Cinalfama Lisbon Screenings and Awards (7)

Festival start: 24 January 2024      Festival end: 24 January 2024

Our Mission

We acclaim emerging directors, screenwriters and filmmakers from all over the world and amplify their work by bringing together a diverse audience to experience and reflect on it, and engage in further dialogue.

Our community exists at the intersection of a broader, more inclusive, cinematic gaze and the emergence of truly exceptional cinema.

If films are the content, Alfama is the form that sets the tone for the experiences we create. An architectural somatisation of intimacy, this is the scene in which we invite your films to make their appearance.

Our Story
in 2009 as an informal project to showcase independent cinema in the recondite alleys of Alfama, projected against its iconic stone walls.

​In the following years, Cinalfama matured and became a competitive event of an international character, as well as a cultural reference in Lisbon.

The nature of the events has changed over the years, but the atmosphere, films and venues remain as intimate as they have always been.

Our Home
Founded in 1914, Grupo Sportivo Adicense is one of the oldest and most authentic remaining symbols of Alfama’s true soul.

World famous fado singers started their careers waiting tables at this historical institution – one that still stands in the face of constant change and mischaracterisation of the neighbourhood’s urban landscape


Screening Sessions

Tucked into the backstreets of Lisbon’s old town, Alfama, our intimate screenings take place in the city’s oldest cultural house, Grupo Sportivo Adicense.

We host three seasonal screening editions throughout the year, to showcase and award the best talent and films of each one. These are free entrance and all films have English subtitles.

Due to the current pandemic and associated restrictions, we have decided to host next January 2024 edition online, making available a selection of the very best films of the season. Aiming to have live screenings back real soon.

Competition & Awards
Up-and-coming directors, screenwriters and filmmakers from all over the world submit their work ahead of each of our seasonal screening and awards editions, at which we present our jury’s final selection.

Categories
Best Medium or Feature Film
Best Short Film
Best Debut Film
Best Director
Best Actor/ Actress
Best Screenplay

We invite the winning directors, screenwriters and music supervisors or composers to present their work in the heart of Lisbon's old town, Alfama.

The selected, nominated and awarded films promotional material is shared on our website and on our social media platforms.

All winners will receive a laurel and a certificate.

Winning films will be promoted at our partner festivals.

Access to ECU Paris International Festival. Winners will have a privileged selection viewing at ÉCU. Several Cinalfama awarded films were selected and awarded at ÉCU as well.

The winners will have the opportunity to have a one to one mentor session with members of our renowned jury, Leonor Teles and Pedro Cabeleira.

Mentoring
Book a one to one mentoring session with a member of Cinalfama’s jury of experienced and award-winning film professionals, for an in-depth analysis and creative review of your film. A unique chance to receive invaluable insights from an accomplished filmmaker’s perspective and experience, from creative reviews to cinematic references, also engaging in film and scene analysis.

Please submit your film on the “One to One Mentoring” category available.

You can also choose to receive full private written critical feedback on your work - just submit in the “Critical Feedback Report” Category.

Our team will get back to you within 5 days after your submission to schedule the session.

The submitter hereby certifies that he possesses the right(s) and all of the proper clearances to submit the film, including, but not limited to image rights, talent releases, soundtrack and/or source music releases; and assumes all responsibility for their material. Cinalfama Lisbon Screening and Awards accepts no responsibility, financial or otherwise, for any film submitted to the festival.

Every entry/submission will be judged based on its directing, acting, technical, and artistic merits, as related to the submission. All decisions made by the judge(s) are considered final and incontestable.

We reserve the right not to give all of the possible awards if we don’t receive enough entries in a particular category or if none of the submissions meet our high judging standards.

There can be, if the jury by its own quality so decides, two winners ex aequo in any of the categories.

The official selection is composed of 5 nominees, 1 winning film per category, as well as honourable mention recipients.

The Cinalfama Awards only accept online screeners. Please submit your film via one of the following online platform: FestHome. We do not accept discs or any downloadable files. ​

​Entry fees are nonrefundable.

Multiple entries are allowed. You can submit more than one film to the same category.

Any entry will be considered eligible in the next edition only if the film was not awarded in previous editions.

Submissions in languages other than English must be subtitled in English. English subtitles must be embedded in the film. No additional srt files will be accepted.

Only films released after 2015 are accepted.

Short films are considered to be up to 30 minutes and medium or feature films to be 30 minutes or more.

Cinalfama reserves the right to disqualify any film whose submitter might be in any way linked to illicit or criminal acts, proven or otherwise.

Selected, nominated and awarded films’ promotional material will be announced and viewable on our website (http://www.cinalfama.com) and on our social media pages.

The awarded films rightful owners of the rights, in each category of every edition, hereby authorise the film’s live screening at Cinalfama events, and use of relevant content on our social media platforms. This authorisation is an indispensable condition for the inclusion in the festival’s official selection.