B`ars In Short (3)

Festival start: 11 December 2026      Festival end: 11 December 2026

b’Ars, Barcelona International Arts & VFX Fair, is now accepting submissions for the third edition of the b’Ars in Short screening programme.

The aim of the programme is to promote and showcase the creativity and talent of young creators in the fields of animation and VFX, providing spaces where they can present their work and connect with the professional community.

SELECTED PROJECTS

The purpose of this competition is to promote the works and their creators within the professional animation and VFX sector.

Selection brings benefits in terms of visibility, networking, and opportunities:

1. Public screening in two official sessions of b’Ars 2025: as part of the Inspiring New Careers program (aimed at students of vocational and undergraduate studies in animation and VFX) and during the Afterb’Ars (closing ceremony and networking event of b’Ars, open to the entire professional community).

2.Promotion through b’ArsVFX communication channels.

3.Full Pass access to all b’Ars activities (up to 4 passes per group), with the opportunity to meet other young animators and industry professionals.

DEADLINES

- Entries must be submitted before October 13, 2026.

- Announcement of the selected works: November 6, 2026.

- The public screening of the short films will take place on December 11, 2026 (morning and afternoon).


REQUIREMENTS

Participants:

- People between 18 and 30 years old. In the case of groups, 75% of the members must fall within this age range.

Participation may be individual or in groups.

- In the case of groups, one person must act as the group representative for registration purposes.

Production companies, universities or schools may submit a maximum of 5 short films.

- With the aim of promoting local talent within a global framework, a minimum of 50% of the final selection (2 short films) will be guaranteed to be created by Catalan authors or authors residing in Catalonia at the time of application.

- The festival will provide a travel allowance for selected participants living outside the Barcelona metropolitan area. The amount will be announced together with the selected short films and will depend on sponsorship availability.


Works:

- All techniques are accepted: 2D animation, 3D animation, special effects, experimental, stop motion, etc.

- Advertising pieces, animated spots, music videos (provided they include animation or visual effects), VR/AR experiences and video game cinematics are accepted.

- There are no restrictions regarding the subject matter of the work.

- The use of AI at any stage of the production process must be expressly declared.

- Short films must be completed. Works still in production will not be accepted.

- Short films may be produced in any language, but must always include English subtitles.

- The maximum duration of the short film is 10 minutes (including credits).

- All works must include credits.

- Short films produced from 2023 onwards (inclusive) will be accepted.


JURY AND SELECTION CRITERIA

The jury will be made up of national and international professionals from the animation and VFX industry.

The evaluation criteria will be:

· Artistic and technical quality.
· Strength and interest of the script.
· Risk-taking, originality of the approach and capacity for innovation in cinematic language.
· Narrative clarity and coherence.

The final verdict will be announced on November 6, 2026, through the b’Ars website (https://barsvfx.com/) and its social media channels.

Selected participants will be notified by email.

The jury’s decision is final and cannot be appealed.

The jury may declare the competition void and will have the authority to resolve any matters not covered by these rules.


COMMITMENTS OF SELECTED SHORT FILMS

The selected short films will become part of the b’Ars 2026 programme, and the artist or production company agrees to:

- Attend in person to present their work on December 11 as part of the b’ArsVFX programme (morning and afternoon).

- Provide the information and materials required for the screening of the short film.

- Provide images from the short film (minimum resolution: 300 dpi).

- Provide a complete technical and artistic information sheet.

- Provide the short film poster design (JPG, TIFF).

- Provide a trailer of the short film (MOV, MP4), both with English subtitles and without subtitles.

- Provide a complete list of all festivals to which the short film has been submitted, indicating selections and awards received.


DATA PROTECTION

In compliance with Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (GDPR) and Organic Law 3/2018 on the Protection of Personal Data and Guarantee of Digital Rights, please be informed that:

The data will be processed by Associació Catalana Perpetuum Mobile, based in Barcelona, for the purpose of managing participation in the call for entries.

They may be used for informational communications related to b’Ars if expressly authorised.

The data subject may exercise their rights of access, rectification, erasure, objection, restriction of processing and data portability at any time by writing to: info@barsvfx.com, indicating “DATA PROTECTION” in the subject line and attaching a copy of their identity document.


INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

Participation implies acceptance of these rules. The authors guarantee that the work is original and that they hold all the necessary rights for its submission, releasing the organisation from any liability in the event of claims by third parties.

The authors authorise:

The screening, reproduction, communication and dissemination of their work within the framework of b’Ars VFX.

Non-profit dissemination in promotional activities during the following 5 years.

The inclusion of up to 15 seconds of the short film in the promotional trailer for b’Ars VFX, on any platform or in any format.
The Promoter reserves the right to disqualify participants who misuse the competition, engage in fraudulent activities or carry out actions that may harm other participants.
Selection for b’Ars In Short is non-exclusive. Participation in this call does not restrict or condition the submission of the work to other festivals, competitions or distribution platforms.

ACCEPTANCE OF THE RULES

Participation in the competition implies full acceptance of these rules, without reservation, as well as acceptance of the interpretative decisions made by the promoter.

The promoter reserves the right to make any changes, suspend or extend this promotion, notifying participants sufficiently in advance through the competition website, barsvfx.com.

This call is governed by applicable Spanish legislation. For any dispute that may arise regarding the interpretation and application of these rules, both the promoter and the participants in this promotion expressly submit to the jurisdiction of the Courts and Tribunals of Barcelona, without prejudice to any jurisdiction that may legally correspond to the consumer.