Blog: Film festivals

VITAFEST, Vitacura International Short Film Festival is a festival dedicated to national and international short films and a meeting point for diverse agents of the Chilean audiovisual industry.

Now in its sixth edition, VITAFEST has established itself as one of the main platforms for the short film format in Latin America, a meeting point for the various agents of the local audiovisual industry and an official showcase for the new local talented filmmakers.

The Hong Kong Kowloon Film Festival (HKKFF) is an annually film festival to showcase innovative independent film makers and artists from around the world.

HKKFF is aiming to inspire, motivate and award new talent.

The Hong Kong Kowloon Film Festival accepts all forms and genres: short films, medium length films, feature films, drama, experimental, comedy, horror, slow cinema, sci fi, fantasy, animation, and documentary.

John Balan Fest - Atlantic Films and New Media is a new emerging space that aims to promote the cinema and independent audiovisual creation or at the same time that pays homage to the figure of John Balan, valuing the Marin Town identity and the Parish of Seixo, located in one of the most beautiful corners of Galicia.

Our main objective is to connect the New Galician Cinema to the neighborhood, as well as to seek a connection between local and country creators and creators with other international audiovisual communities. Paying special attention to those who have a strong cultural connection with Galicia in general, and in particular with our town.

The Luz del Desierto International Festival is an audiovisual Festival that aims to promote cinema within the country and abroad. The festival will take place in october with competition for feature films and short films, both fiction, animation and documentary. There will also be talks and workshops.

Histeria International Fantastic Film Festival in Costa Rica brings together a current international selection of feature films and short films framed within the horror, science fiction and fantasy genre. It is a window in Central America for fantastic movies. Not only for Latin America, but for the rest of the world. A point where filmmakers with their films meet, so that they can be exhibited and seen.

Festival dedicated to the Short Film Competition, Fiction and Animation.

Possibility of hosting the directors and Actors of the Films

The extravagance of proposing to two film authors who are friends of each other and deeply linked by their love for images, to cover the role of Presidents of the "Piccolo Cinema Paradiso Award", is confirmed in the Second Edition of the 2023/2024 Award.
Silvano Agosti and Franco Piavoli have realized during their lives, a filmography of exceptional artistic quality. To honor their participation, we will screen some of their short films that will open the day of the Awards for the best films selected by tue Juries. The preciousness of their presence pushes us to consider the PCP Award as a sort of legacy to the creativity of each one of those who will participate to the selection, sending us their creations made in compliance with the characteristics of Productive Independence. We are sure that supporting this type of Cinema is increasingly in tune with our present that is rich in proposals, but not open to their dissemination. For this reason we will strive to offer the winning film, a space in the programming of Sale D'Essai of the italian territory.
We are waiting for you, with the pleasure and desire to amaze us again.

Regulation and purpose of the "Premio PCP 2023/24" competition cinematographic at its Second Edition, aims to discover talented authors and to promote the winning works.

The Award is aimed at both italian and foreign authors.

The theme of the work to be send is free.

- The main pourpose of the Awards is to identify,encourage, promote directors and authors of all nationalities, and to make their works know.
- in this second edition no age limit is required (provided that partecipants are of legal age by teh day of registration for the prize)
- Works with a maximum duration of 15 minutes (including closing and opening credits)that have been made between 2020 and 2023 are admitted. The theme is free, wether it is fiction, animation, documentary, experimentation. Each partecipant can compete with only one work.
- A careful pre-selection of the works received will be carried out aimed at identifying 20 short films that will be considered in all respects "finalist". The films will be divided into 3 sections, and each section will have its own specific award.
Fiction and Experimentation section
Documentary section
Animation section.
- A special audience prize will also be estabilished.
- the Jury of the Premio Piccolo Cinema Paradiso 2023/24 II edition is composed of eleven (11) members who will selectthe most deserving works for each section.

The Jury of the Prize:
Silvano Agosti - Indipendent director and author, poet, writer. President of Jury.
Franco Piavoli - Director author, co-president of the Jury
Paola Agosti - Actress, segretary of the Jury, President of the Piccolo Cinema Pardiso Association.
Paolo Buzi - Arttist, writer, creator of the Prize PCP.
Filippo Schillaci - expert in cinematographic language, photographer, writer.
Antonella Gandini - Artist and Photographer.
Giacomo Andrico - Independent filmmaker.
Giacomo Colossi - Professor of Mathematics and Computer Science, science fiction writer, film maker and video producer.
Federica Caggioli - Passionate about Cinema. programming consultant of the Piccolo Cinema Paradiso.
Giorgio Monticelli - Passionate about Cinema. programming consultant of the Piccolo Cinema Paradiso.
Daniele Lupi - Passionate about Cinema. programming consultant of the Piccolo Cinema Paradiso.

The films received will also be viewed and selected by a Publiv Jury chose and chaired by Vilma Razzi, professor of literature and History. Vilma, who graduate with a thesis on Cinema , has benn working for years on cinematography also within the public school promoting events and making short films.

The judgment of the 2 juries is unquestionable.

The Festival de Cinema de Terror de Sabadell, celebrates the Sixth Edition of our Fiction Short Film Competition.

They have space for all the short films of Terror, Gore, Thriller, Fantastic, Science-Fiction, Dark Humor or Freak, in all their meanings and variants.

Lucca Film Festival is an annual event that celebrates and promotes cinematographic culture. Through screenings, exhibitions, conferences and performances, the Festival has been able to captivate an ever-increasing audience with a program that ranges from experimental to mainstream films. Through the years, Lucca Film Festival has carved out a niche for itself, standing apart from the many other festivals thanks to its bold yet carefully studied programming. Over the years, great names of international filmmakers and well-known celebrities have attended Lucca Film Festival as invited guests; David Lynch, Oliver Stone, Jeremy Irons, Willem Dafoe, George Romero, Terry Gilliam, William Friedkin, Alfonso Cuarón, John Boorman, Rutger Hauer, Joe Dante and Peter Greenaway, just to name a few. At the same time, the Festival has offered retrospectives of “old” glories while unearthing new talents. To top it all off, breathtaking Lucca serve as a stunning backdrop to an event that has now firmly established itself, becoming a highly anticipated and not-to-be-missed appointment in Italy and in Europe: the Lucca Film Festival.

Since its creation, the festival has always been committed to promoting contemporary films.
Therefore, directors from all over the world can submit their films to the competitive section of the festival through the dedicated call for entries. The 2022 edition of Lucca Film Festival will be held from 23 Semptember to 1 October, both in cinemas and online.

The 2023 will be the 8th edition of the Lucca Film Festival International Feature Film Competition. In the previous editions important personalities of cinema like Cristi Puiu, Rutger Hauer, Philip Groening and Claudio Giovannesi had been part of the international jury.

The films shown during this competition are Italian premieres and last edition was won by "Yamabuki" di Juichiro Yamasaki.

There are three awards: Best feature film prize (3000€), awarded by a jury of renowned guests from both the cinematographic and academic worlds; and Best feature film – university jury prize (awarded by an university jury), Best feature film - Popular jury and the Marcello Petrozziello Award.

For those who are interested in this competition, the last day for submissions is July 14 2023, until midnight.

There are no limitations to the genre or topic of the films. The only requirements are the following: the films must be at least 60 minutes long and must have been produced in 2022. Moreover, they must be Italian premieres, so they cannot have been presented in any other Italian festival, shown on any online open platform or distributed in any other way in Italy.

For the 18th year in a row, it will take place the historic short films competition, whose winner will receive a 500€ prize. Every year, the selection committee of this competition receives more than 300 films to evaluate. Among the directors who took part in earlier editions, there are celebrities like Adan Jodorowsky, son of the famous Chilean filmmaker.
Even though the “free experimentation” is the fil rouge of this year's edition, the films have no limitations in genre and topic. The only requirement is that they cannot last more than 29 minutes. For the short films competition, the last day for submissions is July 28, 2023, until midnight.

Lucca Film Festival launches, for the 2023 edition, a new short film competition, "Lucca Film Festival for Future", which was born thanks to the collaboration with the Sofidel Group, 2nd producer in Europe and 7th in the world for production capacity in the sector of paper for hygienic and domestic use (known in particular for the Regina brand), which has made sustainability a strategic lever of development and responsible growth to reduce its impact on natural capital and favour the transition towards a low carbon impact economy. The prize is 1000€.

List of the selected films will be published on the festival’s website within September 15, 2023. During the festival the movies will be shown in the cinemas taking part in the event and on demand online.

The Lucca Film Festival, coordinated by Nicola Borrelli, is one of the key events organized and sponsored by the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Lucca.

The event's main sponsors are Banca Generali and Banca Pictet, whereas the exhibits are produced with the support of Banca Société Générale. The organization of the Lucca Film Festival has also been possible thanks to the funding from Funder35 and the support of Gesam Gas & Luce S.p.A Istituto Luce Cinecittà S.r.l., Fondazione Banca del Monte di Lucca, Baldini Vernici, Lucar S.p.A Lions Club Lucca Le Mura, Alleanza Assicurazioni S.p.A, Luccaorganizza, Il Ciocco S.p.A, MiBACT (the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Activities and Tourism), the Region of Tuscany, the City of Lucca, the Province of Lucca with the collaboration and co-production of the Giglio Theatre in Lucca, Consociazione Nazionale donatori di sangue Fratres, Fondazione Giacomo Puccini e Museo Puccini – Casa Natale, Fondazione Carlo Ludovico Ragghianti, Fondazione Mario Tobino, Università degli Studi di Firenze, Martinelli Luce, CG Entertainment, Fondazione Centro Arti Visive e Fondazione UIBI. Thanks also to Lucca Comics & Games, Trenitalia Regional Management, Unicoop Firenze and to the Degree Course in Performing Arts and Civilization Department of Communication and Forms of Knowledge at the University of Pisa, Photolux Festival and App18 for their collaboration.

Come to the Lucca Film Festival and experience a full 360° immersion in both the cinema and the heart of Tuscany.

BONITO CINESUR 2024

Bonito South American Film Festival - 2024 -
Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, French Guiana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, Venezuela

Competitive screenings of South American new feature and short films made between 2023 and 2024;

Parallel exhibition of South American children's animation film;

Competitive environmental-themed film exhibition;

Competitive exhibition of Mato Grosso do Sul film, with films made between 2021 and 2024;

Awards, debates, rounds of discussions aimed at international agreements;

Exchange with the most important festival directors in South America;

Scriptwriting, executive production, directing assistance and film project development workshops;

cinema music.

LOCATIONS
CMU - Centro de Múltiplo Uso, City Council and Centro de Convenções of Bonito.

ECOTOURISM, CULTURE and CINEMA

In Brazil’s heart, the city of Bonito is part of the Serra da Bodoquena National Park and one of the most important ecotourism spots in the country.

Mato Grosso do Sul borders Bolivia and Paraguay, from where the state received strong cultural influences and the composition of the ethnic identity of its people.

Bonito has around twenty thousand inhabitants and in this charming city there are rivers with crystal clear water, waterfalls, caves and the most beautiful landscapes of Brazil’s midwest. The cultural hub of Mato Grosso do Sul, Bonito hosts literary and Jazz festivals, besides one winter festival.

Bonito CineSur 2024 - South American Film Festival. Space for the gathering and integration of South American cinema and audiovisual productions, presenting its most recent films and bringing together professionals from all countries of the continent.

In 2023, Bonito CineSur enriched the cultural calendar of the city, of the country and of the continent with the screening of 45 South American films from 12 South American countries.

Actress Dira Paes is the official hostess of the festival and also promotes the exhibitions and the festival's potential to the press and on social media.

With the participation of 26 public and private institutions involved in the project, Bonito CineSur also encouraged the local creative economy by hiring production professionals, technical equipment besides a number of hotels, restaurants and land and air transportation services.

Bonito CineSur 2024 - South American Film Festival

NILSON RODRIGUES - Director
Producer of the movies “O outro lado do paraíso" (2015) and “O pastor e o guerrilheiro” (2022). Nilson was the director of Festival de Brasília do Cinema Brasileiro (1995, 1997, 1998 and 2011), and also of the “Festival Internacional de Cinema de Brasília” - Brazilian International Film Festival (from 2012 to 2017).

ANDREA FREIRE - Coordinator
Coordinator of the Bonito Winter Festival (from 2000 to 2006, 2015 and 2016); coordinator of Festival América do Sul (2004, 2005, 2015 and 2016); coordinator of the Screening Exhibit “Vídeo Índio Brasil” (2009), of the audiovisual production course “Mídias Contemporâneas Narrativas Populares” (2010); director, researcher and writer of the audiovisual series “EVOÉ – Drama Stories in Campo Grande” (2021). Coordinator of Bonito CineSur (2023).

JOSÉ GERALDO COUTO – Curator
Born in Jaú, in São Paulo state, in 1957. He is a journalist, translator and film critic. José Geraldo has worked for more than twenty years at the Folha de S. Paulo newspaper. He is currently working at the Moreira Salles Institute. José has translated literary works by Henry James, Norman Mailer, Truman Capote, Martin Scorsese and Nelson Mandela, among others.

LUCIANA DRUZINA – Curator of the Anima Sur children's and youth exhibition
Director of the company Druzina Content, where for over fifteen years she has been producing series, animated films, fiction and games, which are shown in more than fifty countries on the most diverse platforms and channels.

ELIS REGINA – Curator of the environmental cinema exhibition

Journalist, Elis has already worked as a curator in many events, such as: “Comitiva dos Chefs Festival Movie Exhibit” (2019); Making Of exhibit – “O Cinema Está Aqui – Festcine América do Sul” (2014); “A Imagem do índio exhibit – Vídeo Índio Brasil” (2014 and 2015); “Comida em Movimento Festival – Cinema e Gastronomia” (2023).


BONITO CINESUR – South American Film Festival
Production - Associação Amigos do Cinema e da Cultura – AACIC

Associação Amigos do Cinema e da Cultura – AACIC
Private non-profit entity, founded in 2007, which has been developing cultural, educational and training projects for over fifteen years. Among the activities carried out, the “Cinesurdo" projects, The School in Cinema, Contemporary Dialogues, Popular Cinema Circuit and Cinema in Schools stand out. The association’s experience and technical capacity for developing and carrying out activities in the field of cinema, as well as in training, education and culture in general, has already been attested by the Education, Health and Culture Commission of the City Council of Brasília and by the Brasília University of Brasília.

DATE
July 20th to 27th, 2024


CONTACT
AACIC Executive Secretary
Dulcinéia Miranda
aacicbonitosur@gmail.com
+55 (61) 98119-5417

The annual Merlion Film Festival Singapore (MFFS) is an inspirational event bringing together all the film organisations, storytellers and artists in Singapore, to celebrate their efforts towards a sustainable future and accelerate their impact. The festival hopes to foster more collaboration, raise awareness & ignite a public passion towards independent talent film makers and artists around the world!

The Merlion Film Festival Singapore showcases a selection of world films, giving local audiences a taste of world’s diversity and creativity. Films screened are recent and have encountered success in their country of origin.

Filmeraa Film Festival is one of it's kind festivals to promote independent films, web series across the globe. We are committed to release content across the globe via our screens exclusive to screen only independent films. Every year the festival acknowledges independent work with unique flavor in them and can bring about a change into the society and the thought process.

The Filmmakers/audience will gain the insights of the reel world & how to make your projects effective & efficient at the same time.
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Every film maker is invited to be a part of this exclusive premier league screening festival.
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The best films will get a chance to feature their film on our distribution portal www.filmeraa.com and on Indian Television.

In 1998, the Benalmádena Cinematographic Youth Association (ACIBE) recovered the spirit of the defunct SICAB (Benalmádena International Author's Film Week, 1969-1989) to undertake the project of creating a film festival for the city. The result, after seventeen years of management, is the Benalmádena International Short Film and Alternative Film Festival (FICCAB), a meeting forum for lovers of quality cinema. More than four hundred short films are presented each year at a festival for all ages that unites the glamor of the stars to the best auteur, independent, alternative and unknown cinematographies, paying special attention to European ones.

El Festival Internacional de Cine Experimental de Paraguay (FICEPY) o ULTRACINE en su Edición II, es un encuentro internacional dedicado al arte cinematográfico experimental, el cual tuvo su exitosa I Edición en octubre de 2022 bajo el nombre de FESTIVAL DE CINE EXPERIMENTAL ULTRAcinema por haberse gestado a partir de la Muestra Mexicana de Cine Experimental ULTRAcinema, en y gracias al Centro Cultural de España Juan de Salazar de la Ciudad de Asunción, con una gran aceptación del público cineasta paraguayo.

El Festival en su I Edición presentó muestras de cine experimental local y mexicano, mesas redondas, talleres de formación abiertos a todo público, funciones performáticas de intercambio y experimentación en vivo.


Gracias a la fructífera edición inaugural, se llevará a cabo nuevamente en octubre de 2023, la II Edición del Festival Internacional de Cine Experimental de Paraguay (FICEPY) - ULTRACINE con los objetivos de:

- Seguir fortaleciendo los vínculos y la escena experimental de la comunidad local y el intercambio con otros festivales Latinoamericanos, principalmente con ULTRAcinema MÉXICO por ser éste, el mentor y principal apoyo de la programación y curaduría del FICEPY.

- Seguir educando a través de talleres para la formación de público y profesionales. Uno de ellos lo dictará el Maestro Michael Ramos-Araizaga (México), director y curador del Festival ULTRAcinema México.

- Seguir potenciando e incentivando la expansión de ideas de expresión no convencionales o tradicionales, generando espacios de contagio creativo entre todas las artes experimentales libres y el pensamiento crítico.

- Generar el interés en el arte y cine experimental.

Continuando con las actividades que nos lleven a los objetivos mencionados como en 2022, realizaremos dentro de la programación muestras de cine experimental local y mexicano, mesas redondas, talleres de formación abiertos a todo público, funciones performáticas en vivo.

El festival, cada año seguirá contando con una temática protagonista a la que le ofrecerá un destaque y participación mayoritarios con el fin de visibilizar comunidades minoritarias, y, en esta II Edición tenemos especial interés en aquellos trabajos que respondan al eje conceptual de nuestra edición, los afrofuturismos*, desde sus propuestas estéticas, códigos y/o discursos para conformar un programa especial dedicada al cine surgido desde las miradas de las afrodescendencias. A través de esta mirada, vamos a prefigurar futuros, a explorar la producción de la diáspora africana contemporánea y a revisitar las raíces de las afrodescendencias en Latinoamérica para buscar nuevos vínculos entre futuros utópicos y pasados posibles y, así, reinventar la historia que nos merecemos tener.

*AFROFUTURISMO: es un tipo de estética literaria y cultural que combina elementos de ciencia ficción, ficción histórica, fantasía y realismo mágico con cosmogonías no occidentales. El movimiento también ha sido definido por la autora y cineasta Ytasha L. Womack, como la exploración de «la intersección entre cultura negra, tecnología, liberación e imaginación, con una pizca de misticismo también. […] Es una forma de unir el futuro con el pasado y, en esencia, de ayudar a reinventar la experiencia de las personas de color».1​ Su objeto es criticar no solo la problemática actual de las personas de color sino también revisar, cuestionar y reexaminar los eventos del pasado.

**Afrodiaspórico: El pensamiento afrodiaspórico debe entenderse como un proyecto humanista que refleja la voluntad de vida por la dignificación del ser humano africano y sus descendientes.

Son bienvenidas obras experimentales de cineastas emergentes y establecidos de cualquier parte del universo, en cualquiera de sus géneros audiovisuales, tanto en cine como en video: Ensayo, Poema, Danza, Musical, Performático, Ritual, Abstracto, Avant Garde, Confesional, Documental de Archivo, Livecinema, así como en cualquiera de sus técnicas, formatos o estrategias como la animación y la apropiación, sin límite de duración, ni año de producción.

Contamos con una sección especial para cineastas de la región (nacidos o residentes en Paraguay o provincias limítrofes a Paraguay de otros países: Bolivia, Argentina o Brasil).

Esta II Edición de ULTRACINE Festival Internacional de Cine Experimental de Paraguay es posible gracias al apoyo de: Centro Cultural de España Juan de Salazar de Paraguay, el Instituto Nacional del Audiovisual Paraguayo y la Secretaría de Cultura de Paraguay.

Cassette Audiovisual International Fest is a celebration of musical audiovisual and cinematographic projects: Videocilp, Musical Short&Feature Films, Rockumentary, Videodance, Mashup, Experimental Music Film.

The festival activities will take place in the month of May, we will carry out face-to-face in Mexico City and streaming.

We receive cinematographic and audiovisual works that address the following musical concepts. The extension is free as well as the genres: fiction, non-fiction, animation, experimental and hybrids.

International categories

Videoclip
Under 10 minutes
Fiction, animation, experimental and hybrid genres

Monoaural
Musical shortfilm
Under 30 minutes
Fiction and animation

Rockumentary
No-Fiction musical shortfilm
Documentary
Under 30 minutes

Loop
Experimental musical shortfilm
Experimental, mashup, found footage
Under 30 minutes

Fantasound
Videodance, performance musical shortfilm
Under 30 minutes

Stereophonic
Medium and feature musical films
Fiction, documentary, animation, experimental and hybrid genres
Between 30 minutes and 130 minute

Brussels Short Film Festival is an exhibition intended for cinema lovers, both audience and professionals. The purpose is to promote and circulate short films and to generate contacts between audience, young directors and professionals.

Since 2018, the winner of the Great Prize of the International competition will be eligible for consideration in the Animated Short Film/ Live Action Short Film category of the Academy Awards® without the standard theatrical run, provided the film otherwise complies with the Academy rules.

WE CAM FEST is the first inclusive film festival in Colombia. It brings together the cinematographic content related to disability in the world. An innovative proposal that, in addition to showing other perspectives of life through cinema, seeks to be a platform for the creation of content made by and with people with disabilities, in order to recognize their contribution and talent for the environment and society.

Horror, Thriller, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Fantastic etc.
(Short Film: 30 minutes or less)
(Feature Film: 60 minutes or more)

V International Short Film Festival "Make me visible in your memory" aims to promote reflection on death and the subsequent process on personal and family, social and historical memory.

12th edition of the fantastic film festival of Bourg-en-Bresse.

SHort film competitions (french languages, international, middle school) and also screening of features films.