It is increasingly difficult to find festivals without submission fees, where it is not necessary to make a prior payment to participate (entry fee). European festivals (and Spanish ones as well) are adopting these fees year after year.
There are other festivals that, although they do not have fees, use a submission platform with a cost, so they do not have a free submission process. In these cases as well, a payment must be made, even though the festival does not charge it directly.
The festivals I mention in this post are very different and only have in common a completely free submission (and their international character outside Spain), whether through online forms or PDF entry forms. In addition, all of them take place in summer, from June to August in Austria, Poland, Slovenia, Peru, Germany, and Armenia:
#1 European Filmfestival Alpinale
We begin with a short film festival that takes place, no less, in the Alps. Although it has no premiere requirement, it is interesting and takes very good care of its guests; it is now in its 32nd edition. It also has a section for film school and student short films.
It takes place in the Austrian town of Nenzing in the middle of summer, from August 9 to 13. Submission is completely free through their own online form and closes tomorrow, March 15.
#2 T-Mobile New Horizons Film Festival
This Polish festival only accepts feature films over 60 minutes in length. A Polish premiere is valued, and the regulations themselves advise against submitting films already released in Poland. World, international, or European premieres are also preferred. In its programming line, more daring and suggestive films are valued; it accepts all genres.
The first prize is €20,000 and the submission deadline is March 22. It also has its own free online form, although in this case it is necessary to subscribe and create an account.
#3 Art Film Festival
This is another European festival that is very worthwhile and continues to be free. It celebrates its 25th edition and for several years has taken place in the Slovak city of Košice (previously it was held in Bratislava). It has two sections: one for short films of any genre up to 30 minutes, and another for fiction feature films that are the first, second, or third film by their director.
It also takes place in summer, in June, and the submission deadline is March 31. For submission, it is sufficient to fill out a short form through their own website.
#4 Lima Independiente Festival Internacional de Cine
This is one of the festivals with the most independent and radical programming line; therefore, it has no duration limit and films of all genres and lengths may be submitted.
Submission is very simple: you only need to fill out a PDF form and send it by email along with a screening or download link. The submission deadline is March 31. It takes place from June 29 to July 8.
#5 OpenEyes Filmfest
It takes place in the German city of Marburg, organized by the Café Trauma e.V. association for 24 years. It accepts only short films up to 30 minutes, of any genre.
The submission deadline closes on April 1. It is only necessary to fill out a multi-page entry form; among the fields in this form, a screening link and password are requested.
#6 Yerevan International Film Festival Golden Apricot
The most important festival in Armenia, held in its capital, Yerevan. It accepts only fiction and documentary feature films, with no premiere requirement (it only has a competition for Armenian shorts). In the online form itself, a screening link is requested.
The submission deadline is April 15 and it takes place from July 9 to 16.
You can submit right now
Here is a summary of the dates:
- Alpinale – March 15
- New Horizon – March 22
- Art Film Festival – March 31
- Lima Independiente – March 31
- Open Eyes – April 1
- Yerevan – April 15
Review the regulations of each of these festivals carefully before submission. All are very interesting and maintain free submission throughout the entire process.