Blog: Film festivals

IndieFlicks is the UK's monthly film festival, supporting the best up and coming filmmakers from around the world. IndieFlicks is continuously growing, hosting simultaneous screenings in Manchester, London and Sheffield. We also host a repeat screening the following week in Liverpool.

"They only pick the best films for their screenings so it's not only a great festival to enter, but a great film night to attend. I've enjoyed every film i've seen so far.”
Chris Cronin, Director.

How our monthly festival works…

Our Monthly Festival is a showcase of Short films from around the world, screening 50 minutes of short film in the first half, followed by our selected Feature Short in the second. We also host a Q&A with filmmakers able to attend and talks with local creatives.
At each event, two films will be selected to win either one of our awards:

The People’s Choice Award
The Directors Choice Award

Films included in the first half are nominated for our 'The People's Choice Award’; This is evidently voted for our audiences on the night and votes are calculated collectively from all of our venues.

In the second half of the night we host our 'Feature Short', one film no longer than 50 minutes. This is our headliner for the event. This film is awarded, ‘The Directors Choice Award’, one that our Judging panel felt deserves recognition.

"Not only is IndieFlicks a brilliant opportunity to network within the Manchester filmmaking community, it offers insight into short filmmaking approaches worldwide."
Martyn Ellis, Sound Engineer, Noise Four

Notifications:

Filmmakers will be notified throughout the year. If successful, your film will be screened on the first Wednesday of a selected month.

The 16th annual SiciliAmbiente Film Festival will take on July 15-20, 2024.

The aim of SiciliAmbiente Film Festival is to promote independent cinema and documentary cinema, and to encourage creative exchange and networking among the directors.

This Festival is organized and sponsored by Demetra Produzioni SAS and CANTIERE 7 Cultural Association, and made possible by public and private partners and sponsors who share in the same ethical principles of the Festival.
Films dealing with the following themes may participate: Environment, Anthropology, Human Rights, Biodiversity, War, Integration, Civil Rights, Sustainable Development and the Relationship between Man and the Environment.

The Festival is divided into different sections:

Documentary Film contest (minimum rt: 31 minutes)

Fiction Feature Film contest (minimum rt: 70 minutes)

Short Film contest for Fiction and Documentary shorts (maximum rt: 31 minutes)

Animated short film contest (maximum rt: 31 minutes)

Overview of documentaries, fiction, short films and several tributes, retrospectives, seminars and panel discussions
The Selection Committee will choose based on the quality of writing and images and the general use of a creative language identifying artistic documentary cinema.

DOCUMENTARY CONTEST – FICTION FILM CONTEST - SHORT FILM CONTEST - ANIMATED FILM CONTEST

Submission requirements

Documentaries (31’ or more), Feature films (70’ or more), Short and Animated films (31’ or less) of any nationality may be submitted for the selection process, provided that they were completed after January 1, 2023.

If selected, the format for the projection of the film may be:
· Unencrypted DCP
· Blu-ray DVD
· Apple ProRes File
· File H264

Other formats must be approved by the Festival Management.
Screening fees may not be requested and will not be paid for the contests.

Films in any language other than Italian must be subtitled in English or Italian and, if selected for the final phase of competition, they must be sent to the festival with the requested presentation materials and the English dialogue list.

Films to be presented in the Short film and Animated film sections must be shorter than 31 minutes or they will be excluded.

No screening fees can be requested by the representatives of the films submitted for the contest.
The Festival may choose to invite selected films into the contest.

Some of the films not selected for the short film and animated film contests may be selected for a non-competitive section.

IPHIAS

/ ī - 'fē - əs / (noun): a rare species of butterflies. A butterfly is the symbol of change, the soul, creativity, freedom, joy and colour. Their power is transformation, shape shifting and soul evolution. The eyes of butterflies consist of thousands of individual lenses. This gives them the gift of being able to see a single image clearly.

Iphias International Film Festival (IIFF) is committed to showcasing films that will change lives and empower audiences. Though diverse in content and presentation, IPHIAS selections are unified by themes that promote positive values, celebrate family, and further important social interests. IPHIAS will be that platform for promising filmmakers who have not yet exploded onto the international scene and will screen an intoxicating blend of national and international features, documentaries, music videos, and shorts.

Set against a stunning Caribbean landscape, visiting filmmakers at IIFF can enjoy luxurious accommodations in the host city of Falmouth. The 1st Annual lPHIAS International Film Festival (IIFF) presents an opportunity for groundbreaking and dynamic independent films to be recognized by some of Hollywood's hottest stars, producers, distributors, critics, and media, meaning prime exposure opportunities for selected films and screenplays.

IPHIAS enriches the experience with a range of audience awards and juried prizes, ensuring that numerous filmmakers leave the festival with renewed vigor and limitless opportunities for expanding their professional networks. Winning filmmakers will receive IPHIAS custom glass trophies, cash prizes, and possible distribution deals.
More than 1,500 film enthusiasts and media professionals will flow through this four-day extravaganza. Of course, most people go to Jamaica to take in the island! Filmmakers can head up to neighboring cities in the Parish of Trelawny for some of the best beaches and dining in the Caribbean. World-class food and drink and fantastic parties every night all add up to one of the most welcoming, filmmaker-friendly festivals on the circuit.

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.