Farcume: Festival Internacional de Curtas-metragens de Faro (16)

Festival start: 16 October 2026      Festival end: 18 October 2026

"In an era of global tension, humor is not an escape—it is the most sophisticated tool we have for critical thought and social transformation."
FARCUME 2026: The 16th Faro International Short Film Festival

After five years of unprecedented growth, FARO 1540 (Association for the Defense and Promotion of Environmental and Cultural Heritage of Faro) is proud to announce the 16th edition of FARCUME. The festival will return to the heart of Faro, Portugal, from October 16 to 18, 2026, solidifying its reputation as a truly international and cosmopolitan cultural landmark.

Our mission remains steadfast: to provide a launchpad for new talent and to bring high-quality works to the public that often lack the mainstream promotion they deserve. Within our signature relaxed and informal atmosphere, FARCUME honors the creativity and dedication of directors, actors, and technical teams who achieve cinematic excellence through modest means.

The 2026 Theme: Humor as a Way of Thinking the World

This year, FARCUME explores the concept of laughter as a sophisticated critical language. In a time of overlapping environmental, social, and political crises, humor serves as a bridge. It allows us to:

Deconstruct dominant narratives and social norms.

Bridge the gap between complex issues like sustainability and public understanding.

Dialogue through satire, irony, and the absurd to reveal the contradictions of our time.

More than just a momentary laugh, we are seeking films in Fiction, Documentary, and Animation that use humor as a device for reflection—works that make the world more legible and, ultimately, more human.

Commitment to Ethics and the Environment

As an Environmental NGO, FARO 1540 ensures that FARCUME is more than just a screen for films; it is a platform for values. The festival maintains a strict ethical stance, rejecting any content that encourages environmental disrespect, human rights inequality, or animal abuse.

Furthermore, we are implementing a specialized Environmental Management Plan for 2026 to optimize resources and minimize waste, ensuring the festival's footprint is as responsible as the stories we tell.

Join us in Faro to celebrate cinema that educates, provokes, and mobilizes—without ever losing its lightness.

For more information, visit our official page: www.facebook.com/farcume

3 prizes awarded in each category.

16th FARCUME: FARO´S INTERNATIONAL SHORT-FILM FESTIVAL

REGULATION

1. FARO 1540 - Association for the Defense and Promotion of Faro’s Cultural and Environmental Heritage, organizes the 16th Faro’s International Short-Film Festival (FARCUME), to be held from 9 to 11 October 2026 in Faro (Algarve - Portugal);

2. Participation in the Festival implies full acceptance of the conditions listed in this Regulation and the authorization to use the work(s) in this Festival and in future editions, in Farcume’s extensions, promotions and any exhibitions and publications;

3. All Portuguese or foreign people can participate in this short-film festival, either individually or in groups;

4. Only short-films that have never been displayed in previous editions of FARCUME can participate;

5. Contestants can submit short movies in the following categories: a) Animation b) Documentary c) Fiction;

6. The central theme for this 16th edition is "Humor". FARCUME will highlight and prioritize works that utilize humor as a vehicle or "weapon" to address and reflect upon the challenges and issues of the contemporary world;

7. Each competitor can participate in different categories to a maximum of 3 works per category;

8. The organization of FARCUME according to the type and quality of the short movies received can create the category "World Cinema". This extra category aims to display works that have signed up in the categories b) and c) and show the identity, trends, characteristics, customs and traditions of a country, city or region;

9. Each short-film can’t exceed 18 minutes;

10. The enrollment in FARCUME should be formalized until July 31, 2026.

11. Under no circumstance there will be a refund of the registration fee, including cases where payment has been made erroneously by ignorance of this Regulation and cases where movies were not selected for display.

12. Short-films may be sent by mail, via online platforms where FARCUME is registered, or via the Internet;

13. Should be sent:

o Registration form, duly completed and signed;
o Director Declaration and Autorization;
o Work(s) synopsis;
o Work(s) trailer;
o Poster (optional): Even though the work is sent via online platform, the posters should be sent by mail and may be sent after the competitor know that is work was selected in accordance with section 15 of this Regulation;
o Declaration of the copyright owner (producer or director) of the work(s) accepting the conditions of this Regulation and authorizing the use of the work(s) at the Festival, in its future editions, in its extensions, promotions, exhibitions and publications, but with the authors’ knowledge.

14. Movies sent by Internet, should be used the online platforms where Farcume is registered (Fiesthome).

15. The short-films received will be submitted to a pre-selection, by the organization, and the competitor will be notified by email, until the 31th of July, if the work was selected;

16. The Jury for each category will be composed of 3 elements;

17. The public can vote for their favorite short-film in each category;

18. From the final decision, made by the vote of the jury and the public, there can be no appeal;

19. There will be 4 prizes awarded in each category;

20. It will also be awarded the extra award "very short". For this extra award will compete all the works in categories a), b) and c) that have up to 4 minutes;

21. The Jury, according to the quality of the works presented, may or may not assign any of the prizes;

22. The prizes mentioned above are diplomas and other symbolic prizes received from the partnerships established for this edition of FARCUME;

23. All the short-films received for the Festival, which have been selected for display or not, will not be delivered back to the competitors, becoming part of the estate of the Festival, the organization will not use them for commercial purposes;

24. The short-films, with a distinct language of Portuguese should preferably, have captions/subtitles in Portuguese;

25. Given the principles and objectives of the organizer of FARCUME, this festival should not be associated with short-films that invoke or encourage disrespect for the environment, human rights inequality, or animal abuse;

26. The Festival organization has the right to make changes to the management, alignment, location and date of the festival whenever deemed necessary and decide on any unforeseen issue inherent to FARCUME.

27. In exceptional circumstances, the organization may exhibit works that do not fully comply with the present Rules;

28. The organization intends to accomplish during the Festival an exhibition with the selected short-films posters;

29. In case of doubt, those interested can request any clarifications until 31th of July 2026 to: faro1540@gmail.com