Festival start: 23 September 2026
Festival end: 02 October 2026
The Lucid Camera International Film Festival celebrates its tenth edition, consolidating its position as an international platform dedicated to the exhibition, reflection, and circulation of contemporary cinema. More than a screening space, the festival is conceived as a territory of thought where images engage in dialogue with the aesthetic, political, and sensory transformations of the present.
Cámara Lúcida welcomes works that expand the possibilities of cinematic language, with a special focus on non-fiction and experimental cinema, as well as fiction films that blur the boundaries of conventional storytelling. The festival also embraces expanded cinema, including digital installations, video art, audiovisual essays, and other hybrid formats that challenge the traditional limits of the screen.
The festival’s tenth edition will take place in person in the cities of Cuenca, Quito, and Guayaquil, fostering dialogue among diverse communities and territories while promoting access to both national and international contemporary cinema.
As part of its editorial vision, the festival will conduct an interview with each selected filmmaker, which will be published on its official website, contributing to the creation of memory and critical thought around contemporary cinema.
The Lucid Camera International Film Festival invites individuals, independent filmmakers, production companies, and collectives of any nationality and gender or sexual identity to participate, reaffirming its commitment to diversity and inclusion.
X "Lucid Camera" INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
Submissions will be open from April 13, 2026, to Sunday, July 7, 2026.
The festival will take place in person in Cuenca, Quito, and Guayaquil.
Submitted works must be premieres in Ecuadorian festivals and must not have been previously exhibited commercially. Films from countries other than Ecuador are required to have their Ecuadorian premiere at this festival. For Ecuadorian works, a national premiere is not mandatory; however, this aspect will be considered positively during the selection process.
The call is open to contemporary cinematic works of all genres—films that, through their diverse explorations, contribute to shaping contemporary film thought. While our primary interest lies in non-fiction and experimental cinema, we will also consider fiction films that blur the boundaries of conventional cinematic creation. Additionally, we are interested in expanded cinema, including digital installations, mixtapes, and related formats.
We will conduct an interview with each filmmaker, which will be published editorially on the official Cámara Lúcida website.
Submissions are open to films completed between January 2024 and the present.
Film submissions must be sent via the internet, using any file-sharing platform (Mega, WeTransfer, Google Drive, etc.).
Once a film has been accepted into the Official Selection of the Lucid Camera International Film Festival, it cannot be withdrawn.
Individuals, independent filmmakers, production companies, and collectives of any nationality, gender identity, or sexual orientation are eligible to participate.
Cámara Lúcida is a non-competitive platform, as we prefer to present film works from a perspective of equity, fostering a process of reflection and critical thought.
Cámara Lúcida currently does not have the financial capacity to pay screening fees. However, if funding is secured prior to the festival dates, a screening fee will be granted to all participating artists.
Peripheral Fictions
Short and Feature Films
Standard Fee10$ -8% 9.2$ PRO 18% 8.2$
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Submissions deadline
14 Jun 26
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Peripheral Fictions brings together narrative works that challenge the conventions of classical storytelling. This section focuses on fiction films emerging from the margins—geographical, aesthetic, or conceptual—where new cinematic languages are forged. Through experimentation with narrative structures, temporality, and character, these films blur the boundaries between reality and imagination, offering alternative perspectives that expand the possibilities of contemporary fiction.
Cinema of the Real
Short and Feature Films
Standard Fee10$ -8% 9.2$ PRO 18% 8.2$
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Submissions deadline
14 Jun 26
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1.8$
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Cinema of the Real embraces films that engage with reality as a space for exploration rather than mere representation. This section highlights works that question, reinterpret, and poetically reconstruct the world through documentary practices, essayistic forms, and hybrid approaches. Moving beyond traditional non-fiction, these films reveal the complexity of lived experience and invite audiences to reflect on memory, territory, identity, and the subtle layers of the everyday.
Fractals
Short and Feature Films
Standard Fee10$ -8% 9.2$ PRO 18% 8.2$
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Submissions deadline
14 Jun 26
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1.8$
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Fractals is dedicated to expanded and experimental cinematic practices that transcend the traditional limits of the screen. This section welcomes video art, digital installations, audiovisual essays, and other hybrid or interdisciplinary forms that explore the moving image as a sensory and spatial experience. Embracing fragmentation, repetition, and non-linear structures, Fractals reflects the infinite possibilities of cinematic expression in the contemporary media landscape.
Festhome holds accountable fees festivals by holding the payment of the fees of most newer festivals until they have viewed the submissions, held their festivals and other methods.
-8%
9.2$
Festhome holds accountable fees festivals by holding the payment of the fees of most newer festivals until they have viewed the submissions, held their festivals and other methods. 