DŽADA FILM FEST – FESTIVAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS
1. General Settings
Džada Film Fest, the 11th edition of International Debut Film Festival, will take place from August 31st till September 6th 2026 in Podgorica, Montenegro. The main goal of the festival is to bring the film industry closer to viewers and academic audiences through film production, while at the same time creating a place where film enthusiasts will exchange creative ideas for future projects and find inspiration for the new ones.
2. Program
The Festival program consists of three categories:
- Competition program (debut feature films and debut short films)
- Open air cinema (screening of review films)
- Following program (panel discussions, concerts, program for kids,…..)
3. Submission conditions
For the competition part of the program, applications may be submitted by directors, producers and national film organizations with rights to represent films and be invited by the organizer.
One can submit a film in the following categories: debut feature fiction film and debut short fiction film. The term debut film, according to the FIAPF's propositions, is the first and second film of an author. Films cannot be older than January 1st 2025. The submitted feature films should last longer than 71 minutes. Short films created in professional context lasting no longer than 30 minutes and it has to be fiction shorts. Student films are not eligible.
Applications open on April 23th, 2026, and the deadline for submitting films is June 1st, 2026.
The organizer holds the right of calling films outside the above-mentioned deadline.
Films are submitted via the FilmFreeway online service.
For the purpose of promoting regional films, the Festival does not charge for applications received from Montenegro, Croatia, Serbia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia and Kosovo.
Applications from other countries are free of charge until April 30th, 2026, after which it will be charged €5.
If the same film has been submitted to the festival in previous years and has not been selected, the author/director or other authorized person is not entitled to re-apply for it.
All submitted films must have English subtitles.
At the moment when the film is selected and participation at the festival confirmed, the film can no longer be withdrawn from the festival program. By applying for the Festival you agree to all the Festival Terms. The festival will only contact the representatives of the selected films and is not obliged to provide explanation on why the film was not selected for the festival program.
If the film receives an award at the DžFF, the director, producer and distributor of the film commit to mention the award in the official and promotional material and in the distribution of the film.
4. Selection and projection
The number of films selected for projection in the certain program depends on the length of films. Each of the selected films will be shown maximum two times during the festival and festival's activities during the year.
All audiovisual recordings of submitted films (screeners) will be held in the DžFF archive for documentary, educational and cultural purposes.
Festival will not pay screening fees for films selected for the competition.
For the purpose of promotion of rewarded films, Festival holds the right of projecting those films for DžFF purposes in Montenegro, without any reimbursement, but with notifying the rights holder.
5. Awards
Official awards of the Džada Film Fest are:
BEST DEBUT FEATURE FILM (1.000 EUR cash prize)
BEST DEBUT DIRECTOR (1.000 EUR cash prize)
BEST DEBUT SHORT FILM (500 EUR cash prize)
BEST NEW VOICE (500 EUR cash prize)
The official awards consist of a cash prize and statue.
Special mention awards may be awarded by the Festival.
6. Jury
The International Jury will consist of distinguished representatives such as directors, film critics, producers etc. In the evaluation of the films, the jury is guided by its own criteria.
7. Press materials and packages
Along with the application form, one should attach the following materials:
● short synopsis of the film in English or Montenegrin
● mandatory link to one of the platforms (Vimeo / Youtube) and a password valid until September 06th, 2026.
Materials to be requested with the projection copy of the film (if the film is selected):
● film poster and trailer (if possible)
● at least 3 photographs from the film, quality suitable for printing/press
● director’s biography, photography and contact
● promotional material (press packages...)
By submitting the application form, the Festival is authorized to use and publish all the mentioned materials in the festival catalog, on the internet and for promotion purposes.
The Festival is also authorized to publish a trailer or an insert from the film in the maximum duration of 3 minutes for promotion purposes.
The Festival holds the right to reject a film copy of bad technical quality that might cause problems while being projected. The festival will provide, at its own expense, the translation of subtitles with time codes into Montenegrin if the selected film is in a language outside the Balkan-speaking region. The applicant has to cover the technical costs of embedding the subtitles, for the DCP film format.
8. Accommodation and accreditation
The organizer can invite the director or representative of the film and cover his travel and/or accommodation expenses if funds allow.
The authors of all selected films are invited to take part at the Festival. If they apply on time (one month before the beginning of the Festival), the Festival will ensure all necessary accreditations, same as the promotion of their films, subject to the available resources.
9. By applying to the festival, the producer or director accepts the rules of Džada Film Fest and guarantees the accuracy of the given information.
