Philosophical Film Festival (16)

Inicio Festival: 21 mayo 2026      Fin Festival: 28 mayo 2026

Philosophical Film Festival / Филозофски Филмски Фестивал is a unique film festival that lives on the crossroads between philosophy and film and is held annually in Republic of N. Macedonia. On one side, the festival tries to promote the idea of film as a medium which can provoke philosophical thought and illustrate philosophical ideas. On the other, it aims to trigger aesthetical analysis’ and investigations into film language as a form sui generis and empower young filmmakers and film workers to reflect on key concepts, questions and ideas in order to translate them into the visual language of cinema. It is a pioneering festival of the kind in Macedonia and the region, and one of few in the world connecting film and philosophy.

"Golden Owl" Jury Award & Audience Award for Best Feature Film and Best Short Film. Special Mention "Stefan Sidovski - Sido" for a short film.

PHILOSOPHICAL FILM FESTIVAL 2026

Rules & Terms

Philosophical Film Festival (original title: Филозофски Филмски Фестивал) is organized by the non-profit organization Philosophical Society of Macedonia registered in the Republic of N. Macedonia.

The 16th edition of the Philosophical Film Festival will take place from 21-28 May 2025 in Skopje, Republic of N. Macedonia. Therefore the Festival is opening a Call for Feature Films, a Call for Short Films and a Call for the Essay Films Selection for the 15. edition.

Film Submission Rules

1. A film must comply with the following conditions to be submitted:

- is a feature or short fiction film (documentaries are not accepted),

- is completed in 2024 or 2025,

- is philosophically relevant or inspires philosophical reflection,

- is with English subtitles.

2. The Regular submission fee is 5 euros for short films, and 10 euros for feature films, but there are also possibilities for Earlybird entries and Late entries. The submission for the Essay Films Selection is free.

3. Only the entrants whose films were selected will be notified, as we are not able to inform individual applicants about the rejection nor its reason.


Official Selection

1. Feature and short fiction films will be considered for the official competitions. The Essay Films Selection is not competitive selection.

2. Successful submissions will be announced on 25th March 2026.

3. The Jury appointed by the Festival's organizers will award the ‘Golden Owl’ Jury Award for Best Feature Film and Best Short Film on PFF 2026, plus the Special Mention "Stefan Sidovski - Sido" for a short film. Submitted films are assessed in terms of artistic quality and philosophical relevance and the jury’s decision is absolute and final. The Audience of the Festival will award the ‘Golden Owl’ Audience Awards for a feature and a short film.

4. After the finishing of the Main Programme, the awarded films might be screened also on side events organized in small towns around the country, the film academies with which PFF is collaborating, or in an awarded films repetition screenings in May 2026.

Submission

1. Films may be submitted electronically via the platform.

2. The regular submission deadline is 8th February 2026, and the latest deadline is 1 March 2026.

3. The regular submission fee is 5 euros for short films, and 10 euros for feature films, but there are also possibilities for Earlybird entries and Late entries (student films are also eligible and can be submitted without a submission fee). Submissions for the Essay Films Selection is free.

4. The person submitting the film gives their permission to screen the film during the Festival and during other events promoting the Festival arranged by the organizer with no screening fees.

5. The Festival reserves the right to invite a film that was not submitted to the Festival.


Film copies

1. The film copies (selected films) should be sent electronically via an online link.

2. The films should have English subtitles and will be screened with, both, English and Macedonian subtitles created by the Festival.

Submitting a film to the Philosophical Film Festival is equivalent to the acceptance of the conditions set out in the above Rules & Terms.