Ec(h)o Film Festival (1)

Festival start: 03 March 2027      Festival end: 07 March 2027

The NGO Rakonto is excited to announce the first edition of EC(H)O FILM FESTIVAL, aiming to promote the exhibition of short and feature films exploring how cinema and ecology can relate at every stage of the process of making and sharing movies.

Rooted in communal spaces of Laroin (South-West France), EC(H)O FILM FESTIVAL explores what it means to think about cinema ecologically and embracing a utopian thinking approach in a broad sense, moving beyond films that are simply about the ecological crisis to rethink the whole ecosystem surrounding cinema and positive alternatives: how we make, watch and share films, but also what we create around them. Cinema becomes a way to gather, create collectively, build relationships and care for each other and the places we inhabit.

COMPETITIVE CATEGORIES - SHORT FILMS

The competitive categories will be decided based on the films selected. We would love to have among our selection:

- Ecotopias: Stories that show alternative, better, more just, more respectful, more ecological and more collective futures. If we want to change the present, we must first be able to imagine another future."

- Green comedy: Eco-socially engaged works driven by humor.

- Windows: Fictional or documentary approaches to social realities that need visibility.

- Echo-punk: Experimental, unclassifiable, creative, handmade, free, cute, or punk pieces that expand the eco-artistic imaginary.

AWARDS

The name and number of awards will be decided based on the films selected. We would love to deliver the following awards:

- Most desirable Ecotopia Award

- Funniest Green Comedy Award

- Cleanest Window Award

- Cutest Punk Award

- Best Animated Short Film

- Audience Award

EC(H)O SCREENINGS

Non-competitive screenings of medium-length and feature films aimed at showcasing ecocinema, featuring the presence of the filmmakers to foster a creative and social post-screening discussion.

Ec(h)o embraces ecocinema as an open and contested territory rather than a fixed genre. We understand ecocinema in a broad sense, it can be a film dealing directly with the ecosocial crisis, but it can also a film that changes the way we look at our surroundings, experiments with other rhythms and forms, or is made through low-impact, handmade or collective practices and techniques. It is not simply about watching “ecological” films. It is about using cinema as a way to challenge how we produce, consume and share images and an active invitation to challenge our image-making systems and use cinema to envision a more resilient, interconnected world.

TO PARTICIPATE

- To have a film or anything that can be screened.
- Wherever you are from. The Festival is open to filmmakers from all over the world.
You may submit as many films as you wish.
- Films may have been previously screened at other exhibitions or festivals, let’s have a non-exclusive relationship.
- Films produced after January of whatever year. We are not ageist.
- English subtitles required.
- French subtitles are not required for the selection process, but if the film is selected, we will request French subtitles for the screening.

*You cannot participate if:

- Your film contains material (images, music, texts) for which the intellectual property rights do not belong to the participating author or collective.
- Your film incite hatred, discrimination, violence, or violate human dignity -not very eco-friendly of you.
- The organization reserves the right not to accept a film into the competition if it is not submitted by the deadline along with all the requested documentation.

FORMAT

- Films shot in any format are eligible to participate. Vertical and horizontal formats accepted, even diagonal -including Instructions on how to screen it, please-.
- Short films: maximum 20 minutes.
- Medium-length and feature films: between 20 and 100 minutes.
- Pieces with documentary, essayistic, poetic, fiction, non-fiction or experimental content, basically anything creatively driven.
- Screenings will be conducted using digital files. (Selected participants will be notified of the required file type for screenings well in advance).

AUTHORSHIP AND CLEARENCE RIGHTS

The festival organization disclaims all liability regarding the content of the submitted films (including, but not limited to, intellectual property and rights clearance). Furthermore, the festival is not responsible for the accuracy, originality, or validity of any submitted documentation.

The person submitting the film must hold all necessary rights to enter the work in compliance with these guidelines. This representative assumes full legal responsibility for the film and its compliance with current laws. They will act as the sole authorized point of contact for any decisions, negotiations, or permissions related to the festival.

By submitting a work, the participant implicitly accepts these rules, which include:

- Screening Rights: The irrevocable assignment of all necessary rights (including public exhibition and reproduction) to screen the film at the Festival. This assignment is valid within French territory from the submission date until December 31, 2027.

- Promotional Rights: The irrevocable assignment of rights to use any provided supplementary materials (trailers, posters, stills, etc.) for festival marketing and outreach. This applies worldwide, across any medium (social media, print, web, TV, etc.). This assignment is valid from submission until one year after the festival; after this period, existing promotional content may remain published, but no new content will be created. The organization may use excerpts from the selected works -maximum of 10%- to promote the films and the festival (you can write in comments if you have any special warning in this regard).

MORE THAN A FESTIVAL: THE ECOCINEMA LAB

What if you could do more than screen your film? What if you could come and make another one?

Alongside Ec(h)o Film Festival, Rakonto is organising an international Ecocinema Lab from 27 February to 9 March 2027. Young creatives from across Europe and beyond will come together to explore handmade animation, experimental filmmaking and low-resource audiovisual practices.

The laboratory is supported by Erasmus+ and is fully funded for selected participants, including accommodation, meals and travel reimbursement under the project's conditions.

Filmmakers submitting to the festival who are interested in the laboratory are also encouraged to apply. Please note that film submissions and laboratory applications are two separate selection processes, with different eligibility criteria.

Ecocinema Lab applications open on 16 November 2026.

FESTIVAL RULES & TERMS: https://cdn.sanity.io/files/ffwgonbk/rakonto-dataset/197afde5342faa0ce83313dd8bf3b694fcb6ed60.pdf?dl=FESTIVAL%20RULES%20&%20TERMS.pdf

It's important that you read this document carefully.