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

Great Lakes Listening Series (USA): LINK

Kinoskop – Analog Experimental Film Festival (Serbia): LINK

Montreal Underground Film Festival (Canada): LINK

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Courtisane Festival - LINK

Media City Film Festival - LINK

DOK.fest München - LINK
DOK.fest München pays screening fees, both for the presentation in the cinemas and additionally on the digital screen. The screening fee is agreed with the rights holders – taking into account the best possible presentation of the festival films, we focus on invitations to the filmmakers and the corresponding (proportional) reimbursement of travel and hotel costs. There is also the opportunity to win a prize in various cross-series competitions (DOK.fest Award of SOS Kinderdörfer weltweit, German Documentary Film Music Award, VFF Documentary Film Production Award).

European Media Art Festival - LINK
Entering works is free of charge. Artists’ fees will be paid for all entries selected for the festival.

Kassel Documentary Film and Video Festival - LINK
The directors and artists of the works featured in the program will be invited to Kassel for presentations. A Q&A session is planned for each screening. A travel allowance will be paid for each work shown. The festival also provides free accreditation and free accommodation for the directors and artists (maximum two nights in a hotel, or more nights for private accommodation). A rental fee will be paid for each work featured in the program.

PrevYou Short Film Festival Berlin - LINK
With us, everyone is a winner! To emphasize exchange over rivalry, our festival is non-competitive. Instead of awards, all selected films receive a screening fee of €75. We aim to honor your work and support your participation in the festival.

Sonica Ekrano Documentary Film Festival - LINK
All selected films (whether in or outside the competitive section) will be paid a screening fee. Feature films in the competitive section: 125€ / 2 sessions. Feature films outside the competitive section: 100€ / 1 session. Short films: 50€ / 1 session.

Festival Márgenes - LINK
A screening fee will be paid to those films participating in the Official Selection and in the Escaner section. The amount will be of €100 + VAT (if applicable) for films over 40 minutes and €50 + VAT (if applicable) for films under 40 minutes.

Alchemy Film & Arts - LINK

Berwick Film & Media Arts Festival - LINK
Rather than offering a single prize, chosen by a jury, since 2020 the awards have been jointly shared by all selected filmmakers.

Open City Documentary Festival - LINK
There are no competitive programmes at the festival, but again, I cannot help but include it on this list to recommend it. All selected filmmakers receive screening fees. Open City’s standard screening fees for films and audio are £275 (inc VAT) for works over 60 minutes, £140 (inc. VAT) for works over 40 minutes and £70 (Inc.VAT) for works under 40 minutes. Open City Documentary Festival offers a standard screening fee of £100 (in. VAT) for cross-platform projects.

Ann Arbor Film Festival - LINK
The Ann Arbor Film Festival has paid artists to show their films in competition since the 59th AAFF in 2021, and the Ann Arbor Film Festival offers a $20 submission fee discount for BIPOC filmmakers, the same discount we offer to alumni filmmakers

Experiments in Cinema - LINK