Film Festival Deadlines (WC 23.01)
- Bend Film Festival – 27 January
The Academy qualifying 20th annual BendFilm Festival is confirmed to take place October 12th-15th in-person, and virtually October 16th-22nd, 2023! With consideration to current and potential COVID 19 protocols, guidelines and limitations, the 2023 Festival may be a hybrid of virtual and in-person screenings and events.
***Short films that receive BendFilm’s Best Narrative Short, Best Animated Short, and Best
Indigenous Short awards may now be eligible to enter the Academy Award Short Films competition for the concurrent season, provided that the films meet all the requirements set forth in the official rules for that season which can be found at www.oscars.org/rules.
Named as one of the “Top 25 Coolest Film Festivals in the World” and a near-constant fixture of MovieMaker magazine’s “50 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee”, BendFilm celebrates independent films and the risky, passionate, tough and talented people who make them. The 2022 festival screened 126 narrative and documentary features and short films, with 47% of features and 33% of shorts directed by women. This year’s 20th Annual Festival runs from Thursday, Oct. 12 – Sunday, Oct. 22, with most venues located in Bend’s historic downtown and the nearby Old Mill District. $11,500 in cash prizes including the $5,000 cash “Best of Show!”
You can submit your films HERE
2. Galway Film Fleadh – 27 January
Galway Film Fleadh is Ireland’s leading film event and an Academy Award Qualifying Film Festival, a six-day international film festival taking place every July on the very edge of Europe. ‘Fleadh’ is the Irish word for a feast or a celebration, and like Galway itself, our festival is compact, bohemian, informal and fun. After hosting our first in-person festival since the pandemic in 2022, we are looking forward to a triumphant return to the theatrical experience in 2023.
Founded in 1989, as an opportunity for Irish filmmakers to exhibit their work to their peers, the central goal of the Galway Film Fleadh remains unchanged: to be a platform for the boldest new films, and to bring audiences and filmmakers from around the world together to share in the wonder of cinema. Annually, screening between 80 – 100 feature films and up to 100 short films, the Fleadh welcomes an exciting diversity of filmmaking from around the world, all generations and cultural backgrounds.
You can submit your films HERE
3. Inside Out Toronto 2SLGBTQ+ Film Festival – 27 January
For more than three decades, Inside Out (a Canadian Screen Qualifying Film Festival) has brought Toronto’s LGBTQ community together in celebration of the best queer film from Canada and around the world. Through our annual Festivals in Toronto and Ottawa, our filmmaker initiatives, our youth engagement and our year-round events and screenings, Inside Out is engaged every day in challenging attitudes and changing lives.
In 1991, Inside Out celebrated its first film and video festival with a small community of people who yearned to see film and video created by and about lesbians, gays, bisexuals and trans (LGBT) people. Currently the largest event of its kind in Canada, the Festival entertains film buffs of all stripes, showcasing the best and most diverse work of interest to LGBTQ+ communities. Taking place over 11 days, the Festival draws crowds of 35,000 to screenings, artist talks, panel discussions, installations and parties that highlight more than 150 films from Canada and around the world.
You can submit your films HERE
4. The Shortest Nights – 27 January
Short-Sighted Cinema CIC is now welcoming submissions for our 9th annual film festival, THE SHORTEST NIGHTS.
As a BIFA qualifying festival we pride ourselves on curating exciting, entertaining and high-quality programmes celebrating the best in BRITISH SHORT FILM.
Films for this collection must have been created within the last 2 years by filmmakers living, working or studying in the UK, inclusive of British Filmmakers working overseas.
– Only UK films are eligible. Films must be made within the last 2 years from filmmakers working, studying or living in the UK.
– Films should be under 25 minutes in length, but can be of any style, genre or theme. We’d also like to encourage family-friendly films.
You can submit your films HERE
5. Oxford International Film Festival – January 31
Oxford International Film Festival is now taking submissions for the 2023 edition.
OXIFF is designed to be an intimate, boutique and eloquent filmmaker festival of discovery where film enthusiasts can get first hand insights from directors, writers, actors and producers from the premiering films, a style which blends well with the beautiful city of Oxford.
After the rescheduled hybrid 2020 and 2021 online event the festival presents its new platform of an exciting snowy winter boutique festival in 2022 and now looks to build on this boutique offering into 2023.
The 2023 edition will once again be screened in person with filmmakers being invited to attend and take part in pre and post-screening Q&A’s and networking events.
OXIFF prides itself on being a personable and honest, welcoming event that shines a light on true independent film. OXIFF is an opportunity for indie filmmakers to be discovered and showcase their work with a chance to share their stories with the public. We look to provide a platform in which a filmmaker can get their work seen and their cinematic voices heard.
You can submit your films HERE