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Call for Entries – 17th Balkans Beyond Borders Short Film Festival

Call for Entries

17th Balkans Beyond Borders Short Film Festival

“Shift your gaze to the unseen”

 

Submissions are now open for the 17th edition of the Balkans Beyond Borders Short Film Festival, inviting filmmakers from the Balkans and beyond to submit their short film inspired by this year’s theme ‘’Shift your gaze to the unseen’’ until  May 31.

By taking part with your short film at Balkans Beyond Borders Short Film Festival you become part of a festival that through its content it shows the diversity and nuanced identity of the Balkan region and it gives space to hidden stories and pressing societal issues to be heard and shown; You get connected with a network of filmmakers and cultural professionals across the Balkans and beyond; Your work is presented in an international context with engaged audiences through network screenings around Europe; You get the opportunity to be awarded for the BBB Best Film Award (monetary prize), BBB First Entry Award (in kind) & BBB Audience Award (monetary), three Special Mentions. For the second consecutive year, Balkans Beyond Borders continues to explore the creative possibilities of Artificial Intelligence in filmmaking giving the BBB Creative AI Award (in kind). The 17th edition introduces the BBB Gen Alpha Award (in kind) inviting filmmakers to bring the magic of cinematic storytelling to the Gen A (4-15 y.o.). All short film submissions will be reviewed by our pre-selection committee consisting of emerging professionals from the film industry. The BBB SFF accepts also entries for the categories: BBB Beyond – International. 

This year’s edition intends to explore the architecture of the gaze, sides that often go unnoticed remaining outside the frame. Our memories, experiences, and social environments influence what and how we see, while dominant narratives and structures of power determine which realities become visible and which are pushed to the margins.

The festival invites filmmakers to turn their attention toward the unseen. Sometimes the most important stories are not hidden; they simply lie beyond the frames through which we have learned to look. Therefore, we welcome films that question the limits of visibility and challenge dominant ways of seeing, by revealing what has been ignored, silenced, or forgotten.

Balkans Beyond Borders Short Film Festival is an annual thematic short-film festival that takes place in a different European city every year with a special focus in South-Eastern Europe, thus maximizing its regional impact on promoting the Balkan culture and European values. It engages new audiences and promotes inter-Balkan cooperation creating a hub for productive networking among the region’s community of filmmakers, art professionals, stakeholders, cultural organizations and partners. The hosting city for the 17th edition will be Athens, Greece offering a space of discovery of who we are in the Balkans for all generations and lived experiences, a networking hub for balkan festivals and a multithematic event.

Balkans Beyond Borders Short Film Festival Submission guidelines: 

  • Filmmakers are invited to submit short films of up to 30 minutes, produced after 2024.
  • The festival accepts fiction, documentary, animation, and experimental films that creatively engage with the theme.
  • Filmmakers must be up to 35 years old, or older than 35 under the condition that their submitted film is their debut.
  • Submissions are open to filmmakers originating from the Balkans, and/or films produced from the Balkan region.

See the Terms & Conditions for more details. 

Submit your film through FilmFreeway here.

Learn more about the application process at Balkans Beyond Borders’ website. Follow us on our Social Media and be the first to learn about all our latest news: Facebook, Instagram.