Bergamo Independent Short Film Festival (1)

Festival start: 29 April 2025      Festival end: 29 April 2025

The Bergamo Independent Short Film Festival is dedicated to promoting short film culture in the beautiful city of Bergamo, with a special emphasis on works by independent and emerging filmmakers. Most of our team, including the Festival Director, are passionate volunteers who contribute their time and energy driven by a deep passion for cinema and storytelling. Our primary mission is to help you gain the recognition your work deserves and provide the opportunity for it to be appreciated.

What distinguishes our festival is its distinctive format, featuring two distinct selection processes for the Screening Catergories and the Non-Screening Category. The first process is more selective, designed for independent filmmakers who wish to have their films screened live in front of an audience. The second offers a higher chance of selection but without a public screening. In both cases, all submissions will be carefully reviewed to recognize the talent and artistic merit of each film.

The Bergamo Independent Short Film Festival offers a supportive and inspiring environment for you to share your stories. The event will take place at the historic Conca Verde cinema, located at Via Mattioli 65, Bergamo. We invite you to visit our website for more detailed information, and we look forward to celebrating your work and welcoming you to our festival community.

Each category will have a film selected as the best in its respective category. We will present a total of 7 awards:

1 NON-SCREENING CATEGORY AWARD:

Best Spotlight Short (this is a competitive category, but it does not include a public screening. However, it offers a HIGH CHANCE of selection)

6 SCREENING CATEGORIES AWARDS:

Best Microshort Film
Best Very Short Film
Best Short Film
Best Microshort Documentary
Best Very Short Documentary
Best Short Documentary

All selected films and winners will receive a Certificate of Achievement, while only the category winners will be awarded our prestigious Medal. We warmly invite filmmakers to attend the awards ceremony, which will take place on April 29, 2025, in Bergamo.

- All genres and formats are accepted;

- For "Microshort" categories maximum length allowed is 10 minutes, including credits;

- For "Very Short" categories maximum length allowed is 16 minutes, including credits;

- For "Short" categories maximum length allowed is 26 minutes, including credits;

- We prefer low budget projects and works by emerging artists, submissions from major production companies will not be considered;

- We only accept online submissions, please do not send any materials or film copies to our office address;

- Films that incite violence or hatred will not be accepted;

- Multiple versions of the same film will not be considered. Only the first submitted version of a film will be reviewed;

- Submissions will not be returned;

- Films must have been completed within the past 3 years;

- Multiple submissions are allowed;

- All non-English language films must include English subtitles;

- Selected films will be notified by email and listed on the festival’s website;

- Not all submissions are selected for official competition: The Festival Director reserves the right to make final decisions, and feedback or explanations may not be provided;

- All selected films in screening categories will have a public screening;

- All selected films and winners will be announced on our website and via social media.

- By submitting a film, you declare that you have the rights to the work;

- By submitting the film, you confirm that you have the right to do so, and that you are not infringing on copyright laws;

- The data requested is necessary for completing the registration process. However, the festival may use the data, including the names of authors, producers, crew, and the film poster for promotional purposes;

- The jury will choose the winners from the selected films, ex aequo are permitted;

- The author of the film declares that the audiovisual material is not protected by SIAE;

- By submitting your film to the festival, you agree to share personal data with partner festivals.