To students, university filmmakers, and young creators around the world:
It is with great excitement that we invite you to participate in the fifteenth edition of the LANTERNA International University Film Festival, which will take place on April 2026, at Universidad Anáhuac México, Campus Norte.
This is not just another year. We are celebrating fifteen years of giving voice to bold, powerful, and deeply human stories. Fifteen years of discovering new talent, of seeing the world through the lens of those who dare to express what they feel, live, and dream.
That’s why, for this special edition, we open our call to all university students who want to share their vision through cinema. You may submit short films of any genre, produced between 2024 and 2026, directed or created during your time as a student.
Our goal is to gather the best of contemporary university cinema—films that challenge, that move, that dare to experiment or embrace simplicity with honesty. Cinema made with passion, with limited resources but unlimited creativity. The kind of cinema that connects.
Participation is free and open to students from anywhere in the world. In the coming days, we’ll be publishing the full guidelines, categories, and submission forms on our official website and social media.
We would love to see your story be part of this edition that celebrates the past, present, and future of student filmmaking. And we can’t wait to share this journey with thousands of people who, like you, believe cinema can transform.
With admiration and hope,
Carlotta de Pompeis
Director
LANTERNA International University Film Festival
The 15th version of the Festival has as its central theme ¨Community Cinema as a generator of Social Change and Progress¨, the jury prioritizes content that has this focus, however the reception of audiovisual pieces is not closed exclusively to said theme, for Therefore, other types of content will be widely accepted.
¨Community cinema is not only an art form, but also a powerful tool to promote fundamental values of a progressive society, such as gender equality, social justice and citizen participation. It facilitates debate, plurality and solidarity, and offers a means of expression for the different groups and identities that make up the social, cultural and identity fabric of Colombia, at local, regional and national levels. ¨
It is for this reason that the Comuna 13 Film and Video Festival, The Other History in its 2025 version has decided to generate spaces for dialogue and exchange of knowledge around community cinema, encouraging the participation of the most prominent groups in the country in this modality in order to share experiences, methodologies and knowledge with the academic sector of our city (Audiovisual creation network, technical media, peace schools among others)
Asociación Cinematográfica Ajayu (Ajayu Film Association) in co-production with Sapa Inti Studio invites national and international filmmakers to participate in the 10th Ajayu International Animation Festiva,l to be held from November 26 to 29, 2025, in Puno, Peru.
Now celebrating ten years, Ajayu has become one of Peru’s leading festivals dedicated exclusively to animated cinema, as well as a vital space for the development, circulation and visibility of animated works from the southern Andean territories. Marking this milestone, the festival reaffirms its commitment to cultural decentralization by promoting a diverse, accessible, and identity-driven audiovisual industry.
This year’s central theme is “Peace Narratives”, a curatorial focus for part of the programming and will be highlighted in a special section in the general program. However, this theme is not a submission requirement, as the call welcomes animated works on any topic.
Ajayu continues to be a space for gathering, exhibition, and reflection on animation as an artistic language and a tool for social transformation. The selected works will be part of the festival’s official showcase and will actively contribute to a curatorial vision that celebrates ten years of legacy.
Algeciras Fantástika is a multidisciplinary cultural event specialized in matters of fantastic nature, suspense, terror and science fiction, organized by Algeciras City Council and the University of Cadiz.
The festival has been held for more than twenty years in the Russian Far East.
Amur Autumn is one of the region's major cultural events.
The festival includes two film competitions and one theatre competition.
Film Competitions
Feature Narrative Competition
Short Narrative Competition
Whenever possible, filmmakers are invited to attend the festival and present their films in person. The festival covers most of the participants' travel expenses.
Each competition is judged by an international professional jury.
Screenings take place in a cinema, where the jury watches the films together with the audience.
To be eligible for participation, films must have Russian Premiere status.
The festival's main award is the Amur Crane.
The Grand Prix in both film competitions also includes a cash prize.
Each year, the festival receives more than 1,000 submissions.
In accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation, films with LGBTQ-related themes cannot be screened at the festival.
In 2024, the Indian film The Unyielding Girl won the festival's top prize. Other award-winning films came from Russia, Chile, China, Turkey, France, Kazakhstan, Iran, and Switzerland.
In 2025, the Chinese film Strangers We Do Not Know won the award for Best Feature Film. Other prize-winning films came from Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Turkey, and South Korea.
The 2025 competition programmes featured 37 films from 21 countries.
Festival of Future Storytellers has been one of the most important festivals for young filmmakers worldwide since 1981. Each year, it offers young filmmakers from all over the world a platform for presenting their own short films and exchanging ideas about filmmaking. Each November, Munich becomes the focal point of up-and-coming international filmmaking — a place for lively exchange, networking, and discussion.
The short fiction, documentary, and animated films screened in international competition are eligible for valuable prizes, which are awarded by an independent festival jury. In addition, Festival of Future Storytellers presents a DACH Short Film Competition, in which short films from the DACH region will be programmed. An extensive supporting programme with panels and masterclasses complements the film programme.
Mal del Cap opens the call for entries for its XI International Short Film and New Narratives Festival
Ibiza, July 21, 2025.– The Ibizan cultural association Mal del Cap, Cultura Mal Dita has opened this Sunday the call for entries for short films to compete in the XI International Short Film and New Narratives Festival “Mal del Cap, Narratives Mal Dites”, which, on this occasion, will change its format and will take place between December 2025 and April 2026.
The submission period runs from July 21 to September 1, 2025, and is open to filmmakers from all over the world. Works must be submitted in digital format and can be fiction, documentary, or animation. Selected films will be screened during April 2026 in different cultural venues across the island.
“Once again, we are looking for bold stories and ways of storytelling that break the mold, works that connect with people and are not afraid to experiment,” says Pedro López, Vice President of Mal del Cap and co-director of the event. “This festival is an open space for free creativity, for sharing and networking among the most underground proposals on the international scene.”
Once again, this festival —which started in 2014 and is one of the longest-running in the Pityusic Islands— features several competitive sections that will award 1,000 euros in prizes across the different categories: the Official Short Film Competition Section, the Youth Short Film Competition Section –awarded by young students from Ibiza–, the Sebas Parra Award for the best socially themed short –courtesy of the association La Guerrilla Comunicacional from Girona–, the Malalt Award –reflecting the wildest spirit of the association–, the Best Short Film in Catalan Award, and the Audience Award.
For more information about the rules, technical requirements, and entry forms, interested participants can visit the official website www.maldelcap.com or email info@maldelcap.com.
The “TEATRO D’EUROPA DON FERDINANDO RENZULLI” Cultural Association, under the patronage of the Municipality of Cesinali, announces the 3rd edition of the FESTIVAL CORTO D’AUTORE CITTA’ DI CESINALI – DON FERDINANDO RENZULLI AWARD, to be held on September 12 and 13, 2026, at the Teatro d’Europa in Cesinali (AV).
Our mission is to promote the talent of emerging young filmmakers within the Italian, European, and international film scenes, with the goal of blending culture, local heritage, and tourism, while paying particular attention to innovations in the field of cinema, including those supported by new technological tools.
The call for entries is open to short films of any theme and genre. It ranges from drama to comedy to thrillers, and so on. Stories may be fictional, adaptations, or inspired by real events, as well as documentaries or reportages of any genre.
Curtas Vila do Conde – International Film Festival is one of the most prestigious film festivals in Portugal, reaching its 34th edition in 2026.
The festival will be held from 17th to 26th July 2026 and its main objective is the promotion of audiovisual and film production, selected according to quality criteria, at an event which focuses not only on the discovery of new films and directors, but also on the legacy of cinema.
Fiction, animation, documentary, and experimental films, as well as music videos, no longer than 60 minutes (unless otherwise noted), produced in 2025 or 2026 are eligible for the various competitions.
Out-of-competition programmes will highlight not only a selection of worldwide contemporary short films but also the relations between shorts and features, music and film, or art and cinema.
About the Festival
accordi @ DISACCORDI – International Short Film Festival welcomes films and filmmakers from around the world with the aim of sharing the art of independent short filmmaking with local audiences, inspiring and engaging festival attendees, providing filmmakers with opportunities for professional networking and artistic development, and promoting cultural tourism and the growth of the film industry in Naples and the Campania Region.
Designed with audiences in mind, accordi @ DISACCORDI showcases a carefully curated selection of high-quality films spanning every genre of the seventh art—from comedy and drama to animation, documentaries, experimental cinema, art films, and music videos.
In addition to film screenings, the Festival offers a rich programme of filmmaker talks, Q&A sessions, workshops, laboratories, exhibitions, seminars, and conferences. Admission to all cultural events is free of charge, reflecting the Festival's commitment to making cinema an accessible and engaging experience for everyone.
The 23rd edition of accordi @ DISACCORDI – International Short Film Festival will take place in Naples, Italy, from November 9 to 15, 2026.
Submit your film for the opportunity to be selected for screening at the Festival and compete for one of the official awards, including a commemorative acrylic or wooden plaque.
Around International Awards ✈ Barcelona ✈ Paris ✈ Amsterdam ✈ Berlin.
Annual Independent event with 4 major programs for all Features, Shorts, Documentaries, Experimental, Commercial, Music Video, Animations, Student Films, TV, Series, and New Media. The international community evaluates the all-genre creations to serve ARFF Official Laurels and to certify the awarded filmmakers at the end of the annual festival run. Thus, all the ARFF Finalists will be mentioned multiple times to have the best out of the entire year altogether. Submit today to participate in all 4 programs, regarding the unique system of ARFF International.
Submissions made via Festhome are getting evaluated and selected, directly for the yearly festival run and participating in the Official Certificate Program exclusively. Monthly selection is available on other associated platforms. Regarding the Unification Program of ARFF International, all 4 editions will gather at Amsterddam November/December 2024, till then Barcelona, Paris & Berlin editions will take place online.
See you Around & Fest Regards
The festival will take place in Alicante from December 9 to 13, 2025.
Only short films produced exclusively with a smartphone will be accepted.
Both national and international short films are eligible to participate.
The theme is open to all genres and subjects.
We conceive IBZCF as a window into contemporary cinema, its new trends and creators who contribute new narrative paths to create vibrant, necessary, and modern films.
The 11th edition of IBZCF will take place in 10 venues across the island's five municipalities and online on the Filmin platform. Ibizacinefest renews its commitment to Ibiza and its culture through a program of national and international titles never before seen on the island, exclusive premieres in the Balearic Islands and Spain, activities aimed at professionals, short film sections to discover and promote local and Balearic talent, and our educational program with special screenings to create new audiences.
Reflection will also be given space through open discussions on the relationship between cinema and various current sociocultural issues.
Short films are once again the focus of IBZCF, once again as a qualifier for the Premios Goya,Forqué Awards, and the Fugaz Awards, collaborating once again with the European Film Academy on the Shortfilms on Tour program.
Xavi Herrero
Director and programmer IBZCF2-European Film Academy Member
The Xypher Film Festival is a global showcase celebrating bold short films and emerging storytellers from around the world. We provide a free, accessible platform for filmmakers to share their work, gain visibility, and connect with an audience that values fresh perspectives.
Selected films are premiered on our official YouTube channel and promoted across social media, with opportunities to win audience-voted and curated awards.
All genres, styles, and languages are welcome.
Submissions are now open for another edition of the Primeiro Plano Film Festival of Juiz de Fora and Mercocities.
You can submit your short film to the festival's competitive sections until July 31.
The Regional Competition is open to filmmakers from Juiz de Fora and the surrounding region. The Mercocities Competition is dedicated to first-time directors from across Brazil and South American countries.
In addition to screening selected films, the festival continues to encourage new productions and strengthen the independent audiovisual sector.
The festival takes place in November and features a diverse programme including film screenings, workshops, panel discussions, networking events, and special activities for both audiences and filmmakers.
Follow our social media channels to stay up to date with all the latest news about this year's edition.
Submit your film and become part of the history of Primeiro Plano Film Festival!
FRONTERA SUR, International Non-Fiction Film Festival, is a non-competitive event that exhibits a set of cinematographic, Chilean, Latin American and worldwide works related to the concept of non-fiction cinema.
The seventh edition of the FRONTERA SUR Festival will take place from May 26 to 30, 2026, in the Concepción city, Biobío Region, southern Chile.
The "MIRA" LGBT+ Short Film Festival is a cultural and social initiative that seeks to raise visibility and celebrate sexual and gender diversity through the narrative power of cinema. Held annually in Alzira, the festival provides a platform for both emerging and established filmmakers and producers, from Spain and around the world, who explore LGBT+ themes, promoting dialogue, empathy, and understanding in society.
Our goal is to create a safe and enriching space where LGBT+ stories can be told, recognized, and appreciated, contributing to the fight against discrimination and to the building of a more inclusive society.
The BELLAVISTA FILM FESTIVAL (BVFF) 2025 #BVFF25 seeks to inspire, empower, and unify our audience through cinematographic art of social impact.
The festival is a space in which the community and cinema converse through cinematographic works of art selected with great artistic value and a theme of representative and relevant social impact. Thus promoting social impact cinema as a tool to stimulate critical thinking and motivate social action to catalyze agents of change in their communities and beyond.
The BVFF will be held as an itinerant festival, bringing its screenings to the following cities:
- Cartagena, Bolívar, Colombia
- Cali, Valle del Cauca, Colombia
- Los Ángeles, California, USA
- Panamá City, Panamá
- México City, México
- Medellín, Antioquia, Colombia
- Bogotá D.C., Colombia
As a development of a social project for cultural growth, the festival seeks to promote exhibition spaces for the curated works, in addition to movie theaters, cinematheques and cultural institutions, also in neighborhood and rural locations and on an itinerant basis in representative cultural spaces in the rest of the country and Latin America.
We trust in the power of cinema as a commitment to social transformation and high-quality cultural reflection.
The second edition of the CORTONAOS FF La Palma International Short Film Festival will take place from August 3rd to 9th in the coastal town of Puerto de Naos. This initiative aims to raise awareness about respecting the ocean and the biosphere it harbors through audiovisual media. The festival's official selection will award prizes for the best national and international short film (including all short films submitted from outside the Canary Islands) and the best Canarian short film (for films shot in the Canary Islands).
