Submissions for the ninth edition of Inte Cinema Festival are open. From today, filmmakers anywhere in the world can send us a short film through FilmFreeway — and, as has been true since our first edition in 2018, it will not cost them anything to do so.
We say this plainly because it remains unusual. Most festivals of our size are funded, in part or in whole, by the fees filmmakers pay to enter. We have chosen a different arrangement, and nine years in, we have no intention of changing it. If you have made a short film, we would like to see it. That is the whole of the transaction.
What we are looking for
The festival accepts short films of up to thirty minutes, in any genre and from any country. Work in languages other than English is welcome and encouraged; we simply ask that films not in English or Italian carry English subtitles so that our jury and our audience in Rome can follow them. There is no theme to write toward and no house style to imitate. We have programmed tender domestic dramas next to abrasive experimental pieces, and both belonged.
Films will be considered across our four competitive categories:
- Best Fiction — narrative short films of any register.
- Best Documentary — non-fiction and hybrid work.
- Best Animation — animation in any technique.
- Best Experimental — work that bends or breaks the form.
Each category winner receives a trophy and a cash award of $1,000. Runners-up in every category receive a certificate of distinction. The jury's decision is final, as it must be — but every selected filmmaker leaves with something we think matters more than a prize, which is a Roman audience that watched closely and then wanted to talk.
The dates that matter
The calendar for the ninth edition is straightforward. Submissions open today. The regular deadline falls on 31 March 2027, and a late window remains open until 31 May 2027 for those who need it — the terms are identical, since there is no fee to escalate. Selected filmmakers will be notified in June 2027, and the festival itself will take place in Rome in the autumn of 2027, with the exact dates to be confirmed closer to the event.
We keep the late deadline open for a simple reason: films are finished when they are finished, and a good edit is worth more than a punctual one. If your work needs another month, take it.
Why we still do this
A festival is not a competition with a screening attached. It is, at its best, a room — a dark room in a particular city on a particular evening, where strangers watch the same images and are changed, slightly, in the same moment. Rome has been watching films this way for a very long time. We think that context does something to a short film that a private link never will.
So this is the invitation, extended for a ninth year and in the same spirit as the first. Make the film you needed to make. Send it to us. Let it meet a room.
Submit your short film on FilmFreeway. We read everything that comes in, and we look forward to yours.
Inte Cinema Festival is an independent short film festival and cultural association based in Rome. Submissions for the 9th Edition are open now on FilmFreeway.