Blog: Film festivals

Mecal Pro, the Barcelona International Short and Animation Film Festival, will celebrate its 27th edition. The long history of MECAL PRO has consolidated it as one of the most important short film festivals in Europe and the world, thus receiving the support of local, national and international institutions. We have screened in 2024 more than 300 short films in 29 sections that we program.

Mecal is strongly committed to promoting the exhibition and dissemination of audiovisual creations in the short format, not only with the public, but also in having creators and distributors meet through different activities. Mecal is also devoted to foster emerging talent, by holding events and awards specially aimed at young creators. In this sense, it also works as a short film dissemination network, organising screenings both at a national and an international level, collaborating with festivals, embassies, and institutions around the world.

Stop Motion Barcelona Festival is the first animation festival in Barcelona dedicated to stop-motion, including all his techniques: pixilation, cut out, puppets...

The day of the festival, the films selected will be screened and two prizes will be awarded: the jury and the public .

The main cultural event for films at Hidalgo Mexico: The encounter of national and international filmmakers.

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 ).

Argentina CINEfoot 2024 · Football Film Festival, along with CINEfoot Brazil the first Latin American festival is conceptual and curatoring football. The festival aims at promoting, disseminating, and enhancing reflexionando film and audiovisual production related to soccer.

An international film festival held in Birmingham, England, showcasing and recognising talent on a world stage.

It will run though November and include features, shorts, documentaries and music videos on our main theatre screen, as well support events with special guests.

All filmmakers who's work is being shown will 3 tickets for the screening of their own film.

Distributors, producers and press from all over the world will be on hand to view the films screened and there will be the chance to network with them at the festival too. Many of the industry’s top companies and film schools will also be in attendance offering advice on education and career opportunities.

Other events and networking opportunities will be announced closer to the date. These will include seminars, Q&As, conventions and memorabilia expos.

There will be a high calibre panel of special guest judges, from various areas of the industry, who will review the nominees’ entries and select the winners at the festival’s closing event. The award ceremony will be held at a high-profile venue in the city and be an open ticket event.

Muestra de Cortometrajes Casa del Reloj is an event that takes place in "Hospedería Casa del Reloj" of Campos del Río (Murcia), Spain, on May 18th, 2018. Is admitted any genre of short film, with a maximum duration of 30 minutes.

MoliseCinema intends to promote the latest and most innovative productions of Italian and international cinema, giving priority to young authors and new languages, with particular attention to short films and documentaries.

In thirteen editions held so far, the festival has brought to the public a schedule very articulate hosting hundreds of actors, directors, producers and experts.

The success achieved so far, the participation of numerous guests and protagonists of the film world, the visibility in the local and national press and a general consensus that there was on the part of the institutions and civil society confirms the growing interest MoliseCinema , which has become a constant reference point in the cultural life of Molise and the South and it becomes more and more a national and international importance.
With "Filming Molise" the festival will enhance the Molise as a location for productions cinematographic and audiovisual.

The association also organizes during all the year exhibitions, screenings, meetings, exhibitions and events related to culture film.

The festival has 4 competitive sections:

International short movies
Italian short movies
Documentaries
Feature Films (first and second works)

Vagrant Film Club holds its own Film Festival which takes place in one random location on a day of Spring and Autumn equinox as well as on a day of Summer and Winter solstice.

The best films are chosen only according to the audience voting. The winners will be awarded with the souvenirs, various trophies and artifacts that are gathered during the voyages.

Vagrant film club – is a non-commercial journey of one film vagabond (guru) or a group of film vagabonds along the film routes. During the journey they gather, screen and shoot independent films. CinemaVan is a means of communication between independent filmmakers, film festivals and film societies.

Film vagabonds represent the ideology that is free from political or religious doctrines. They stand for peace, love, ecology and personal freedom. Anyone sharing the ideas and values of the cinemavan and accept its rules can join it. Vagrant musicians and artists are also welcome.

The route is based on the film festivals, film societies film cafes or just friendly invitations. Film vagabond moves on foot, hitchhiking, water-hitching, air-hitching, horse-drawn hitching, by bicycle, rowboats, sailboats or even air-balloons. Car driving, catching a cab, staying at hotels is possible only in case of emergency or for the seniors, disabled or juvenile fellow travelers. Generally, cinemavan migrates to the Southern hemisphere, subtropical or equatorial climate countries in winter.

In summer it returns to Lapland, Siberia and Northern countries. This, however, doesn’t mean that Cinema gaff cannot come to Taimyr Peninsula during hard frosts or to Congo tropical forests during the rainy season.

The festival intends to promote Independent Cinema, national and international.

Montelupo International Independent Film Festival is the brainchild of Lorenzo Ciani, an independent film director charmed by the magic of Cinema Mignon d’essai. Through the collaboration with the Art director Daniele Pertici, the project became a reality.

If there is something we all have in common, it is movement. As Akram Khan put it: “Movement is the essential ingredient of how the world continues, or survives.”

When our body’s movement fuses with the cinematographical movement, one of the most original film genres is born: dance film. While words can mislead, the body language does not lie.

Choreoscope is the International Dance Film Festival of Barcelona. A unique event dedicated not only to those passionate about dance, but also to those who enjoy quality cinema. Born in 2013, with three full-house celebrated events, our goal is to promote the strong ties with art in general and with film and dance in particular.

Movies do not know any boundaries. Dance does not either. There is a common language joining them. The universal language of movement. Choreoscope ́s mission is to connect this fascinating language with an audience eager to experience something new, different, something special. Choreoscope Barcelona is the dance film festival of those who go one step further.

The Balkan Film Food Festival is not a festival only about Food and Culinary. The Balkan Film Food Festival is about Balkan Film Production. The Festival intent is to create a climate of understanding of friendship and collaborations among Balkan countries. All guests sit on a common table and taste our common Balkan culinary drink the same wine.

Cuisine is part of this event and it aims at having better friendly contacts among the participants.

Bašta Fest is an international short fiction film festival held in Bajina Bašta, Western Serbia. It is an annual event that is taking place during the first weekend of July and it lasts for four days. Due to the profession of the founders (actors Jovan Jelisavčić and Maja Šuša), the festival's main point of interest is a collaboration between directors and actors. We believe that focusing on the quality of that joint artistic effort will have a positive impact on the positioning of Bašta Fest among short film festivals. Bašta Fest is of great importance for the decentralization of culture since it has brought diverse film, music and off program to this beautiful region. One of the priorities of the festival is to promote the incredible natural beauty to a large number of visitors. Nevertheless, our primary goal is to convert this festival into an exciting cultural oasis, which supports local and international young artists, putting emphasis on short fiction films with authenticity. The main selection is a competition short film program, while two films are screened as a part of non-competition, special program every year - one during the opening and one during the closing ceremony. The last to be screened is a Serbian debut feature film, chosen by Bašta fest team as the most successful one in the previous year. The entrance to all screenings at Bašta is free of charge, while they are always being held under the open night skies. There are currently two official festival locations: Borići park and lake Perućac.

Only for Spanish Filmmakers // Solo para cineastas españoles.

Ars Independent Festival 2019 will be the 9th multimedia festival of film, animation, video games and music videos. The upcoming edition will take place in Katowice, between the 24th and 29th of September 2019.

The festival is searching for what’s cool in young, debuting, contemporary audio-visual culture. It’s not afraid to watch videos with 27 views on YouTube, it’s missing the “least popular” sorting option on itch.io and considers Festival Scope Pro decidedly “too mainstream”.

The heart of the festival are four international competitions, in which the audience decides about the awarding of prizes. The Black Horse of Film (feature films from all over the world) and the Black Horse of Animation (short features) present the cinematographic debuts by directors from the entire world, often as their Polish premieres. The Black Horse of Video Games and the Black Horse of Music Video are devoted to new games and music videos.

Additionally, every year festivalgoers are treated to: screenings of films, animations and music videos, video game exhibitions, virtual reality and new technologies, discussion panels and Q&As with artists, concerts, live acts and musical afterparties.

In previous years, the festival hosted a variety of artists from all over the world, including Béla Tarr, Nina Menkes, Phil Mulloy, Laila Pakalnina, Bruce LaBruce, Tami Tamaki, Stephen „M.O.O.N.” Gilarde, Jakuba Dvorský, Mariola Brillowska, Piotr Dumała, Arkadiusz Jakubik, Bodo Kox, Łukasz Barczyk, Sos Sosowski, Wiktor Stribog and Władysław Komendarek.

The event is organized by the culture institution Katowice the City of Gardens and the City of Katowice.

THE FESTIVAL:

The International “Cinema Povero” Film Festival is open to everybody: rich film-makers, poor film-makers of any gender or religion all welcome provided they have developed a beautiful, original idea on a limited budget.

The Marbella International Film Festival brings together artists and their films from all corners of the globe to display their talents to the commercial world.

The Festival is growing in stature and receives continuous worldwide accolade, recognition and support for its contribution to the arts.

We are delighted to now be entering our 17th Marbella International Film Festival, to be held 5th to 9th October 2022.

The Festival has expanded considerably since it’s launch in 2006 and we now have additional collaboration and association with the Marbella Town Hall and Tourist Board, Marbella Film Office and the Andalucia Film Commission.

During the Festival we host five glamorous evening events with many networking opportunities, culminating in the grand Gala Awards Ceremony.

Attendees come from all over the world and include filmmakers, industry professionals, exhibitors, dignitaries, celebrities and VIPs, special invited guests and the rich and famous of course!

Discover Festival PROTESTA, where cinema ignites social change.

This international event celebrates films that challenge, question, and inspire. With a diverse lineup of documentaries, fiction, and animation in both feature and short film formats, Protesta is a crucible for filmmakers committed to questioning and challenging the status quo.

We embrace creativity, positive social impact and innovative storytelling. With more than 11 editions, PROTESTA is the primary social impact festival in Catalonia and a main player in social cinema in Spain. Join us next October in the culturally vibrant town Vic in a series of parallel activities designed to enrich, educate, and inspire.

The San Diego International Kids' Film Festival promotes the idea of entertainment with education. Supported by many across the world, the festival supports the entertainment and education industries by showcasing international films, and gives young, aspiring filmmakers a channel to communicate to an international community. The resulting collaboration produces a unique multicultural experience, engaging young viewers with positive media, as a diverse education.