Curtas Vila do Conde International Film Festival (33)

Festival start: 12 July 2025      Festival end: 20 July 2025

Curtas Vila do Conde – International Film Festival is one of the most prestigious film festivals in Portugal, reaching its 33rd edition in 2025.

Assuming as the main objective the promotion and diffusion of cinematographic and audiovisual works, selected according to quality criteria, Curtas Vila do Conde focuses on the discovery of new films and filmmakers and also on the recognised legacy of Cinema.

Short film competitions with animations, documentaries, fiction films, experimental films, and music videos, produced in 2024 or 2025, no longer than 60 minutes (exception made, under 30 minutes of duration, for Curtinhas – youth and children; My Generation – competitive section aimed for teenagers; Take One! – student films; and Music Videos), preferably with subtitles in Portuguese or English, are admitted to the various competitions.

Side programs, to be progressively announced, will highlight not only a selection of worldwide contemporary short films but also the relations between shorts and features, music and film, or art and cinema.

INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION
- Great Prize (awarded to the best film in competition);
- Animation Award (to a distinguished film in the animation category);
- Manoel de Oliveira Award (awarded to a distinguished film in the documentary category);
- Fiction Award (to a distinguished film in the fiction category);
- Vila do Conde Short Film Candidate for the European Film Awards (nomination for the best European short film, by EFA);
- Audience Award.

PORTUGUESE COMPETITION
- Best Film Award (to the best film in the Portuguese Competition);
- Best Director Award (to a distinguished filmmaker in the Portuguese Competition);
- Audience Award.

EXPERIMENTAL COMPETITION
- Best Experimental Film.

MUSIC VIDEOS COMPETITION
- Best Music Video.

TAKE ONE! COMPETITION
- Take One! Award.

MY GENERATION COMPETITION
- My Generation Award.

CURTINHAS COMPETITION
- Curtinhas Award.

Submitting a film to this festival implies the acceptance of the following:

1. OBJECTIVE AND SCOPE
The 33rd Curtas Vila do Conde – International Film Festival, organised by Curtas Metragens CRL – Cooperativa de Produção Cultural CRL, based in Vila do Conde, Portugal, will be held from 12th to 20th July 2025. Its main objective will be the dissemination and promotion of audiovisual and film production, selected according to quality criteria, in an event that will focus not only on the discovery of new films and directors, but also on the legacy of renowned filmographies.

2. ELIGIBILITY
Animated, documentary, fiction, and experimental films, as well as music videos, no longer than 60 minutes (unless otherwise noted), produced in 2024 or 2025, either in film (16mm and 35mm) or digital (DCP), are eligible for the various competitions.

3. COMPETITIVE PROGRAMMES, JURIES, AND AWARDS
The juries for the Portuguese and International competitions will be comprised of up to 5 renowned professionals, designated by the festival board, who will award the following prizes:

INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION
- Great Prize (awarded to the best film in competition);
- Animation Award (to a distinguished film in the animation category);
- Manoel de Oliveira Award (awarded to a distinguished film in the documentary category);
- Fiction Award (to a distinguished film in the fiction category).

PORTUGUESE COMPETITION
- Best Film Award (to the best film in the Portuguese Competition);
- Best Director Award (to a distinguished filmmaker in the Portuguese Competition);
Films in the Portuguese competition are also eligible for the International Competition awards. All films by directors of Portuguese nationality are eligible, as well as those having a majority of Portuguese production.

Oscar Qualifying Film Festival List
Curtas Vila do Conde IFF is part of the Oscar Qualifying Film Festival List, meaning that both the winners of the International Competition’s Grand Prix and the Portuguese Competition’s Best Film Award become eligible in the Best Animated Short Film or Best Live-Action Short Film categories at the Academy Awards®, thus dispensing with the obligation of a commercial release in the United States, and provided they comply with the Academy’s regulations.

Vila do Conde Short Film Candidate for the European Film Awards
One of the winning films at the International or Portuguese competition will become eligible for a nomination for the European Film Academy’s European Film Awards.

Audience Award
In addition to the prizes awarded by the Official Competition Juries, the festival’s audience will award two films through ranked voting, choosing a best film in both the Portuguese and International Competitions, corresponding in both cases to the highest average attained:
- Audience Award – International;
- Audience Award – Portuguese.

EXPERIMENTAL COMPETITION
This competition is dedicated to experimental films, particularly those featuring new approaches regarding the moving image and the development of film language. This competition’s jury, also comprised of up to 3 renowned professionals, designated by the festival board, will award the prize for:
- Best Experimental Film.

MUSIC VIDEOS COMPETITION
Competition dedicated to music videos either by Portuguese artists and bands, or produced by Portuguese authors, no longer than 30 minutes, which will have a specific jury, also comprised of up to 3 renowned professionals, designated by the festival board, who will award the prize for:
- Best Music Video.

TAKE ONE! COMPETITION
Dedicated to films no longer than 30 minutes, directed by students enrolled in Portuguese higher education institutions or Portuguese students enrolled in film schools abroad. This competition’s jury, also comprised of up to 3 renowned professionals, designated by the festival board, will hand out the:
- Take One! Award.

MY GENERATION COMPETITION
Competitive program dedicated to teenagers, with films no longer than 30 minutes, in which a group of students from regional schools will be responsible for the final film selection, advertising, writing the material and introducing the screenings. This competition’s films will be pre-selected and suggested to the group by the different selection committees of other competitions. The festival’s audience will award one film through ranked voting, choosing the competition’s best movie, which will receive the:
- My Generation Award

CURTINHAS COMPETITION
This competition is dedicated to films for children rated over 3 years old, no longer than 30 minutes. Its jury is comprised of a vast group of kids aged 7 to 13, who will hand out the:
- Curtinhas Award.

The outstanding cash and/or monetary prizes of each award will be disclosed prior to the announcement of the 33rd Curtas Vila do Conde’s final program.

4. DEADLINES AND SUBMISSION FEES
The deadline for film submissions at the festival is 30th April 2025 for all sections, except the Curtinhas Competition whose deadline is 15th April 2025.

Submission fees (except Take One!):
- Submissions completed and paid by 31st December 2024 - 16 EUR;
- Submissions completed and paid from 1st January to 28th February 2025 - 20 EUR;
- Submissions completed and paid from 1st March to 30th April 2025 - 25 EUR.

Take One! Competition (only for Portuguese students):
- Free submission.

The festival does not guarantee the viewing and assessment of films submitted after the dates set out above.

5. SUBMISSION
Film submission at the festival shall be made through one of the following platform:

FESTHOME
https://festhome.com/festival/curtas-vila-do-conde

Users shall abide by all steps and procedures specified in each platform. The costs associated with the use of the aforementioned platforms are at the user’s expense, as are their responsibility to comply with and provide all data required to complete the submission process.

Any queries shall be sent to the submissions desk at the festival, headed by Francisco Dias, either via the email submissions@curtas.pt, or at the phone number +351 252 643 386.

6. SELECTION
The festival board will notify the directors of the selected films and any related and/or interested part by 5th June 2025.

Following the selection notification, upon request, a mandatory form will be provided and shall be filled in, along with the following materials:
- At least one high resolution film still in digital format;
- The film’s dialog list (either in Portuguese and/or English), with the respective timecodes whenever possible, for subtitling purposes;
- A written permit from the director/producer/distributor for screening the film at the festival;
- EPK’s (Electronic Press-Kit) and other marketing materials for the film are optional, but equally important.

The absence of a selection notification from the festival board, by the dates set out above, means that the respective film has not been selected for competition at the 33rd Curtas Vila do Conde. However, all efforts will be made so that all applicants are notified via email on the status of their film.

7. SELECTION CRITERIA
The selection committees will consider all films submitted to the festival, provided they meet the eligibility requirements set out in section 2 of these Regulations, and have been completely and correctly submitted, especially with regard to sections 4 and 5.

Regarding the International and Experimental Competitions, the respective selection committees will take into account a general quality criterion, as well as a preference for world premieres. Films previously programmed in other Portuguese film festivals, or that have had any other kind of public screening in Portugal, will not be admitted.

In the Portuguese Competition, the respective selection committee will observe, above all, a quality criterion. Films previously programmed in other Portuguese film festivals, or that have had any other kind of public screening in Portugal, will not be admitted.

For the Take One! Competition, the festival’s selection committee will take into account a general quality criterion as well, and it will preferably consider Portuguese premieres, as well as a maximum representation of the diversity of educational institutions.

Finally, for all competitions, films submitted to previous editions of the festival will not be admitted.

8. SCREENING COPIES
The deadline for the delivery of the copies of selected films for screening at the festival is 12th June 2025.

Screening copies of the selected films shall be made available in the following formats:
- film: 16mm or 35mm;
- digital: DCP 2K or DCP 4K.
In case there are no available copies in any of the required screening formats, please contact us right after the selection notification.

In case of a password protected DCP copy, it is mandatory that a valid KDM key shall be timely provided for the period of 12th to 20th July 2025.
Screening copies shall be provided with a backup alternative (either ProRes or H.264).

Compliance with these digital media components is important in order to ensure the best possible screening conditions for every film. The festival will not be held responsible for the conversion of files whose features are different from the ones provided above.

For the Portuguese and Take One! Competitions, the screening copies shall be subtitled in English. In case of films with dialogues in English, they shall include Portuguese subtitles. For specific cases involving other languages, please contact the festival.

9. TRANSPORTATION AND OTHER GENERAL PROVISIONS
Applicants must cover the transportation costs for the screening copies of the selected films to the festival. The inscription "SEM VALOR COMERCIAL / NO COMMERCIAL VALUE" shall be clearly displayed on the respective packages. No films sent at the festival’s expense will be accepted. They will be denied delivery, being automatically returned to their sender.

Curtas Vila do Conde will bear exclusively the transportation costs for the return of the provided copies after their festival screening.

All screening copies are fully insured from their delivery to the festival until they are returned.

The festival board reserves the right to screen excerpts and trailers of the selected films in TV channels or via their website for marketing purposes, no longer than 10% of the film’s total length.

The festival will not pay any screening fees regarding films in competition.

10. VIDEO LIBRARY
All films submitted to the festival, selected or not for competition, are eligible for inclusion in the Video Library, available exclusively to professionals invited by the festival, from 13th to 19th July 2025. It is up to the festival board to choose the films that will be part of the Video Library, with no guarantees that all films submitted in the different competitions will be included.

11. FESTIVAL MOBILITY
The festival will branch out to a series of Portuguese cities from 21st July 2025 to 31st March 2026. Please point out in your submission form if you authorise your film’s participation in these screenings, as well as the festival keeping the copy under its care during this period. If you are not in agreement, please contact us.

12. VOD OUTLET
The festival holds as its main purpose the dissemination of original film production by holding screenings in cinemas, respecting each film’s technical and aesthetic features. However, in the face of unforeseen circumstances, such as in the 29th edition, it may resort to VoD outlets as a way of screening its program. In this case, the festival will request prior authorisation for the inclusion of selected films in online programmes, delineating likely limitations.

13. PREDICAMENTS AND OMISSIONS
The festival board reserves the right to deliberate and decide on any issue omitted in these rules and regulations.

Vila do Conde, September 2024