Festival Internacional de Cortometrajes Mal Del Cap (12)

Festival start: 15 March 2027      Festival end: 20 March 2027

The Ibiza-based cultural association Mal del Cap, Cultura Mal Dita is opening the call for entries for short films competing as part of the “12th Mal del Cap International Short Film Festival”, one of the activities included in the “12th Mal del Cap Festival, Narratives Mal Dites”, which will take place in Eivissa from 28 November 2026 to 20 March 2027.

The “12th Mal del Cap International Short Film Festival”, hereinafter referred to as the Short Film Festival, will take place from 15 to 20 March 2027 in different cultural venues across the island.

The submission period will run from 7 September to 11 October 2026, both dates inclusive, and is open to creators from all over the world. Works must be submitted in digital format and may be fiction, documentary or animation.

All works will initially be submitted to the Official Competition Section. Once the submission period has ended, the Festival Organisation and its Selection Committee will determine which works are selected and, according to their characteristics, which sections they may be screened in and which awards they may be eligible for.

“Once again, we are looking for bold stories and ways of telling them that break away from the conventional, works that connect with people and are not afraid to experiment,” explains 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 for building connections between the most underground proposals on the international scene.”

Once again, this festival, which began in 2014 and is one of the longest-running festivals in the Pityusic Islands, features several sections and awards, with a total of €900 in prize money: the 1st Official Competition Award, the Youth Section Award — awarded by young students from Ibiza —, the Sebas Parra Award for the best socially themed short film — courtesy of the La Guerrilla Comunicacional association from Girona —, the Malalt Award — reflecting the association’s wildest spirit —, the Best Catalan-language Short Film Award, and the Audience Award.

For more information about the rules, technical requirements and submission form, please visit the official website at www.maldelcap.com or contact festival@maldelcap.com

Cash Prizes: 900€

“1st Official Competition Award” for Short Films: €200 and trophy.

“Youth Section Award” for Short Films: €200 and trophy.

“Sebas Parra Award” for the best socially themed short film, awarded by the La Guerrilla Comunicacional association: €200 and trophy.

“Malalt Award” for Short Films in the Official Competition: €100 and trophy.

“Best Catalan-language Short Film Award” in the Official Competition: €100 and trophy.

“Audience Award” for Short Films in the Official Competition: €100 and trophy.

Total prize money: €900.

FIRST

The cultural association Mal Del Cap, Cultura Mal Dita de Eivissa (hereinafter MdC) will select short films to be included in the “12th Mal del Cap International Short Film Festival”, an activity that forms part of the “12th Mal del Cap Festival, Narratives Mal Dites”.

The submission period will run from 7 September to 11 October 2026, both dates inclusive.

The “12th Mal del Cap Festival, Narratives Mal Dites” will take place in Eivissa from 28 November 2026 to 20 March 2027.

The “12th Mal del Cap International Short Film Festival” will take place from 15 to 20 March 2027. Selected films will be screened during these dates and at venues determined by the Festival Organisation.


SECOND

“Mal del Cap” is the name of the International Short Film and New Narratives Festival organised by Mal del Cap, Cultura Mal Dita de Eivissa with the aim of promoting the creation and dissemination of audiovisual works that have limited access to the commercial market.

It is not only a space for showcasing the work of emerging creators, but also a competitive festival that seeks to recognise the work, creativity and different ways of telling stories.


THIRD

The Festival Organisation and its Selection Committee will be responsible for reviewing the submitted works and selecting those that will form part of the Short Film Festival programme.

Among the selected works, the Organisation and the Selection Committee will determine which sections they will be screened in and which awards they may be eligible for, taking into account the characteristics, subject matter and nature of each work.

All works will initially be submitted to the Official Competition Section. Submission does not guarantee the selection of a work or its inclusion in any of the sections or categories of the Short Film Festival.


FOURTH

The Short Film Festival will include the following sections and awards:

“Official Short Film Competition”: Fiction, documentary and animation short films may be submitted, in any digital production format.

“Youth Short Film Competition”: The Organisation and the Selection Committee may select, from among the submitted works, short films aimed at young audiences that promote values related to solidarity, inclusion, drug prevention, interculturalism, or any other subject that may be of interest to young people and is connected to the social values of the association.

The works selected for this section will be screened for young students from Eivissa, who will vote to award the Youth Section Award.

The participation of minors in activities related to this section will take place in accordance with the authorisations and conditions established by the educational centres and/or the persons responsible for them.

“Sebas Parra Award”: Among the works submitted, the Festival Organisation and Selection Committee may identify those which, due to their content and subject matter, may be eligible for the “Sebas Parra Award”, granted to the best short film addressing social issues and/or the defence of Human Rights.

The association La Guerrilla Comunicacional, an organisation twinned with Mal del Cap and responsible for the Mostra Mal del Cap in Girona, will be responsible for selecting the socially themed short films to be screened as part of its showcase and for deciding the winner of the “Sebas Parra Award”.

The Mostra Mal del Cap in Girona will take place over one week during the second quarter of 2027, with free screenings in schools, secondary schools and cultural venues.

Participation implies acceptance of the possible screening of the works selected by La Guerrilla Comunicacional as part of the Mostra Mal del Cap in Girona, regardless of whether or not those works have ultimately been screened in Eivissa.

The works must comply with the technical and duration requirements established in these rules.


FIFTH

The Festival Organisation will appoint the members of the Jury responsible for awarding the Official Short Film Competition Award, the Malalt Award and the Best Catalan-language Short Film Award.

The Jury will consist of at least five members who have no connection with the films submitted.

The Jury's deliberations will be confidential and decisions will be made by simple majority.

The “Sebas Parra Award” will be awarded by the La Guerrilla Comunicacional association, in accordance with the provisions of the Fourth Rule.

The Audience Award will be decided by a vote among the audience attending the relevant screenings.

The Youth Section Award will be decided by a vote among the young students attending the screenings held for this section.

The decisions of the Juries and the results of the audience votes will be final.

Any operational issue not covered by these rules will be resolved by the Festival Director.


SIXTH

The design of the awards programme, including its sections, categories and contents, may be changed or modified by the Organisation before the final version of these rules is published and, where applicable, before the evaluation process begins. The most recent version of the rules published on the Festival's official website will always be considered the valid version.

Once the evaluation process has begun, the financial conditions or essential characteristics of the awards established in these rules may not be modified, except where this is necessary due to force majeure or exceptional circumstances beyond the Organisation's control.

Any award may be declared void if the submitted or selected short films do not meet the required quality standards.


SEVENTH

To participate in the Short Film Festival, the following conditions must be met:

Works must be in Spanish or Catalan. Films whose original language is another language must include embedded subtitles in Spanish or Catalan.

Registration must be completed through the platforms provided for this purpose, and works must be submitted between 7 September and 11 October 2026, both dates inclusive.

All works will initially be submitted to the Official Short Film Competition. The Organisation and the Selection Committee will subsequently decide which works are selected for the Short Film Festival, which sections they will be screened in and which awards they may be eligible for.

Individual or collective filmmakers of any nationality or origin may participate.

Fiction, documentary and animation short films may be submitted, in any digital production format.

Works must have been produced after 1 January 2025 and must not exceed 17 minutes in length.

The person submitting the work declares that they have the necessary rights and authorisations to submit the work to the Festival and to allow its screening and the promotional activities provided for in these rules.

They also declare that the work does not infringe any third-party rights, including, but not limited to, intellectual property rights, image rights, performers’ rights or any other rights that may apply. The person or entity submitting the work shall be responsible for any third-party claim arising from the lack of such rights or authorisations.

Works that do not meet the technical requirements necessary for proper screening, or whose registration form is incomplete or contains incorrect information, will be rejected.

* Audiovisual material for pre-selection: Works must be submitted in digital format with a minimum resolution of 720x576, using the H.264 codec, and with a maximum duration of 17 minutes. They must be submitted through any of the associated platforms.

* Selection announcement: The Festival Organisation will inform applicants of the selection of their works and the sections in which they will participate in the Short Film Festival on 15 February 2027.

* Screening copy: Selected films must submit their screening copy by 22 February 2027.

The Festival will not pay screening fees for films participating in the competition sections.

The invitation of each selected film will remain strictly confidential between the Festival Directorate and the producers or representatives of the invited film until the Festival decides to officially announce it.

Subtitling of the screening copy will be the responsibility of the producers or representatives of the film.

All costs arising from the submission of the short films or participation in the competition will be borne by the entity or person submitting the film.

* Press and promotional material: Together with the registration form, all participating works must submit at least two photographs from different scenes of the film, as well as any other informational and promotional material for the press and public that may help to present and promote the work.

By submitting their work, the producers and directors authorise the screening of selected works during the Short Film Festival, as well as the use of photographs, stills, posters and other promotional materials provided by the participants for the communication and promotion of the Festival and the selected works.

This authorisation also includes the reproduction, in whole or in part, of excerpts from the works when necessary for the Festival's communication and promotional activities, within the limits necessary for that purpose.

Submission also constitutes authorisation for the possible screening of a selection of socially themed short films at the Mostra Mal del Cap in Girona, organised by La Guerrilla Comunicacional, regardless of whether those works have been selected for or screened at the Short Film Festival.

Participation in the Festival does not constitute an exclusive transfer of the exploitation rights of the works. Copyright and all other intellectual property rights in the works shall remain with their respective holders.

The Festival reserves the right to make a digital copy of selected works exclusively for organisational, archival and screening purposes related to the Festival and the activities expressly covered by these rules, while guaranteeing the copyright and intellectual property rights in the works at all times.

The screening authorisation provided for in these rules is limited to the activities and purposes described herein and to the period and territory necessary for their implementation.

* Data protection: Personal data provided during the registration process will be processed by Mal Del Cap, Cultura Mal Dita de Eivissa for the purpose of managing participation in the Festival, communicating with participants and carrying out activities related to the call for entries. Full information regarding data processing and the rights of data subjects will be available in the privacy policy on the Festival's official website.


EIGHTH

The Festival Director may withdraw a film at any time if it fails to comply with any of the provisions of these rules or if its participation is incompatible with the conditions established herein.

Providing false production information may also result in the film being withdrawn from the competition sections.

The Festival Organisation will determine the order and dates of each film's screening.


NINTH

The Organisation reserves the right to resolve any issues relating to the running of the Festival that are not expressly covered by these rules, while always respecting their content and purpose.


TENTH

Participation implies full acceptance of these rules.

In the event of any dispute concerning the interpretation of any article or any matter not covered by these rules, the interpretation and decision of the Festival Director shall prevail.

The most recent version of these rules will be available on the official website: www.maldelcap.com