Mecal Pro, 28º Festival Internacional De Cortometrajes Y Animación De Barcelona (28)

Festival start: 20 May 2026      Festival end: 30 May 2026

Mecal Pro, the Barcelona International Short and Animation Film Festival, will celebrate its 28th edition. The long history of MECAL PRO has consolidated it as one of the most important short film festivals in Europe and the world, thus receiving the support of local, national and international institutions. We have screened in 2025 more than 300 short films in 29 sections that we program.

Mecal is strongly committed to promoting the exhibition and dissemination of audiovisual creations in the short format, not only with the public, but also in having creators and distributors meet through different activities. Mecal is also devoted to foster emerging talent, by holding events and awards specially aimed at young creators. In this sense, it also works as a short film dissemination network, organising screenings both at a national and an international level, collaborating with festivals, embassies, and institutions around the world.

Cash Prizes: 1,000€

1. International Grand Prix for the Best Short Film of the International Competition.

● Awarded by the International Jury to the best short film of the international selection, endowed with 1000 euros. This jury will also designate a second and third prize that will complete the podium in this category.

2. Animation Grand Prix for the Best Short Film of the Animation Competition

● Awarded by the Animation Jury for the best short film in the Animation section, endowed with 1000 euros. This jury will also designate a second and third prize that will complete the podium in this category.

3. Oblique Grand Prix for the Best Short Film of the Oblique Competition

● Awarded by the Oblique Jury for the best short film in the oblique section, endowed with 1000 euros. This jury will also designate a second and third prize that will complete the podium in this category.

4. Documentary Grand Prix for the Best Short Film of the Documentary Competition

● Awarded by the Documentary Jury for the best short film in the documentary section, endowed with 1000 euros. This jury will also designate a second and third prize that will complete the podium in this category.

5. Videolab Award for the Best Spanish production

● Awarded by the International Jury

6. Higgings Award for the Best Spanish Fiction

● Awarded by the International Jury

7. ALMA Award for the Best Spanish Script

● Awarded by a jury composed of members of ALMA (Spanish Screenwriters Guild)

8. Oblique Filmin Award

● Awarded by the Oblique Jury for the best short film in the oblique section, this prize includes the distribution in Spain of the short film over the Internet (through the FILMIN community) valued at 500 euros for 90 days

9. Young Jury Award for the Best Short Film of the Oblique Competition

● Awarded by the Young Jury

10. Audience Award for the Best Short Film of the Animation Competition

● Awarded by the audience

11. El Periódico de Catalunya Audience award for the Best Short Film of the Documentary Competition

● Awarded by the audience

12. Animation Students Award for the Best Short Film of the Animation Competition

● Awarded by the Animation Students jury

13. Prix de la Critique

● For the best short film in the International Section

14. Avisual Pro Award for the most innovative short film of the Barcelona Film Schools

● Awarded by the audience

15. Plançó Award for the best short film of the Catalan Animation Schools

● Awarded by the audience

16. Shorts TV Award

● Awarded by the Shorts TV jury

17. Wild Pony Award for Best Spanish Fiction Cinematography

● Awarded by the International Jury

MECAL PRO, 28th Barcelona International Short Film and Animation Festival
May 2026
info@mecalbcn.org
www.mecalbcn.org

Festival Description

MECAL PRO, the Barcelona International Short Film and Animation Festival, is a festival dedicated to both national and international short-format films.

MECAL PRO's long history has established it as one of the most important short film festivals in Europe and the world, receiving the support of local, national, and international institutions.

MECAL PRO's mission is to promote the exhibition and circulation of short-format audiovisual creations, not only to the general public through screenings, but also to the market, fostering the connection of industry professionals through various activities. It is also committed to promoting young talent, offering awards and special activities to help foster this potential. In this sense, the festival functions as a network for disseminating the submitted works, through national and international screenings and through collaborations with other festivals and events such as Mecal Air.

Dates

July 2025 > Call for Entries Opens
March 2026 > Call for Entries Closes
April 2026 > Selected Entries Announced
May 2026 > Festival Takes Place

Submission Requirements

1. Participants may submit as many works as they wish, as long as they were produced after January 1, 2024.

2. Works can be of any theme and must not exceed 30 minutes in length.

3. Spoken works must be submitted with English subtitles. Works whose original version is in English do not require subtitles, but they do require a dialogue list if selected.

Selection

The festival has four official competition sections (Fiction, Animation, Oblique, and Documentary) and parallel non-competitive sections. The selection committee is responsible for deciding which section the selected works will participate in and notifying the participants.

Conditions of Participation

1. The selected works will be publicly screened during the festival, according to a pre-established schedule.

2. The festival will ensure that the screenings are in a high-quality format. The screening copies of the selected works must be in MP4 or .MOV format with a resolution of 1920x1080 H.264 codec, 20 Mbps (minimum), STEREO (avoid 5.1), or DCP.

3. Screening copies should preferably be sent online, via an FTP server or a file transfer service such as Filemail, WeTransfer, MyAirBridge, etc.

4. In the case of physical submission (subject to prior approval by the festival), the shipping costs of the selected works will be borne by the participants. If physical submission is required for the screening, the return costs will be borne by the festival. The festival will ensure the integrity of the submitted works. In the event of loss or damage from the time of receipt until its return, the festival will be responsible only for the value of the copy.

5. The festival may edit and use printed material from the works exhibited. It may also use a fragment of the work (maximum 1 minute) for dissemination in the media and on its website and social media.

6. The festival reserves the right to keep a copy of the selected works, guaranteeing their copyright and intellectual property rights. Entry into the selection at the festival implies entry into its distribution network, which promotes the screening of the selected short films on the various MECAL networks, such as the international and national distribution networks, and Mecal Air, among others.

7. Selected works may participate, if they wish, in the online edition of the competition through the online platform Filmin. The works will be available on this platform for the duration of the festival, via streaming, only for the Spanish territory, and accessible only to those who purchase tickets or festival passes.

Awards

The juries will be composed of audiovisual professionals and will be selected by the festival's steering committee, with the exception of the special awards given by the public. The following prizes will be awarded:

1. International Grand Prize for Best Short Film in the International Competition.

● Awarded by the International Jury to the best short film in the international selection, with a prize of 1,000 euros. This jury will also award second and third prizes to complete the podium in this category.

2. Animation Grand Prize for Best Short Film in the Animation Competition

● Awarded by the Animation Jury to the best short film in the Animation section, with a prize of 1,000 euros. This jury will also award second and third prizes to complete the podium in this category.

3. Oblique Grand Prize for Best Short Film in the Oblique Competition

● Awarded by the Oblique Jury to the best short film in the Oblique section, with a prize of 1,000 euros. This jury will also award second and third prizes to complete the podium in this category.

4. Documentary Grand Prize for Best Short Film in the Documentary Competition

● Awarded by the Documentary Jury to the best short film in the documentary section, with a prize of 1,000 euros. This jury will also award second and third prizes to complete the podium in this category.

5. Videolab Award for Best Spanish Production

● Awarded by the International Jury

6. Higgins Award for Best Spanish Fiction

● Awarded by the International Jury

7. ALMA Award for Best Spanish Screenplay

● Awarded by a jury composed of members of ALMA (Spanish Screenwriters' Union)

8. Filmin Oblique Award

● Awarded by the Oblique Jury to the best short film in the oblique section. This award includes online distribution of the short film in Spain (through the FILMIN community), valued at €500 for 90 days.

9. Young Jury Award for Best Short Film at the Oblique Competition

● Awarded by the Young Jury

10. Audience Award for Best Short Film at the Animation Competition

● Awarded by the audience

11. El Periódico de Catalunya Audience Award for Best Short Film at the Documentary Competition

● Awarded by the audience

12. Animation Students Award for Best Short Film at the Animation Competition

● Awarded by the Animation Students Jury

13. Critics' Award

● For Best Short Film in the International Section

14. Avisual Pro Award for the Most Innovative Short Film from the Barcelona Film Schools

● Awarded by the audience

15. Plançó Award for Best Short Film from the Animation Schools of Catalonia

● Awarded by the Public

16. Shorts TV Award

● Awarded by the Shorts TV Jury

17. Wild Pony Award for Best Spanish Fiction Photography

● Awarded by the International Jury

The jury may declare any prize void, as well as award any honorable mention not specified in these rules. Prizes with a monetary award will be awarded to the copyright holder of the work.

The festival organizers reserve the right to change the name and increase the prize amounts up to one week before the start of the festival, notifying participants. The name of a prize may change due to sponsorship.

Remember, if you apply twice by mistake, Mecal Pro will not issue refunds. The user will be responsible.

Participation in this contest implies full acceptance of these rules.