Festival start: 15 September 2025
Festival end: 20 September 2025
The ELCO 2025 Competition
Discover the competition categories and everything you need to know to submit your film to ELCO 2025: A festival that opens borders, reaching 6 countries and 16 cities.
The ELCO Film Festival classifies aspiring works into three sections, aiming to showcase the talent competing with their diverse works in the festival. We'll award feature films, short films, and music videos in our 13th ELCO edition.
In the feature film section, we'll award categories for fiction, documentary, and animation in a single competition for Venezuela. Likewise, in Argentina, Colombia, Spain, the USA, and the Dominican Republic, we'll exclusively award the best fiction feature film from each country, respectively. These latter winners will then compete for the "Best Foreign Film ELCO 2025" award.
Similarly, in the short film section in Venezuela, we'll award fiction, documentary, and animation. And specifically to encourage local production, within the same short film section, for the first time we'll award the best short film from each Venezuelan region. This means this year we'll specially recognize local talent from the venues in Caracas, Maracaibo, Calabozo, Ciudad Bolívar, Ciudad Guayana, Mérida, Margarita, Lechería, and La Victoria. In Argentina, Colombia, Spain, the USA, and the Dominican Republic, we'll also award the best fiction short film from each country, respectively.
In a different approach, the music video section will award the best international ELCO music video, a competition where all competitors from ELCO 2025 countries will meet and be judged.
01 The Organization.
The East Between Long and Short Film Festival Foundation organizes and produces the East Between Long and Short Film Festival ELCO and the VOD ELCO platform
02 Who can participate?
The contest is open to Venezuelans residing or not in the country and to filmmakers from Spanish-speaking countries (Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Spain, Guatemala, Equatorial Guinea, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua , Panama, Uruguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic) excluding the employees and representatives of the foundation or the Entre Largos y Cortos Oriente Film Festival. Participation in the contest implies acceptance of these bases in their entirety, the rules of conduct, as well as the laws, regulations and other applicable legislation in Venezuela. Therefore, the Regulation applies to any Entrant who enters the contest.
03 How to register?
Applicants to the categories feature film, New Cinema, Regional, Documentary, Animated, Venezuelans abroad, as well as Hispanic-speaking feature films and all short films, series, Videoclip, Extreme Sports and Adventure must request the registration form through our email elcoriente@gmail.com, which will be available from the opening of the call. The form must be filled out following the indications of the same. Finally, you must send the completely filled form to our email elcoriente@gmail.com and wait for the confirmation message of your pre-registration in a time no longer than 24 hours.
04 Sending the material.
After receiving the pre-registration confirmation message, you will have until the closing date of the call to send the material to the contest, through Wetransfer or any available medium that supports the material to be sent, and thus be able to be fully registered.
The material sent must contain:
1. Minimum HD format trailer
2. Making of, minimum HD format (if you have one)
3. Soundtrack (if you have one)
4. Movie, minimum in HD format
5. Minimum 7,000 Kbps
6. Poster in png at least 300 DPI
7. Photograph of the director minimum 300 DPI
8. Photographs After Camera at least 300 DPI
9. Correctly filled out printed registration form
You must wait for confirmation that the material has been received. The absence of any of the requested elements may be causal that the work does not enter the pre-selection process.
05 Duration of Material.
The registered works must have a duration between:
FEATURE FILMS: 60 minutes to a maximum of 170 minutes.
SHORT FILMS: from 1 minute to 30 minutes.
HALF METRAJES: those that go from 30 minutes to 45 minutes will be considered.
VIDEOCLIP: duration no longer than 5 minutes.
VIDEO OF EXTREME SPORTS AND ADVENTURE DURATION: duration no longer than 35 minutes
SERIES: Pilot with no set time, First chapter duration no more than 35 minutes
The preselection committees, in agreement of their members, may allow the entry of a work that exceeds the times stated in this article.
06 Validity of the Material.
The registered works must have been carried out in the twenty-four (24) months prior to the celebration of the festival. The pre-selection committee may take into account those works that have not been able to participate in past editions of the festival due to restrictions on their participation in international festivals.
07 Preselection.
The works aspiring to the REGIONAL FEATURE FILM, NEW FILM, DOCUMENTARY and SHORT FILM, SERIES, VIDEO CLIP, EXTREME SPORTS AND ADVENTURE VIDEO categories must go through a pre-selection process carried out by a committee of specialists appointed by the Festival organization. The works aspiring to the FICTION FEATURE FILM category will be selected by a committee made up of representatives of public and private companies directly related to national cinema. The official selection will be published on our FANPAGE on Facebook and our social networks.
08 Jury.
The jury will be made up of professionals in the area, who will evaluate each work and issue their choice in writing. The announcement of the winners will take place during the closing ceremony of the Festival.
09 Categories in competition.
The ELCO Film Festival presents a group of categories where each applicant registered and was accepted in the pre-selection process. These applicants will be within the categories:
1. Venezuelan Feature Film: Fiction, New Cinema, Regional, Animated, Documentary or Venezuelans abroad,
2. Hispanic Feature Film: Fiction, Documentary and Animated.
3. Venezuelan short films: Fiction, Regional, New Cinema, University, Documentary, Animation. Venezuelans abroad.
4. Hispanic Short Films: Fiction, Documentary, Animaci
Feature Film: New Filmmakers (Venezuela Only)
Feature Films >60'
Fee-8%
Standard10$9.2$
30 Jun 25
Late15$13.8$
05 Aug 25
Submissions deadline
05 Aug 25
Save up
0.8$
Submit
Short Films and Video Clips (Venezuela Only)
Short Films >1' 30'<
Fee-8%
Standard7$6.44$
30 Jun 25
Late10$9.2$
05 Aug 25
Submissions deadline
05 Aug 25
Save up
0.56$
Submit
Feature Films (Allied Countries Only)
Feature Films >60'
Standard Fee15$ -8% 13.8$
Submissions deadline
05 Aug 25
Save up
1.2$
Submit
Ficción:
Películas de ficción dirigidas y/o producidas por ciudadanos o residentes de Argentina, Rep. Dominicana, Colombia, España, EEUU.
Short Films (Allied Countries Only)
Short Films >1' 30'<
Standard Fee10$ -8% 9.2$
Submissions deadline
05 Aug 25
Save up
0.8$
Submit
Ficción:
Cortometrajes de ficción dirigidos y/o producidos por ciudadanos o residentes de Argentina, Rep. Dominicana, Colombia, España, EEUU que serán premiados tras competir en la sede a la que pertenezca, según su lugar de residencia o habitación.
Festhome holds accountable fees festivals by holding the payment of the fees of most newer festivals until they have viewed the submissions, held their festivals and other methods.
-8%
Festhome holds accountable fees festivals by holding the payment of the fees of most newer festivals until they have viewed the submissions, held their festivals and other methods. 