Biencortos | Festival Internacional de Cine Corto de Maracaibo (4)

Festival start: 16 September 2025      Festival end: 19 September 2025

Biencortos was born in Maracaibo | Venezuela in 2022, as an annual showcase for regional and national productions. In its third year, in 2024, the organization led by the Proyecto Gaveta collective decides to experience ambitious growth, expanding its horizons and transforming itself into an event of greater scope.

This leap marks the beginning of a new stage for Biencortos, which seeks to consolidate itself as a platform of reference for independent cinema nationally and internationally. The festival aims to be a meeting place for filmmakers and productions worldwide, promoting the creation and dissemination of short films as a form of artistic and cultural expression.

The festival also offers parallel activities, such as workshops, talks, and special events, that promote the exchange of experiences and knowledge among film professionals and the general public. It is also conceived as a space for the community, where film lovers can enjoy a quality program and participate in various activities that can develop the region, boost the local film industry, and attract cultural tourism.

“Shorts = Cinema” sums up the essence of Biencortos—the short film as a form of artistic and cultural expression as valid as the feature film. The festival seeks to support the value of short films and position them as powerful tools for telling stories, reflecting realities, and generating opinions.

The festival will award the following main prizes: Puentes Award for Best International Short Film, Lagos Award for Best National Short Film, Relámpagos Award, and Audience Award.

The following categories will also be awarded: Best Screenplay, Best Direction, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction, Best Editing, Best Sound, and Best Music in the Puentes and Lagos Section, and Best Performance, Best Choreography and Best Artistic Direction in the Relámpagos Section.

BIENCORTOS | INTERNATIONAL SHORT FILM FESTIVAL is organized by the audiovisual collective Proyecto Gaveta and establishes the city of Maracaibo in Venezuela as the epicenter of its 2025 edition.

1. The theme for the 2025 edition will explore the complexity of human movement through stories of migration, diaspora, travel, and distances. It will focus on borders, farewells, encounters, and misencounters as a cause or result of war, social, economic, religious, or natural conflicts.

2. The festival will consist of three competitive sections formed by the official selection of the festival: "Puentes" International Selection, "Lagos" National Selection, and "Relámpagos" Mixed Selection.

3. The festival will be composed of a non-competitive exhibition made up of productions that were not part of the official selection of the different competitive sections of the festival: "Bien Cortos"

4. In the Puentes and Lagos competitive sections, the accepted formats are Fiction and Non-fiction. In the Relámpagos competitive section, the accepted formats are Dance Video, Music Video, and Experimental Video. In the non-competitive section Bien Cortos, all formats are accepted: Fiction, Non-fiction, Dance Video, Music Video, and Experimental Video.

5. Short films must have a maximum duration of 20 minutes for the Puentes and Lagos sections and a maximum duration of 10 minutes for the Relámpagos section.

6. Short films may be submitted in any language. The short film must be subtitled in Spanish or english if it is not in Spanish.

7. All filmmakers may participate in the festival, regardless of nationality, age, genre, or previous experience. Filmmakers are not limited in the number of projects they wish to submit.

8. Registration is free for Venezuelan productions. International productions have a registration fee of $6 for the Puentes section and $4 for the Relámpagos section.

All entries will be made through the Festhome online platform from Thursday, March 13 through Sunday, July 13, 2025.

9. Venezuelan productions are considered to be all those filmed totally or partially in Venezuela with Venezuelan directors and screenwriters or residents in the national territory, or filmed completely outside the country but with Venezuelan directors and screenwriters.

10. The short films will be pre-selected by the festival's organizing committee made up of professionals from the audiovisual sector. The selected short films will be screened in the competitive sections of the festival (Puentes: International, Lagos: National, and Relámpagos: International/National). The short films not selected will be considered for the non-competitive section of the festival (Bien Cortos).

11. The festival's awards jury will be composed of recognized professionals in the national and international film industry.

12. The festival will award the following main prizes: Puentes Award for Best International Short Film, Lagos Award for Best National Short Film, Relámpagos Award, and Audience Award.

The following categories will also be awarded: Best Screenplay, Best Direction, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction, Best Editing, Best Sound, and Best Music in the Puentes and Lagos Section, and Best Performance, Best Choreography and Best Artistic Direction in the Relámpagos Section.

13. The calendar for the 2025 edition of Biencortos will be composed as follows: Call for entries (13/03/2025), deadline date (13/07/2025), Notification date (15/08/2025), and Festival date (16/09/2025 | 19/09/2025).

14. Participation in the festival implies full acceptance of these rules.

15. If you have any questions or doubts, please get in touch with the festival by e-mail at biencortos@gmail.com or by phone at +584246377282.