Festival de Cine Corto de Popayán (17)

Festival start: 05 October 2026      Festival end: 09 October 2026

The objective is to present a selection of the best short films in the fiction, animation, experimental and documentary genres in order to allow the dissemination, dialogue and evaluation of the development and importance of the short film within audiovisual production.

Recognitions will be awarded to the winners in the categories:

7.1 Best Short Film in the Documentary genre

7.2 Best Short Film in the Fiction Genre

7.3 Best Animated Short Film

7.4 Best Experimental Short Film.

7.5 Best Indigenous Film Short Film

7.6 Best Community Short Film.

7.7 Best Short Film from Cauca.

7.8 Best Afro Short Film.

7.9 Best Children's Short Film

SHORT FILM SELECTION REGULATIONS

1. OBJECTIVES

The objective is to present a selection of the best short films made in Colombia or by Colombians abroad, in the categories of fiction, animation, documentary, community, indigenous, Afro, experimental, and children's cinema, in order to enable the dissemination, dialogue, and evaluation of the development and importance of short films within filmmaking.

2. GENERAL CONDITIONS

• Accepted categories: Documentary, Animation, Community, Fiction, Experimental, Indigenous, Afro, and Children's cinema.

• Accepted formats: Digital.

• Minimum duration: 5 minutes.

• Maximum duration: 35 minutes.

• Spoken or subtitled in Spanish, if Spanish is not the original language.

• Meet the technical standards that ensure their reproduction and screening on screen.

• Completed or premiered after January 1, 2024.

• Fill out and sign the festival's authorization document, which can be found here https://festicinepopayan.com/convocatoria/reglamento/

3. SUBMISSIONS

• Submission deadline: Until July 15, 2026.


4. RECEPTION OF WORKS

• The acceptance of the short film will be confirmed via email to the selected participants. The selected films will be announced in the month of September 2026.

• Selected participants must send a quality digital file for screening during the Festival. If possible, an mp4 H264 file in full HD.

• Selected participants may send promotional material (posters, banners, still photos, postcards, dossier, etc.).

• Submitting a Short Film implies accepting the regulations of the Festival.

• The organization reserves the right to suspend or modify the Festival if deemed appropriate. Should this occur, participants will be notified. The Popayán Short Film Festival will resolve, in its sound judgment and without appeal, any eventuality not specified in these Regulations.

5. LICENSING

Licensing provisions for short films submitted to the Popayán Short Film Festival

• The Popayán Short Film Festival will hold a maximum of two screenings in a physical space and with an audience during the days of the festival.

• Time: These screenings will take place between October 5 and October 9, 2026. The schedule will be announced in advance on the festival's website and its social media channels.

• Licensing modality: the use of the work will be permitted in the modalities of reproduction, public communication, and making available to the public, for free access by users, through physical screening with an audience. Likewise, I authorize the use of the film's information in different formats and media solely for advertising purposes regarding the Popayán Short Film Festival.

• Access type: Free access for users registered at the Popayán Short Film Festival.

• It is also authorized that the film may be available in an exclusive video library for film sector agents during the days of the festival; however, no copies will be delivered nor will any infringement of copyright or economic rights be permitted.

• The Cine Corto Corporation is authorized to keep the copy of the short film and additional materials in its private archive for research, preservation, and memory purposes.

• The Cine Corto Corporation is authorized to make available on the websites www.festicinepopayan.com and www.cinecorto.co the short film's information, technical specifications, photographs, and poster.

• In the event that the Festival wishes to hold cultural screenings at other times and venues distinct from the Festival, it will establish direct communication for the signing of such authorizations.

• Indemnity: I agree to hold harmless the directors of the Popayán Short Film Festival for said event from any type of claim, lawsuit, or litigation invoking the violation of copyright, image rights, related rights, fundamental rights, or any other kind in relation to the work and/or each and every one of the elements that compose it in its broadest terms.

6. JURIES

It will be composed of national individuals representing the academic, audiovisual, artistic, and cultural fields chosen by the Festival Management, whose decisions regarding the awards will be final and unappealable. The members of the jury will be announced to the applicants in due course.

7. awards

awards will be granted to the winners in the following categories:

7.1 Best Short Film in the Documentary genre
7.2 Best Short Film in the Fiction genre
7.3 Best Animation Short Film
7.4 Best Experimental Short Film
7.5 Best Indigenous Cinema Short Film
7.6 Best Community Short Film
7.7 Best Short Film from Cauca
7.8 Best Afro Short Film
7.9 Best Children's Short Film

The jury will be free to grant mentions to other short films if it deems it necessary. The curatorial committee may decide not to open the competition for any category.

In addition to the competitive categories, there will be the Panorama and International Showcases, which will expand the universe of short films seen at the festival.

The official minutes with the results will be delivered at the closing ceremony of the festival.

8. SCREENINGS

The short films form an official part of the Festival and will be presented in the theaters, auditoriums, and open space screenings arranged for the development of the Festival, at previously informed times. Furthermore, they may be part of special showcases of the Festival, held in other locations, dates, and times; filmmakers will always be informed of such screenings.

The received short films will become part of the archive of the Popayán Short Film Festival, which will use them, solely and exclusively, for non-profit cultural and educational showcases, as well as research, training, and educational activities. Said screenings outside the festival will be informed and will require acceptance by the rights holders.

9. INTERNATIONAL SHORT FILM SHOWCASE

During the festival, the Popayán Short Film Festival will host an international short film showcase. This showcase will be formed through a call for entries process. This showcase aims to be a window into cinema made in other parts of the planet, bringing other lights and colors, other languages and ways of seeing the world, of making cinema, of relating to otherness, and of living life to Popayán. Submission for this showcase can be done through the Festhome platform.

10. GLOSSARY

Community Cinema: Cinematographic works made from and for communities, which express their particular ways of life, reclaiming them or denouncing exclusions and conflicts. Cinema made from community participation in all stages and roles of production.

Indigenous Cinema: Cinematographic expression created by and starring indigenous communities, which seeks to portray the reality, experiences, cosmogonies, and perspectives of indigenous communities. It is distinguished by its focus on the accurate and authentic representation of the cultures, traditions, languages, and issues of indigenous peoples, challenging stereotypes and providing an internal view of the realities of these communities.

Afro, Black, Raizal, or Palenquero Cinema: refers to a cinematographic trend that focuses on the experiences, perspectives, and cultures of people of African descent. Afro cinema seeks to explore and make visible the historical, cultural, social, and political realities of Afro-descendant communities within the African diaspora in Colombia.

Experimental Cinema: Films that push the boundaries of the language of conventional narrative cinema structured around a plot-driven story, using new resources to express and make the viewer feel emotions, experiences, sentiments, and conceptions of the world.

Children's Cinema: is a category of films specifically aimed at boys and girls based on their age and stage of development. These films are designed and produced to entertain, educate, and stimulate the imagination and creativity of children while addressing themes and narratives appropriate for their understanding and sensitivity.

Caucan Short Film: Short film made within the geography of the department of Cauca or in other places with significant participation of filmmakers from Cauca.