Omovies - International LGBT+ Questioning Film Festival (19)

Festival start: 07 December 2026      Festival end: 14 December 2026

OMOVIES 19
XIX EDITION • 2026
INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION REGULATIONS

LGBTQIA+ Audiovisual Works

Submission deadline: September 30, 2026, 11:59 PM (CEST)
Festival dates: December 7–14, 2026 • Naples and online platform
Organized by: i Ken APS ETS Association

Article 1 — Introduction and Purpose

On the occasion of the 19th edition of OMOVIES – International LGBTQIA+ Film Festival, the i Ken APS ETS Association announces an international competition for audiovisual works exploring sexual orientations, gender identities and expressions, bodies, relationships, families, communities, and LGBTQIA+ cultures through free, pluralistic, and intersectional perspectives.

Particular attention is given to questioning, understood not as an incomplete or merely transitional condition, but as a legitimate experience of self-exploration, reflection, and self-determination. OMOVIES recognizes every person's right to question their sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression; to take time before adopting a definition; to change, over time, the language used to describe themselves; or to choose not to adopt any label at all. Cinema has the power to restore dignity to these journeys by freeing them from the pressure of certainty, from pathologization, and from representations that reduce them to confusion, fragility, or merely a transitional stage toward a supposedly definitive identity.

The Festival also recognizes queer cultures as a diverse heritage of memories, artistic practices, languages, forms of resistance, care, kinship, and community building. From this perspective, queer represents not only an identity category or an umbrella term, but also a critical lens through which what is presented as natural, universal, or immutable can be questioned. The Festival therefore welcomes works that expand the boundaries of visibility and storytelling, challenge binary thinking, stereotypes, hierarchies, and power structures, and explore the intersections between gender, sexual orientation, origin, racialization, disability, age, social class, faith, and migration, without reducing the complexity of human experience to new rigid definitions.

The Festival is scheduled to take place from December 7 to 14, 2026, in a hybrid format, featuring both in-person screenings and events in Naples, as well as an online programme. Festival venues, schedule, and access procedures will be published on the official website www.omovies.it.

Awards and Recognition

Official Competition Awards

OMOVIES 2026 Award – Best Fiction Short Film

OMOVIES 2026 Award – Best Documentary Short Film

OMOVIES 2026 Award – Best Fiction Mid-Length Film

OMOVIES 2026 Award – Best Documentary Mid-Length Film

OMOVIES 2026 Award – Best Fiction Feature Film

OMOVIES 2026 Award – Best Documentary Feature Film

Nomination and Award Allocation Clause.

For each running-time category, separate Fiction and Documentary awards will be presented only if at least four nominated works are selected in each of the two sections. Should either section fail to reach the minimum threshold of four nominated works, the Fiction and Documentary sections will be merged and a single award will be presented for the relevant running-time category, without distinction between Fiction and Documentary. By way of example, instead of the awards "Best Fiction Mid-Length Film" and "Best Documentary Mid-Length Film," a single "OMOVIES 2026 Award – Best Mid-Length Film" will be presented. The verification of the minimum number of nominations and any resulting merger of the sections shall be the sole responsibility of the Festival's Artistic Director, whose decision shall be final and not subject to appeal. The Artistic Director also reserves the right not to present an award if, even following such a merger, the number or overall quality of the competing works does not allow for an appropriate evaluation.

Special Awards

Vincenzo Ruggiero Award 2026, presented by the Vincenzo Ruggiero Academy;

David Queer Award 2026, presented by the Festival Direction according to the criteria and any sections established by the Festival;

Soap Power Award 2026 – "Wash Away Prejudice", presented to individuals and organizations that have made an outstanding contribution to the promotion of cultural and social inclusion;

Special Mentions, which may be awarded by the Juries, the Festival Direction, Festival partners, or Festival academies.

Awards consist of official trophies, artistic awards, or certificates of recognition. The Festival Direction reserves the right to modify, merge, or withhold any award category if the number or overall quality of the submitted works does not allow for a meaningful evaluation.

Article 1 — Introduction and Purpose
On the occasion of the 19th edition of OMOVIES – International LGBTQIA+ Film Festival, i Ken APS ETS Association announces an international competition for audiovisual works exploring sexual orientations, gender identities and expressions, bodies, relationships, families, communities, and LGBTQIA+ cultures through free, pluralistic, and intersectional perspectives.
Particular attention is given to questioning, understood not as an incomplete or merely transitional condition, but as a legitimate experience of self-exploration, reflection, and self-determination. OMOVIES recognizes every person’s right to question their sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression; to take time before adopting a definition; to change, over time, the language used to describe themselves; or to choose not to adopt any label at all. Cinema has the power to restore dignity to these journeys by freeing them from the pressure of certainty, from pathologization, and from representations that reduce them to confusion, fragility, or merely a transitional stage toward a supposedly definitive identity.
The Festival also recognizes queer cultures as a diverse heritage of memories, artistic practices, languages, forms of resistance, care, kinship, and community building. From this perspective, queer represents not only an identity category or an umbrella term, but also a critical lens through which what is presented as natural, universal, or immutable can be questioned. The Festival therefore welcomes works that expand the boundaries of visibility and storytelling, challenge binary thinking, stereotypes, hierarchies, and power structures, and explore the intersections between gender, sexual orientation, origin, racialization, disability, age, social class, faith, and migration, without reducing the complexity of human experience to new rigid definitions.
The Festival is scheduled to take place from December 7 to 14, 2026, in a hybrid format, featuring in-person screenings and events in Naples as well as an online programme. Venues, schedule, and access procedures will be published on the official website www.omovies.it.
Article 2 — Eligibility Requirements
Works completed on or after January 1, 2024 are eligible. There are no restrictions regarding film genre or expressive language: fiction, documentary, animation, video art, dance film, experimental cinema, musical, music video, social advertising, and hybrid forms are all eligible.
Works are divided by running time into the following categories:
• Short film: up to 20 minutes, including opening and closing credits;
• Mid-length film: over 20 minutes and up to 60 minutes, including opening and closing credits;
• Feature film: over 60 minutes, including opening and closing credits.
Premiere status is not required. Works already selected, whether in competition or out of competition, for previous editions may not be submitted again.
Each author, collective, or submitting entity may enter a maximum of three works. In the case of a collective work, one contact person must be designated.
Article 3 — Entry Fees, deadlines, and Submission Procedures
Entry Fees
Category Fee per work
Short film €10.00
Mid-length film €15.00
Feature film €20.00
The fee applies to each submitted work, is non-refundable, and must be paid by the submission deadline. Any service charges applied by submission platforms or payment providers shall be borne by the submitting party.

Submission Channels

Submissions may be made through Festhome using the links published on www.omovies.it, or directly to the Festival office.

For direct submissions, applicants must send to segreteria@omovies.it a Dropbox, Google Drive, WeTransfer, or equivalent link to a single folder named “OMOVIES19_ContactName_WorkTitle”. The folder must be accessible without an authorization request and remain active at least until December 31, 2026.
Payment for Direct Submissions

1. Bank transfer payable to i Ken APS ETS – Intesa Sanpaolo – IBAN IT45U0335901600100000160361. Payment reference: “OMOVIES 19 – work title – director’s name”.

2. PayPal – info@omovies.it, or via the payment link available on www.omovies.it.
Mandatory Materials for Each Work

• Video file or private screener, including title, director, running time, country, and year of production;

• Completed and signed 2026 entry form;

• Proof of payment, for direct submissions;

• Synopsis in Italian and english;

• Essential technical and artistic credits and a short director’s biography, in Italian or english;

• Two to five film stills in JPEG format, preferably at least 1920×1080 pixels;

• One or two high-resolution photographs of the director in JPEG format;

• subtitles in accordance with Article 4.
Trailers, posters, and press kits are welcome but optional. Incomplete submissions may be excluded if the missing materials are not provided within the deadline specified by the Festival office.

Article 4 — languages, subtitles, and Screening Materials

Works in languages other than Italian must be accompanied by english subtitles, preferably supplied as a separate synchronized .srt file. The availability of Italian subtitles will be considered an advantage for programming purposes.

To promote accessibility, Italian subtitles are strongly recommended also for works in Italian.

Where agreed, the Festival may produce or coordinate an Italian subtitle version within the inTRANSlation project, without altering the content of the work.

Works lacking the required subtitles may be excluded or programmed out of competition. For selected works, the Festival may request a screening master in DCP, ProRes, or H.264/H.265 Full HD format, free of watermarks and accompanied by the relevant subtitles.

Article 5 — Declarations, Rights, and
Authorizations

• The person or entity submitting the work declares that they hold all necessary rights or have been duly authorized by the relevant rights holders.

• All responsibility relating to music, images, trademarks, archival materials, persons depicted, and any other content shall rest solely with the submitting party.

• Submission authorizes, free of charge, the screening of the selected work during OMOVIES 19, in a physical venue and/or on the Festival’s online platform, including through scheduled, protected, or geo-restricted access.

• The Festival is authorized to use the title, synopsis, credits, photographs, trailer, and short excerpts of the work, up to 90 seconds, exclusively for communications, press, catalogue, archive, and promotion of the edition.

• Submitted works and materials will be retained in the cultural archive of OMOVIES and i Ken APS ETS. Any subsequent public screening or educational use after the Festival will be subject to prior notice or a specific agreement with the rights holder.

• No payment, screening fee, or reimbursement of expenses is provided for selected works. Attendance in person by authors, filmmakers, or delegations shall be at their own expense unless otherwise agreed in writing.

By submitting a work, the submitting party fully accepts these Regulations and indemnifies the organization against any third-party claims arising from inaccurate declarations or the absence of the necessary authorizations.

Article 6 — Selection and Programming

Works will be viewed by a selection committee appointed by the OMOVIES Direction and composed of representatives of i Ken APS ETS and professionals from the fields of cinema, performing arts, culture, education, and civil society.

Selection will take into account artistic and technical quality, originality of language, narrative strength, consistency with the Festival’s themes, and the ability to represent the diversity of LGBTQIA+ experiences without stereotypes or discriminatory portrayals. Consideration will also be given to the awareness with which a work addresses questioning, respecting its timing, ambiguities, and freedom of self-definition, as well as to its ability to engage with queer cultures as spaces of memory, critique, imagination, and social transformation. The adoption of specific identity labels is not required: value will be placed on the coherence between perspective, language, and represented subjects, together with the ability to avoid simplification, appropriation, and new forms of exclusion.

Selection results will be communicated by October 31, 2026 to the email address provided at the time of submission and may also be published through the Festival’s official channels. If no communication is received by that date, the work shall be deemed not selected, unless an extension has been announced by the Direction.

Selected works will be organized into Fiction and Documentary sections and into the running-time categories set out in Article 2. The Direction may establish additional sections dedicated to animation, video art, dance film, music videos, social advertising, or other forms, provided that at least five eligible works are available for each section.

The programme, venues, screening times, order, and methods of presentation are determined exclusively by the organization. Once selection has been communicated, a work may not be withdrawn except for serious and documented reasons accepted by the Direction.

Subject to availability and the rules of each venue, each selected director may be granted two named passes: one for the director and one for a guest.

Article 7 — Juries

The Direction will appoint one or more Juries composed of independent professionals and public figures. Anyone who has contributed to the production of a work in competition, or who has any other conflict of interest, may not take part in its evaluation.

A representative of the Direction will attend the proceedings to provide support regarding the Regulations, without voting rights. The names of the Jury members will be made public through the Festival website and official channels. Jury decisions are final and not subject to appeal.

Article 8 — awards and Recognition
Official Competition awards

• OMOVIES 2026 Award – Best Fiction Short Film;

• OMOVIES 2026 Award – Best Documentary Short Film;

• OMOVIES 2026 Award – Best Fiction Mid-length Film;

• OMOVIES 2026 Award – Best Documentary Mid-length Film;

• OMOVIES 2026 Award – Best Fiction Feature Film;

• OMOVIES 2026 Award – Best Documentary Feature Film.

Nomination and Award Allocation Clause. For each running-time category, separate Fiction and Documentary awards will be presented only if at least four works are nominated in each of the two sections. Should either section fail to reach the minimum threshold of four nominated works, the Fiction and Documentary sections will be merged and a single award will be presented for the relevant running-time category, without distinction between Fiction and Documentary. By way of example, instead of the awards “Best Fiction Mid-length Film” and “Best Documentary Mid-length Film”, a single “OMOVIES 2026 Award – Best Mid-length Film” will be presented. Verification of the minimum number of nominations and any resulting merger of sections shall be the sole responsibility of the Artistic Direction, whose decision shall be final and not subject to appeal. The Direction retains the right not to present an award if, even following such a merger, the number or quality of the works does not allow for an adequate evaluation.

Special awards

• Vincenzo Ruggiero Award 2026, presented by the Vincenzo Ruggiero Academy;

• David Queer Award 2026, presented by the Direction according to the criteria and any sections established by the Festival;

• Soap Power Award 2026 – “Wash Away Prejudice”, presented to individuals and organizations that have distinguished themselves in promoting cultural and social inclusion;

• Any Special Mentions awarded by the Juries, the Direction, Festival partners, or Festival academies.

awards consist of plaques, artistic prizes, or official certificates. The Direction may modify or withhold an award category if the number or quality of the works does not allow for an adequate evaluation.

Article 9 — Obligations of Award Recipients, Privacy, and General Provisions

Rights holders of award-winning works undertake to include the full name of the award and the relevant year in all subsequent promotional materials, using exclusively the official laurels or trademarks supplied by the Festival.

Personal data collected will be processed by i Ken APS ETS for the management of submissions, communications, selection, hospitality, and the Festival archive, in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2016/679 and applicable law. Data subjects may exercise their rights by writing to info@omovies.it.

The Direction may modify dates, venues, methods of delivery, or individual provisions for organizational, technical, health, safety, or force majeure reasons. Any material update will be published on www.omovies.it and, where possible, communicated to participants.

Any matter not expressly governed by these Regulations shall be decided by the Board of Directors of i Ken APS ETS, after consulting the Festival Direction. These Regulations are governed by Italian law. The parties undertake to seek an amicable solution in advance; failing this, the Court of Naples shall have jurisdiction, without prejudice to any mandatory jurisdiction of the consumer’s court.

Article 10 — Information and Contact Details

Organizer i Ken APS ETS Association
Registered office Via Cardinale Guglielmo Sanfelice 38, 80134 Naples, Italy
Festival office Rainbow Center Naples, Via Antonio Genovesi 36, 80141 Naples, Italy
Telephone +39 393 895 4224 • +39 081 780 2277
Email segreteria@omovies.it • info@omovies.it
Website www.omovies.it
Social media Instagram @omoviesfilmfestival • Facebook @offlgbt