Cinalfama wants to be a moment of encounter, a starting point for new audiences. We aim to r(e)discover and celebrate Alfama, a place for Portuguese, and other cultures', cinematographic explorations that intend to question the present, past, and future of cinema.

In July 2022, we took a step forward with the Cinalfama Lisbon International Film Festival (C'23), an annual open-air event that gathered, for a week, independent films from around the world.
The call is open for 2023 Cinalfama Lisbon International Film Festival

We hold a second Open Call for the Seasonal Screenings (regular competitive sessions), with different submitting categories: https://filmfreeway.com/cinalfama

Awards & Prizes

We invite all winning directors, screenwriters and composers to personally present their work in the heart of old Lisbon, Alfama.

The promotional materials for the selected films, nominated and winners, will be shared on our website and on our social media platforms.

All winners will receive a laurel and a certificate.

The winning films will be promoted by our festival partners.

Access to ECU Paris International Festival. Winners will have a privileged selection viewing at ÉCU. Several Cinalfama awarded films were selected and awarded at ÉCU as well.

The winners will have the opportunity to schedule a one-to-one mentor session with members of our renowned jury, like Leonor Teles and Pedro Cabeleira.

Rules & Terms

The person responsible for submitting the film certifies that he has all the rights and authorizations necessary to submit the film, including, but not limited to image rights, talent releases, soundtrack and/or source music releases; and assumes all responsibility for their material. Cinalfama Lisbon Screening and Awards accepts no responsibility, financial or otherwise, for any film submitted to the festival.

Every entry/submission will be judged based on its directing, acting, technical, and artistic merits, as related to the submission. All decisions made by the judge (s) are considered final and incontestable.

We reserve the right not to give all of the possible awards if we don't receive enough entries in a particular category or if none of the submissions meet our high judging standards.

There can be, if the jury by its own quality so decides, two winners ex aequo in any of the categories.

The official selection is composed of 5 nominees, 1 winning film per category, as well as honorable mention recipients.

The Cinalfama Awards only accept online screeners. Please submit your film via FilmFreeway platform. We do not accept discs or any downloadable files.

Entry fees are nonrefundable.

Multiple entries are allowed. You can submit more than one film in the same category.

All submitted films will be eligible for the next edition if they have not been awarded in previous editions.

Submissions in languages ​​other than English must be subtitled in English. English subtitles must be embedded in the film. No additional srt files will be accepted.

Only films released after 2015 will be accepted.

Short films with a length of up to 30 minutes and medium or long films with a length of more than 30 minutes will be considered.

Cinalfama reserves the right to disqualify any film whose submitter might be in any way linked to illicit or criminal acts, proven or otherwise.

Selected, nominated, and awarded films' promotional material will be announced and viewable on our website (http://www.cinalfama.com) and on our social media pages.

The awarded films rightful owners of the rights, in each category of every edition, hereby authorize the film's live screening at Cinalfama events and use of relevant content on our social media platforms. This authorization is an indispensable condition for the inclusion in the festival's official selection.
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  • güldem durmaz

    an authentic commitment to cinema sharing.

    August 2022
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  • William Vitória

    I had the pleasure of having my film selected and win an honourable mention. My film Edmundo was a about homosexuality and the film after was about racism. Two very important topics that got the well deserved exposure in beautiful Alfama. To make it more special the screening was outdoor at night. Congratulations Cinalfama.

    August 2022
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