Alexandria Short Film Festival (12)

Festival start: 15 April 2026      Festival end: 20 April 2026

- The festival provides accommodation and internal transportation during the festival period

Alexandria short film festival ( Egypt ) was founded by Alexandria Art Circle Association in order to give a chance for filmmakers to present their work to the public and this in the heart of Alexandria to be a lighthouse of cinema in the world.

The festival is held annually and its first edition was in 2015.

The festival aims to provide a suitable atmosphere to exchange experiences between filmmakers from all over the world and give opportunities for short filmmakers to present their films whether narrative, documentary, or animation in front of the audience, with the aim of conducting fruitful discussions between the filmmaker and the audience and providing a safe platform for presenting their work.

The festival aims to develop and advance short cinema .

Cash Prizes: 1,500$

Alexandria Short Film Festival presents the prize ( Hypatia ), who was a philosopher specialised in Platonic philosophy.

Golden Hypatia: The golden Hypatia Is awarded for the best Film

Silver Hypatia: The Silver Hypatia Prize is awarded by a special jury

- The jury also has the discretion to give a note when a distinctive element is found in the film (photographing - montage - acting - music - ....)

First: International Film Competition

Article 1:
The film's production date should be after January 1st, 2024

Article 2:
The film should not be premiered at any other screening platform in Egypt before its screening at the First: International Film Competition

Article 1:
The film's production date should be after January 1st, 2024.

Article 2:
The film should not be premiered at any other screening platform in Egypt before its screening at the 12th edition of the Alexandria Short Film Festival.

Article 3:
Films that will be broadcasted or made available, completely or partially, on any television channel, online, mobile phone, or other public display, will not be accepted before the closing of the twelfth cycle, which will be April 2026.

Article 4:
Films that were submitted to any previous editions of Alexandria Short Film Festival will be disqualified.

Article 5:
The maximum duration of the eligible films is (30) minutes.

Article 6:
The festival accepts submissions of films in the following sections: Feature - Documentary – Animation

Article 7:
The deadline: Participation forms must be submitted before January 31, 2026.
, by filling in the online form in Arabic or English and sending a copy of the film through the form in the space provided. Incomplete forms will not be accepted.

Article 8:
Applications submitted after the deadline will not be accepted.

Article 9:
In case that, the film language is in any language other than Arabic, a screening copy with English subtitles must be provided.

Article 10:
In case if the film is submitted while it is still in the production phase, this should be mentioned clearly in the entry form along, with mentioning the final title of the film, and not the submitted rough-cut title, to avoid any confusion.

Article 11:
The festival administration has the right to keep all materials submitted online for its internal use only, and the festival administration reserves the right to download or convert materials and films to a digital copy and transfer and store them on a hard disk (DVD) in order to create a digital archive at (Alexandria Short Film Festival Library). The festival administration will not publicly display films for commercial purposes.

Article 12:
The festival administration has the right to show the selected film in any of its various programs or competitions, at the discretion of the festival administration.

Arabic Film Competition

A. The film production date should be after January 1st, 2024

B. The film should not be premiered at any other screening platform in Egypt before its screening at the 12th edition of Alexandria Short Film Festival, and special exceptions might be considered for some films at the discretion of the festival management.

C. Films that will be broadcasted or made available, completely, or partially, on any television channel, online, mobile phone, or other public display, will not be accepted before the closing of the Eleventh cycle, which will be February 2026.

D. Films that were submitted to any previous editions of Alexandria Short Film Festival will be disqualified.

E. The maximum duration of the eligible films is (30) minutes.

F. The festival accepts submissions of films in the following sections: Feature - Documentary – Animation

G. The deadline: Participation forms must be submitted before the 1st of January 2026, by filling in the online form in Arabic or English and sending a copy of the film through the form in the space provided. Incomplete forms will not be accepted.

H. The deadline: Participation forms must be submitted before the 31st of January 2026, by filling in the online form in Arabic or English and sending a copy of the film through the form in the space provided. Incomplete forms will not be accepted.

I. Applications submitted after the deadline will not be accepted.

J. If the film is not in Arabic, a copy that contains English and Arabic subtitles must be submitted.

K. In case if the film that got selected was in Arabic, an English subtitled copy must be submitted.

L. In case that a film is submitted while it is still in the production phase, this should be mentioned clearly in the entry form along, with mentioning the final title of the film, and not the submitted rough-cut title, to avoid any confusion.

M. The festival administration has the right to keep all materials submitted online for its internal use only, and the festival administration reserves the right to download or convert materials and films to a digital copy and transfer and store them on a hard disk (DVD) in order to create a digital archive at (Alexandria Short Film Festival Library). The festival administration will not publicly display films for commercial purposes.

N. The director of the film must be an Arab director or of an Arabic origin.

O. The festival administration has the right to show the selected film in any of its various programs or competitions, at the discretion of the festival administration.

Students’ Competition
The competition targets students of the High Cinema Institute and media departments at public and private Egyptian universities.

1:The film director must be Egyptian or has Egyptian roots.
(The film director should be holding Egyptian nationality or has Egyptian roots.)
(The film director should be of Egyptian nationality or has Egyptian roots. )

2: 3- The duration of the film should not exceed 30 minutes

Selected Films

Article 1: The jury, per their discretion, selects the films participating in the festival awards and out-of-competition programs.

Article 2: In case of the official selection in or out of competition, the submitter will be notified by email.

Article 3: The festival has the right to officially announce the selected films in its program. Hence, the submitter should not by any means announce his/her selection results before the festival’s official announcement.

Article 4: The festival will announce the final list of selections on march, 2026.

Article 5: Upon selection, the submitter will not have the right to withdraw his/her film, or screen it in any manner that contradicts the listed screening conditions in the entry form.

Selection Committee and Jury

Article 1: The festival programmers go through all submission forms and make the final decision pertinent to selections either in or out of competitions.

Article 2: The festival’s administration assigns a jury at its absolute discretion who are cherry-picked among experts in the filmmaking industry from all over the Arab World to decide the winners worthy of the festival awards.

Film Screenings Schedule

Article 1: The festival’s board will screen films to the public maximum of two times. The festival holds the right to screen the film before the festival's opening ceremony to the jury, with a total of four screenings maximum. The festival board holds the right to specify the dates and order of screenings at its discretion.

Additional Regulations

Article 1: In case if the submitter breached any of the above-mentioned rules and regulations, the festival’s board has the right to withdraw the film from the festival based on its discretion.

Article 2: The film will not be subjected to any form of deletion; modification, or editing on the festival’s part by any means. of the Alexandria Short Film Festival.

Article 3:
Films that will be broadcasted or made available, completely or partially, on any television channel, online, mobile phone, or other public display, will not be accepted before the closing of the twelfth cycle, which will be April 2026

Article 4:
Films that were submitted to any previous editions of Alexandria Short Film Festival will be disqualified.

Article 5:
The maximum duration of the eligible films is (30) minutes.

Article 6:
The festival accepts submissions of films in the following sections: Feature - Documentary – Animation

Article 7:
The deadline: Participation forms must be submitted before January 31, 2026
, by filling in the online form in Arabic or English and sending a copy of the film through the form in the space provided. Incomplete forms will not be accepted.

Article 8:
Applications submitted after the deadline will not be accepted.

Article 9:
In case that, the film language is in any language other than Arabic, a screening copy with English subtitles must be provided.

Article 10:
In case if the film is submitted while it is still in the production phase, this should be mentioned clearly in the entry form along, with mentioning the final title of the film, and not the submitted rough-cut title, to avoid any confusion.

Article 11:
The festival administration has the right to keep all materials submitted online for its internal use only, and the festival administration reserves the right to download or convert materials and films to a digital copy and transfer and store them on a hard disk (DVD) in order to create a digital archive at (Alexandria Short Film Festival Library). The festival administration will not publicly display films for commercial purposes.

Article 12:
The festival administration has the right to show the selected film in any of its various programs or competitions, at the discretion of the festival administration.

Arabic Film Competition

A. The film production date should be after January 1st, 2024.

B. The film should not be premiered at any other screening platform in Egypt before its screening at the 10th edition of Alexandria Short Film Festival, and special exceptions might be considered for some films at the discretion of the festival management.

C. Films that will be broadcasted or made available, completely, or partially, on any television channel, online, mobile phone, or other public display, will not be accepted before the closing of the eighth cycle, which will be April 2025

D. Films that were submitted to any previous editions of Alexandria Short Film Festival will be disqualified.

E. The maximum duration of the eligible films is (30) minutes.

F. The festival accepts submissions of films in the following sections: Feature - Documentary – Animation

G. The deadline: Participation forms must be submitted before the 1st of November 2023, by filling in the online form in Arabic or English and sending a copy of the film through the form in the space provided. Incomplete forms will not be accepted.

H. The deadline: Participation forms must be submitted before the 1st of November 2023, by filling in the online form in Arabic or English and sending a copy of the film through the form in the space provided. Incomplete forms will not be accepted.

I. Applications submitted after the deadline will not be accepted.

J. If the film is not in Arabic, a copy that contains English and Arabic subtitles must be submitted.

K. In case if the film that got selected was in Arabic, an English subtitled copy must be submitted.

L. In case that a film is submitted while it is still in the production phase, this should be mentioned clearly in the entry form along, with mentioning the final title of the film, and not the submitted rough-cut title, to avoid any confusion.

M. The festival administration has the right to keep all materials submitted online for its internal use only, and the festival administration reserves the right to download or convert materials and films to a digital copy and transfer and store them on a hard disk (DVD) in order to create a digital archive at (Alexandria Short Film Festival Library). The festival administration will not publicly display films for commercial purposes.

N. The director of the film must be an Arab director or of an Arabic origin.

O. The festival administration has the right to show the selected film in any of its various programs or competitions, at the discretion of the festival administration.

Students’ Competition

The competition targets students of the High Cinema Institute and media departments at public and private Egyptian universities.

1:The film director must be Egyptian or has Egyptian roots.
(The film director should be holding Egyptian nationality or has Egyptian roots.)
(The film director should be of Egyptian nationality or has Egyptian roots. )

2: 3- The duration of the film should not exceed 30 minutes

Selected Films
Article 1: The jury, per their discretion, selects the films participating in the festival awards and out-of-competition programs.

Article 2: In case of the official selection in or out of competition, the submitter will be notified by email.

Article 3: The festival has the right to officially announce the selected films in its program. Hence, the submitter should not by any means announce his/her selection results before the festival’s official announcement.

Article 4: The festival will announce the final list of selections on February, 1st, 2026.

Article 5: Upon selection, the submitter will not have the right to withdraw his/her film, or screen it in any manner that contradicts the listed screening conditions in the entry form.

Selection Committee and Jury

Article 1: The festival programmers go through all submission forms and make the final decision pertinent to selections either in or out of competitions.

Article 2: The festival’s administration assigns a jury at its absolute discretion who are cherry-picked among experts in the filmmaking industry from all over the World to decide the winners worthy of the festival awards.

Film Screenings Schedule
Article 1: The festival’s board will screen films to the public maximum of two times. The festival holds the right to screen the film before the festival's opening ceremony to the jury, with a total of four screenings maximum. The festival board holds the right to specify the dates and order of screenings at its discretion.

Additional Regulations

Article 1: In case if the submitter breached any of the above-mentioned rules and regulations, the festival’s board has the right to withdraw the film from the festival based on its discretion.

Article 2: The film will not be subjected to any form of deletion; modification, or editing on the festival’s part by any means.