Zero Entry Fee

A regularly updated database of film festivals, awards and residencies for documentary and experimental filmmakers & video artists with free submissions.

Please note! Open calls are grouped by deadline month, but organisers often change application deadlines or festival dates, so please CHECK THE DETAILS WELL IN ADVANCE!

Latest update: 23 March 2026

Deadline in January

Bangkok Experimental Film Festival (Thailand): LINK

Film Under Severe Experiment (Croatia): LINK

FluxusMuseum Prize For Experimental Video (Greece): LINK

International Short Film Festival Oberhausen (Germany): LINK

Jeonju International Film Festival (South Korea): LINK

Sehsüchte International Student Film Festival (Germany): LINK

Deadline in February

Great Lakes Listening Series (USA): LINK

Kinoskop – Analog Experimental Film Festival (Serbia): LINK

Montreal Underground Film Festival (Canada): LINK

Deadline in March

EXiS Experimental Film and Video Festival (South Korea): LINK

New Horizons International Film Festival (Poland): LINK

Videoex Experimental Film & Video Festival (Switzerland): LINK

Winnipeg Underground Film Festival (Canada): LINK

Deadline in April

Filmadrid Festival Internacional de Cine (Spain): LINK

The Film-Makers' Cooperative New Year/New Work Festival (USA): LINK

WNDX Festival of Moving Image (Canada): LINK

Deadline in May

25 FPS Festival (Croatia): LINK

aCinema Summer Series (USA): LINK 1 + LINK 2

Diffusion Summer Festival (Canada): LINK

Festival des Cinémas Différents et Expérimentaux de Paris (France): LINK

Jakarta International Documentary and Experimental Film Festival (Indonesia): LINK

Lausanne Underground Film & Music Festival (Switzerland): LINK / 1€ fee

Media City Film Festival (Canada, USA): LINK

Queer Lisboa & Queer Porto (Portugal): LINK

Rencontres Internationales Paris/Berlin (France, Germany): LINK

VISIO – European Programme on Artists’ Moving Images (Italy): LINK

Deadline in June

Busan International Video Art Festival (South Korea): LINK

CIRCA Prize (UK): LINK

Emami Art Experimental Film Festival (India): LINK

Festival Márgenes (Spain): LINK

International Short Film Festival Brno16 (Czechia): LINK

International Poetic Film Showcase Maldito Festival (Spain): LINK

Kaaffilm International Short Film Festival (Italy): LINK / Late submissions in July are paid

Kassel Documentary Film and Video Festival (Germany): LINK

Muestra Internacional de Videoarte y Cine Experimental Intermediaciones (Colombia): LINK

Deadline in July

Celluloid Now / The Chicago Film Society (USA): LINK

ESMoA Video Art + Film Festival (USA): LINK

Grafixx Festival (Belgium): LINK 1 + LINK 2

Images Festival (Canada): LINK / Submissions will close on July 31, 2025 or when 1000 submissions have been received; zero fee only for students

International Screendance Award Interfaccia Digitale (Italy): LINK

Pinkscreens Queer Cinema Festival (Belgium): LINK

Proceso de Error - Festival Internacional de Video Experimental (Chile): LINK

Rhizome DC Film & Video Open Call (USA): LINK

Simultan Festival (Romania): LINK

Stuttgarter Filmwinter — Festival for Expanded Media (Germany): LINK

Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival (Taiwan): LINK

Vienna International Film Festival (Austria): LINK / The Viennale’s festival program mainly consists of films participating BY INVITATION.

Deadline in August

8fest Small Gauge Film Festival (Canada): LINK

Altered Images Fest (UK): LINK / £3 fee

Attaque[e]r Le Visible - Videoaktion #6 (Germany): LINK

Chicago Film Symposium (USA): LINK

Light Matter Experimental Film and Media Arts Festival (USA): LINK

Muestra de Cine de Lanzarote (Spain): LINK

Projet Betula Screening Series (France): LINK

Videobardo International Videopoetry Festival (Argentina): LINK

Deadline in September

Écran Libre New Media Festival (Canada): LINK

Experimental Loop International Video Art Festival (USA): LINK

Kinesthetic Cinema at Wexner Center for the Arts (USA): LINK

Punto de Vista Festival (Spain): LINK / 5€ fee

The San Francisco Underground Short Film Festival (USA): LINK

Deadline in Оctober

Budapest Art Weekend Screening (Hungary): LINK

DETOUR Low-budget & Experimental Cinema (Portugal): LINK

Filmfest Schleswig-Holstein (Germany): LINK

NOMSIZ (Uzbekistan): LINK

PXL THIS 35 Toy Camera Film Festival (USA): via email - pfsuzy@aol.com, LINK

PRISME #8 – Argentique du futur (France): LINK

Deadline in November

Dresdner Schmalfilmtage (Germany): LINK - code 27SFT for free submission

Experiments in Cinema (USA): LINK

Proyector Festival de Videoarte (Spain): LINK

Video Art Miden (Greece): LINK

Deadline in December

Ebertplatz FriesTV (Germany): LINK

European Media Art Festival (Germany): LINK

goEast Festival of Central and Eastern European Film (Germany): LINK

Punto y Raya Festival (Bulgaria): LINK

Taiwan International Documentary Festival (Taiwan): LINK

No Set Deadline / Several Deadlines

Alternative Film Video (Serbia): LINK

FICUNAM (Mexico): LINK

SFO Museum’s Video Arts Program (USA): LINK

Third Horizon Film Festival (USA): LINK

Underdox Filmfestival (Germany): LINK - submissions can be done informally by sending an online link of the submitted film to info@underdox-festival.de

Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival (Japan): LINK - several deadlines between December and May

Dmitry Frolov

2025-04-05 20:27