Blog: Film festivals

In the 19th century cinema was born.

What kind of films do the directors and actors of the 21st century seek to make? How can we, as festival organizers, select and promote films with vitality?

The vision of Tokyo Sukiyaki Theaters (TST) is to build a hybrid film festival. We will open up films to audiences from two directions: a film festival at a live venue in Tokyo and a streaming film festival online.

We believe that a festival, which combines these two dynamic aspects of film at the same time will have the greatest power to raise questions in our current era.

We are waiting in Tokyo for films and filmmakers who will stand up for the global audience of the future!

Established in 1985, the Warsaw Film Festival joined in 2009 the elite group of events recognized by the International Federation of Film Producers Associations (www.fiapf.org) as international non-specialised film festivals - next to Cannes, Venice, Berlin, Locarno, San Sebastian, Karlovy Vary, Tokyo, Mar del Plata, Shanghai, Cairo, Fajr, Goa, and Tallinn.

The WFF differs from other festivals in its programme, just as Warsaw differs from other cities. Selecting the films, we always remember about our audience - native Varsovians, those working or studying in Warsaw, and those in town for a short while, for instance only for the Festival.

We do our best to make sure that our audiences get to know the latest and most interesting trends in world cinema as soon as possible. In this way, WFF audiences - usually as the first people in Poland - could discover American independent cinema as well as Asian, Latin American, Iranian, Russian and Romanian cinema. Some of the most amazing directors, like Michael Haneke, Cristian Mungiu, Paweł Pawlikowski, Ari Folman, Ashgar Farhadi, Lenny Abrahamson and hundreds of others, had usually been guests of the WFF before they reached the top.

We have been expanding the professional part of the WFF for over fifteen years. We realize that film festivals are part of the giant mechanism that is the global film industry. We do our best to make sure that the world takes note of Polish films, that they get screened at leading festivals, that they find their way into international distribution.

We started off modestly, in 2000, with screenings of new Polish projects for barely a dozen foreign guests. Five years later, we held the CentEast Market for the first time: a meeting place for professionals interested in films from Eastern Europe, described by The Hollywood Reporter as “the go-to event”. From 2009 till 2016, together with our Russian partner TVINDIE we have been presenting - in Warsaw and Moscow - films that are still works-in-progress but in which we want to interest sales agents and distributors. Similar presentations we organised at the Beijing Film Market from 2013-2016, with our Chinese partner Film Factory, under the name China-Eastern Europe Film Promotion Project.

Imaginary-on-Nature
Short Film Festival
nature & imagination

This is a mini-film festival project organized around a call for short films on the theme of nature and fantasy:

strange, creative, offbeat, poetic, supernatural, experimental, plastic... according to the perspective of the filmmakers who will present their works.

Animation shortfilm contest, for filmmakers living in Spain. Maximum 10 minutes. Shortfims finished after 01/01/2022.

TAXCO Mexico, light city and Magic Town, one of the most impressive locations in the world, invites you to the 10th EDITION OF TAXCO FILM FEST.

The objective is to present a selection of the best short films in the fiction, animation, experimental and documentary genres in order to allow the dissemination, dialogue and evaluation of the development and importance of the short film within audiovisual production.

AMUA Musikako Filme laburren jaialdia

The Crevillent Short Film Competition, organized by the Excellent City Council of Crevillent from the Department of Culture, announces the bases to apply for the awards in its 5th edition to be held on October 18 and 19, 2024.

The objective of the contest is to promote the short film. Culture is considered a source of wealth, and in this sense, the local impulse of the cultural offer also serves the impulse of the economic and local development of our municipality.

Ashok Khullar and Kumaar Aadarsh, founder and President, welcome you to the UVT Standalone Film Festival & Awards (UVTsffa). This is a unique kind of film festival for independent filmmakers/content creators where there are no barriers to borders, languages, genres, etc. Based in California, USA, this festival is having an online Award Nomination Festival, live screenings, and Standalone Award Show in Los Angeles.

SFFA is consolidating filmmakers around the world for a wonderful presentation of cinematography and the unveiling of new talents. A committee comprising members from the film industry preview submitted films and select good works of motion pictures for the Award Nomination Festival.

The selected films participate in The Awards nomination Festival which is held for 4 months between Dec-March.

Films screen through this secure server screener where visitors and guests from around the world can witness and vote for the film. On the basis of viewers' choice and votes, films nominated for 42 categories of Awards which screen live in Hollywood and to honor filmmakers, actors, technicians at The UVT Standalone Awards Show in Los Angeles on the Last day of live screenings.

Theatre venue is in the heart of Hollywood. We will screen all nominated films here as well as look forward to create year-round screening, filmmaking, and writing opportunities and to that end we are launching new festivals as part of the UVT Standalone Film Festival & Awards.

UVT SFFA Submissions are for feature narratives, Short films, Shows, Series, documentaries, and animation as even experimental films and music videos.

FesticineKids 26 is an international children's and youth film festival in Cartagena de Indias, it is a film competition that orients its efforts towards strengthening the production and distribution of Colombian, Latin American and world cinema for children and young people.

In 2024, FesticineKids reaches its 26th, edition with the same spirit of highlighting and celebrating cinema for girls, boys and young people. The phrase has been chosen as the slogan: A LOOK TO THE COLOMBIAN WEST. From this concept it is intended to invite children and young people to be aware of the responsibility they have to be agents of change in their environments. Children and young people are the future that should encourage the care of our planet earth, the human beings that surround them, animals and plants, as well as the places they visit. The tendency to Afro movies and ones oriented to indigenous people.

In the construction of the profile of the FesticineKids 26, the screen is problematized as a point of confluence of girls, boys and adolescents. By postulating cinema as that scenario in which feelings, emotions and beliefs are expressed, it is intended that girls, boys and adolescents, understanding what the cinema evokes them, what they extract from it and its meanings, wonder about the place that cinema has in their lives, in their environment, in parallel to the place they want and dream of.

It is also an opportunity for adults, parents, teachers, cultural and cinematographic authorities, to think about the need to strengthen their capacities to be trainers in tension and interaction with the audiovisual media, especially the cinema.

CALL FOR ENTRIES
From 31 May 2024 to 11 August 2024.

Do you remember the first film you saw on the big screen when you were a child?

For thousands of Mexican children in vulnerable situations this question has no answer. This is why the Churumbela Children's Film Festival was created, which invites all Mexican and Spanish-speaking children to experience cinema in an inclusive, completely playful and entertaining environment.

The 8th Churumbela Children's Film Festival will take place in a hybrid form; where some of the activities, workshops and talks with industry professionals will take place online and others in person with film screenings in Mexico City and Merida City, Yucatan. It will also continue with the Mission Mahoma programme, visiting Community and Cultural Centres in Mexico City. "Film and Dreams" is the thematic axis of this edition, which wishes to revalue the capacity of children to show how superior they are, with their desires, emotions and longings reflected in dreams.

The Churumbela Children's Film Festival will take place from monday 21 to Saturday 26 October 2024 in Mexico City and Yucatán, with the support of the General Directorate of Cultural Promotion and Festivals of the Ministry of Culture, as well as with the support of PROCINE, other entities and the Mexican private initiative.

The Churumbela Children's Film Festival promotes creativity, dialogue, the seventh art and artistic expression as tools for social transformation, and all activities are completely free of charge. In this edition we will have special selections of short films dubbed in Mayan and Mexican Sign Language (LSM).

Thanks to all the support we have received, it is possible to bring cinema to all children free of charge so that they can immerse themselves in the wonderful world of filmmaking.

To find out about the programme by venue of short films, films and workshops that can be seen in person and online, visit our official website: https://www.churumbelafest.com/

The Churumbela Children's Film Festival creates an inclusive environment, promotes dialogue, the seventh art and artistic expression as tools for social transformation and all activities are completely free of charge.

SHORTS MÉXICO CALL FOR ENTRIES – SUBMIT YOUR FILM

SHORTS MEXICO has become the biggest International short film festival in Latin America.

An exhibition platform specializing in short films. It promotes cinema creative expressions, diverse voices, distinctive and innovative visions, bold quality films from filmmakers from all over the world. At SHORTS MEXICO we encourage the growth and development of short films as well as the filmmakers.

SHORTS MEXICO - Mexico International Short Film Festival call for entries begins March 1st through May 31st ,2024 at 23:59 (CST) Mexico City. We are open to receive Short Films from all over the world inviting all production genres.

The 19th Edition of SHORTS MEXICO will be held from September 1st through the 30th 2024 in Mexico City. The National Cinematheque of Mexico is the main venue of the festival, and it amounts other important venues as CINEMEX Theaters, one of the largest cinema chains in the world, world famous Vasconcelos Library, Centro Cultural Universitario de la UNAM, CDMX´s Faros and Cultural Centers, etc. The festival amounts over 35 venues in Mexico City and holds exhibitions in every one of the 32 States of the Mexican Republic, so the event truly occurs throughout Mexico. Since the pandemic, SHORTS MÉXICO is presented in a hybrid format, holding virtual and televised exhibitions as well, having over 1 million spectators per edition.

Throughout the year the festival features previews, exhibitions, retrospectives and master classes. The Shorts Mexico Tour includes cities, towns and villages of Mexico, as well as exhibitions in various countries around the world. Shorts Mexico Academy conference cycle includes an academic offer aimed at developing professionalization in various specialized areas of filmmaking. The festival will also present Shorts México Pitching Competition, Work In Progress Contest, and its Screenplay Short Film Competition, with the goal of encouraging and promoting the creation, professionalization and production of quality films.

FESTIVAL SECTIONS

COMPETITIVE SECTIONS
INTERNATIONAL Competition (Live Action, Animation and Documentary)
IBEROAMERICAN Competition (Live Action, Animation and Documentary)
MEXICAN Competition (Live Action, Animation, Documentary, NeoMex)

SHORTS MEXICO’S SHOWCASE / FESTIVAL´S FAVORITES - OUT OF COMPETITION

International - Iberoamerican
World Cinema
Queer Shorts (LGBTTTQ+)
Fantascorto (Fantasy, Sci-Fi and Horror)
Ecoshorts (Environmental Conservation)
Kids
Indigenous Peoples
Fun Shorts (Comedy)
Experimental
International (Live Action, Animation, Documentary, Experimental)

Mexican
Pueblos Indígenas y Originarios
Mujeres Mexicanas en el Cine
Mexican (Live Action, Documentary)
Experimental
Queer Shorts (LGBTTTQ+)
Fantascorto (Fantasy, Sci-Fi and Horror)
Infantil – Kids
Ecoshorts (conservación ambiental)
Funshorts (Cine de Comedia)

Certificates
All the selected films will be given a certificate of participation in México International Short Film Festival - Shorts México. The Mexican short films selected in any competition of the festival will be able to submit their short film to the Ariel prize of the AMACC (Mexican Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences).

Animacción is an international festival of animated short films, aimed to bring attention to the artistic potential of a whole new generation of animators.

Organized by the cultural association "Ánimas Anónimas", the festival returns this year for its 7th edition.

The call arises from our desire to increase the cultural offer of the city of A Coruña and its region, offering a sample of an artistic discipline with great creative potential, known worldwide, but little spread (me suena menos científico que disseminated xD) and supported locally.

The selected short films will be screened from December 12th to 18th, in the metropolitan area of ​​A Coruña. The public attending these screenings will proclaim the winning piece with their votes. There will be also an award for the best children's short film, chosen by the students of several schools in A Coruña and the area.

Besides the screenings, we will schedule different talks and activities, for all audiences, related to the world of animation, so we can create a bridge between artists of this discipline and the public.

English (Inglés)
The “Cachinus de Cine” Festival is organized by the Cultural Association of Cilleros (A.C.D.C.) and the Town Hall of Cilleros.

The festival "Cachinus de Cine" was born with the hope of bringing the seventh art to the children and youngest so that they have the posibility to learn trough this art to know and understand better the world around them. Also to get the posibility to express their concerns through the images.

It will take place at the beginning of May in Cilleros, a town located in "Sierra de Gata" in the province of Cáceres, Extremadura, at the East of Madrid (Spain).
An enclave that are still preserving his nature and tradition over the years.

It is surrounded by rivers of crystal clear water, natural pools and mountains that invite you to explore their paths.

We wish this festival to be a meeting point where we can meet people and cultures from all over the world and get to know ourselves too.

Exchanging concerns and experiences with all the participants is also part of the dream with which this festival is born.

VI Almassora International Short Film Festival (Castellón) SPAIN

During one week of the year over 100,000 film-lovers gather in over 400 Cinemas across 6 Continents to view and vote on the Finalists Films' in the Annual MANHATTAN SHORT Film Festival - MANHATTAN SHORT is more than just one of the largest short film festivals in the world....it's the World's First Global Film Festival.

If making short films is about getting your work out there, nothing compares to MANHATTAN SHORT.

Every Film Selected is eligible to enter the Oscars:
MANHATTAN SHORT does a full week's run in a cinema in Los Angeles, California. This theater booking means all ten finalists in the 2025 MANHATTAN SHORT Film Festival will be eligible to enter the Oscar competition for 2026.

MANHATTAN SHORT is now in compliance with the rules governing the Oscar Awards set forth by the Academy of Motion Pictures of Arts and Sciences

Featured Musical Artist
We are excited to announce that the MANHATTAN SHORT will be featuring a Musical Artist or Band leading up to and throughout the duration of the Festival each year.

The selected Musician or Band will have his/her music featured in over four hundred venues and to over 100,000 people worldwide during the MANHATTAN SHORT intermission and in all promotional materials leading up to the festival dates, including exclusive headline billing on our website. This is a tremendous opportunity for new or unknown musical talent to have their music broadcast to our ready-made worldwide audience of eager festival attendees. It is also a unique chance to gain name recognition and immediate exposure. Check ManhattanShort.com to enter the Musical Artist Comp.

Ricreazione Soc.Coop.Soc.ONLUS in collaboration with the Department of Culture of the Municipality of Mentana, organizes the seventh edition of the historical audiovisual Festival "STORY IN SHORT".

The idea was born because our territory is rich in testimonies, from the pre-Roman era up to the Risorgimento: the enhancement of this heritage therefore also passes through a film festival that collects the works of authors who have ventured into an area that is not very 'frequented' such as reconstruction and historical analysis through short films, documentaries and audio-documentaries.

There are no content limits set for participation in the festival: all of History will be the subject of the works presented.

The jury will reserve the right to select the works to be screened in the event that the number of works presented exceeds the times and possibilities of programming.

All the selected works will be presented and the author will be able to tell his work to the audience in the room.

Small festival of independent or home-produced short filmS. It is intended to publicize independent proposals, without large institutional grants or large producers behind them. Therefore, the idea and the illusion are prioritized over the big budgets or the professionalism of the team.

Only for Argentinean filmmakers.

The You Are the Judge Web3 International Film Festival, brought to you by the creators of WTe, the Web3 film-watching and trading platform, redefines the festival experience by letting audiences decide the winners with NFT Festival Passes.

With the motto "You are the judge, everyone is a judge," we democratize film selection, focusing on Drama, Horror, Action, and Erotica. Our goal is to find films that blend artistic expression with commercial potential, fostering a community-driven environment using Web3 technology.

Award winners receive prize money in USDT on a specified blockchain, along with free international distribution services. We promote the winning films globally, returning the distribution revenue directly to filmmakers. We believe in the commercial value of films selected by our audience.

Join over 500 filmmakers and 3,000 film fans from 50+ countries for a unique mix of screenings, Q&A sessions, and discussions.

You Are the Judge Web3 International Film Festival is not just a celebration of cinema; it's a pioneering event at the intersection of creativity, technology, and community, embracing the decentralized future of the film industry.

Save the dates for our highly anticipated 4th edition, set against the backdrop of Beijing, China, from December 26th to 28th, 2024. We welcome submissions across four categories: Drama (short & feature), Action (short & feature), Horror (short & feature), and Erotica (short only).

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“你是评委”Web3国际电影节由Web3影视平台WTe发起创办。影展专注剧情、恐怖、动作、爱情四大类型，把影片评审权交给观众，致力于提高观众的话语权，发现并积极推广兼顾艺术表达与商业价值的影视作品。

电影节将为大众评选出的优胜影片提供国际宣传发行服务，投票观众可在一定程度上参与获奖影片发行分成。

第四届电影节将于12月26-28日在北京举办。