Festival Internacional De Cortometraje UVAQ (19)

Festival start: 03 June 2026      Festival end: 11 June 2026

The Festival Internacional de Cortometraje UVAQ (FICUVAQ) invites filmmakers, audiovisual creators, students and independent directors from Mexico and around the world to participate in its 19th Edition.

The curatorial axis of this edition is Feel Good Movies, understood as a cinematic exploration of stories that connect with audiences through empathy, sensitivity and humanity. It is not limited to optimistic narratives or happy endings, but to works that find emotional resonance, closeness or meaning in the human experience.

Cash Prizes: 1,100$

Total prize pool: $25,000 MXN

• Best Fiction Short Film – $5,000 MXN
• Best Documentary Short Film – $5,000 MXN
• Best Animated Short Film – $5,000 MXN
• Best Poetry Film – $5,000 MXN
• Best University Short Film – Michoacán – $5,000 MXN

The awards will be granted to the person registered as the rights holder of the film and are subject to applicable tax regulations. The jury may grant honorary mentions or declare prizes void.

If the winner resides outside the festival’s host city, the shipping costs of the statuette will be covered by the winner.

CATEGORIES

Each short film must be submitted to one category only:

• Fiction Short Film
Narrative fiction works that develop imagined worlds, characters, and situations. The selection will consider proposals from genres such as comedy, drama, dramedy, coming-of-age, or road movie, which engage with the curatorial theme Feel Good Movies through a personal and author-driven perspective.
Maximum length: 15 minutes, including credits.

• Documentary Short Film
Non-fiction works that approach reality from a creative, observational, or essayistic perspective. Short films that offer a sensitive reflection on their environment, characters, and portrayed experiences will be valued, including social, community, or environmental approaches aligned with the festival’s emotional focus.
Maximum length: 15 minutes, including credits.

• Animated Short Film
Works created using any animation technique (2D, 3D, stop motion, among others). This category is open to narrative, experimental, or auteur-driven proposals that use animation as an expressive medium to explore stories and emotions aligned with the spirit of the festival.
Maximum length: 10 minutes, including credits.

• Poetry Film
Audiovisual works of a poetic nature that explore cinematic language through a lyrical, sensory, or contemplative approach. This category is intended for short films in which the poetic dimension emerges from the meaningful integration of image, sound, rhythm, and/or text, prioritizing atmosphere and emotional expression over traditional narrative structures.
Maximum length: 5 minutes, including credits.

• Michoacán University Short Film
Category exclusively for short films produced in an academic context by students enrolled in universities located in the state of Michoacán, Mexico. Works must have been developed as part of academic processes, workshops, courses, or training projects, and may be fiction, documentary, animation, or hybrid formats.
Proposals will be valued for their narrative clarity, authorial sensitivity, and emotional exploration, in dialogue with the curatorial theme Feel Good Movies.
Maximum length: 10 minutes, including credits.


ELIGIBILITY

• Short films completed from 2024 onwards.
• Open to participants from all countries.
• Films submitted to previous editions of FICUVAQ will not be accepted.
• Incomplete works will not be accepted.
• There is no limit to the number of submissions per participant (each must be submitted separately).
• Music videos and works created for advertising or promotional purposes will not be accepted.
• Films that use generative AI tools in more than 10% of their total content (image, sound, voice, animation, script, or other creative elements) will not be accepted.
Selected films may be required to declare the use of AI during their production process.


TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS

Selected films must submit:

• Film file in a minimum resolution of Full HD (1080p, H.264 codec).
Recommended container: MP4. Stereo audio.
Synopsis in Spanish and English.
• Complete technical sheet (credits, country of origin, year of production, duration).
• Official poster (JPG, 300 dpi).
• Three still images from the film (JPG, 300 dpi).
• Director’s photograph (JPG, 300 dpi).
• Trailer (optional).
• Press kit (optional).

Subtitles

• Films in a language other than Spanish: Spanish subtitles required.
• Films in Spanish: English subtitles required.
Subtitles should preferably be delivered in digital format (.srt).


SUBMISSION

Submission period: January 30 to April 30, 2026

Free submission for students
Request a submission waiver code by writing to: ficuvaq@uvaq.edu.mx
(Valid proof of enrollment required)


TERMS & CONDITIONS

• Films must be original works or have the corresponding rights.
• The person registering the film guarantees ownership of all rights.
• Films containing plagiarism will be disqualified.
• The festival may use up to 20% of the duration of selected films for promotional and cultural purposes.
• Selected films may be exhibited in non-commercial cultural screenings.
• The festival does not provide screening fees.