Festival start: 07 June 2026
Festival end: 21 June 2026
ReelRaw Film Festival – 1st Edition
Official Description:
The first edition of the ReelRaw Film Festival celebrates the power of independent cinema in its purest and most authentic form. This virtual festival aims to give voice to creators who dare to present unfiltered stories, fresh ideas, and original visions of the contemporary world.
With a fully online format, ReelRaw offers an accessible and global platform for filmmakers, visual artists, and emerging storytellers who wish to share their work with an international creative community.
Our goal is to discover new perspectives, promote artistic freedom, and connect talents from around the world through the universal language of cinema.
Categories:
Fiction Short Films
Experimental Cinema
Independent Documentaries
Animation
Video Art & Digital Creation
Mission:
To promote alternative and experimental cinema by providing a space where raw, authentic, and bold works can be seen, appreciated, and shared with a global audience.
Format:
100% Virtual Festival — online screenings, discussion forums, and an online awards ceremony.
Motto:
“Unfiltered Stories. Unbound Visions.”
Special Section: Mobile Film Stories
The Mobile Film Stories section of the ReelRaw Film Festival celebrates the power of cinema in its most accessible and contemporary form — films shot entirely on mobile phones.
We believe that true creativity doesn’t depend on budget or equipment, but on the filmmaker’s unique vision.
This category is open to short films created entirely using smartphones or tablets, emphasizing imagination, visual storytelling, and authenticity in every frame.
From experimental pieces to fiction, documentaries, or hybrids, this section honors a new generation of filmmakers turning the everyday into cinema.
Maximum duration: 20 minutes
Format: shot entirely on a mobile device
Accepted genres: fiction, documentary, experimental, or mobile animation
Requirements: English subtitles (if the original language is not English or Spanish)
Cinema in your hands. Stories without limits.
Cash Prizes: 300€
Main Awards
The award is a symbolic gesture to motivate creators. We plan to divide the prize money as follows: $150 for the best short film shot with a traditional camera and $150 for the best short film shot with a mobile phone.
Best Fiction Short Film
Awarded to the best narrative short for its direction, screenplay, and overall cinematic proposal.
Best Experimental Film
Recognizes visual, narrative, and technical innovation in cinematic language.
Best Documentary Short
Honors works that offer an authentic perspective on reality and the human condition.
Best Animation Short
Highlights creativity and execution in traditional, digital, or hybrid animation.
Best Creative Vision
Granted to the most daring and artistically distinctive work — a tribute to the true “ReelRaw” spirit.
Audience Award
Chosen by audience voting during the virtual screenings.
Special Mentions
The jury may award Honorable Mentions to films that stand out in specific areas such as:
Direction
Cinematography
Editing
Sound
Acting
Production Design
Official Laurels
ReelRaw Film Festival – 1st Edition Regulations
1. Festival Purpose
The ReelRaw Film Festival aims to highlight independent films that dare to break conventions, explore new narratives, and reflect an authentic vision of the world.
We seek bold, innovative, and personal projects created with passion and artistic freedom.
2. Format and Eligibility
Short films with a maximum duration of 30 minutes, including credits, are accepted.
Works must have been produced after January 2023.
Productions from any country and in any language are welcome.
If the language is not English or Spanish, English subtitles are required.
Films may have been previously screened at other festivals or platforms, as long as they are not available for free public viewing online.
3. Festival Format
A 100% virtual festival, with online screenings and awards.
Selected films will be showcased for a limited period on the festival’s platform, exclusively for programming and promotional purposes.
Filmmakers retain all rights to their works.
4. Official Categories
Best Fiction Short Film – Narrative short films of any genre.
Best Experimental Film – Works exploring visual, conceptual, or artistic forms.
Best Documentary Short – Real stories with creative or social approaches.
Best Animation Short – Traditional, digital, or hybrid animation.
Best Creative Vision – Recognition for the most original and daring proposal.
Audience Award – Chosen by online audience voting.
5. Selection and Jury
All films will be evaluated by a jury composed of filmmakers, visual artists, and independent curators.
The jury’s decisions are final and not subject to appeal.
Selected participants will be notified by email and announced through official channels.
6. Screening Rights
Participants authorize the festival to use excerpts, stills, or clips (up to 30 seconds) for promotional purposes related to the event.
The festival will not make any commercial use of the submitted works.
7. Submission
Submissions are accepted exclusively through Festhome.
Multiple works per participant are allowed, each with its own form and entry fee.
Submissions sent by mail or through unofficial platforms will not be accepted.
8. Philosophy
The ReelRaw Film Festival promotes creative freedom, cultural diversity, and audiovisual experimentation.
Each edition seeks to be a space for discovery, showcasing new voices in contemporary independent cinema.
Special Section: Mobile Film Stories
The Mobile Film Stories section of the ReelRaw Film Festival celebrates the power of cinema in its most accessible and contemporary form: films shot entirely on mobile phones.
We believe that true creativity does not depend on budget or equipment, but on the filmmaker’s unique vision.
This category is open to short films created entirely using smartphones or tablets, highlighting imagination, visual storytelling, and authenticity in every frame.
From experimental works to fiction, documentaries, or hybrids, this section honors a new generation of filmmakers turning the everyday into cinema.
Maximum duration: 20 minutes
Format: Shot entirely on a mobile device
Accepted genres: Fiction, documentary, experimental, or mobile animation
Requirements: English subtitles (if the original language is not English or Spanish)
Cinema in your hands. Stories without limits.
Sección Oficial Cortometrajes
Short Films >5' 30'<
Standard Fee15€ -8% 13.8€
Submissions deadline
01 May 26
Save up
1.2€
Submit
The Official Short Film Section of the ReelRaw Film Festival brings together the most daring, creative, and authentic works of contemporary independent cinema.
We are looking for short films that stand out for their narrative freedom, personal vision, and ability to evoke emotion or reflection without relying on conventional formulas.
This section celebrates the talent of emerging filmmakers and those who, with limited resources but a powerful vision, manage to convey a real, human, and honest story.
All selected works compete for the Best Fiction Short Film award and are also eligible for the Audience Award and special mentions from the jury.
Maximum duration: 30 minutes (including credits)
Format: Fiction in any genre or style
Requirements: English subtitles if the original language is not English or Spanish
Mobile Film Stories
Short Films >5' 20'<
Standard Fee15€ -8% 13.8€
Submissions deadline
01 May 26
Save up
1.2€
Submit
Special Section: Mobile Film Stories
The Mobile Film Stories section of the ReelRaw Film Festival celebrates the power of cinema in its most accessible and contemporary form — films shot entirely on mobile phones.
We believe that true creativity doesn’t depend on budget or gear, but on the filmmaker’s unique vision.
This category is open to short films created entirely using smartphones or tablets, emphasizing imagination, visual storytelling, and authenticity in every frame.
From experimental pieces to fiction, documentaries, or hybrids, this section honors a new generation of filmmakers turning the everyday into cinema.
Maximum duration: 20 minutes
Format: shot entirely on a mobile device
Accepted genres: fiction, documentary, experimental, or mobile animation
Requirements: English subtitles (if the original language is not English or Spanish)
Cinema in your hands. Stories without limits.
Festhome holds accountable fees festivals by holding the payment of the fees of most newer festivals until they have viewed the submissions, held their festivals and other methods.
-8%
13.8€
Festhome holds accountable fees festivals by holding the payment of the fees of most newer festivals until they have viewed the submissions, held their festivals and other methods. 