We believe in the power of cinema in conveying messages to audiences across different cultural backgrounds. Founded by a group of young film professionals in 2018, CineCina Film Festival is dedicated to discovering fresh voices from Chinese cinema. As an integral part of the Festival, Project Horizon provides an opportunity for emerging filmmakers from the Chinese-speaking world to showcase their work.

Short film submissions will be accepted via FilmFreeway from July 16 through September 16. The entry fee will help fund a seasonal staff as well as additional festival operations. To support filmmakers with limited funding, we have set a discount for student filmmakers. Previous juries include ZHANG Dalei, Jun LI, Simon LIU, Patrick WANG, CHANG Yaosheng, LAU Kek-Huat, Diane QUON, Isabel SANDOVAL, Ray YEUNG, MA Weijia, HUANG Xi, and Neo SORA.

*Please read the Rules & Terms section carefully before submitting your film. All entry fees are non-refundable.

Main Competition:
Best Narrative Short
Best Documentary Short
Best Experimental Short / Best Animated Short
Special Jury Award (up to 2)

RULES

1. CineCina defines a short film as any film with a running time of 40 minutes or less.

2. All films must have been completed after January 1, 2022.

3. Films that have been previously submitted to Project Horizon are ineligible.

4. Films must be subtitled in English (preferably in both Chinese and English).

5. Films must satisfy at least one of the following conditions:
- in Mandarin or a Chinese dialect (e.g. Cantonese, Hokkien, Mongolian, Uyghur, Tibetan, etc.);
- at least one Chinese-identifying artist in a major key creative role (behind the camera and/or on-screen);
- focuses on Chinese history, Chinese culture, Chinese society, or Chinese way of life.

TERMS

1. All rights, permissions, and clearances must be obtained prior to submission and applicants must ensure that they have the right to submit the work.

2. Submitted films must be entirely original. Any plagiarism will result in disqualification.

3. Only the first submitted version will be considered. If there are significant changes (e.g. sound, editing, subtitling), please contact us prior to the standard deadline.

4. Submissions cannot be withdrawn after the official selection announcement.

5. CineCina Film Festival is authorized to screen selected films at least once in New York and use relevant materials for promotional purposes.

6. Applicants acknowledge that CineCina reserves the right to change the nature of screenings and events due to circumstances related to public health and welfare or at the direction of local, state, or federal authorities. In such cases no submission refunds shall be issued.

Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Kejing Wang

    Amazing festival experience! I was so pleased to have my short film in this year's outstanding curation. Also very impressed by the sharing with audiences after screenings, for me it's very helpful to receive diverse feedback in different region and cities. Well organized!

    April 2022
  • Frank Yan

    Great Film Festival I’ve ever intended! It has complete and well-designed screening plan with selected films and it’s a great honor to be selected! The curators are kind and great people who helped me a lot with my film and we had a terrific communication! Welcome to all filmmakers, just submit now!

    January 2021
  • Good festival with great quality of communication. Hope I can send more work into this festival. Thanks for selecting my work as world premiere and even New York premiere! Best wishes to CineCina!

    November 2019
  • Brad Gibson

    Honored to have my film "Next Stop" be part of a great festival!! Organizers were very on top of communication. Thanks to everyone for the selection and "Best Animation/Experimental award".

    November 2019
  • Kaiwen Chen

    Great film festival and a great experience. Curators and volunteers are passionate and professional. Thank you again for selecting us! It's our pleasure to be a part of the festival!

    April 2019