Atalaya, Festival Internacional de Cortometrajes de Justicia Social y Derechos Humanos (2)

Festival start: 15 October 2026      Festival end: 17 October 2026

Atalaya is an international festival that aims to give a voice to films that deal with issues as important as social justice and Human Rights, covering topics such as inequality in all its forms, democratic memory, poverty, solidarity, education, health and well-being, peace, sustainability, and more.

It takes place in the autumn in the town of Casariche, located east of the province of Seville.

Cash Prizes: 2,300€

• Jury Award for Best Social Justice and Human Rights Short Film: €1,000 and trophy.

• Best Documentary Short Film Award: €300 and trophy.

• Best Animated Short Film Award: €300 and trophy.

• Impulso Award for Best Young Filmmaker Short Film: €300 and trophy.

• Audience Special Award: €100 and trophy.

• Special Award for Best Sierra Sur of Seville Short Film: €300 and trophy.

The Department of Culture of the Hon. Town Council of Casariche hereby announces the 2nd International Social Justice and Human Rights Short Film Festival 2026, to be held on October 15, 16 and 17, 2026.

The rules of the competition are as follows:

- Participation is open to individual filmmakers and filmmaking collectives.

- If the film contains spoken dialogue, Spanish must be used or Spanish subtitles must be provided. IT IS MANDATORY TO subtitle THE SHORT FILM IN SPANISH IF IT IS SPOKEN IN ANY language OTHER THAN SPANISH. subtitleS MUST BE EMBEDDED IN THE FILM.

- Running time must not exceed 30 minutes, including credits.

- Works completed before January 1, 2023, will not be accepted.

- To participate in the Festival, entrants must either send the short film by post or courier on DVD or USB drive, or register and submit it online through www.festhome.com. The submission period runs from June 26 to July 17, 2026. Short films competing only for the Best Sierra Sur of Seville Short Film Award may be submitted until September 11, 2026.

- Works submitted on DVD or USB drive must be sent to the following address:

2nd International Social Justice and Human Rights Short Film Festival “Atalaya”

Hon. Town Council of Casariche
Plaza Alcalde José Ramón Parrado Cano, 1
41580 Casariche (Seville), Spain
E-mail: atalayafest@casariche.es

- In the case of submissions by DVD or USB drive via post or courier, the package must include the completed entry form (contact details of the authors must be clearly visible), a photocopy of the producer’s or director’s ID card/passport, and the technical details of the short film. The entry form can be downloaded from the Festival’s official website: https://atalayafest.casariche.es under the “Entries” section.

VERY IMPORTANT: When using this submission method, applicants must also send an email to atalayafest@casariche.es within the submission period, including the details of the short film and a scanned copy of the shipping receipt. The organization will confirm receipt of the package by email.

- Each short film will be registered in the name of the individual(s) listed on the entry form, who will be the recipient(s) of any prize awarded. The organization assumes that such person(s) hold all rights to the submitted work and accepts no responsibility for any infringement of this requirement by participants.

- The submission period begins on June 26 and ends on July 17, 2026. For postal or courier submissions, the postmark, shipping receipt, or submission date on www.festhome.com will be considered the official submission date. All shipping costs must be borne by the participants. The organization accepts no responsibility for damage or loss during transport, although every effort will be made to ensure the protection of the submitted materials.

- The organization reserves the right to reject any work due to poor technical quality.

- Only documentary and fiction short films whose subject matter addresses social issues and encourages reflection on individual or collective concerns will be accepted. Topics may include, but are not limited to, inequality in all its forms, democratic memory, poverty, solidarity, education, health and well-being, peace, sustainability, etc.

- An official jury composed of professionals from the fields of video, television, music, the arts and communication will be appointed to decide the awards.

The jury may declare any prize void and resolve any matter not covered by these regulations.

- The audience attending the screenings will select the Audience Award from among the films screened on October 15 and 16, 2026.

- awards

• Jury Award for Best Social Justice and Human Rights Short Film: €1,000 and trophy.

• Best Documentary Short Film Award: €300 and trophy.

• Best Animated Short Film Award: €300 and trophy.

• Impulso Award for Best Young Filmmaker Short Film: €300 and trophy.

• Audience Special Award: €100 and trophy.

• Special Award for Best Sierra Sur of Seville Short Film: €300 and trophy.

- awards will be subject to any tax withholdings required by law.

- The jury may declare any award void.

- Award-winning filmmakers, or a representative of each winning work, must attend the awards ceremony.

- The jury’s decision shall be final and not subject to appeal.

- The 2nd Atalaya Social Justice and Human Rights Short Film Festival will take place on October 15, 16 and 17, 2026, featuring public and free screenings of the finalist short films at the Municipal Theatre of Casariche. The awards ceremony will be held on the afternoon of Saturday, October 17, 2026.

- All amateur short films may compete for the Best Sierra Sur of Seville Short Film Award, provided they can demonstrate that at least one actor, producer or director was born in or currently resides in the Sierra Sur region of Seville (Aguadulce, Algámitas, Badolatosa, Casariche, El Rubio, El Saucejo, Estepa, Gilena, Herrera, La Roda de Andalucía, Lantejuela, Lora de Estepa, Los Corrales, Marinaleda, Martín de la Jara, Osuna, Pedrera, Pruna and Villanueva de San Juan). Proof must be provided through a copy of a national ID card or certificate of residence. Applicants must also complete a specific form and submit it together with the short film. This form can be downloaded from https://atalayafest.casariche.es under the “Entries” section.

- All works whose director was born after January 1, 2001, including university projects and films produced by film schools, may compete for the Impulso Award for Best Young Filmmaker Short Film. Proof of eligibility must be provided by submitting a copy of the director’s ID card. Applicants must also complete the corresponding form and submit it together with the short film. The form can be downloaded from https://atalayafest.casariche.es under the “Entries” section.

-Participants will be informed of the official festival selection by email or telephone. The selected films will also be announced on the festival’s official website: https://atalayafest.casariche.es.

-Copies of all works participating in the festival will remain the property of the organization, which reserves the right to screen them for cultural and promotional purposes in non-commercial venues and specialized centers, as well as to publish and reproduce them, always acknowledging the author and without charging admission fees.

-Submission of a work implies full acceptance of these rules and regulations.