As a new filmmaker, it can be expensive just to get your films onto a big screen to be seen. There are thousands of film festivals that are an excellent place to get recognition for your films, but it can get expensive very quickly if you need to put down $50 per festival.
This is our list of 7 diverse film festivals that don’t charge an entry fee:
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ZOOM-ZBLIZENIA – Poland – A film festival dedicated to the art of film, for 20 years this festival this festival has been on the leading of new trends and classic techniques. ZOOM-ZBLIZENIA is broken into two sections: the main contest (fiction, documentaries and animated film less than 60 minutes) and the international video-art contest for short video arts. With panel discussions and screening, this is a full scale festival that is an honor for any filmmaker to be a part of.
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Legacy of Black Women Film Showcase – Located in Charlotte, North Carolina, this is a festival for writers, directors, and producers who are creating a legacy for the next generation of filmmakers. For films under 20 minutes, the festival seeks submissions that feature, but aren’t limited to women in film. Open to any genre, this is a festival about celebrating the past and looking forward to the future.
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“Ciak…un’emozione” VIDEOFESTIVALGIOVANI – A film festival dedicated to teens, this is an opportunity for young adults to share their vision of the world, particularly the emotions of youth: fear, joy, disappointment, dreams, illusions, and more. Multiple juries look at and decide on the submissions from different perspectives. Based in Italy, this is festival that celebrates the passions of youth in one of the world’s most passionate nations.
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International Film Festivals of Odisha – Both a film festival and a photography contest, this Indian film celebrates films for children and in 2016, features wildlife, animals, and the environment. Children are invited to the festival to watch these wonderful films. Films should be 5 to 45 minutes and can be nearly any genre as long as it relates to children or nature.
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Ocean Film Festival World Tour – A film festival dedicated to, well, the ocean. Exclusively for documentaries under 60 minutes, the ocean comes alive at this wonderful festival will start in Australia, then travels to the UK, Belgium, New Zealand, China, and Hong Kong. Filmmakers with a passion for the great blue can show their documentaries around the world through the live screenings of this festival.
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Festival Solo Para Cortos – Based in Barcelona, Spain, this is a festival that believes that cinema is the medium of cultural expression. They put social reality on the screen to stimulate the mind and the change that can come from it. Film is an expression of who we are today and Festival Solo Cortos celebrates that and more.
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Equality Festival – In 2014, the Equality Festival was created to bring together people to fight prejudice and discrimination everywhere it appears. Designed to be a social event, there are no awards, just awareness and a shared passion for building a better world. Equality Festival helps to keep film as part of the worldwide discussion about how we can all be a better people.
Article written by Bob Peryea for The Monthly Film Festival
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