Moonstep International Short Film Festival - A First Step Into Cinema (1)

Festival start: 19 September 2025      Festival end: 21 September 2025

From sailors exploring new seas to astronauts reaching space, we have always gazed to the sky with a desire to go further. Moonstep International Short Film Festival – A First Step into Cinema is created to keep looking up without ever stopping imagining. It’s an invitation to take the first step with daring, just like the first humans on the Moon.

We are looking for emerging artists, voices that demand to be heard, to offer them a space for expression and dialogue. In its first edition, this International Short Film Festival is a starting point for those who dream of making cinema their destination.

As good organizers, we too are ready to take the first step and get out there: behind the Moonstep International Short Film Festival there are 45 young people under 30, coming from Italy, Belgium and Hungary, all passionate about arts and event organization.

Moonstep is our first step into the world of cinema… and we want to do it in a big way!

M.S.F.F. reflects the essence of cinema: each film is a journey, a discovery, an act of imagination that leaves a mark. How the moon has inspired countless stories, the Moonstep International Short Film Festival wants to be a starting point for new narratives, a place where young cinematic art can shine with the same intensity as the night sky.

The moon is the perfect metaphor for a series of profound meanings that resonate with the impossible journey, the courage to explore the unknown and of course also the magic of cinema.

The subtitle A First Step into the Cinema completes the name of the festival, Moonstep, underlining its role as a launching pad for young talents. As important as the concept of "first step" does not only apply to emerging directors, who will participate in the festival, but also to festival organizers: we are a group of young people from Italy, Belgium and Hungary, who came together to give life to this event.

Theme of this edition of the Moonstep International Short Film Festival: (Dis)connection by frames is to reflect on the relationship between the individual, nature and technology, and on the way in which the various elements of our world are intertwined. The subtitle plays on the dualism between connection and disconnection, exploring how humans relate to their own reality through images, with a particular focus on the connection with the surrounding environment and the slowing down of the frenetic dynamics of daily life. Today disconnection and connection from opposites have practically become two synonyms, or one the consequence of the other, both due to the technological revolution we are facing and the continuous social changes. In this sense, the theme of alienation is central, of completely detaching ourselves from the world we live in, a world that does not seem to have understood the mistakes of the last century and continues to repeat itself; in this sense alienation is emblematic of what our generation, a generation with a strong break with previous generations and which would like to push towards a great change, but finds itself fighting with different realities (political, climatic, etc.) which barely support it. The invitation of the festival is to disconnect from the fast pace required, the constantly increasing novelties and impossible expectations, thus also finding a sort of "inner peace" by recreating moments of "slow life". Slowing down and awareness become tools of redemption, inviting us to rediscover the beauty of simplicity and authentic relationships.

Moonstep Short Film Festival is part of a project named “Be Unit”.

“Be Unit” is a youth lead project, co-funded by the Erasmus+ program and promoted by a partnership consisting of Cooperativa Orso and Epica Film (based in Turin), Pour la Solidarité (based in Brussels), and Galileo Non Profit (based in Budapest).

Cash Prizes: 500€

First Step Competition: This category is for first-time directors under 30. A first-time director is someone who has never won a film festival with a film project. A selected jury will award the Best Short Film of the M.S.F.F. The winner will be granted a monetary prize of €500.

School Prize: The winner will be decided by a selected jury of cinema students.

Be Unit Prize: The winner will be decided by the organizational team of M.S.F.F.

Next Step - Open Category: This category is open to all directors, without age and professional limits.

The winner of this category is decided by a public vote.

Disclaimer: for the School Prize, the Be Unit Prize, and the Next Step - Open Category, no monetary prize will be awarded.

Participants must submit the following materials in a single pdf document:

- A logline (A brief description of the project, max 3 lines.)

- The synopsis (A short description of the plot of the project, max 1000 characters)

- Director’s Bio (A concise professional biography of the director and/or authors involved in the project, max 500 characters)
Vimeo link with the option to download the file

In case of selection, we ask the authors to share with us a press kit:

- Short film trailer (.mp4)
- Cover Photo (.png or .jpeg)
- Stills or shots from the scenes (max 5 photos - .png or .jpeg)
- Backstage photos (max 5 - .png or .jpeg) or video (max 5 - .mp4)

Eligibility

- All Short films must have been completed in or after 2024.

- All Short films must include English subtitles.

- All Short films must not exceed 25 minutes.

- All Short films presented to other film festivals are welcomed.

- All Short films must be related to the topic of this edition: (Dis)connected by frames.

Terms and Conditions

- By submitting to us, you give us consent and right to screen your film in front of a live audience, and, under special circumstances, online screening.

- By submitting to us, you consent to the collection and processing of your personal data for the purpose of organizing the festival. This data will only be used for administrative and promotional purposes related to the event. We cannot be held responsible for any misuse of your data by third parties. In accordance with the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), you have the right to access, rectify, and delete your data, which you can exercise by contacting us at the e-mail moonstep.festival@gmail.com

- The selection of the Shortfilms is a the sole discretion of the festival organizers

- We may promote clips from your film on social media, based on the press kits you provide with us .

- We place no restrictions on your work in terms of premiere status or whether your work has been made available online.

- We do not accept partial screeners, trailers, or screener links that require access other than password protected Vimeo links. We request the “download” option.

- By submitting the film, the filmmaker grants Moonstep International Short Film Festival (M.I.S.F.F) the right to publish its posters, trailers, and social media links on its websites.

- Filmmakers are responsible for sorting out the copyright on their own materials.

- Filmmakers are responsible for the correctness of the infos provided to M.S.F.F. (general contact, e-mail)

- After selection, notification letters will be sent by email.

- All registration fees are non-refundable.

- We reserve the right to update our terms and conditions.

- We retain the right to change the date and venue of the festival under special circumstances. All filmmakers will be informed about any changes through email and our online platforms.

- We retain the right to exclude any Short Film even after the selection process has ended in the case we find that the product submitted to M.S.F.F. does not comply with the application term

- M.I.S.F.F. is Co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the “Be Unit” project partners organization. Neither the European Union nor “Be Unit” project partners organization can be held responsible for them.

- By submitting your film, you accept the Entry terms of M.S.F.F.