Viii Muestra De Cine ’castillo De Jaraba’ (8)

Festival start: 07 August 2026      Festival end: 09 August 2026

WHAT IS “JARABA IS CINEMA 2026”?

It is a film event promoted by the Jaraba Town Council and CSA El Castillo, combining film screenings, citizen participation, and contemporary audiovisual creation.

It is a cultural project that will once again fill Jaraba with film, culture, and creative activity, transforming the thermal spa town into a meeting point for audiovisual creation, heritage, and rural tourism.

It is an audiovisual initiative to revitalize the rural environment and position it as a space for artistic creation and inspiration.

DESCRIPTION OF ACTIVITIES
It consists of two complementary activities that combine audiovisual creation and screening in the municipality of Jaraba.

JARABA IS CINEMA - EXPRESS SHORT FILM. July 10 and 11.

An intensive audiovisual production event in which participating teams must write, shoot, and edit a short film within the municipality of Jaraba in just 24 hours.

This is a cultural production activity that transforms the municipality into an active creative space. It promotes its natural, urban, and landscape heritage as a cinematic setting.
8th JARABA CASTLE FILM FESTIVAL. August 7, 8, and 9.
A competitive event for the screening and promotion of national and international short films. This open-air event will feature various participation categories.

OBJECTIVES
“Jaraba is Cinema” was created with the aim of making audiovisual culture a tool for social, cultural, and tourism development in the municipality of Jaraba and its surrounding area.

Among its objectives are:

→ To bring cinema and audiovisual creation to rural areas, facilitating access to contemporary cultural offerings outside of major urban centers and creating spaces for interaction between creators, residents, and visitors.

→ To promote Jaraba as a film location and cultural tourism destination, using audiovisual language to showcase the municipality's natural, scenic, historical, and thermal heritage.

→ Best Short Film, General Category. Award presented by DCP Ready, consisting of the conversion to DCP format for screening in cinemas and festivals.
→ Best Short Film, Alto Jalón Category. Award presented by Alto Jalón Radio.

→ Best Short Film, Comedy Category.

→ Best Short Film, Horror/Fantasy Category.

→ Best Short Film, Animation Category.

→ Best Short Film, International Category.

→ Best Short Film, Music Video Category.

→ Best Performance.

→ “Paco Sicilia” Special Award for lifetime achievement, which will be presented to actor and director Ramón Barea. Award presented by the Festival organizers.

→ All winners will receive an exclusive papercraft trophy designed by José Antonio Berdié of the Eustaquio Castellano Papercraft Toy Permanent Exhibition, and a voucher for two people to access the Natural Thermal Lake at the Virgen de Jaraba Spa.

The “Castillo de Jaraba” Film Festival is a competitive open-air short film screening section that forms part of the Jaraba is Cinema project of the Jaraba Town Council.

The Jaraba Town Council and the “C.S.A. Castillo de Jaraba” association present the 8th “Castillo de Jaraba” Film Festival, created to showcase short films produced during 2025-2026 through open-air screenings in the municipality of Jaraba.


RULES:

1. Objective:

The main objective of the 8th “Castillo de Jaraba” Film Festival is to promote and disseminate short film creation, bringing cinema to rural areas by screening a selection of diverse works.


2. Dates:

The Festival will take place on August 7, 8, and 9, 2026.


3. Participation:

Participation is open to all those who have legal control of the works they submit to the competition and who meet the requirements of these rules. Authors will be responsible for the rights to their works.


4. Theme:

Any audiovisual piece from anywhere in the world, and on any theme, is accepted.


5. Categories:

The exhibition will be divided into the following categories:

→ General. Completely open section. Short films of any genre are accepted: Experimental, Documentary, Fiction, etc.

→ Alto Jalón. Section for films shot in or with themes related to rural areas and "Empty Spain." It will also accept films shot or located in any of the rural areas belonging to the Alto Jalón region, or whose filmmakers are from the area (provinces of Zaragoza, Guadalajara, or Soria). → Comedy. Section dedicated to comedy.

→ Horror/Fantasy. Section dedicated to horror and fantasy themes.

→ Animation. Section dedicated to animation. → International. Section for international works in Spanish from anywhere in the world.

→ Music Video. Delicate section for video clips.


6. Submission and Selection:

Pre-registration and submission of works for viewing will be done through the Festhome platform: https://festhome.com.

The submission period will be between June 1st and 30th, 2026. The festival organizers will select the works that will be part of the public screening.


7. Notification of Selected Works:

Selected works will be notified on July 15th, 2026.


8. Technical Requirements:

→ Works may be submitted in any language, but those not in Spanish must include Spanish subtitles for screening.

→ The maximum duration of short films may not exceed 10 minutes, including credits.

→ Participants are requested to ensure high-quality sound and image. Works that do not meet the technical requirements for proper public screening will be rejected.

→ Works that have been submitted to previous editions of the festival will not be accepted.

→ No payment will be made for screening rights for any short film.

- Jury: The jury will be independent for each category and will be composed of staff from the Jaraba Town Hall, local associations, and other individuals connected to the film industry, in the following order:

→ General Category: DCP Ready - Jaraba Town Hall

→ Alto Jalón Category: Alto Jalón Radio → Comedy Category: TEJA Senior Citizens Association

→ Horror/Fantasy Category: CSA El Castillo

→ Animation Category: Friends of Water Association

→ International Category: Jaraba Washhouse Association

→ Video Clip Category: Jaraba Festival Committee Association

→ Best Performance: Xaravva Women's Association. The jury's decision will be final.

12. Considerations:

a) The Organization reserves the right not to admit to the competition any short films that, in its opinion, contain inappropriate, offensive, or illegal content, or that may offend the sensibilities of any person or group.

b) Registration and participation in Jaraba es de cine – VIII Film Festival "Castillo de Jaraba" implies full acceptance of these Rules.