Diversamente Film Festival (1)

Festival start: 12 October 2026      Festival end: 18 October 2026

Diversamente Film Festival

International film award for short films dedicated to disability, inclusion, and the celebration of diversity

Lead organization: K-Antares APS
Project coordinator: Dr. Lorenzo Simonini

The awards have no monetary value, but represent cultural, symbolic, and professional recognition.

Winners will receive a personalized award.

Diversamente Film Festival

International film award for short films dedicated to disability, inclusion, and the celebration of diversity

Lead organization: K-Antares APS
Project coordinator: Dr. Lorenzo Simonini

2. Vision and Philosophy

The Diversamente Film Festival is founded on the belief that cinema is one of the most powerful cultural tools for generating social change, breaking down stereotypes, and giving voice to narratives that are often invisible.

The Festival promotes a differently able vision of cinema, where disability is not a limitation but a narrative, artistic, and human resource. Its goal is to encourage an authentic, respectful, and plural representation of people with disabilities, both in front of and behind the camera.

3. Mission

To expand genuine inclusion within the film industry

To encourage the active participation of actors and actresses with disabilities

To support young filmmakers, authors, and independent productions

To challenge cultural and professional ableism

To create an accessible, free, and open artistic space for everyone

4. Specific Objectives

To give visibility to short films addressing disability and inclusion

To promote productions in which at least 50% of the acting cast consists of people with disabilities

To stimulate new inclusive approaches to writing, directing, and acting

To create opportunities for dialogue among artists, industry professionals, audiences, and institutions

To raise public awareness of diversity as a value

5. Target Audience

Emerging and professional filmmakers

Actors and actresses with and without disabilities

Film schools, drama academies, and universities

Cultural and social organizations

General audiences

Institutions, foundations, and organizations sensitive to inclusion

6. Key Features of the Festival
Access and Participation

No submission fees: participation is completely free

Open to national and international productions

Guaranteed accessibility for audiences and participants

Eligible Works

Fiction short films

Short documentaries

Experimental shorts

Animation

7. Fundamental Requirements

Short films may address disability, inclusion, and diversity either directly or indirectly, but the narrative does not have to focus specifically on disability

Films with “ordinary” or universal genres and stories (comedy, drama, thriller, romance, experimental, etc.) are also eligible, provided they align with the Festival’s values

At least 50% of the lead and/or supporting actors must have a disability, regardless of the narrative role

The presence of actors with disabilities must not be instrumental or stereotypical, but an integral and natural part of the storytelling

This principle strongly affirms that people with disabilities can portray any story, not only stories about disability.

8. Award Categories

Best Inclusive Short Film

Best Director

Best Screenplay

Best Performance (gender-neutral)

Special Inclusion Award

Social Audience Award

Young Authors Award

9. Jury

The jury will include:

Film professionals

Experts in inclusion and disability

Artists with disabilities

Film critics

Representatives from the cultural and social sectors

The jury composition will reflect the Festival’s values of diversity and representation.

10. Evaluation Criteria

Artistic and technical quality

Authenticity of representation

Alignment with inclusion values

Narrative originality

Emotional and social impact

11. Event Structure

Careful preliminary selection of submitted works

Public screenings of selected short films

Meetings with filmmakers

Round tables on cinema and disability

Final awards ceremony

Official Festival screenings will take place only after a rigorous selection process, ensuring artistic quality, thematic coherence, and respect for the founding values of the Diversamente Film Festival.

12. Accessibility

The Diversamente Film Festival guarantees:

Subtitles

Audio descriptions upon request

Accessible venues

Inclusive communication

Dedicated support for participants upon request

13. Cultural and Social Impact

The Festival aims to:

Change perceptions of disability in cinema

Offer concrete artistic work opportunities

Foster new alliances between cinema and inclusion

Create a lasting network of artists and professionals

14. Sustainability and Future Vision

The Diversamente Film Festival is conceived as:

An annual event

A permanent cultural platform

A laboratory of inclusive best practices

A model replicable nationally and internationally

15. Distinctive Value

The Diversamente Film Festival is not merely a film award, but a cultural and political act in the highest sense: a Festival that does not ask for integration, but recognizes belonging.

A cinema that does not include despite disability, but because of diversity.

16. Connection with the Diversamente Musical Method

The Diversamente Film Festival is grounded in and inspired by the Diversamente Musical Method, created to enhance the artistic potential of people with different abilities through an integrated approach that combines expression, body, voice, emotion, and relationships.

The Diversamente Musical Method promotes:

A focus on the person rather than the diagnosis

The enhancement of individual skills

Accessible and adaptable creative processes

Artistic work as a tool for autonomy and self-determination

In the cinematic context, these principles translate into:

Inclusive, non-stereotypical narratives

Recognition of each actor’s uniqueness

Respectful and conscious casting and directing practices

Centrality of shared artistic experience

The Festival thus represents the natural extension of the Diversamente Musical Method into the audiovisual language, expanding its cultural and social impact.

17. Participation Rules
Art. 1 – Purpose

These regulations govern participation in the Diversamente Film Festival, a film award dedicated to short films that address themes of disability, inclusion, and the celebration of differences.

Art. 2 – Promoting Organization

The Festival is promoted by K-Antares APS.

Art. 3 – Project Coordinator

The official project coordinator is Dr. Lorenzo Simonini.

Art. 4 – Participation

Participation in the Festival is free of charge and open to national and international productions.

Art. 5 – Eligible Works

The following are eligible:

fiction short films

short documentaries

experimental works

animation

There are no limits regarding genre or budget.

Art. 6 – Mandatory Requirements

Works may, but are not required to, address themes related to disability

Works with universal or non-thematic narratives are also accepted, even when disability is not a central element of the storyline

At least 50% of the lead and/or supporting actors must be people with disabilities

Works must ensure a respectful, authentic, and non-stereotypical representation

This article establishes the principle of normalizing the artistic presence of people with disabilities in cinema.

Art. 7 – Selection

All submitted works will undergo a careful and final selection process.

Only short films deemed suitable by the Artistic Direction and/or the Selection Committee will be screened during the Festival.

Art. 8 – Jury

Final evaluation will be entrusted to a jury composed of:

film industry professionals

inclusion and disability experts

artists

representatives of the cultural sector

Art. 9 – Evaluation Criteria

artistic and technical quality

coherence with the Festival’s values

authenticity of representation

originality and narrative impact

Art. 10 – Awards

The awards have no monetary value, but cultural, symbolic, and professional significance.

Winners will receive a personalized award.

Art. 11 – Rights

Authors guarantee that they hold all rights to the submitted works and authorize their screening within the framework of the Festival.

Art. 12 – Acceptance of the Regulations

Participation in the Festival implies full acceptance of these regulations and the privacy policy.

Art. 13 – Submission Methods and Materials

Projects and registration materials may be submitted via:

The Festhome platform



For information:
+39 328 2552586
diversamentefilmfestival@gmail.com

18. Conclusion

The Diversamente Film Festival positions itself as an artistic, ethical, and cultural space in which cinema becomes a tool for change, awareness, and shared beauty.