Plooy Independent Film Selection (1)

Festival start: 10 December 2026      Festival end: 20 December 2026

Plooy Independent Film Selection is the annual online showcase of Plooy, an Istanbul-based streaming platform built around independent filmmakers. It is a curated programme: films are chosen by our editorial team in Istanbul together with an invited jury, and screened over a ten-day window in December.
We are not looking for budget. We are looking for an original voice, an honest story, and craft that serves the story. First films and student films sit in the same programme as work by experienced directors. There is no premiere requirement — films that have already screened elsewhere, online included, are welcome.
Selected films are screened on plooy.tv in a protected player, with no downloads offered. During the screening window the platform is not yet open to the public: films are seen by an invited audience of 500 — filmmakers, critics, industry professionals and press. Every selected team also receives 3 personal invitation codes to watch the screening from their own accounts.
There is an Audience Award and a Jury Selection in each category, and every finalist receives a written note from the jury, award or not.

Official Selection — Every selected film receives the Plooy Independent Film Selection 2026 laurel, is screened to the invited audience throughout the event, and its team receives 3 personal invitation codes for the platform.

Audience Award — Awarded separately in Feature, Short and Documentary. Decided by the viewing of the 500-strong invited audience between 10 and 20 December; views by the film's own team do not count. Winners are featured on the plooy.tv homepage for three months.

Jury Selection — One film per category, chosen by the Plooy editorial jury. The winning director is interviewed for Plooy Academy and receives a written jury statement.

Spotlight — Additional mentions from the jury for films of particular merit in directing, cinematography, editing, sound or performance.

Every finalist receives written feedback from the jury, award or not. All laurels are delivered digitally after the notification date. Winners are announced on plooy.tv and on our social channels.

1. Organiser. Plooy Independent Film Selection 2026 is organised by Plooy, Istanbul, Türkiye. Information: https://plooy.tv/en/selection

2. Eligibility. Films completed after 1 January 2022, from any country and in any language. There is no premiere requirement; films previously screened at festivals, broadcast or published online may be submitted.

3. Categories. Feature Film (over 40 minutes), Short Film (up to 40 minutes), Documentary (any length). Fiction, documentary, animation and experimental work are all eligible. A film may be entered in one category only; if it is entered in the wrong one, we will move it and tell you.

4. Language and subtitles. For review, films whose original language is not English need English subtitles, either burned-in or separate. Every selected film — including films in English — must provide its English subtitles as a separate .srt file (a time-coded file, not burned into the picture). Plooy prepares the Turkish subtitles for the screening from this file, at our own cost.

5. Entry fee. Entry is free of charge, through both Festhome. Plooy never asks filmmakers for any fee, membership, subscription or purchase, at any stage.

6. How to submit. Submissions are accepted through Festhome and FilmFreeway. Both platforms run the same calendar and the same rules; one submission is enough. Films sent directly by e-mail are not considered.

7. Calendar. Submissions open 24 September 2026. Earlybird deadline 5 October 2026, regular deadline 25 October 2026, final deadline 20 November 2026. Notification 1 December 2026. Screening window 10–20 December 2026.

8. Selection. Every submitted film is watched from beginning to end by at least two members of the Plooy editorial team. Technical quality, rights documentation and age classification are checked at this stage. A team member with a personal or professional connection to a film does not evaluate that film. The Jury Selection is decided by a three-member jury of directors, editors and critics based in Istanbul. The jury is announced on our website on 1 December 2026, together with the selection, so that no film gains an advantage through access to or acquaintance with a juror. Jury members do not vote on films they are involved with.

9. Notification. All submitters are notified by 1 December 2026 through the platform they submitted with. Films that are not selected are not screened and carry no obligation of any kind.

10. Screening. Selected films are streamed on plooy.tv in a protected player. No downloads are offered; playback addresses are time-limited and issued per viewer. During the screening window the platform is not open to the public: films are watched by an invited audience of 500 (filmmakers, critics, industry, press). Every selected team receives 3 personal invitation codes to watch the screening from their own accounts.

11. Rights. Submitting a film grants Plooy the right to review it and, if selected, to screen it to that invited audience during 10–20 December 2026, and to use the trailer, stills and extracts of up to 60 seconds to promote the selection. Nothing else is granted. The selection is non-exclusive: your film remains free for any other festival, broadcaster or platform before, during and after our screening window. No rights are transferred and no exclusivity is created.

12. After the event. Your film comes off the platform at the end of the screening window and your files are deleted from our servers within 30 days. If we would like a film to stay on Plooy after the event, we ask the filmmaker separately; that is an ordinary, entirely optional offer, discussed on its own terms. Declining it changes nothing — not your selection, not your laurel, not your award.

13. Warranty. The submitter confirms that they hold, or are authorised to license, all rights in the film, including music and archive material, and that the film does not infringe the rights of third parties.

14. Technical. Minimum 1080p, H.264 or H.265, stereo or 5.1 audio. Selected films will be asked for a download link to a screening file and an English .srt subtitle file.

15. Disqualification. Films containing unlawful content, hate speech, or material infringing third-party rights are disqualified.

16. Acceptance. Submitting a film means these rules have been read and accepted.