Welcome to Close:Up Reykjavík Film Festival, an event dedicated to empowering independent filmmaking.

WHY Close:Up? 🔍
local framing of global indie cinema - ambitious programming - enriching screening experiences

As part of the Close:Up network of film festivals, CU Reykjavík Film Festival aims to provide not only a memorable cinematic experience for audiences, but also an enriching festival event for independent filmmakers. Our main goal is to increase your audience reach and engagement, as well as to further support your development after the festival circuit. We're looking for the most exciting and innovative storytelling in different genres, films that challenge and inspire audiences. Our festival is more than just a screening space - it is an opportunity to meet like-minded people and to bridge the gap between audiences and film creators.

WHY Reykjavík? 🔍
You first heard about it in Björk’s music and you first fell in love with it on Instagram, but Iceland is much more than desolate moon-like landscapes and otherworldly music. It’s also home to a vibrant cinematic history (not just Game of Thrones, but Nói Albínói too) and a wild nightlife (when it does get dark!).

The unique Bíó Paradís is the first art house cinema in Iceland. It’s also the only cinema left in the center of Reykjavík and the only cinema that features primarily Icelandic and international independent filmmaking. We feel very proud to celebrate memorable indie filmmaking with Bíó Paradís.

Our panel of international judges will select the best of the best and try to squeeze in as many high-quality films in one evening as they can. Featuring Q&A's with creators, filmmaker roundtables with local industry professionals, networking sessions, and a welcoming atmosphere. Submissions are now open for the first edition of what promises to be a memorable evening dedicated to ambitious, forward-thinking cinema! So submit now for a chance to have your work screened in the land of glaciers, fjords, and elves.

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Close:Up Film Festivals are organized by HF Productions, an international production company that runs several film festivals around the world. A collective of filmmakers, producers and marketing professionals with a common goal: to forge productive and lasting relationships between independent filmmakers and audiences. Our core values are Independence, Ambition, Inspiration, Creativity, Integrity, Community

Awards & Prizes

The festival programmers will carefully select the films to be nominated for the following awards, and will create a selection of nominated films to be screened in front of a live audience at the Bíó Paradís, Reykjavík. The winners will be announced at the event, on our website and on social media.

There are three stages to the process:
△ ​Nominations – Films nominated for each category will be contacted on the notification date, and listed on our website and social media pages. Nominated filmmakers are invited to join the event, although only the films in the Official Selection (below) will be screened.

△ Official Selection – Films selected for screening will be notified if they have been considered to be part of Close:Up Reykjavík Film Festival’s Official Selection on the notification date. Screening materials will be requested and more information about the event will be provided.

△ Winners – Award winners will be selected from the Nominations & Official Selection and announced at our festival, after the screenings, and online the following day.

Awards will include Certificates, Treats, and exclusive online Distribution deals, and will be given in the following categories:

Best Feature
Best Short
Best Comedy
Best Drama
Best Feature Documentary
Best Short Documentary
Best Student Documentary
Best Experimental
Best Animated Short
Best Music Video
Best Screenplay
Best Director
Best Student Director
Best Producer
Best Cinematographer
Best Editor
Best Composer
Best Icelandic Production (discounted entry for films made by local filmmakers)

△ In addition to the above-listed categories, we also offer the option of a Film Critique (as an add-on). Criticism may not always be agreeable but it is always necessary. Filmmakers require constructive feedback at every stage of their development, whether they're just starting out or they've been making films for decades. We offer you the opportunity to get your film project critiqued by one of the qualified film critics we collaborate with on our festivals. Regardless of whether your film is selected for screening, through this add-on, you receive an in-depth review (1-3 pages). The critique can be more or less general, or focus on particular elements - you choose.

Rules & Terms

✴ All films must be submitted in English or with English subtitles.

✴ Films must have been produced in or after 2015.

✴ Filmmakers are responsible for sorting out the copyright on their own materials.

✴ By submitting to us, you give us the right to screen your film in front of a live audience at Bíó Paradís, Reykjavík, Iceland.

✴ Nominations: All films nominated for every category.
Official Selection: Films selected for screening will be notified via email. If you received a Nomination email, but no Official Selection email, it means your film will not be screened, but is still a contender for an award in its category.
Award Winners: Chosen from both the Nominations and the Official Selection.

✴ We may promote your film on social media, based on the press kits you provide us with.

✴ We retain the right to change the date and venue of the festival under special circumstances. All filmmakers will be informed about any changes through our online platforms.

✴ We place no restrictions on your work in terms of premiere status or whether your work has been made available online.

✴ Any technical issues with the submitted films are 100% the responsibility of the filmmakers. If, at the time of judging, your video file doesn’t work or doesn’t have English subtitles (if in a language other than English), it will be automatically rejected, without a refund. Please contact the festival team ASAP if there are any issues with the submission process, and a solution will be found.

✴ We cannot offer refunds.

✴ By submitting to us you agree to our terms and conditions and to receiving marketing newsletters and discounts about film festivals in the form of emails. We will never sell your information to third parties.