IN THE PALACE International Short Film Festival (23)

Festival start: 27 June 2026      Festival end: 04 July 2026

Founded in 2003, IN THE PALACE International Short Film Festival is dedicated to short films, new media and digital arts. Originating as a competitive forum for student films, it has grown to be a recognized platform for the expression of both young artists and established professionals – the only one of its kind in Bulgaria serving this particular sector of contemporary culture, and one of the oldest short film forums on the Balkans.
IN THE PALACE is a Goya Awards qualifying festival, Student Academy Awards® qualifying festival, and an Academy Awards®/OSCAR® qualifying festival for shorts in the categories of Best Animation, Best Fiction, Best Documentary, and Best National Film. IN THE PALACE is a member of the international network of festivals and institutions serving the short film sector – the Short Film Conference.

23rd IN THE PALACE will take place in the Palace of Culture Pernik (Pernik, Bulgaria) from June 27th until July 4th 2026.
IN THE PALACE is an established international festival dedicated to short films and digital arts and also presents special competitive programs for feature films and film series.
The program consistс of several main components:
• International and national, professional and student competitive programs in fiction, documentary, animation, experimental - for short and feature films and series
• ON FOCUS film programs & screenings
• Q & A sessions
• FILMER FORGE: industry market, industry meetings, film pitching session, educational program
• International Interdisciplinary Science Conference
• Video library
• Film events and initiatives for general audience
• Parties
IN THE PALACE takes place over a week and offers a range of events, activities, and programs for both - local and international film industry and audience. IN THE PALACE is a cultural meeting point of film industry, artists, students, educational institutions, and the general public, that provides access to the latest trends, developments, and learning in the arts and culture through screenings, training and interdisciplinary exchange. Since 2018 the Festival organizes the International Interdisciplinary Science Conference.

AWARDS

Best Fiction Film
Best Animation Film
Best National Film (fiction & animation)
Best Documentary Film
Best Experimental Film
Best Student Fiction Film
Best Student Animation Film
Best Student Documentary Film
Best Student Experimental Film
Best Mid-length Film
Best Full-length Film
Best Music Video
Special Mentions

Awarded films in categories of Best Fiction Film, Best Animation Film and Best National Film are qualified for Academy Awards®.
All awarded directors receive IN THE PALACE trophies. Authors whose films have been awarded or nominated shall not be charged a submission fee for next festival editions.

IN THE PALACE International Short Film Festival is an OSCAR® Qualifying Film Festival in the categories:
BEST SHORT FICTION FILM, International Competition
BEST SHORT ANIMATION FILM, International Competition
BEST NATIONAL SHORT FILM.

IN THE PALACE International Short Film Festival is a STUDENT ACADEMY AWARDS® Qualifying Festival for short films.
IN THE PALACE is a Goya Awards qualifying festival.


IN THE PALACE Festival Rules and Regulations
1. IN THE PALACE selects only films having their Bulgarian premiere at the Festival. Films publicly shown in Bulgaria or released online on free-access websites or platforms are not eligible for its competition programs. The Festival reserves the right to reject a film at any stage in the case of non-compliance with this rule.
2. The Festival accepts individual and institutional submissions (i.e. from production companies, distribution companies, film academies, national film centers, television networks, creative associations, etc.).
3. Eligible films must be completed after 1. January 2024.
4. Entry fees and deadlines */**:
DEADLINE: 01 October 2025
FEES:
SHORT FILM COMPETITIONS – 25.00 USD
MID-LENGHT FILMS COMPETITION – 35.00 USD
FEATURE FILMS COMPETITION – 35.00 USD
BEST MUSIC VIDEO – 25.00 USD

* Authors whose films have been selected in any of the past 2 editions of the Festival shall not be charged a submission fee for the ongoing call.
** Authors whose films have been awarded or nominated in previous editions of the Festival shall not be charged a submission fee.
5. IN THE PALACE accepts film entries via Festhome

6. The Festival Competition Program includes:
I. SHORT FILM COMPETITION
National and international professional and student short films up to 40 min in length.
Eligible films must be produced after 1 January 2024.
Fiction, animation, documentary and experimental short films accepted.
Bulgarian premiere required. Films publicly shown in Bulgaria or released online on free-access websites or platforms are not eligible for its competition programs. The Festival reserves the right to reject a film at any stage in the case of non-compliance with this rule.

1. OSCAR® QUALIFYING COMPETITION
National and international professional fiction, animation and documentary short films.
1.1. BEST FICTION FILM CATEGORY
1.2. BEST ANIMATION FILM CATEGORY
1.3. BEST DOCUMENTARY FILM CATEGORY
1.4. BEST NATIONAL FILM CATEGORY
Academy’s qualifying and eligibility rules: https://www.oscars.org/oscars/rules-eligibility

2. EXPERIMENTAL COMPETITION
National and international professional experimental short films.
2.1. BEST EXPERIMENTAL FILM CATEGORY (experimental films, hybrid forms and formats, digital art works, video art)

3. STUDENT COMPETITION (Student Academy Awards® qualifying)
National and international student films. All genres accepted - fiction, animation, documentary and experimental (experimental films, hybrid forms and formats, digital art works, video art).
Eligible are only films that have been completed during the study years of their directors.
3.1. BEST STUDENT FICTION FILM CATEGORY
3.2. BEST STUDENT ANIMATION FILM CATEGORY
3.3. BEST STUDENT DOCUMENTARY FILM CATEGORY
3.4. BEST STUDENT EXPERIMENTAL FILM CATEGORY



II. NOT SHORT AT ALL FILM COMPETITION
National and international films over 40 min in length.
Eligible films must be produced after 1 January 2024.
All genres accepted.
Bulgarian premiere required. Films publicly shown in Bulgaria or released online on free-access websites or platforms are not eligible for its competition programs. The Festival reserves the right to reject a film at any stage in the case of non-compliance with this rule.
1. MID-LENGTH FILM CATEGORY (over 40 min and up to 60 min in length)
2. FULL-LENGTH FILM CATEGORY (over 60 min in length)

III. MUSIC VIDEO COMPETITION
National and international music videos produced after 1 January 2023.
1. BEST MUSIC VIDEO CATEGORY

7. The Festival appoints a Selection Committee and a professional International Jury to assess the films to be screened at the Festival.
8. List of selected films will be published on Festival`s official web site.
9. The Festival shall not give feedback about the Selection Committee`s decisions.
10. Representatives of selected films will be notified by email.
11. All technical specifications for the screening of selected films will be sent to the email address provided in the application. Please make sure that the address you provide is correct. If you have not received any communication after the notification date, please contact us asap on films@inthepalace.com to check the status of your film. Submitters of selected films will be sent a catalogue form to fill in and should be prepared to provide: a screening copy of the film in popular digital format, English subtitles burned in the file (including for the ones with English dialogue), a dialogue list and a .TXT/.SRT with time code English subtitle file, a poster, a trailer, 3 stills in 300 ppi print size quality min. 1300px – width, a photo of the Director in 300 ppi print size quality min. 1300px – width, film synopsis and logline.
12. Selected authors and film teams will be invited to obtain accreditation by a given deadline via guests@inthepalace.com. The Festival has the right to decline accreditation.
13. Once a film is selected and screening copy is provided, it cannot be withdrawn from the competitive programs of the Festival.
14. The deadline for receiving screening copies of selected films is April 30th 2026.
15. The Festival reserves the right to screen the preview copies of the films provided for selection, if the screening copy is late and/or is different from the one selected, and/or in case the technical characteristics of the screening copy are different from the ones accepted by the Festival.
16. The Festival does not pay any screening fees.
17. The Festival will cover the accommodation of one film representative per film of those selected for the competition program. The accommodation provided by the Festival is linked to competition category and screening program and will be arranged based on preliminary accreditation and on a first come, first served basis.
18. The Festival reserves the right to include films that have not accumulated enough selection points for the competition programs, in thematic non-competitive festival programs.
19. By submitting a film to IN THE PALACE, the submitter declares that they carry the right to manage the authors’ and related rights for the film and all property relationships with the rights’ owners have been cleared and paid for. The submitter agrees for the film to be included in the festival program and other screenings related to the Festival. The submitter agrees for screenshots, trailers and parts of the film to be shown (online and in other types of media) to the purpose of promoting the film’s participation in the Festival.
20. Further to the Festival’s mission to preserve and protect short filmmaking as part of contemporary cultural heritage, all submitted films will be automatically included in IN THE PALACE Video Library for a period of 10 years, and will be accessible for non-commercial and professional viewing. In the absence of an explicit written request on behalf of the rights’ owners at least 2 months before the expiry of the above 10-year period, the permanence of the movie in the Festival Video Library will be automatically renewed for another period of the same duration (10 years).
21. The Festival Director has the right to personally appoint any exceptions and resolve any cases not covered by the present rules and regulations.
22. The submission for participation in the Festival constitutes acceptance of all the present Rules and Regulations.
The Festival reserves the right to cancel an application for participation and undertake action in case of breach of the present Rules and Regulations and/or indecent behavior, acts of aggression and arrogance, intolerance towards difference, etc. that undermine the Festival’s name or impede its normal proceedings.
Any legal disputes shall be resolved by a Bulgarian court.