Rules of participation
Elche Film Festival
48th Edition
Opening of deadlines from 10 January to 15 March 2025
Important dates
- Short Film Submission: 10 January – 15 March 2025.
Official Section - Communication: From 19 May 2025.
- Reception of files: Before 15 June 2025.
- Official Selection Screenings: 11 – 17 July 2025 (from 22:00h to 23:45h).
- Closing Gala: 18 July 2025, 22:00h.
Who can participate?
Any person (over 18 years of age) or legal entity, regardless of nationality.
Short Film Requirements
- Production after 1 January 2023.
- Maximum length: 30 minutes.
- Non-Spanish language: Spanish subtitles required (inserted or in *.srt), otherwise it will be disqualified.
- Trailers, half finished works or works already presented in previous editions are not eligible.
How to participate?
- Deadline for registration until 09/03/2025, 23:59:59 Spanish peninsular time.
- Only links (Vimeo or Youtube) and/or official platforms (Movibeta, Festhome).
- Only one short film per participant and category. The Organization and/or the Jury of the festival will have the right to change the category of those short films that, according to their criteria, are not in the one that corresponds to them.
Categories
- Fiction: Spanish and international fiction filmmakers who wish to compete for the ‘Fundación Mediterráneo’ Award for Best Fiction Short Film and Best International Short Film.
- Animation: Spanish and international animation filmmakers who wish to compete for the Best Animation Short Film and Best International Short Film Award.
- Documentary: Spanish and international documentary filmmakers who wish to compete for the ‘Ciutat d’Elx’ Award for Best Documentary Short Film and Best International Short Film.
- Fes Curt: productions by authors born or resident in the Valencian Community and/or from Valencian Film Festivals and/or production companies based in the Valencian Community. They may also be filmed in Valencian, or subtitled in Valencian.
- New Author: Spanish and international authors who have made up to their third short film and who wish to compete for the ‘Cineclub Luis Buñuel’ Award for the Best New Author Short Film. They can be works of Fiction, Animation or Documentary.
Prizes (15.500€ in total)
- MEDITERRÁNEO FOUNDATION’ AWARD FOR THE BEST FICTION SHORT FILM. It is endowed with 3,000 euros and the Dama Trophy.
- CIUTAT D’ELX’ AWARD TO THE BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT FILM. It is endowed with 3.000 euros and Dama Trophy.
- AWARD FOR THE BEST ANIMATION SHORT FILM. Any nationality. It is endowed with 3,000 euros and the Dama Trophy.
- BEST INTERNATIONAL SHORT FILM AWARD, in any category and belonging to any nationality (not Spain). Worth 2,000 euros and the Dama Trophy.
- FES CURT AWARD FOR BEST SHORT FILM FROM THE COMUNITAT VALANCIANA, with 1.500 euros and Dama Trophy. It will be chosen from among the productions presented in the Fes Curt category.
- CINECLUB LUIS BUÑUEL’ NEW FILMMAKER AWARD, endowed with 1,500 euros and the Dama Trophy, eligible in any of the categories. Both Spanish and international authors who have made up to their third short film are eligible.
- HORT DEL XOCOLATER’ AUDIENCE AWARD, endowed with 1,500 euros and the Dama Trophy, from among those Spanish and international short films that form part of the Official Selection. The short film that has received the most votes from the audience attending the Official Selection screenings at the Hort del Xocolater between 11th and 18th July 2025 will be chosen.
Conditions of participation
The Author/Director/Distributor of the works submitted to the competition declares that they are of their authorship, direction and production and that, being original, they are free from third party claims.
Without prejudice to the use and commercialisation that the Author/Director/Distributor may make of the awarded work, the Organisation shall be entitled to:
The right to keep the works in a digital archive so that they can only be viewed by users during the week of screenings at the Festival venues in the ‘Hort del Xocolater’ park (Elche) and at the Arenales del Sol beach (Elche).
The limited rights of public communication of the winning works so that the Fundación Mediterráneo, through the activities it organises or collaborates with, can carry out as many screenings as necessary in order to promote the winning works. The screenings will be used to promote the short film and the Festival itself, as long as this does not affect the distribution and possible commercialisation of the short film and the necessary permissions and/or negotiate the fee or canon to be able to screen them.
The reproduction rights of the winning works so that they can be archived and so that the Fundación Mediterráneo can produce a special edition in cd, dvd, or similar format in which the work is included together with the rest of the works presented at this or previous editions of the Elche International Independent Film Festival, but always with the authorisation of the Author/Director/Distributor so as not to affect their distribution and commercialisation.
The Fundación Mediterráneo supports the short film industry by paying royalties to the SGAE for all reproductions, whether during the screenings of the Official Section or in other cycles that may be organised.
Of all personal data, only the e-mail addresses of those registered will be kept for the purposes of communication of new editions.
Platforms for uploading short films
Poster 2025
Since 1978 we have been offering a space to meet and attract new talents in short films and also to promote the industrialisation of short films.
All of this without neglecting our origins and always adapting to new times and new ways of making films. Technology may change, but the desire to create always remains the same.
