COVID-19 may be around and forcing us to Stay-At-Home, but there are still some film festivals that are accepting submissions amidst the pandemic! Here are a few of them to keep a lookout for:
- 9FilmFest
The 8th 9FilmFest, an international short film festival held Bangkok, Thailand, is accepting submissions until 19 April 2020.
The 8th 9Fest will be held at Cinema Oasis, Bangkok’s newest indie film centre from May 27 -28, 2020. 9Fest accepts short films of all genres.
“9” is the luckiest number in Thailand. Thus, 9 films are selected as Competition Finalists. 9Fest will be showcasing the the finalists’ films at Indy Shorts Int’l Film Festival, to be held in Indianapolis, IN, USA from 21 to 26 July 2020, if COVID-19 improves that is…
More information available at: https://9filmfest.com/
- Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (BiFAN)
The Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (BiFAN)’s call-for-submissions for the festival is open till 30 April 2020.
BiFAN is recognised as one of Asia’s top genre film festivals. In its 24th edition in 2020, it is currently scheduled to be held in Bucheon, South Korea from 9 to 16 July 2020.
Films must have been made after 1 January 2019, and must not have been previously screened in South Korea. Short films must be under 60 minutes, while feature films must be 60 minutes or more.
Submissions will be accepted online at BiFAN’s entry site (http://entry.bifan.kr). Enquiries may be directed to films@bifan.kr (feature films) or short@bifan.kr (short films).
In addition, the Network of Asian Fantastic Films (NAFF), also under BiFAN, has opened its call-for-submissions for the It Project market and the Fantastic Film School film lab. These will close on 1 May. Submissions details are in the links provided.
- SeaShorts Film Festival
Previously we wrote about the SeaShorts Film Festival accepting submissions.
Qualified directors from across the ASEAN region are invited to apply at bit.ly/seashorts2020submission by 30th April 2020 under the theme “Reimagining Short Films, Reinventing Southeast Asia”. Submissions in all genres and forms under 20 minutes will be considered.
A selection of 30 titles will compete for the SeaShorts Award, with Malaysian filmmakers qualifying for the additional Next New Wave Award. The candidates and winners will be determined by an independent committee of professional judges comprising Cambodian-French filmmaker Davy Chou of Anti-Archive, Philippine producer Bianca Balbuena of Epic Media, Singaporean sound engineer Rennie Gomes, and renowned Malaysian academic Dr. Farish Noor.
Subject to changes, it will be held in Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia between 25th to 30th August 2020.
- National Youth Film Awards (NYFA)
In one of our previous blog posts, we also mentioned that Singapore will be having its 6th edition of the National Youth Film Awards (NYFA) opens for submission, closing on 30 April 2020.
Organised by *SCAPE, NYFA remains an important platform for aspiring filmmakers seeking to join the film industry. Since its launch, NYFA has awarded some 133 youth filmmakers, many of which have gone on to achieve international acclaim, with names such as Idette Chen (Bangla, Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia (SSFF & Asia) 2019) and Shoki Lin, (ADAM, Cinéfondation Selection, 72nd Cannes Film Festival).
- Minikino Film Week 6
Minikino Film Week 6 (MFW 6), Bali International Short Film Festival, 4-12 September 2020 is the sixth edition of the annual international short film festival in Bali, Indonesia.
There are two key submission categories, both ending on 13 May 2020.
a) Filmfreeway | 1 December 2019 – 13 May 2020 | Visit https://filmfreeway.com/MINIKINOFILMWEEK
b) Short Film Depot | 1 December 2019 – 13 May 2020 | Visit https://shortfilmdepot.com
MFW 6 presents world quality short films for visiting professionals, invited festival guest and also local, national and international short film enthusiasts who attend the festival. Meanwhile to build and strengthen the network of short film screening venues in Bali, providing spaces to screen the these carefully selected short films to their audiences, which might be difficult to be seen elsewhere.
MFW 6 committees consist of professionals, artists and film enthusiasts who works professionally as volunteers to support the non-commercial festival which run under Kino Media foundation. The running cost is covered by private funding donation, sponsors, and also occasional government funds. Most of the support is in-kinds, in the form of facilities, permits and helping hands to support various festival’s activities.
For more information, please visit: https://minikino.org/filmweek/mfw6/
- Jakarta Independent Film Festival (JIFF)
Call for submissions close on 13 May 2020.
For more information, please visit https://www.jakartafilmfest.com/2020-edition
- Balinale
Bali International Film Festival (aka Balinale) is the largest and oldest annual international film event in Indonesia. Held on the paradise island of Bali, Balinale attracts a diverse audience of film-goers with its outstanding selection of independent local and international movies, many with filmmakers in attendance.
Balinale is celebrating its 14th anniversary from 8 to 13 September 2020.
The Earlybird Deadline has passed, but there are other multiple deadlines for the submissions. The Regular Deadline is on 30 April 2020, the Late Deadline on 31 May 2020, and the Extended Deadline WNI on 20 June 2020.
Film submissions from all genres of fiction and documentary, feature length and short, from Indonesia and around the world are accepted for consideration.
For more information, please visit https://www.balinale.com/submissions/
- 13th International Kuala Lumpur Eco Film Festival (KLEFF)
The International Kuala Lumpur Eco Film Festival (KLEFF) is Malaysia’s homegrown environmental film festival for the past 12 years. Conceptualised and organised by a not-for-profit environmental organisation, EcoKnights, the Festival is a platform to facilitate the building of a nation of ecologically conscious businesses, individuals, and communities through on-ground activities and film screenings focused on critical environmental issues and stories such as pollution, transboundary haze, indigenous people’s rights, wildlife protection, nuclear energy, climate change, sustainable food production, waste management, local environmental heroes and more.
This year’s theme is ‘Climate (in)Justice’, which encompasses films that cover climate change, overlapping with other environmental and social topics. With that, we welcome all sorts of film submissions that fall within the category of the theme this year.
Submissions are open until 31 May 2020.
For more information, visit https://kleff.my/film-submission/
- Festival Film Bahari 3
The Festival Film Bahari is designed to give insight and knowledge all about coastal culture and sea life through films. Thus, Festival Film Bahari creates several programs aim to capture and raise awareness of the coastal environment. August 2020 is the third year of this festival to be held, located in a small fisherman village of Bondet, Cirebon City, West Java, Indonesia. Our guests and participants are invited to stay in the village houses, experiencing themselves in daily coastal life.
Festival Film Bahari is also a youth-based film festival that offers young filmmakers a chance to enhance their critical thinking skills, showcase their work to a captive audience, and engage experienced learning with local communities.
The Festival Film Bahari is open for submission and closes 01 June 2020.
For more information, please visit https://festivalfilmbahari.wordpress.com/