Festival Internacional BioBioCine (12)

Festival start: 02 November 2026      Festival end: 07 November 2026

The BioBioCine International Festival is an intercultural gathering of knowledge and wisdom expressed through cinema. Its goal is to become a space for dialogue and reflection while promoting, supporting, and valuing national and international cinematography from a territorial and identity perspective, within the framework of its annual meeting.

The BioBioCine International Festival invites submissions from all countries and cultures for its eleventh edition. The festival's program includes competitive and non-competitive categories for feature films and short films, both fiction and non-fiction, with an emphasis on auteur cinema, emerging filmmakers, experimentation, intercultural dialogue, and first nations.

Cash Prizes: 1,400$

The juries for the different categories will be persons linked to the national and international audiovisual and cultural industry, who will be disqualified from submitting works to the competition.

The juries of each category will issue an unappealable and final decision, awarding the "Tokicura", BioBioCine's highest award, to the winners of the prizes listed below.

Feature Film Competition
- Best Feature Film: "Tokicura" Trophy
- Special Jury Mention

Short Film Competition
- Best Short Film: "Tokicura" Trophy
- Special Jury Mention

1. EVENT DATES
The festival will take place in person in the city of Concepción, Chile, during November 2026.

2. COMPETITIVE SECTIONS
Feature Film Competition: Chilean or international films in fiction, documentary, animation and/or experimental genres, made in any format, with a minimum runtime of 60 minutes.
Short Film Competition: Chilean or international films spoken or subtitled in Spanish, with a maximum runtime of 25 minutes.
School Short Film Competition: Films in fiction, documentary, animation and/or experimental genres, made in any format, with a maximum runtime of 20 minutes, directed by students enrolled in film and audiovisual schools in Chile (Universities, Professional Institutes, and Technical Training Centers).
3. NON-COMPETITIVE SECTIONS
Made in Chile: National works from any region of the country, spoken or subtitled in Spanish, with a maximum runtime of 120 minutes.
Made in BioBío: Works produced in the BioBío region, spoken or subtitled in Spanish, with a maximum runtime of 90 minutes.
Made for Children: Chilean or international works spoken in Spanish, aimed at young audiences and centered on values such as equality, respect, inclusion, and self-acceptance, completed after December 2023, in fiction, documentary, or animation genres.
Cin(E)xperiences: Chilean or international works exploring the dialogue between disciplines such as dance, visual arts, and performance, completed after December 2023. Maximum runtime of 30 minutes.
Open Veins: Chilean or international works focused on the struggles of indigenous peoples, intercultural dialogue, the defense of territorial rights, memory and oral tradition, as well as the identity and worldview of indigenous communities. Completed after December 2023. Maximum runtime of 90 minutes.

4. SUBMISSION PROCESS
Any work completed from December 2024 onward is eligible to apply, except for works submitting to sections where a different completion date is specified.
All submitted works will undergo a pre-selection process carried out by the festival's programming team.
All applicants must register through the FESTHOME web platform.
The submission fee for both feature films and short films is USD $4.00. Chilean films may submit free of charge.
Any film not originally in Spanish must be subtitled in Spanish or english for the selection period. If selected, the film must be subtitled in Spanish by the applicant, and any associated subtitling costs are the applicant's responsibility.
Any shipping costs incurred are the responsibility of the applicant.
No submitted materials will be returned.
The open call will close on April 30, 2026, at 23:59 (continental Chile time).
5. SELECTION AND PARTICIPATION
Pre-selected works will undergo a final selection process by the festival's programming team.
Selected films will be notified by email and through the FESTHOME platform during the first two weeks of September 2026.
Acceptance of these regulations authorizes the festival's production team to screen selected works in up to 3 non-profit screenings outside the festival framework, under the banner "Official Selection — Festival Internacional BioBioCine 2026". The organization commits to informing participants of the venue, date, time, and context of each screening in advance.
The festival reserves the right to use excerpts from selected works for promotional purposes, without prejudice to the fact that all copyrights remain with the respective rights holders.
Exhibition copies must be subtitled in Spanish if they are in another language.
Promotional materials for selected films (trailer, film stills, social media assets, photos, and director biography) must be submitted no later than October 2, 2026.