Last week I was at the Seville European Film Festival, where several Spanish feature films premiere, many of them by new directors. Since I reviewed festivals dedicated to first films in Spain in August, I had been meaning to do the same with international festivals in this segment.
I believe this is a good time to review the calendar and go over which festivals are closing their calls in the coming months. They can include everything from first films to the director’s third film.
In this review I have considered festivals with submission deadlines within the coming months, so it is not exhaustive (not all festivals of this type are included, there are many more). I have mixed different types of festivals, with different premiere requirements and dates. The goal is to have an idea of the festivals closest on the calendar.
You must take advantage of these festivals, as a director you will only have a first, second, or third film once in your life.
This post is fundamentally practical, so I have ordered the festivals by submission deadline, so you can prepare your submission:
#1 Festival International du Premier Film D’Annonay
This festival takes place from February 3 to 13 in the small French town of Annonay, with only 16,000 inhabitants. It specializes exclusively in the director’s first film, accepting fiction feature films with a production date from 2014 onwards.
It is a good opportunity if you have not yet premiered your film in France and are seeking distribution. The main prize is intended for the French distributor for its release before December 2017.
The submission deadline ends today, November 15. It maintains a very traditional procedure, sending DVD and form in PDF, French subtitles are mandatory. The festival jury is made up of the inhabitants of Annonay themselves.
If you do not have time now, you can consider it for future editions.
#2 Indielisboa
The Lisbon Independent Film Festival specializes in films by new directors, accepting first films and up to the director’s third film, which must be premieres in Portugal. They accept various genres, from fiction to documentary and experimental.
Submissions are now open for its new edition, closing on January 14, with a small fee of €12 for feature films.
#3 Sydney Film Festival
The Sydney festival is also dedicated to directors’ first films, accepting feature films as well as short films and documentaries. It takes place from June 7 to 18, 2017.
The minimum requirement is a premiere in the New South Wales region, although a national premiere in Australia is valued. Submissions close on February 24. It must be done exclusively through FilmFestivalLife, with the paid plan on this platform the submission cost would be 77.00 AUD, approximately €54.17.
#4 Jeonju International Film Festival
The Korean festival of Jeonju is one of the most important in the first film category, taking place from April 28 to May 5. In its programming, world premieres are especially valued with 27 feature films and only one as an international premiere.
The submission deadline in 2016 was January 29. Although the new call has not yet appeared on its website, you should stay alert for the coming days.
#5 Transilvania International Film Festival
This is one of the most important festivals in Romania, taking place from June 2 to 11 in the town of Cluj-Napoca. Dorina Oarga, head of industry, was in Madrid a few months ago, as part of one of the activities of the Madrid Film Window.
It is dedicated to the director’s first and second film, with the call already open until February 1. It must be a premiere in Romania.
#6 FEST New Directors New Films
It takes place in the small town of Espinho, near Porto, in Portugal, from June 20 to 27. This festival began as a short film competition and as an important event of workshops and masterclasses with experts called Training Ground. A few years ago it began accepting first and second films in its international competition, both fiction and documentary.
Submissions are now open until February 28 with a small fee of €8, with no premiere requirement. Before submitting to this festival, make sure you have completed other premiere options in Portugal (such as DocLisboa or Indielisboa).
#7 Zlín Film Festival – For Children and Youth
A festival specializing in children’s and youth audiences, it is the most important of this type in the Czech Republic. Among its different sections, it has one specifically for first films. It accepts production dates from 2015 onwards.
As with Annonay and FEST, there is no premiere requirement.
It takes place from May 26 to June 3 in the town of Zlín. The submission deadline is May 8.
Let us review the dates and basic conditions of each one:
- Annonay – November 15 – First film only – Preferably premiere in France and without distribution in this country.
- Indielisboa – January 16 – Up to third film – Premiere in Portugal.
- Jeonju – January 29 – First film only – Preferably world or international premiere.
- Sydney – February 24 – First and second film – Regional premiere in New South Wales.
- Transilvania – February 1 – First and second film – Premiere in Romania.
- FEST – February 28 – First and second film – No premiere requirements.
- Zlín – May 8 – First film only – No premiere requirements.
-Update 16/11/2016-
Although this post features international festivals outside Spain, you can consider the D’A Film Festival in Barcelona, which through the Talents section accepts works by new directors, up to the third film.
It has just launched the call until January 15, 2017.
As I said at the beginning, it is important that you consider these festivals if you have just shot your first film or are in full distribution, you must take advantage of all possible opportunities as a new director.
Do you know of another festival of this type that has an open call and closes the deadline in the coming months?