LimaDocs (3)

Festival start: 13 May 2027      Festival end: 22 May 2027

The LimaDocs Documentary Film Festival will take place from May 13 to May 22, 2027. For its third edition, the festival invites filmmakers from across the country to submit their feature-length, short, and medium-length documentary films completed between January 2025 and the closing date of this call for entries.

The festival will announce on social media the various prizes sponsored by partner organizations, which will be awarded at the conclusion of the festival; some of these will include a monetary incentive alongside an official recognition.

REVIEW THE COMPLETE RULES AND GUIDELINES FOR AL COMPETITIONS AT THE FOLLOWING LINK: https://linktr.ee/limadocs.festival

LimaDocs accepts submissions for its competitions across a wide spectrum: classic, creative, contemplative, experimental, and animated documentaries; docu-fiction and fiction-documentary hybrids; chronicles, mockumentaries, conceptual works, diaries, self-portraits, essay films, sensory and ethnographic documentaries, immersive projects, cinéma vérité, found-footage works, avant-garde non-fiction, mockumentaries, content-driven docu-creations, installations, expanded cinema, and any form of documentary work shaped or reimagined through new technologies, contemporary art, or the sciences. We also welcome documentaries produced by Indigenous communities or by collectives of any kind, from anywhere in the world—and beyond.

LimaDocs embraces the diversity and inventiveness found in various resources, frameworks, modes, formats, forms, staging techniques, styles, aesthetics, and genres—as well as the infinite ways these elements can be combined, blended, or subdivided. In fact, we actively encourage such exploration.

LimaDocs is built on the premise of bringing together works that are radically diverse.





3° LIMADOCS
INTERNATIONAL SHORT AND MID-LENGTH DOCUMENTARY
COMPETITION – Rules & Regulations
LimaDocs Documentary Film Festival will take place from 13 to 22 May 2027. In its second
edition, the festival invites filmmakers from around the world to submit their documentary
short and mid-length films.

1. Duration & Production Period
Documentary films with a maximum running time of 59 minutes (including credits) are
eligible, provided they were completed between January 2025 and before the closing
date of this call.

2. Submission Period & Fees
Submissions will be accepted from the publication of this call until 23:59 (Lima time)
on 25 February of 2027. During this period the entry fee will be USD 10. From 6
February until (and including) 17 March of 2027 the fee will be USD 15. No
submissions will be accepted after that date.

3. Content & Distribution Restrictions
The Festival gives priority to national, international and world premieres. Exceptions
(for films that have already premiered or had a pre-screening) may be allowed at the
discretion of the programming team. Filmmakers must indicate if their film has been
shown or programmed at one or more festivals, and specify which festival(s).
Music videos, promotional materials or works that have been distributed free of
charge on the internet, DVD or Blu-ray will not be accepted. Films available on
password-protected platforms are permitted.

4. Focus of the Festival
This competition is intended to promote documentary cinema, emphasizing audiovisual exploration, aesthetic independence, boldness in form and resources and
thematic plurality. We particularly value how films address knowledge, social, cultural, environmental or personal issues in coherence with our times, as well as how they explore unexpected or unusual themes.

5. Submission & Delivery
Applications must be made exclusively via the platform Festhome.
(links will be provided). In all cases, applicants must indicate if the submitted version is the final cut, a rough cut or a work in progress.

6. Rights
By submitting their film, the filmmaker confirms that they hold all rights to the work
and indemnifies Lima Docs from any liability arising from its exhibition.

7. Language & Subtitles
Films must be submitted in their original language. If the film is not in Spanish, a copy
with Spanish subtitles embedded must be provided.

8. Screening Formats
Accepted formats for exhibition include DCP and digital files in formats such as Apple
ProRes 422 or H.264. Other formats or systems require approval by the Festival.

Once the projection format has been communicated to the Festival’s Copy Traffic department, it cannot be changed. Details regarding delivery of screening copies will be provided after invitation — the copy should not be sent before these instructions
are issued.

9. Availability of the Copy
Unless authorised by the Festival, the selected film’s copy must remain available for
the duration of the Festival. The selected film must deliver its copy by the date
stipulated by the Festival upon issuing the invitation.

10. Participation
Participation in the Festival implies full acceptance of these regulations. Once
submitted and selected, the film cannot be withdrawn from the Festival programme
and may not be exhibited elsewhere in Peru prior to its official presentation at Lima
Docs. Filmmakers and producers of selected films commit not to publicly announce
their participation until the Festival’s official programme is released. If this condition is
breached, the Festival may remove the film from its programme.

11. Selection Results
The Festival’s selection decisions are final and binding. Results will be announced on
the Festival’s social media channels and official website in April.

12. Screening Dates
The scheduling of each selected film (dates and times) is determined by the
Festival’s programming team.

13. Other Sections
The Festival programming team reserves the right to create additional competitive or
non-competitive sections. The Festival does not cover screening fees.
14. Requirements for Selected Films
For each selected film, the Festival must receive a completed registration form and
the following materials: trailer(s) or clip, poster(s), vertical and horizontal images of
the film, still frames, a brief synopsis, full technical and artistic credits, production
company, running time, year (and month/premiere if applicable), contact details
(email, phone, Instagram), a short biography or filmography of the director, and a
photo of the director.
These materials must be submitted as soon as the invitation is accepted, respecting
the deadline provided. Failure to comply may result in exclusion from the selection.
The Festival retains editorial control over the catalogue content.

15. Mention of Participation
Producers and distributors of films selected for competition agree to include in all
their publicity and press materials the phrase “LimaDocs Selection” along with the
Festival’s logo. For awarded films, producers and distributors agree to feature the
prize in their publicity using the Festival’s logo.

16. Press Materials
Digital press materials, audiovisual content and social-media posts will be required.
17. Promotional Excerpts
The Festival may use excerpts of the films for promotional purposes (up to 10% of
the film’s final running time). If excerpts are not supplied by the filmmaker, the
Festival may select one or more fragments for promotional use. To promote the
programme and each of the films, the Festival may use photos and digital clips of the
films on its official social channels.

18. Jury
The Festival appoints the jury, composed of at least three members. Persons with
commercial interest in the films under consideration may not serve on the jury.

Deliberations are held behind closed doors and decisions require a simple majority. A
Festival representative will attend deliberations without vote. Jury members agree not
to publicly express opinions about the films prior to the official awards
announcement.

19. Awards
The Festival will announce the awards sponsored by partner organisations at the end
of the Festival; the award for Best Documentary will include a monetary prize along
with an official recognition.

20. Commitment to Participate
Submitting a film implies full acceptance of these rules and the commitment to
participate in the Festival if selected. Participants waive any legal action against the
Festival, its organisers or representatives.

21. Subsequent Exhibitions
Selected films may be included in national and international showcases organised by
the Festival during 2026 and 2027, as well as in extension activities of the event in
the same period.

22. Resolution of Unforeseen Cases
Any case not covered by these rules will be resolved at the sole discretion of the
organising committee.

23. Inquiries
For more information, please contact: contacto@limadocs.org