Finding your way

As a filmmaker, two things are very important: making films, obtaining funding and showing the film to the rest of the world out there! Around the globe there are so many great festivals and events that it is easy to lose track of what is happening. Among everything that is going on, it can be difficult to realistically assess which festival is the right one for your film.

Because of that CineSud Magazine started publishing monthly articles with the most interesting and promising international film festivals that you can submit to the following months. Next to that we give an overview of interesting funding options in the heart of the Netherlands, Belgium as well as Germany.

Film Festivals

FilmFest Dresden

Submission deadline: December 1
Festival dates: April 21 - April 26

FilmFest Dresden was founded in 1989 before the imminent collapse of the GDR and reunification of Germany. The short film festival focuses on short film in all its facets, and has become one of the most important festivals of its kind throughout Germany. FilmFest Dresden is also one of the best endowed short film festivals in Europe with prizes and awards worth €67,000. [Read more]

Tribeca Film Festival

Submission deadline: December 2
Festival dates: April 15 - April 26

The Tribeca Film Festival is one of the world's leading entertainment platforms, encompassing film premieres, industry and hospitality programs, VIP opportunities, and a wide range of large scale concerts and events. With hundreds of thousands of attendees annually and billions of media impressions, the Festival has become a destination for brands to achieve consumer marketing objectives that only a New York City based entertainment platform can offer. [Read more]

San Francisco International Film Festival

Submission deadline: December 9
Festival dates: April 8 - April 21

The longest-running film festival in the Americas, the San Francisco International Film Festival is an extraordinary showcase of cinematic discovery and a major cultural event in the Bay Area.[Read more]

International Women's Film Festival

Submission deadline: December 16
Festival dates: March 24 - March29

Women have increasingly come to occupy a good number of creative and responsible posts in all fields of film production. However, the old rule of thumb still applies: the higher the budget and the higher the financial risk associated with the production the less frequently you will find a woman with executive functions. It is for this reason that the Dortmund | Cologne International Women's Film Festival runs different competitions to highlight the work of women film directors. [Read more]

Phoenix Film Festival

Submission deadline: December 16
Festival dates: March 26 - April 5

Arizona's largest film festival, Phoenix Film Festival has been named one of The 25 Coolest Film Festivals and a Top 50 Worth the Entry Fee by MovieMaker Magazine and has been called the most filmmaker-friendly festival out there. [Read more]

Cleveland International Film Festival

Submission deadline: December 20
Festival dates: March 25 - April 5

The Cleveland International Film Festival is one of the few Academy Award® qualifying festivals in the world for all three categories of short films – live action, animated, and documentary. It promotes artistically and culturally significant film arts through education and exhibition to enrich the life of the community. [Read more]

DOK.Fest München

Submission deadline: December 20
Festival dates: May 6 - May 17

Every year, the festival's film programme gathers a selection of the most outstanding current international documentaries. The festival presents the highlights of documentary work and is at the same time guided by a clear curatorial signature. [Read more]

Go Short - International Short Film Festival Nijmegen

Submission deadline: December 22
Festival dates: April 1 - April 5

Go Short is the main short film festival in the Netherlands. During the five festival days Europe’s best recent short films will be screened and the Go Short Awards will be presented. Aside from the competitions, Go Short offers an extensive program of events, talks, workshops, parties and meeting points for the film makers, the public and other stakeholders. [Read more]

Funding

Dutch Deadlines

CineSud:
- Shorts Lab (December 9)
- Writers Room - Fictie (December 23)
- Writers Room - Documentaire (December 23)
- 148 Hour Docs (December 30)

Netherlands Film Fund:
- Teledoc Campus (December 2)
- Teledoc (December 2)

Belgian Deadlines

Flemish Audiovisual Fund:
- Filmfonds: Fictie 3 (December 4)
- Filmfonds: FilmLab (December12)

German Deadlines

Medienstiftung NRW:
- Vereinfachte Förderung Distribution / Sales (December 4)
- Vereinfachte Förderung Production (December 5)

Are you up-to-date?

You don't want to miss any deadlines or activities from the region? Then check agenda & deadlines.