Dedicated to visionaries and pioneering storytellers across the globe, we are an international action community of practice, working towards systemic change through the power of authentic and meaningful storytelling. Our catalytic home cinema of the commons and commoning film practices intends to co-create a nourishing influential movement for societal cohesion and to enact integral transformation for planetary impact.

Our aim is to explore and publicize critical scholarly and artistic perspectives of various life views and cosmologies through filmic means and, by doing so, to actively contribute to social cohesion, diversity, inclusivity and emancipation within Swiss society and beyond. We believe that independent and authentic storytelling builds solidarity and engages the audience meaningfully as it broadens minds and horizons. We seek to amplify the power of stories by facilitating funding, collaboration and impactful outreach.

We support independent and transformative stories to be written, screened and shared to shift behavior and catalyze action. Up until its establishment we have screened more than 250 films and reached out to thousands of audiences. We have given 40 awards of recognition for outstanding filmmakers. We have hosted over 80 valuable guests, including award-winning documentary filmmakers, proclaimed thought leaders and inspiring visionaries.
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Also consider applying to our Doc Impact Lab for Mov(i)ement Fellows: https://www.ethnokino.com/docimpactlab
https://www.ethnokino.com

Awards & Prizes

Award of Recognition: We believe every film that makes it to our screens is deserving of recognition.

Rules & Terms

Films can be short to feature, there are no time limits and no rigid rules or terms. We are simply looking for outstanding, groundbreaking, authentic and inspiring examples of storytelling with noble aims and causes. A relation to our designated theme (changes each year) is preferable, but not a must.

In 2026 EthnoKino's dedicated Theme is "LOVE".

In a world fractured by borders, inequalities, and ecological grief, love emerges as a radical act of repair a pulse that reconnects beings across divides of species, culture, and time. The 6th edition of EthnoKino Film Festival invites filmmakers, artists, and researchers to explore LOVE not as sentimentality, but as a force of transformation, a method, a movement, and a mode of knowing.

Through the lens of visual and multimodal anthropology, we seek cinematic works that unveil love’s plural forms: from ancestral care to collective struggle, from the tenderness of place-based belonging to the fierce compassion of resistance. How do communities love amidst loss? How does love shape our relations to land, memory, and the more-than-human world?

We welcome films that engage with the ethics of encounter where love becomes a bridge between self and other, researcher and community, human and Earth. EthnoKino’s 2026 edition celebrates love as cosmology, as political ecology, and as an everyday practice of reimagining what it means to live together.
4 Reviews
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  • GARUWA Film

    EthnoKino is such an incredible opportunity we have had our films screen in countries across the globe. The team have been fantastic to work with. Such a unique festival model like no other!

    October 2025
    Helpful
  • Sylvio Rocha

    Dear Festival Organizers,

    I hope this message finds you well. I am writing to express my heartfelt gratitude for the opportunity to participate in the EthnoKino Film Festival. The experience was both enriching and inspiring, and I would like to share my thoughts on the festival.

    Brazil’s original people history and heritage are absolutely at risk. As a producer and director, I consider part of our mission to give focus and their heritage culture as it is vital for fostering empathy, justice, and a more inclusive society. This is the first documentary we have produced on such matter and we are happy to say, a lot more Is being produced.

    Participating in the EthnoKino Film Festival has left a lasting impression on me and my team, and I look forward to future events when we may have the chance to screen new our new project.

    Thank you once again for this opportunity to celebrate the power of film in bridging cultural gaps.

    Warm regards,

    Sylvio Rocha
    CEO Tocha Filmes
    Producer

    October 2024
    Helpful
  • José Luis Dávila

    great experience with a great team!!!

    October 2023
    Helpful
  • Antonio Coello

    Words can not express how wonderful this festival and its organizers are. A unique and marvellous cultural and audiovisual experience!

    October 2022
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