Blog: Film festivals

The Colli Albani or Castelli Romani area has been the setting for numerous national and international films, starting with "Inferno" in 1911, considered the first Italian feature film.

To then remember "The Leopard" by Visconti, "Nights of Cabiria" by Fellini, " quel pasticciaccio brutto di Via Merulana " by Gadda, many of Totò's films, up to "the stolen children" by Amelio, " il marchese del Grillo” by Monicelli, “il Vigile” by Zampa and many others until the recent “all you need is crime” by Giallini.

The Colli Albani Film Festival was therefore born from the need to honor this territory linked to cinema in the best possible way, giving space to Italian and foreign authors to present their works, creating concrete opportunities for professionals in the cine-audiovisual world.

Furthermore, it will be an opportunity for the local population to get closer to cinema to see and vote for the works selected at the festival.

LOCATION

Grottaferrata ALFELLINI CINEMA
Recently reopened and completely renovated thanks to the commitment of Davide Fontana in collaboration with the Municipality of Grottaferrata and with the support of Manuele Ilari and the Madison circuit.
Introductions, presentations and meetings for the selected works


Will be 4 out-of-competition screenings

2 of these screenings will be of old or recent films set in the Colli Albani area with guests and introduction.

2 instead will be current Italian or foreign films with guests and introduction.

Join us as we celebrate voices of recovery at the first Michigan RecoveryCon and Film Festival. This event combines resources, speaker panels, educational workshops, mutual aid groups, and a film festival. The Michigan RecoveryCon and Film Festival spotlights films on substance use disorder and recovery. Through artistic pursuits, including film, we are removing barriers and reducing the stigma surrounding substance use disorder.

The Michigan RecoveryCon and Film Festival aims to increase awareness of substance use treatment and recovery services while creating a space for individuals touched by substance use to engage with one another in a safe and positive way.

The New York State International Film Festival is located in the heart of New York, Albany at The Linda Performing Arts Studio.

Since 2016, we have screened over 400 short films from all around the globe.

We have connected filmmakers with their audiences through short films each year, and we'd like to thank everyone for joining us! We continue to aspire to become one of the greatest film festivals in the nation. We are an international short film festival.

The festival invites people from all over the Capital Region of New York and all over the world.

Everyone is welcome to submit their short films.

We support students and first-time filmmakers too. We encourage all types of documentaries, animation, drama, comedy, experimental, music videos and horror short films.

Films will be viewed during the festival by the public. We have Q/A Panels throughout the festival. Our greatest goal is to celebrate the art with you and your viewing audience, so it's important that you have fun in the process!

Newcastle International Short Film Festival or NiSFF is an IMDb registered short film festival open to submissions of short films in multiple genres and categories from international, Australian and regional New South Wales (NSW) film-makers. Finalists for the best film in their regional category will be screened at the Royal Exchange Hybrid Performance Space/Cinema in Newcastle Australia in mid November each year. The overall Best Short Film winner will be selected from all the various category winners regardless of its length.

No screening fees are paid to selected films and no DCP is required. If your film is understandable for a mainly English speaking audience without subtitles then English subtitles are not required.

Films from anywhere in the world that express the Afro world, their ways of living, solve problems, get closer to the other, live the culture.

Only for spain films.

"Content Creators Changing the World, One Project at a Time" is the theme of the 24th Urban Mediamakers Film Festival, October 13-19, 2025.

The festival is in-person and virtual with select in-person screenings and events throughout Gwinnett County, GA -- Duluth, Lawrenceville, Lilburn, Norcross, Snellville -- and Atlanta. UMFF features a daily virtual space with guest speakers, sessions and content creators Q&A.

Recognizing media as a powerful tool of choice for entertaining, informing, and inspiring, this annual content creators' festival showcases international, urban independent media. We are open to all creators, and we emphasize work produced by or featuring individuals of color - African, African-American, Asian, Black, Hispanic, Latino Native American, and Pacific Islander.

The Urban Mediamakers Film Festival promotes, supports and showcases filmmakers, independent content creators and multimedia producers — animation, advertising, marketing campaigns, blog, commercials, film, music, new media, podcasts. print, television, scripts, streaming, web series and virtual reality.

Guided by past wisdom and reflecting the new and exciting generation of new technology, we are dedicated to thinking out of the traditional box as we pursue our dreams courageously.

UMFF brings an exciting and creative atmosphere that encompasses cultural diversity, with activists, content creators, artists, writers and TV/movie buffs together under one roof to meet, collaborate and strategize for world change!

Actors, artists, bloggers, content creators, filmmakers, graphic designers, mobile app developers, musicians, podcasters, producers, streamers and writers have an opportunity to gain exposure for their projects, compete for the best-of-the-best with prizes in each category, attend industry-related educational series, along with excellent collaboration and networking.

Movie buffs, content creators, independent film and mix-media supporters have the opportunity to see a diverse group of superb films and projects from creatives that are independent with a vision.

The festival includes:

-- virtual and in-person events.

-- script reading featuring a scene from the top three screenplays in competition.

-- independent film screenings in competition on our UrbanFlixToGo.com platform during the festival with an option to continue on UrbanFlixToGo.com.

-- showcase of bloggers, podcasters, and mobile app developers.

-- 9th Urban PitchFest 2025.

-- 9th AfroFuturism Fest 2025 - Black sci-fi, fantasy, horror and gaming along with international thrillers. AfroFuturism Fest includes UMFF projects competing in the AfroFuturism category, vendors, panels, comic book swapping, AfroFuturism cosplay, costume contest for cash prizes, and more.

-- 2nd Annual Gwinnett County Comic-Con with renowned comic artists and authors from around the country.

-- Videopalooza 2025 - Middle and high school competition and screening series.

-- producers/distributors seeking independent films.

-- awards presentation and closing event.

-- closing night film.

-- audience award.

-- filmmaker and writer collaboration breakout sessions (SpeedCollabs).

-- winning films will be showcased on our streaming service UrbanFlixToGo.com.

UMFF attendees have an opportunity to network with their peers and executives for collaborations on future projects, as well as interact with an audience that supports independent mediamaking.

YOUR project will make our festival phenomenal! Submit to UMF 2024 today!

Peace and blessings,
Cheryle Renee Moses
Founder and Producer

Alexandria Mediterranean Film Festival is an annual event held in Alexandria, Egypt. It aims to disseminate film culture and the progress achieved in various branches of film art and to strength the relations among filmmakers throughout the world in general and Mediterranean countries in particular.

We are pleased to announce the 7th edition of the MEET Film Festival, promoted by the MEET Association (Movies for European Education and Training).

A widespread festival organised in three territorial events:

Ercolano - Naples and Mazara del Vallo - Sicily (April 2025).
Garbatella - Rome (May 2025).

The main objective of the MEET Film Festival is to ​​create a bridge between schools and cinema as a means to encourage the use of audiovisual language ​​in teaching and learning, facilitating dialogue and social inclusion.

The Festival aims to raise awareness of the links between culture, education, training and cinema and to become an innovative environment where schools, institutions, associations and independent film directors can meet, discuss and exchange audiovisual productions inspired by educational issues.

The Festival promotes the knowledge and circulation of short films that are distinguished by the critical and original ways in which they interpret the role of cinema at school.

The Festival actively involves participant schools in the fruition and evaluation of the movies admitted, with the aim of training students and teachers to cinema and audiovisual language.

The Tsiolkovsky International Space Film Festival (Tsiolkovsky ISFF) is held annually in Kaluga. Films and programs about space and its relationship with science, art, and culture take part in the competitive, non-competitive, and retrospective screenings of the Festival.

The purpose of the Tsiolkovsky ISFF is not only to present new films about space, but also to promote all areas of science and art, one way or another related to space, to strengthen the traditions of international dialogue between scientists and filmmakers to solve urgent problems of the development of modern science, culture and new technologies. In addition, the Festival carries an important educational mission on all issues related to the past, present and future of space research and space activities.

Goals and objectives of the Tsiolkovsky ISFF:

• the most complete presentation of the current state of the world cinematography related to space themes;
• demonstration of the best documentary and feature films about space, created both in Russia and abroad to the audience and the jury members. At retrospectives and special screenings, the audience will have the opportunity to watch the most famous films of domestic and foreign "space" cinema;
• the Tsiolkovsky ISFF may become a platform for live communication of creative people, scientists, as well as an exchange of projects and ready-made ideas in the field of space and "space" cinema;
• maintenance of a steady audience interest in film products related to space themes;
• a meeting of filmmakers with the audience of one of the most intensively developing regions of the country;
• the opportunity for filmmakers not only to effectively communicate with science, but also to transform scientific "space" ideas into something accessible and creative for a wide audience;
• to acquaint scientists with the world of cinema, to realize its creative potential and accessibility.

Tsiolkovsky ISFF SLOGAN: What is impossible today may be possible tomorrow (K.E. Tsiolkovsky, Self-made scientist who became the founder of modern astronautics)

Tsiolkovsky ISFF LOGO: The official logo of the Festival used in the festival symbols and official papers is a drawing by K.E. Tsiolkovsky from the "Album of Space Travel", which he created for the first Soviet science fiction film called "Space Flight."

The JURY of the Tsiolkovsky ISFF includes not only professional filmmakers, but also astronauts, as well as scientists from the space industry.

After an incredible edition last January with 8 Live Screenings at the Cine Tonala and Le Cinema IFAL and 30 Programs at Visiones Únicas, USD 5000 in Cash Prizes, 30 Q&A's with international artists, networking cocktails and all sold out sessions, SUBMISSIONS ARE NOW OPEN FOR THE NEW SEASON.

Mexico city is an icon of Latin American Independent Cinema and Mirada Corta presents the most outstanding films each season, inviting the audience to enjoy the diverse genres proposed in each competition: narrative, documentary, experimental, animation, horror, and comedy.

With a dedicated space for filmmakers, industry professionals, and special guests, the aim of MIRADA CORTA is to create an encounter that fosters creative and production possibilities in a relaxed and professional environment. It is an opportunity to establish connections within the framework of an independent red carpet.

Each screening is presented by moderators and concludes with Cast and Crew Q&A's sessions.

The jury is composed of filmmakers and distinguished film professionals: Percival Argüero Mendoza, a graduate of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and the Cinematographic Training Center, winner of the Silver Medal at the Academy Student Oscars; director Rommel Villa, winner of the Student Oscar; producer Chantal Rodríguez, recently nominated to the Ariel Awards and winner at the DOCSMX festival with her short film "El Viajero Subterráneo"; Alfredo Castruita from Los Angeles Film School, known for his feature film "POTOSÍ," winner as Best Mexican Film at the Guanajuato festival and three times nominee to the Ariel Awards; director and cinematographer Sergio Ruiz Velasco de Alba creator of the film "Longings yet to be" and young director Diego Sepulveda, former student at the École International de Création Audiovisuelle et Réalisation in Paris, the TISCH School of the Arts in New York, and the Academy of Arts in San Francisco. Completing the jury for 2023/2024 are Léa Soler, a young French filmmaker and director of the acclaimed short film "Corpúsculo," and Andrea Porras, a producer renowned for her work on "Sweet Potatoes", a Student Oscar winning film.

The jury will select the winners of each competition and award two prizes at the end of the festival to promote the production of short films:
Grand Jury Prize: USD 1500.
Young Promise Award: USD 1000.
Additionally, the audience will have the opportunity to vote and choose the "People's Choice Award," which will also receive a cash prize of USD 1000.

All filmmakers registered in the competition will receive, regardless of the results, a "Filmmaker Pass" for the festival with access to all screenings, Q&A sessions, conferences, red carpet events, photocall, and cocktails throughout the festival.

Welcome to Season Three! FOLKESTONE FILM FESTIVAL is an IMDb QUALIFYING FESTIVAL. We hold frequent screenings and accept submissions from around the world and you are welcome to be as experimental as you wish. We champion independent filmmakers with original ideas and good production values. Subtitles are encouraged but not compulsory. Our panel of filmmakers and vocational artists will endeavour to provide selected films with custom laurels and bespoke artworks.

IMDb link:
https://www.imdb.com/event/ev0073770/overview/?ref_=login


YouTube Channel:
https://youtube.com/@folkestonefilmfestival?si=D-ntZzi7Li9k0hEF

We look forward to celebrating your work!

We are an ongoing festival which holds regular indoor/outdoor screenings. We will notify all successful submissions via email and on our social media. Awards events are scheduled annually and you are invited to celebrate with us. Winners will receive custom laurels and bespoke artworks. Trophies are available at live events, we can send in the mail within the UK if you cover all costs involved.

Thanks to our sponsors 'A. Simmons, the Jewellers of the South East', and our Festival Partners BritFlicks & Kent Kino.

(in Spanish below)

In the heart of the historic San Lorenzo neighborhood in Rome, the Parrot Film Festival is a unique event dedicated to championing the spirit of independence. The festival’s logo, a colorful parrot, symbolizes pluralism and diversity, serving as a platform for bold and creative storytelling.

The festival takes place at the newly launched Parrot Cinema, a fresh cultural venue designed to be a haven for cinephiles, industry professionals, and videogame enthusiasts. Here, audiences will discover a curated selection of independent films from around the globe and dive into the world of independent videogames, pushing the boundaries of narrative and interactive art.

Whether you’re a film lover, a gamer, or an artist seeking inspiration, the Parrot Film Festival is an experience not to be missed. Join us in San Lorenzo, where ancient streets meet modern voices, and immerse yourself in stories that leave a lasting impression.

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En el corazón del histórico barrio de San Lorenzo, en Roma, el Parrot Film Festival es un evento único dedicado a celebrar el espíritu de independencia. El logotipo del festival, un loro de colores vivos, simboliza el pluralismo y la diversidad, sirviendo como una plataforma abierta para historias audaces y creativas.

El festival se lleva a cabo en el recién inaugurado Parrot Cinema, un espacio completamente nuevo diseñado como un punto de referencia para cinéfilos, profesionales de la industria y amantes de los videojuegos. Aquí, el público podrá disfrutar de una selección de películas independientes de todo el mundo y explorar el emocionante mundo de los videojuegos independientes, que empujan los límites del arte narrativo e interactivo.

Ya seas un amante del cine, un jugador o un artista buscando inspiración, el Parrot Film Festival es una experiencia que no te puedes perder. Únete a nosotros en San Lorenzo, donde las calles antiguas se encuentran con voces modernas, y vive historias que dejan una huella duradera

We are pleased to announce the opening of the call for entries for the film festival "Celebrate the World: Holidays in Film". This festival aims to explore and celebrate the diversity of festivities and rituals around the world through the art of cinema.

We are looking for films, documentaries and short films that capture the essence of celebrations and traditions from different cultures, showing how people from different regions of the world commemorate their most significant events. Whether it is a traditional festival, a vibrant carnival, an ancestral ritual or a religious holiday, we want your work to be part of this unique experience.

Second Edition of the International Fantastic Film Festival Noctámbulo – Madrid 2025

The International Fantastic Film Festival Noctámbulo, after a successful first edition held in a hybrid format (online and in-person), returns in 2025 to Madrid, aiming to establish itself as a must-attend event for enthusiasts of horror, fantasy, and science fiction.

This new installment features an exciting program designed to captivate both filmmakers and passionate audiences, including:

Exclusive screenings of feature films and short films competing internationally for the prestigious Noctámbulo Award.

Retrospectives of genre classics and world premieres, offering audiences a journey through timeless masterpieces alongside the most innovative works of the contemporary scene.

International competitions, recognizing excellence in categories such as Direction, Screenplay, and Short Film, promoting visibility for emerging and established creators alike.

Networking spaces, designed to facilitate connections between directors, producers, and distributors, fostering collaborations and deals to promote new projects.

Talks and panels with key figures of the genre, alongside a special section dedicated to B-movies, paying homage to this iconic style within the fantastic genre.

The Noctámbulo Festival 2025 aims to become a platform for emerging talent while celebrating the creativity of seasoned filmmakers, offering a unique experience for those who love diving into the mysteries, horrors, and extraordinary tales of cinema. An unmissable event for professionals in fantastic and horror cinema.

In the city of culture, art, and heritage. Yellowstone International Film Festival is dedicated to celebrating the world-class cinema. Yellowstone International Film festival is home to independent cinema from around the world.

YIFF puts filmmakers first and provides the opportunity for recognition and publicity for quality films and documentaries. Our aim is to be an advocate for filmmakers with a unique vision and to promote their work by showcasing it to a large audience. which is why our mission is to carefully consider and select a wide range of films to promote to the indie film-loving crowd.

YIFF will be a global adventure of the premiere, screenings, nightly red carpets, daring documentaries, eye-opening short films, We also focus films under special categories such as LGBTQ films, Women Empowerment films, environmental films, Students Films,

YIFF will be host to Opening & Closing Night Gale, Opening & Closing night Red Carpet , Press Interaction for participants, Official Portraits for nominated filmmakers, Festival Interviews of Nominated filmmakers, nightly parties, live music performances, filmmaker panels, award presentations, and an enhanced filmmaker hospitality program that includes city tours and more

We invite you to add your voice to the conversation. At YIFF, filmmakers are invited to the festival to participate in a variety of programs, Q&A sessions and a series of panel discussions, Press Conferences. masterclasses where filmmakers have the opportunity to discuss their work and careers with a new generation of content creators.

1) YIFF understands that independent films must get amplification. Two weeks before the festival begins, the YIFF PR team does Pre festival press release and post-festival press releases announcing winners.

2) We create numerous filmmaker's panels and masterclasses with industry professionals for filmmakers to take part in.

Open Call – International Experimental Film Festival 2025

The 3rd International Experimental Film Festival (IEFF) – 2025
organized by the Institute for Experimental Arts

“The future of film is female and experimental. We need to destroy and reconstruct cinema itself.” – Maya Deren

About the Festival The 3rd International Experimental Film Festival is an international encounter dedicated to experimental film art, announcing its call for submissions. The festival will take place in Greece, creating a dynamic space for screenings, installations, performances, conferences, film concerts, and workshops. The festival seeks to expand the possibilities of film beyond traditional formats and spaces, creating a zone of creative contagions between cinema and the visual arts, historical works and current production, analog and digital, filmmaking and critical thinking.

“I make films to prevent myself from disappearing. Each frame is an act of resistance against the prescribed narratives.” – Chantal Akerman

Our Vision of Experimental Cinema Experimental cinema is a free, radical, and purposeful cinema that responds to the aesthetic, political, or philosophical need to see and explore cinematic horizons, away from large industries and hegemonic formulas of creation. It is through experimental cinema that we find authentic ways to create audiovisual art.

“Experimental film is not just about breaking rules – it’s about proving those rules never really existed.” – Barbara Hammer

We celebrate a cinema that breaks the narrative, and most of all visual, bounds to which we’re used. A cinema that elaborates on film medium to its fullest, by including even the most extreme possibilities. A cinema that confronts, disrupts, and reimagines. As John Cage said it well: “an experimental action is one the outcome of which is not foreseen” – the cinema we’re looking for is a cinema of the unpredictable.

“The experimental is political. Every frame can be an act of rebellion.” – Agnès Varda

FESTIVAL MISSION

The 3rd IEFF continues to be the pioneering space in the exhibition of experimental content in cinema, which seeks to show excellence and innovation in the independent production of the film world. We celebrate aesthetic diversity, new narratives, and new media and formats; a program that reveals the complexity of social, cultural, and artistic phenomena. We understand experimental cinema as a divergent cinema that vanishes the boundaries with art, emphasizing the experimental modes of creation.

“In experimental cinema, we find the freedom to imagine different futures and to remember different pasts.” – Trinh T. Minh-ha

Special Focus for 2025

- Feminist Experimental Practices
- Gender and Technology
- Body Politics in Digital Age
- Queer Experimental Narratives
- Decolonial Experimental Cinema
- Eco-feminist Approaches to Film
- Cross-disciplinary Collaborations
- Digital/Analog Hybrid Works
- Experimental AR/VR Projects

ABOUT

The Institute The Institute for Experimental Arts was founded in 2008 in Athens, Greece as a non-profit platform of creative expression and research in the fields of theater, performance art, digital media, installation, poetry and art theory. The Institute is committed to existing as an open meeting point for poets-writers, directors, actors, theater engineers/technicians, performance artists, photographers, video artists and the writers who develop new analytical tools on contemporary art, media & communication.

CRITICAL DISCOURSE

The festival will always see the development of the cinematic language with critical thinking, regardless of the terms ‘cinema industry’ or independent cinema. For this reason, the 3rd IEFF will bring a critical discourse through curatorial programs, symposium, and public lectures to broaden the knowledge of the ever-changing cutting-edge cinema aesthetics.

“Cinema is not neutral. Experiment is our way to fight back.” – Sally Potter

SUBMISSION CATEGORIES

We accept all works that fit into the experimental film category and all its sub-genres including:

- Found footage
- Essay film
- Expanded cinema
- Experimental animation
- Abstract film
- Experimental documentary
- Video art
- Virtual reality
- Direct animation
- Any other experimental approaches

There are no genre, topic or length restrictions.

The 3rd IEFF features Avant-Garde and Experimental films of any length.

IMPORTANT REQUIREMENTS

+ All films with dialogue must have ENGLISH or GREEK subtitles
+ Submissions without subtitles will be considered incomplete
+ Films that have screened before are eligible

AWARDS

We believe in culture as a pluralistic and intangible value. The awards assigned by our diverse jury are purely symbolic. Selected films will be judged by an exceptional jury and seen by a vast audience of film lovers.

Golden Arrow Awards Categories

- Best Film
- Best Short Film
- Best Director
- Best Original Screenplay
- Best Music
- Best Performance
- Best Picture

Submission Deadlines and Fees Deadline:
August 15, 2025
Submission fee: 25 euro per video or media project
Program Announcement: October 2025

Contact Information For any questions: theinstitutecontact@gmail.com

RIGHTS

The International Experimental Film Festival reserves the right to use small portions and stills of accepted films for promotion of events.

We actively encourage submissions from women, non-binary, and gender non-conforming filmmakers, as well as creators from underrepresented communities. Our commitment to diversity extends to our jury selection and programming decisions.

“The revolution will be filmed experimentally.” – Su Friedrich

The 3rd International Experimental Film Festival is a project of the Institute for Experimental Arts, celebrating the radical potential of cinema to transform our understanding of art, society, and ourselves.

IMAXINARIA IS AN INTERNATIONAL ANIMATION FILM FESTIVAL THAT TAKES PLACE IN THE CITY OF A CORUÑA, SPONSORED BY AFUNDACIÓN

A project that seeks to promote and showcase non-commercial animated films to the general audience. The festival was also created as a meeting point for professionals in the animation industry, in which Galicia has a wide and recognized innovative tradition. The festival is directed by Matilde Rodríguez, curator of the International Exhibition of Contemporary Illustration (MiiC), and filmmaker Alberto Vázquez, a leading figure in current animation and winner of several national and international awards.


CULTURE X FOOD

IMAXINARIA is part of Afundación's "Culture for Food" programme. An initiative that appeals to the participation of citizens and gives answer to the call for solidarity of the local Food Banks. Therefore, the tickets to the festival are free in exchange for non-perishable food. This social commitment is also reflected in the festival's own contents.

La 24ª edición del Concurso de Cortometrajes de Rivas Vaciamadrid se realizará en Rivas Vaciamadrid (Madrid) del 12 al 22 de marzo de 2025.

4th Puno Film Festival - Hanan Cine: "We All Make Cinema"

The 4th Hanan Cine Festival is organized and promoted by the Puno Audiovisual Cultural Association, an initiative that aims to strengthen film production and diversification in the Puno region and nationally, while also establishing ties with neighboring Latin American countries.

In its fourth edition, the festival seeks to lay the foundations for an internationally recognized event, entering the important circuit of Andean Mountain festivals, and thus fostering the growth of emerging filmmakers.

Hanan Cine has become a space for filmmakers, critics, programmers, spectators, and, most importantly, new audiences to come together. Through decentralized activities and inclusive proposals, this great collective project continues to expand.

From Lake Titicaca, the highest navigable lake in the world, Hanan Cine will take place from December 7 to 14, 2024, in person, with virtual activities allowing audiences from various parts of the world to participate, reaffirming that cinema is a collective creation in which everyone can take part.