The Athens International Film Festival is looking for the best greek short films

The Athens International Film Festival loves and actively supports the greek cinema from its first edition to date. Much awaited premieres of greek films that are embraced by the local audience and travel through Greece and abroad, workshops on film development and production, top and honored guests from the domestic film society and, of course, awardings and distinguishing older and rising Greek film artists are some of the ingredients that keep alive and deepen every year this relationship of support and love.

One of the most special and powerful bonds of the Athens International Film Festival to the greek cinema is of course the Greek Short Film Competition Section, which helps with special care - for almost a decade - the new greek short films to find their way to the silver screen and meet their audience. A love and trust which is reciprocated by the Greek filmmakers, who increasingly submit their movies to the Athens International Film Festival, which are enough to dynamically represent the most creative part of the greek film production.

Having presented a total of more than 470 films in the past six years, the vivid and exciting Competition Section of Greek Short Film remains an integral part of the 26th Athens International Film Festival.

Following the proud record number by last year's 311 participations, we invite you to submit your film.

Please note that within the context of the emergency hygiene circumstances we are confronting in Greece and abroad, we are optimistic that the 26th edition of the Athens International Film Festival will be hosted in our movie theaters, respectful always of the rules and specs of conduct, as such will be defined by the official authorities of the State and having as an iviolable guide the safety of our audience.

For viewers (vulnerable groups, people who are taking care of patients or because of their profession are in contact with patients etc) who will de facto not be able to attend the screenings, the Athens International Film Festival is already intending to project part of its program digitally too, through a specially designed platform which will ensure a specific number of  geo-blocked screenings, complying with all the security and high standard digital interaction specifications by standards of successful examples of major international Festivals.

In case the circumstances of the pandemic impose as such, the particular platform provides the Festival with the security to run entirely digitally, maintaing the broad range of its parallel activities, such as masterclasses, discussions, introductions by directors, Q&A's and wide interaction with the audience, adjusted to the web environment.

In view of the above, we would like to inform you that the film you submit for participation in the Greek Short Film Competion Section of the Athens International Film Festival is destined for the movie theaters and the obtaining of a complete film experience of viewers and makers. Nevertheless, if such is demanded by the progression of the pandemic and the enforcement of healthcare measures by the official authorities, please consider that the film might be screened and / or entirely digitally.

Terms of Participation:

- Participation in the Competition Section is allowed to every greek short film that has completed production from September 2019 to summer 2020. Max. duration 40 min.
- Screening exclusivity or greek premiere of the film are not requested for participation in the Competition Section.
- In case the film is selected for the Competition Section, there must be the ability to submit it exclusively in DCP format for its screening in the movie theater and in MPEG4 format for its possible digital screening.
- Every filmmaker has the right to participate in the Festival with only one film.
- Films that have been submitted and rejected in former editions of the Festival will not be accepted.
- The preliminary jury is consisted of the head of the section and whole of the programming team of the Athens International Film Festival. 
- Directors and producers from Greece and Cyprus that wish to participate, may submit their film via the digital platform FilmFreeway until July 5th, 2020.

The selected films will be screened during the Festival, while a special jury will award the following: Best Film (A' & B'), Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actor and Best Actress.
The awards for Best Film (A' & B') will be accompanied by a financial prize, details of which will be announced soon.

The deadline for submission is July 5th, 2020.

The Festival will strictly accept films submitted via the platform FilmFreeway.

The 26th Athens International Film Festival will take place from September 23rd until October 4th, 2020. 

For further information regarding the process for film submission: shorts@aiff.gr

For more information and continuous updates, stay tuned to the websites cinemagazine.gr, aiff.gr and aoaff.gr as well as the social media pages: Facebook AIFF, Instagram, Twitter. 

The 26th Athens International Film Festival is realised under the auspices and with the financial support of the Hellenic Republic Ministry of Culture and Sports.

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