Corto e Cultura Film Festival (19)

Festival start: 24 July 2026      Festival end: 25 July 2026

Stories of sea, life, and cinema.

At the Corto e Cultura Film Festival, cinema comes alive among the ancient walls of Manfredonia and the Gargano sea: shorts and documentaries that tell stories of the world, emotions, and people—with poetry, humor, and heart.

Every screening is a journey: stories of life, love, challenges, dreams, and landscapes that speak about us. A festival where the audience is not a passive spectator, but a protagonist: they applaud, reflect, laugh, and decide the Audience Award.

The competition includes several sections:

Narrative Shorts – life stories, emotions, and small and great gestures that reveal the human experience.
Short Documentaries – authentic perspectives on the world, blending reality and poetry.
Environmental / Green – ecology, sustainability, territory, climate change.
Territorial / Local – works connected to the festival’s territory.
Animations – imagination and creativity to explore social and cultural themes.
Debut Works – innovative, experimental pieces dedicated to emerging talents.
International

Organized by Angeli, founded by Anna Rita, the festival supports young artists, celebrates the territory, and brings cinema beyond borders: submissions come from Italy, Europe, and America, confirming Corto e Cultura’s international vocation.
For info and submissions: www.cortoecultura.com
– info@cortoecultura.it

Come to Manfredonia, listen to the sea, experience cinema. Here, stories come alive.

Best Film
Best Short Film – Sea Stories
Best Short Film – Immigration
Best Short Film – “Woman, Violence and Life”
Best Short Film – Local Territory
Best Director
Best Cinematography
Best Editing
Best Special Effects / VFX
Best Music
Best Actor
Best Actress
Best Supporting Actor
Best Supporting Actress
Best Social Short Film
Best Documentary Short Film
Best School Short Film
Best Horror Short Film
Best Action Short Film
Best Thriller Short Film
Best Comedy Short Film
Best Drama Short Film
Best Documentary Short Film
Best Spiritual Short Film
Best Animated Short Film
Emerging Director Award
Best Unproduced Screenplay

The Corto e Cultura Film Festival honors outstanding independent cinema with unique awards crafted by master artisans from the Puglia region. Each prize is an artwork that embodies history, creativity, and the cultural identity of our territory.

Riccardo Armature Medievali – Handcrafted Mini Medieval Armor
An exclusive award created by Riccardo Armature Medievali, a craftsman specializing in historically accurate reconstructions of 15th-century Italian armor.
Features: historical accuracy, handmade metalwork, meticulous detailing, unique piece created for the festival.

Ceramica dell’Angelo – Kantharos
Awards inspired by ancient Daunian culture (7th–4th century BC), handmade and hand-painted.
Decorations: stylized human figures, spirals, geometric motifs, primordial symbols.
Prizes include: Daunian ceramic stelae, original artistic works, hand-decorated pieces.

Official Printed Certificate
Produced on premium paper and personalized with the winner’s name, award category, film title, artistic direction signature, and festival seal.

Digital Certificate
Delivered in high resolution, perfect for portfolios, websites, press kits, and social media promotion.

Official Festival Laurel
The official laurel, authorized for promotional use on posters, trailers, digital materials, and award announcements.

Awards That Tell a Story
The prizes of the Corto e Cultura Film Festival are not simple trophies. They are works of art, living testimonies of Puglia’s cultural heritage, created to honor those who bring new stories to the screen.

OFFICIAL REGULATIONS – 19th EDITION

1. ORGANIZERS

The 19th edition of the Corto e Cultura Film Festival is organized by the cultural and social promotion association Angeli of Manfredonia (FG), Italy.

2. OBJECTIVES

The Festival aims to promote, through cinema, poetry, culture, and the arts, the enhancement of both local and national territories.

3. FESTIVAL DATES

The 19th edition will take place in 25-24 July 2026 in Manfredonia (FG). Venue and schedule will be announced in due time on the website www.cortoecultura.com and through the press.

4. COMPETITION

4.1 Short Film Section – “Corto e Cultura Film Festival Award 2026”
a) Submissions are open to any cinematic genre, in Italian or in any other language with Italian subtitles. Each participant may submit up to two short films. Works previously screened or awarded in other festivals are allowed, provided they have not participated in previous editions of the Corto e Cultura Film Festival.

b) Eligible works may be produced in any format or technique, with a maximum duration of 30 minutes, and must have been completed on or after January 1, 2020.

c) Themes may include:

– Free Theme
– Legality
– Women: violence, life, and personal rebirth
– Stories of Land and Sea
– Immigration and Human Rights
– Crisis, Youth, and Work

d) Submission requires payment of an entry fee. The participation fee does not guarantee selection or the assignment of any award.

e) Screening links must be sent via email by 25/05/2026 to info@cortoecultura.com. Expiring links (e.g., WeTransfer) will not be accepted. Permanent links (Vimeo, Google Drive, YouTube, OneDrive) are mandatory.
The same email must include:

– the completed and signed “Short Film Entry Form”;
– a folder containing at least two stills from the short film (jpg format);
– a folder containing the director’s biography/filmography and a synopsis of the short film (5–10 lines) in .doc format, font “Calibri (Body)”, size 18.

f) Each author is responsible for the content of the work and for the use of copyrighted music, unless original music is used. The author also declares that the work contains no defamatory content.

4.2 Screenplay Section – “Corto e Cultura Film Festival 2026”

a) Submissions are open to all unpublished screenplays written in Italian and/or in the original language with an Italian translation. Each participant may submit one or two screenplays. Works previously submitted or awarded in other competitions are allowed, provided they have not participated in previous editions of the Corto e Cultura Film Festival.

b) Submission requires payment of an entry fee. The participation fee does not guarantee selection or the assignment of any award.

c) Screenplays must be sent via email in .doc format, up to a maximum of ten pages, to info@cortoecultura.com.
The same email must include:

– the completed and signed “Screenplay Section Entry Form”;
– a file containing the synopsis of the screenplay (5–10 lines) in .doc format, font “Calibri (Body)”, size 18.
(Submission deadline: 25/05/2026.)

d) The theme is free.

e) The winner of the 1st Prize must present the content of the screenplay verbally in a maximum of 5 minutes.

f) Each author is responsible for the content of the work and declares that it contains no defamatory material.

5. PRESELECTION AND SELECTION

a) All submitted works will be preselected by a committee composed of the organizers and members of the Angeli association.

b) Selected short films and screenplays will be published in a list on the website www.cortoecultura.com..

c) The authors of selected short films will be contacted by the organizers, who will communicate the date and time of the screening.

6. FESTIVAL AWARDS

The jury will assign the following awards and/or recognitions:

– Best Film
– Best Short Film “Stories of the Sea”
– Best Short Film on Immigration
– Best Short Film “Women, Violence, and Life”
– Best Short Film of the Territory
– Best Direction
– Best Cinematography
– Best Editing
– Best Music
– Best Actor
– Best School Short Film
– Best Short Film on Legality
– Best Unpublished Screenplay (awarded to the top 3 screenplays)

The jury reserves the right to assign additional awards or special mentions beyond those listed, should any works demonstrate particular artistic merit.
Submitting a work to a specific category does not imply that, if selected, it will be awarded exclusively in that category: the jury may assign a different recognition according to its unquestionable artistic judgment.

7. GENERAL RULES

a) The jury may assign one or more awards, mentions, or special prizes.

b) Awards will be delivered exclusively to winners who are physically present at the final ceremony. The Festival does not ship physical awards by mail.

c) For reasons of force majeure or organizational improvements, the regulations and/or dates may be modified, with notice published on www.cortoecultura.com..

d) Participation in the Competition implies full acceptance of these Regulations.

e) For information: info@cortoecultura.com – Tel. +39 338 3422887