www.instagram.com/grrlhauscinema/
https://vimeo.com/grrlhauscinema

Past and Current partners, venues, curation teams and organizations:
Alamo Drafthouse
Brain Arts
Boston Hassle
Brattle Theatre
​Das Giftraum
Dorchester Art Project
DMP Sci-Fi Sleepover at Babylon Kino
GIF - Girls in Film
Institute of Contemporary Art Boston
​IL KINO
Loophole
​Love Hotel
Mobile Kino
Oblomov
RAW Berlin
Worm Rotterdam
Verge
Under the Underground

Our 2020 selections and events:

Live Events:

Rise // GRRL HAUS - September 2020
September 23rd with Mobile Kino at Alte Münze
Featuring work by : Elsa van Damke, Coco Roy, Maren Sosada, Alena Shevchenko, Amina Krami, Nola Anwar, Brittany Angus, Flash Cat Media, lallie doyle, Vaiginta Perkauskaite, Anne Windsland, Samantha Rex, Mads Engel, Elda Sorra, Ana Minujin

GRRL HAUS//Double Feature - September 2020
September 28th at Loophole Berlin
Featuring work by: Kidd Tommy

The Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston - February 2020
Feb 17th at The Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston
Featuring work by : Gabriela Gažová, Marie-Josee Archambault, Mads Engel, Bita Ghassemi, Grace Rex, Sarah Ann Banks

Stupid Cupid - February 2020
Feb 14th at Loophole Berlin
Featuring work by :Tin Lee, Kat Vivaldi, Cadenza Zhao, Claire McFadden, Sara Koppel, Mika Orr, Yin Yee Low, Daphné Psarros, Ashley Barnhill, Kanchi Wichmann

/ˈalkəmʌɪz/ - January 2020
Jan 21st at Loophole Berlin
Featuring work by : Malado Baldwin, Traci Hercher, Mary Evans, Broadbent Sisters, storäe michele, Imogen Mansfield and Britt Angus

Online Screenings:

Films in Corona, Oct 19th - 26th, 2020
Featuring work by - Yvette Granata, Stephanie Burbano, Daphna Mero, Hillerbrand+Magsamen, Katerina Markoulaki, Anne Windsland, Samantha Rex

Open theme, August 21st - 28th, 2020
Featuring work by - Zoe Kavanagh, Chloë Ní Dhúada, Karyn Barnett-Day, Maria Servellón, Darren Mallett , Shannon Joy Shird, Antonia Baudouin, Carolina Romillo, Eili Bråstad Johannessen, Simone Faoro

Comedies, July 17th - 23rd, 2020
Featuring work by - Felicity Pickering, Veronika Bolotina, Sarah K Reimers, Heather María Ács, Amani Zardoe, Kidd Tommy

REVOLT, July 3rd - 9th, 2020
Featuring work by - Jaylan Auf, Kristina Maca, Mariana Stolze, Nina Jackson Levin, Amit Shamir, Cassandra Paige, Lucía Elena Ventura, Julia Feige, Ana Minujin

Home Is Where The Angst Is, June 19th - 25th, 2020
Featuring work by - Saulė Bliuvaitė, Cassiah Joski-Jethi, Netta Shalev, Elda Sorra, Abigail Bruley, Leticia Caceres, Emma Smith

Experimental, May 22nd - 28th, 2020
Featuring work by - Shayna Connelly, Imogen Mansfield, Momma Tried, Liberty Antonia Sadler, Amanda Kim, Alana Bartol, YL Hsueh, Gwendolyn Audrey Foster, Eva Justine Torkkola, Claudia Syhre, Erofili Moraiti

ISOLATION, May 15th - 21st, 2020
Featuring work by - Maggie Brennan, Ambie Drew, Erica Moriconi, Broadbent Sisters, Ellie LaCourt, Marija Lucic, Kristin Li and Clayton Beugeling

The Brazilian Film Festival Potocão aims to present the new Brazilian film production in an online festival format in order to break the geographical barriers of this continental country and share with the general public a quality national cinematographic content in an accessible and democratic way.

LA International Film Festival is dedicated to discovering emerging storytellers.

Competitive sections for feature-length fiction films; a diverse selection of documentary films; selected to showcase break-out global talent in Los Angeles.

Our mission is to discover and showcase new filmmakers with fresh stories in independent cinema.

The festival includes special screenings co-presented in cooperation with the following Oscar® qualifying film festivals: Locarno International Film Festival (Switzerland), Gijon International Film Festival (Spain) and Cartagena International Film Festival, FICCI (Colombia).

The Santiago International Documentary Film Festival (FIDOCS) is the main broadcasting, diffusion, and competition event for documentary cinema in Chile and Latin America.
Focused on the promotion of dialogue and reflection, as well as in training audiences towards the appreciation of documentary film in a context of permanent transformation, FIDOCS seeks to explore the multiple paths available in documentary making as well as in the drifts proper to nonfiction works. In its program, FIDOCS incorporates the works of both experienced and emerging directors in order to address the question of “THE REAL”, and in doing so, it considers the various dimensions, disciplinary frontiers, and tensions that the question “what is real?”, as well as the documentary genre itself, has to offer us.

Throughout its history, FIDOCS has positioned itself as one of the most distinguished documentary film festivals in Latin America, standing as a privileged platform to screen contemporary cinema and to promote critical thinking. Year by year, under its selective curatorial approach, FIDOCS not only calls for important exponents of national and international audiovisual sectors to exhibit their work in Santiago, but also, in using this city as a film hub, it calls on such exponents to question, interpret, and re-write the status of contemporary documentary film practice today.

For the promotion, positioning, and exhibition of Chilean and International films, FIDOCS displays three main competitions. These sections include: INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION; CHILEAN COMPETITION, and EMERGENT SHORT COMPETITION FOR NATIONAL FILMS.

In addition, FIDOCS has the main industry activity, DOCS IN PROGRESS, for Latin-American works in progress where the jury (editors, directors, sound designers, producers, programmers), in addition to choosing a winner, feeds the filmmakers to carry out the post-production of their films and encourage their diffusion and transmission. This section is jointly run together with WIP section of CHILEDOC CONECTA.

The festival also has important training and extension activities in its FIDOCS SCHOOL, where students from film schools and communications from all over Chile so that its most outstanding students are in an intergenerational and interdisciplinary space with international and national festival guests; attending Master Classes, workshops, dialogues, among others.

In addition, in keeping with its interdisciplinary vocation, FIDOCS intends to accompany its screenings of other artistic interventions such as installations, exhibitions, performances, that from their own expressive means dialogue with the documentary concept. This is how FIDOCS EXPANDED section arises, where various artists, video-artists and filmmakers, all of them linked to the fields of sound or visuals, exhibit their work.
Finally, the chosen films will be screened after the completion of the festival, in different regions of Chile and abroad, at BEST OF FIDOCS section. The purpose is the cultural extension of the festival at a territorial level, putting emphasis on the circulation of the films at the regional level, being able to program replicas in the national territory as well as abroad.

*FIDOCS will be held with theatrical screenings.

Entrants may submit as many films as they see fit, as long as they are produced between 2021 and 2023.

All films shorter than 20 minutes will be accepted, regardless of their original film or video shooting format.

Films which are not spoken in Spanish must be presented with subtitles in Spanish.

Films' theme is free.

Live action fiction, animation, experimental and documentary films can be submitted.

Submission deadline is Noviembre, 5th, 2023.

Mexico City Independent Film Fest seeks to become a place where public, filmmakers, producers, critics and other professionals of the film industry can exchange different views, and activate alternative exhibition venues in the country's capital. Its mission is to disseminate contemporary proposals whose production is not related to major film studios, promote the film culture and program films with a difficult theatrical exhibition.

Our mission is to engage the Gulf of Mexico Community through education and film and to showcase the work of local filmmakers. If you have a short film addressing an ocean or coastal issue concerning the Gulf of Mexico, from your own backyard to the deep sea, please think about entering it into our Harte of the Gulf Film Competition.

Films should be no longer than 15 minutes and address an ocean or coastal topic concerning the Gulf of Mexico region. Films can be fiction or nonfiction.

In an effort to include filmmakers from around the entire Gulf of Mexico region, films will be accepted in languages other than English, but must have English subtitles. You can submit your film into one of two categories: High School or General Public.

Every year entries reveal stories about people, volunteers, who contribute to changing people’s lives within their communities and around the world.

In 2017, the theme of the festival is «Human. Action. Choice».

Festival is popular among both amateurs and professional filmmakers, concerned with solving socially significant problems worldwide. NGOs, volunteers, groups of activists and young people, interested in developing of creative potential and making our world a better place submit entries annually to the Jury of the Festival.

In June 2017, the cinematic platform was presented in the framework of the International conference EDUCATION#INFOCUS at the United Nations Office at Geneva (Switzerland). It was highly estimated by international experts, who highlighted the importance of promoting volunteer values through the language of cinematography.

Railway and history-journey-tourism-safety-comfort-environment-family-holy defense-trade -commerce all about Railway

Dulcísimo Ovario is a Festival of Female Video and Cinema that showcases and recognizes the work of Mexican women filmmakers and video artists.

We believe in the need to approach new narratives that display a diversity of realities, thoughts, and ways of relating.

Our goal is to organize cycles of presentations, conferences, and screenings of cinema and video, in their different formats and genres, directed by Mexican woman filmmakers and video artists.

For Dulcísimo Ovario, questioning and deconstructing gender representations in audiovisual media has been a starting point since 2017 and in each edition.

Final Girls Berlin Film Festival showcases horror cinema that’s directed, written, or produced by women*. We are holding the sixth edition of FGBFF from February 3-6 2022 in Berlin. We are looking for horror films (as well as films with horror elements or films that pay homage to horror), of all lengths. We are also extra excited if female filmmakers wish to visit the festival in order to participate in panels, or give talks or workshops on a particular aspect of horror cinema. We are committed to creating space for female voices and visions, whether monstrous, heroic, or some messy combination of the two, in the horror genre.

Rural FilmFest, member of Green Film Network (GFN), is an international itinerant film festival, which offers a current overview of international documentary film, fiction and animation in a short, medium and long format related to the rural world, ecology, sustainability and natural and cultural resources. Rural FilmFest is not a common film festival, it is a unique and unrepeatable event. It is a summer camp, with excursions, multi-adventure, geocaching awards ceremony (Yes, you read that right. As a filmmaker you will have to find your trophy at the closing gala via GPS coordinates), international coexistence, dance, party and lifelong friendships. It is the experience of your life and if you attend, you will not want it goes over and you will want to return next year... Just read the reviews to discover the opinions of other filmmakers who have attended the Rural FilmFest. If you have a fiction film, animation or documentary whether it is a short film or a feature film, do not hesitate to submit.

The Canary Islands Fantastic Film Festival - Isla Calavera opens the call for entries for feature and short films, fiction and documentary in real image and animation.

Fantastic Horror Short Film Festival.

The Canary Islands Fantastic Film Festival - Isla Calavera opens the call for entries for feature and short films, fiction and documentary in real image and animation.

The Fims Infest Festival loves indie films and, for this reason, we accept films recorded in every format and with any kind of budget, but be sure that your film fits into our festival.

Official Event in IMDB:

https://www.imdb.com/event/ev0005660/2018/1/

This festival is dedicated to all directors in particular, regardless their age and background, and to all filmmakers in general.

The purpose of Directors Awards film festival is to promote the craftsmanship of directing to the position and attention it deserves. The assessment of all the performance in the judging process will also be from the director's point of view.

The festival is composed by :
- the official short films competition.
- many special screenings.