Whether you visit this site often, or are just stumbling across No Entry Fee Festivals blog- it is a straightforward list, by month, of international film festival deadlines. All festivals listed are 100% free to submit to. If you haven’t yet- sign up to the email blasts, which go out each time new deadlines are posted on the blog.
As always, best of luck.

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Doc Aviv 1/5/17
Docaviv, the Tel Aviv International Documentary Film Festival, is the largest film festival in the city of Tel Aviv, and the only festival in Israel dedicated in its entirety to documentary films. It is considered one of the leading documentary festivals worldwide. Each year, the festival screens over 100 new documentary movies from Israel and from around the world, and its program includes four competitive frameworks.

Cortisonici Short Film Festival 1/8/17
The Festival will be held in march / april 2017 in Varese (Italy). Films that have been screened at other Film Festival, except for previous Cortisonici editions, are eligible for submission and must fulfill the following requirements: All films must have been completed after January 1st, 2016, All films should not exceed 15 minutes in length, including credits, All films must be sent in DVD or submitted through Festhome / ClickForFestivals / MoviBeta / file storage or other sharing services like Dropbox or WeTransfer.

Happy New Year to all! :)
I am working through my lists and, festivals previously free, now charge a fee. So, if I miss any fees, please let me know.

best of luck with all your endeavors in 2017,
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Festival Internacional de Cinema D’Autor de Barcelona 1/15/17
An international panorama of the finest contemporary auteur cinema, combining the discovery of emerging new talents and cinematographies with internationally established directors and films that have traditionally received rough treatment from our country’s commercial distributors.

11mm International Football Film Festival 1/15/17
Film makers and production companies from around the world are invited to submit their football films to the world’s leading football film festival to win the Golden 11 and 11mm shortkicks awards!

KASHISH Mumbai International Queer Film Festival 1/31/17
is the first and only LGBTQ film festival in India to be held in a mainstream theater and the only queer festival to receive clearance from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

Animator International Animation Festival (Poland) 02/20/17
Submissions are now open for Animator, short and feature films.

Skip City International D-Cinema Festival (Japan)
All submissions are divided into Feature Length Competition, Short Length Competition and Animation Competition. Entries will open January 5th.

Prix Ars Electronica 03/03/17
The Prix Ars Electronica has constantly grown and developed over the years, and made quite a name for itself in the process. It’s the world’s oldest and most renowned competition in media art. (opens jan. 16th)

Clear the Air Film Fest 01/30/2017
The Clear The Air Film Fest showcases student-produced short films that address topics on air quality and lung health in the community. The films will be reviewed by our panel of judges and the highest scoring films will receive a cash prize. The winning films will be announced at the March 4, 2017 screening. Professional and amateur filmmakers who are not students may submit films to the General Public competition. The first place winner of the General Public competition will receive $500 and a screening and the 2nd place winner will also have their film screened. Winners MUST be present at the screening and should be prepared to speak to the student filmmakers about their process.

Krakow Film Festival (KFF), Poland 1/31/17
International Competition:: The festival aims to review and promote documentary, short animated and fiction films. The films are screened in four competitions as well as in non-competitive sections. For films made after 31 October 2016

28th Hamburg International Short Film Festival 02/4/17
the time has come to submit your shortfilm to the ISFF Hamburg 2016. Online submissions

Gdansk DocFilm Festival (Poland) 2/10/17
Gdańsk DocFilm Festival, with its international nature, is a contest of documentary films and footages focusing mainly on:- situation of a human being as an individual as well as group of employees in the work environment,- personal activity and development in every form,- passion and creative activity,- human dignity, ethics and respect for human rights.

London Lesbian Film Festival 2/15/17
The London Lesbian Film Festival is a celebratory gathering at which we project our images, challenge our politics, and reflect upon our lives. The festival aims to portray the richness and diversity of lesbian experiences and to strengthen our communities. The Festival is held every year in London, Ontario, Canada. Online submission form. Submissions accepted ongoing.

Animator International Animation Festival (Poland) 02/20/17
Submissions are now open for Animator, short and feature films. DVD or online submission.

Maremetraggio International Short Film Festival (Italy) 2/28/17
An International Short Film Festival Two sections in competition, a selection of the best International shorts and the most interesting Italian debut works recently released in cinemas. Maremetraggio section is a “best of the best” of short films. *seems to be typo next to feb. 28th (stated as 2016, should be 2017)

Kalat Nissa Film Festival 2/28/17
Our goal is to give to all directors and talented filmmakers as visibility as possible, this edition will not only be a competition, but also a festival and a party. In fact, our logic is to give the greatest possible visibility for short films that will come.

Durban International Film Festival 02/28/17
The Durban International Film Festival (DIFF) invites filmmakers from across the world to submit their Short, Documentary or Feature Fiction films to screen in the festival from the 16 to 26 June 2016.

three minute quickie 04/1/17
Each year the well liked Three-Minute-Quickie competition puts the short- and shortestfilmer to just one task: shoot a movie no longer than three minutes which deals with a certain topic. And the topic for 2017 is: Resistance. The audience will be your judge and award 1000 euro for the best film.

International Tour Film Festival 4/30/17
International Tour Film Festival – international film showcase in Civitavecchia (Rome, ITALY). ITFF is the evolution of Tolfa Short Film Fest international competition, is open to shorts and medium-length films.The festival is sponsored and organized by the Cultural CivitaFilm in collaboration with: City of Civitavecchia, Regione Lazio, Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Civitavecchia and Port Authority of Civitavecchia. 4 competitive categories (Animation, Fiction, Documentary,Tourism Promotional Movies) workshops, exhibitions and many more. The 6th Edition will take place in Civitavecchia (Rome, ITALY) from October 4 to 8,2017.

Autumn Shorts Film Festival 4/30/17, 6/30/17
Call for Submissions: Somerset Community College Theatre & Film welcomes submissions of films no longer than fifteen minutes in length. Selected films will be showcased at the Festival on September 14 and 15; 2017. Awards will be presented for outstanding achievements by the official selections. There are no cash awards. The official online entry form for the Autumn Shorts Film Festival can be found at Google Documents.

Hi all-
If you have an animation, you have one more day to submit it to the Northwest Animation Festivals. All entries are now free (!)
best of luck
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Northwest Animation Festival 12/15/16
The 7th annual Northwest Animation Festival begins on May 10-14, 2017, at the Hollywood Theatre in Portland, Oregon, USA. Most film programs will screen a second time on May 19-21 at the Bijou Art Cinemas in Eugene, Oregon. The festival concludes in September with a 2-hour “Best of the Fest” show that will screen one-day-only in each city.

The following updates are from my master list. Part of the process is finding festivals that have added fees, so if I missed any, it was unintentional. (please let me know)

best of luck,
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Holland Animation Film Festival (Netherlands), 1/1/2017
The Holland Animation Film Festival organizes the following competitions. The competitions for features, shorts, European student films and Dutch films Digital file and DVD.

Chester Animation Showcase 1/08/17
Chester International Film Festival is delighted to offer animators the chance to submit work for our Animation Showcase to accompany the 2015 festival.  Films will be shown prior to the main film each night.  This is the second time we have held this event, and are repeating due to its great reception given during the 2014 festival. All submissions are welcome, whether you are a professional or an amateur. Submit Online.

Visions du Réel 1/8/17 
*free for some films only
The festival is committed to presenting works which, through their formal and aesthetic choices, give personal and original portrayals and descriptions of past and present realities of the world. The festival seeks to promote the widest possible spectrum: experimental films, essays, personal diaries, family films, films on current affairs and social issues, historical investigations, and films with classic or fragmented narrative approaches. Cinéma du Réel is open to different genres, integrates stylistic variations and montages, and is inspired by “cinéma direct” as well as fictional-style narratives. DVD or password protected vimeo link.

Crossing Europe (Linz, Austria) 1/09/17* European or Austrian only
Two categories: Feature-length films (fiction or documentary) from Europe. A film is considered European, if either director, producer or the story are based in an European state/region, and films and videos by local artists in Austria.

MediaWave International Film Festival 01/10/17
Films and videos, feature, short fiction, documentary, experimental, animation, dance, music, image/sound experimental works, musical works presented in any form or system may be entered. Any production (film and video) or performances (archaic folk music and rituals or their modern creative interpretations) may be entered that reflect ethnic, religious, musical, sexual and other aspects of small communities, ethnic groups, spiritual or other communities. “Dusty Reels” Films that were once swept away by history’s storms and were not presented due to isolation, political or economic reasons, or only a limited number of people could have seen them but not the general public, or were put back into their boxes after a few showings. We are searching for imprints of disappeared worlds, for films preserving their artistic value despite the passing of time.“REFORMation” We expect films that present reforming and renewing endeavours of any groups or religions or stories of restarting people and reformed walks of lives. We still look forward to the reformers of film expression. We also gladly welcome the anti-globalisation and environmental conscious reformers as well as the cultural propagators with new approaches. „On the Road” Online Film Festival. The films submitted in „On the Road” Online Film Festival category will be selected by a preview jury by the end of January 2017. The films in the program then will be available on the website of the festival between 1 March and 28 April.

Farhang Foundation Short Film Festival 7/17/17 * submissions open april 17/17
A festival dedicated to celebrating Iranian heritage through short film, video and animation. Whether Iranian or non-Iranian, a veteran or aspiring filmmaker, the Farhang Foundation Short Film Festival is open to individuals from all backgrounds and walks of life. The festival has one hope in mind: to provide a forum for individuals to use their creativity and talent to spark and inspire interest in Iranian culture. Link to video.

The end of the year is coming up fast. :)

best of luck,
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Reel Shorts Film Festival (Alberta, Canada) 12/12/2016
The Reel Shorts Film Festival celebrates short films and the filmmakers who make them by screening gems of storytelling brilliance from around the world, across Canada, and here in the Peace Region. Submit online through short film central, send link to password protected Vimeo file.

Melbourne International Animation Festival 12/12/16 (International)
The Melbourne International Animation Festival (MIAF) is one of the largest animation festivals of its kind in the world. It usually screens around 350-400 films each year in competitive, student, curated & retrospective programs.

Academia Film Olomouc 12/23/16
AFO is currently one of the most important European festivals in the area of popular science film. It aims to present science as an attractive, dynamic and diverse sector through films charting natural, humanities and social science disciplines. Each year, hundreds of documentary films and television programs enroll in the competition sections of the festival. Online form/DVD submission.

Go Short – International Short Film Festival (Nijmegen) 12/23/16
The European Competition will consist of shorts that have been made in (geographical) Europe from all genres. The films are eligible for the Go Short Award for Best European Short in the four different categories. The Dutch Competition is a selection of films made in the Netherlands, from which the best film will be awarded with the Go Short Award for Best Dutch Short. From these two competitions a selection of films will be made which will form the Youth Competition, and which are eligible for the Go Short Youth Award.Online form/DVD submission. *films completed in nov. or dec.  or works in progress.

International Film Festival of Panama 12/23/16
The International Film Festival of Panama (IFF Panama Foundation) is a non-profit organization created to support the realization of IFF Panama and promote the cultural & educational activities that are an integral part of the event’s structure.Online