MECAL Lab (2)

Festival start: 21 May 2026      Festival end: 31 May 2026

MECAL PRO, the Barcelona International Short Film and Animation Festival, is a festival dedicated to short films, both national and international.

This year, we are launching the second call for applications for the Mecal Lab as part of the 28th edition of the Mecal Barcelona International Short Film and Animation Festival. One of its main objectives is the professional development of artists and filmmakers, understood as the process of growth, refinement, and consolidation of their professional profile within the audiovisual sector.

PROGRAM SCHEDULE

The Mecal Lab will take place from May 25th to 30th with sessions that include the following activities:

• Script Doctoring Consultation: Analysis and improvement of your script with industry professionals, focusing on structure, characters, and dialogue.

• Sustainable Filming Workshop: Practices to reduce the environmental impact of audiovisual production and promote a greener industry.

• Marketing and Distribution Workshop: Development of promotion and visibility strategies to ensure your short film reaches the right audience. We will also analyze options for distributing your short film at festivals, digital platforms, and other exhibition channels.

• Artificial Intelligence Workshop: Exploring the use of AI as an additional tool in audiovisual creation.

• Financing Consultation: Strategies for financing your short film and developing a basic financing plan.

• Pitch Coaching Workshop: Techniques for effectively presenting and selling your project to producers and juries.

• Furthermore, the selected projects may premiere at the future edition(s) of the Mecal International Short Film and Animation Festival in Barcelona.

A MECAL LAB committee will select five projects to participate in an intensive program of workshops, mentorships, and personalized coaching sessions. The goal is to provide participants with comprehensive training from industry experts.

Those selected will have free access to MECAL LAB activities.

ELIGIBILITY
The following may apply to MECAL LAB:
Directors and screenwriters over 18 years of age who can commit to attending the entire program in person, to be held between May 25 and 31, 2026.

PARTICIPATION REQUIREMENTS

-Applicants may submit a short film project, either fiction or documentary.

-The project must be original, meaning unproduced.

-The project may be in Catalan, Spanish, or english.

-A maximum of two (2) projects may be submitted per person.

-The project duration may not exceed 30 minutes.

-Participants must attend the entire workshop, but may choose one representative from their technical team to attend the workshop that best suits their department's needs (production manager, screenwriter, director of photography, etc.).

*If the project is supported by a production company, a written document authorizing the project's submission to the program and accepting the terms and conditions of the call for proposals must be submitted.

*Projects submitted previously may be resubmitted, provided they are a new version with substantial changes to the proposal. In such cases, the changes must be specified.
Projects that reflect racist, sexist, or discriminatory attitudes based on gender, sexual orientation, race, origin, ethnicity, age, economic status, religion, disability/functional and/or intellectual diversity, or whose message violates respect for human and/or animal rights, will not be accepted.

SELECTION CRITERIA

Projects will be evaluated according to the following criteria:

- Quality and originality of the visual and narrative proposal.
- Project viability.
- Motivation and commitment of the candidates.

DOCUMENTATION

1. Name and surname
2. Contact email address
3. Contact phone number
4. Place of residence
5. High-quality photo of the director/screenwriter.
6. Director biography (90 words)
7. Synopsis (maximum 150 words)
8. Statement of intent (maximum 1 page)
9. Project dossier containing: technical specifications, logline, genre, characters, visual and sound proposal, development status, and financing plan (if applicable).
10. Short film script, maximum 30 pages.

*If the project has the support of a production company, a written document authorizing the submission of the project to the program and accepting the terms and conditions of the call for entries must be submitted.

PARTICIPANT COMMITMENT

-Authorize MECAL PRO, Barcelona International Short Film and Animation Festival, to use images (photographs and videos) taken during the program, as well as the names and surnames of the selected individuals and the titles of the projects, in its promotional activities.

-Authorize MECAL PRO, Barcelona International Short Film and Animation Festival, to publish contact information (email and telephone number) in the printed and/or digital dossier, as well as in communications with production companies and other industry agents whose purpose is to promote the participants' projects.

-Mandatory attendance at all activities scheduled in the program, as well as the completion of the tasks derived from the various consultations, meeting the proposed delivery deadlines. In case of non-compliance with these commitments, the organization reserves the right to discontinue the participation of the selected individuals in the program. Absence from any scheduled session of the Mecal Lab program at MECAL PRO, Barcelona International Short Film and Animation Festival, will be considered an absence.

-Include the Mecal Lab and MECAL PRO, Barcelona International Short Film and Animation Festival logos in all materials designed for fundraising purposes, such as grant applications, television pre-sales, or distribution searches; as well as in the film credits and in advertising and promotional materials. The logo will be accompanied by the text: “with the support of Mecal Lab and MECAL PRO, Barcelona International Short Film and Animation Festival.” The organization will inform participants of the obligation to include other logos of other funding entities if necessary.

-The selected participants agree to keep the MECAL PRO team, Barcelona International Short Film and Animation Festival, and the mentors and tutors informed about the progress of their projects throughout the program and after its completion, up until the premiere, if applicable.


The selected participants will be notified on the festival website and will be contacted by email during the week of April 20, 2026. Projects submitted outside the established dates or through any means other than the Festhome platform will not be accepted. Furthermore, projects that do not comply with the guidelines or submit all required materials will be disqualified.

Registering for this program automatically implies acceptance of the terms and conditions of this call for applications.

For inquiries or questions about Mecal Lab, please contact programacion@mecalbcn.org