Negative Space 5/1/15
*PHILADELPHIA area ONLY (NJ, NY, PA tri-state area) NEGATIVE SPACE is a different kind of film festival, providing a venue for talented creators to showcase their work in a supportive community. Mainly what I am looking for are shorts that are unique and not like the boring/unimaginative/generic camera tests playing at dozens of other film festivals. Having a nice camera is cool…But it doesn’t always make for the most compelling film. What I am interested in is something special that is genuine and from a passionate creator. Max. length 20 mins. Online.

The following festivals were submitted via my submission page. If you run a festival or know of a festival with no entry fee, please submit using the form (link to the left). Please clearly note in the description if certain categories are “no entry fee”.

Best,

tracy

Student Cuts film festival 3/23/15
Student Cuts film festival is aimed at young authors in the early stages of their film careers. Their independence lets them work on unconventional, creative, energetic and subtle ideas. Categories: Experimental films, Animation Ads, Fiction films, Documentary films. Online.

Jihlava International Documentary Film Festival 4/30/15
For films produced from September 2014 to December 2014. Jihlava International Documentary Film Festival is the largest festival of creative documentary films in Central and Eastern Europe. We also consider animated documentaries, online documentary projects or any of the cross-genre TV formats (docudrama, docusoap, reality show or mockumentary). The length of the film is not important, we accept submissions of both feature and short-length documentaries. DVD submission.

Jihlava International Documentary Film Festival 6/30/15
Deadline for films produced in 2015. Jihlava International Documentary Film Festival is the largest festival of creative documentary films in Central and Eastern Europe. We also consider animated documentaries, online documentary projects or any of the cross-genre TV formats (docudrama, docusoap, reality show or mockumentary). The length of the film is not important, we accept submissions of both feature and short-length documentaries. DVD submission.

VHSFF (Athens, Georgia) 3/12/15
Videographer’s Hella-Big Short Film Festival gives amateur, aspiring, and professional filmmakers a local stage to showcase their original work on the big screen year round. Event takes place at Ciné Athens in the Classic City. Under 20 minutes. Submit link to Vimeo or Youtube.

Visual Music Award (Germany) 5/15/15
A junior creative competition for works on music visualizations from the fields of new media art, experimental film or animation. We expect interpretations of music by visionary artistic visualisations. The holistic media compositions should come close to “paintings in time”, “visual music”, “symphonies of light and sound”, “cinematic paintings”, “color light music” or “space light art”. DVD submission.

Huesca International Film Festival 3/13/15
Huesca International Film Festival aims to promote cinematographic culture through short film by discovering innovative work in this field.  The festival is open to fiction, documentary, animation and experimental short films. Though there are no thematic restrictions, TV series and tourism oriented or advertising short films are excluded. Online submission through Festhome.

Euganea Film Festival (Italy) 3/14/15
The festival is divided into three sections: International Short Movies Competition, International Documentary Movies Competition and International Animated Short Movies Competition. Submit by mail or Vimeo/Youtube link with password.

Bilbao Fantasy Film Festival 3/15/15
Horror or Fantasy genre. Submit through Moviebeta site or DVD.

New Horizons International Film Festival (Poland) 3/15/15
T-Mobile New Horizons is a festival of film visionaries, of uncompromising artists who have the courage to follow a path of their choice against the current trend and to tell about the most important things using their own unique language. Competitions: New Horizons International Competition, Films On Art International Competition, Polish Short Films Competition, European Shorts Competition.

Chicago Shorts Festival 3/15/15
The Chicago Shorts Festival is encouraging college filmmakers to create short films.  Categories include documentary, dramatic narrative, comedy/parody, animation, public service announcement (must be 0:30 or 0:60 in length) Students must be enrolled in a college/university and in good standing. Max. 10 min. Upload file.

Ottawa International Animation Festival (Canada) 05/15/2015* deadline for entry forms
Any frame by frame or computer-assisted animated film or video, or non-gameplay video game animation may be entered. Only animated films that were completed after June 15th, 2014, are eligible. Deadline for online preview or dvd: 5/29/15.

Videomaker Film Festival (Italy) 2/28/15
The Festival is reserved to International Videomakers and to Italian Schools (can also participate school classes, indicating in the inscription form dates of a referent) for which is instituted a separate section.
VIDEOMAKER CATEGORY: Free Theme (movies, dramas, music videos, web series [only one episode], short films, documentaries, animation, max. 30 minutes). SCHOOL CATEGORY: Free Theme (movies, dramas, music videos, web series [only one episode], short films, documentaries, animation, ecc. of max. 30 minutes). Can email link to file.

Gdansk DocFilm Festival (Poland) 2/28/15
If you have in your documentary output films which fit our festival canon, we invite you to participate in the preselection of the contest for “The Gate of Freedom” (3000 $) Film Festival Life online submission.

The Nordic Youth Film Festival – NUFF 3/1/15
For young filmmakers under 26 years old. Upload a screener.

Festival Alto Vicentino (Italy) 3/24/15
The Festival provides a single category for short films on a free subject of a maximum runtime of 15 minutes. From this edition we accept also films with a duration over 15 minutes in the “out of competition” section. online submission through wetransfer. Can also submit through Festhome and click for festivals.

SiciliAmbiente – Documentary Film Festival San Vito Lo Capo 4/30/15
The aim of SiciliAmbiente Festival is to promote independent documentary cinema and to encourage creative exchange and networking among the directors. NOTE: submission is only free for non-competitive section called “Short Movies for Kids” (maximum length 30 minutes) Films dealing with the following themes may participate:  Environment, Anthropology, Human Rights, Biodiversity, War, Integration, Civil Rights, Sustainable Development and the Relationship between Man and the Environment. DVD submission.

Animocje 2/18/15
ANIMOCJE Festival (taking place in Bydgoszcz – North Western Poland) starts admitting movies for the competition. Creators from all over the world can submit their animations – features, experimental animations and video clips. Online or by mail.

Supertoon (Croatia) 3/15/15
Supertoon International Animation Festival is a specialized international competition festival for short animated films. Categories: Short Animated Films , Films for Children and Youth, Animated Music Videos, Animated Commercials, Animated Title Sequences. Submission online or by post.

Sh2ort: a global 1 minute film competition 2/20/15
Give us your unique perspective on the theme of water and be in with a chance of winning a film-making masterclass with BAFTA-nominated director Shekhar Kapur and one the latest Fujifilm cameras. We’d like to see an original take – it could be through the lens of thirst or floods, a drama set in a car wash, or a portrait of the man who waters plants in your local park. Online.

On the Line Film Festival 3/20/15
Note: only free for MINNESOTA MADE Films and MINNESOTA MADE Music Videos. The first annual On the Line Film Festival will take place August 2015. It will be a celebration of independent film created by filmmakers from around the world, held in ST. PAUL, Minnesota. Online submission.

May Day Sustainability Short Film Festival 3/20/15
All shorts must be no more than 40 minutes in length with special consideration given to quality films under 10 minutes in length. All submissions must be original works created by the person submitting to our festival (filmmaker, producer, etc.) who must own all rights. Online submissions.

Student International Film Festival 4/01/15
STIFF (Student international film festival Rijeka) is an international film festival dedicated to student films. Launched in 2014, it aims to bring the best student productions from all over the globe to Rijeka and present it to local audience, especially fellow students. Online submission.