Almaty Indie Film Fest inspired international film festival breaking ground in Almaty, the heart of filmmaking in Kazakhstan.

The mission of the Almaty Indie Film Festival is to screen the best of low-budget independent film from around the world. The Almaty Indie is a 7-day celebration of talented filmmakers working on shoestring budgets.

The Almaty Indie Film Festival will run every Summer and offer a fantastic opportunity for undiscovered filmmakers to showcase their achievements.

AIFF is non-profit, non-governmental event without:

– any support from the government;

– any discrimination of films and filmmakers on any basis (nationality, residence, profession, sex, age, faith, politics, theme of the film and so on).

AIFF principles:

1) Everybody is equal in front of the arts.

2) No internet screenings – only live screening of the films.

Awards & Prizes

Film Awards:
Feature Film (budget over $50k USD)
Micro-budget Feature (budget under $50k USD)
No-Budget Feature (budget under $20k USD)
Short low budget Film (budget over $5k USD)
Micro-budget Short Film (budget under $5k USD)
No-Budget Short Film (budget under $2k USD)
Female Director Low Budget Short film (budget over $5k USD)
Short Documentary (budget under $3k USD)
Animated Short (budget under $5k USD)
Horror / Sci-Fi Short (budget under $5k USD)
Music Video (budget under $5k USD)

Rules & Terms

All films and genres made with independent spirit and low budgets.
Rules & Terms
All non-English films must have English sub-titles.
All films must be submitted via Online screeners.
Works-in-progress will be considered, provided they will be completed prior to the Festival.
Please do NOT send stills or press kits. If your film is selected we will ask you to email us a still image.
You may submit more than one film, but you must complete a separate entry form and pay entry fee for each film.
12 Reviews
Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Ekaterina PROMOTION

    My communication with the festival was terrible. I think the festival was not held in 2021, they collected contributions for 2021 and that's it. Then they were collecting a film for the new 2022, but there was no information about it until the expected start dates of the festival. They do not respond either by mail or on social networks. Until the concerned authors contacted Filmfreeway support, they would have remained silent. There is no list of winners, there were no screenings anywhere (neither online nor in real life). Who is the jury? where is the link to view trailers? None of the authors I know who were selected for the festival received any information. I do not recommend interaction with the festival. I will demand a refund.

    November 2021
    Helpful
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    Response from festival:

    Dear Ekaterina,

    We are sorry to hear that you had a negative experience with our festival. We apologize for any lack of communication or information that you experienced during the festival season. As a film festival, we aim to provide a positive experience for all of our participants, and it is disappointing to hear that we fell short in your case.

    Regarding the issues you raised, we can assure you that our festival was held in 2021, and all the contributions received were considered for that edition. However, we acknowledge that there may have been delays or changes to our schedule due to unforeseen circumstances, such as the ongoing pandemic. We apologize if this caused any confusion or frustration for you.

    We understand that there were some issues with communication, and we apologize for any inconvenience this caused. We always strive to respond to all emails and messages in a timely manner, but we may have experienced some difficulties during the festival season. We are currently reviewing our communication processes to ensure that we can better serve our participants in the future.

    Regarding the list of winners and the screenings, we apologize for any delays in releasing this information. We understand that it is essential for our participants to receive this information promptly, and we are taking steps to ensure that we release it in a timely and efficient manner.

    In terms of the jury and the link to view trailers, we will ensure that this information is readily available on our website and any other communication channels we use. We understand that this information is vital to our participants, and we will make sure that it is easily accessible.

    Finally, we understand that you are requesting a refund, and we will process this as soon as possible. Please note that our refund policy is outlined on our website, and we will ensure that it is followed in your case.

    Again, we apologize for any inconvenience or frustration that you experienced during your interaction with our festival. We appreciate your feedback and will use it to improve our processes and provide a better experience for all our participants in the future.

    Sincerely,

    Almaty Indie Film Festival

  • Tom McPhee

    As a filmmaker who is also a Festival Director I am not sure where to start. Bad communication, no follow up, awful timeline of events, lack of clarity of where events are taking place, and when. We know how hard it is to run a festival. However, this is not how you do it. This is not a filmmaker friendly festival. How do filmmakers actually benefit from being in this festival? The name here on FilmFreeway is one name and then the website takes you to another festival name??? Hey Festival, you want to clear some things up for us?

    November 2021
    Helpful
    Logo
    Response from festival:

    Dear Tom,

    We are sorry to hear that you had a negative experience with our festival. We apologize for any lack of communication or information that you experienced during the festival season. As a film festival, we aim to provide a positive experience for all of our participants, and it is disappointing to hear that we fell short in your case.

    Regarding the issues you raised, we can assure you that our festival was held in 2021, and all the contributions received were considered for that edition. However, we acknowledge that there may have been delays or changes to our schedule due to unforeseen circumstances, such as the ongoing pandemic. We apologize if this caused any confusion or frustration for you.

    We understand that there were some issues with communication, and we apologize for any inconvenience this caused. We always strive to respond to all emails and messages in a timely manner, but we may have experienced some difficulties during the festival season. We are currently reviewing our communication processes to ensure that we can better serve our participants in the future.

    Regarding the list of winners and the screenings, we apologize for any delays in releasing this information. We understand that it is essential for our participants to receive this information promptly, and we are taking steps to ensure that we release it in a timely and efficient manner.

    In terms of the jury and the link to view trailers, we will ensure that this information is readily available on our website and any other communication channels we use. We understand that this information is vital to our participants, and we will make sure that it is easily accessible.

    Finally, we understand that you are requesting a refund, and we will process this as soon as possible. Please note that our refund policy is outlined on our website, and we will ensure that it is followed in your case.

    Again, we apologize for any inconvenience or frustration that you experienced during your interaction with our festival. We appreciate your feedback and will use it to improve our processes and provide a better experience for all our participants in the future.

    Sincerely,

    Almaty Indie Film Festival

  • Telio Espinoza

    Excellent festival, an honor to be part of,thank you!

    November 2021
    Helpful
  • Sarah Baur

    Thank you for selecting my short fiction YANA for the 2021 edition!
    Covid-19 made it an online edition, which is always a bit of a different experience. Communication was none the less very swift and professional and I'm grateful to have been part of the festival. I'll happily submit new work in the future.

    November 2021
    Helpful
  • Tamás Rebák

    Hope we can meet in real time once, thank you for the selection!

    November 2020
    Helpful