EVENT DESCRIPTION
Curtas Caxias is the 1st International Short Film Festival made with smartphones by children and teenagers, organized by Conceitoh Filmes with support from the Brazilian Ministry of Culture (Lei Rouanet). Its aim is to stimulate creativity, promote public film screenings, and foster audience development through audiovisual production.
About the Festival
The Curtas Caxias Project encourages audiovisual production using smartphones, celebrating the creativity of young people from Brazil and abroad. Films may be edited on any platform. The festival runs from March to December 2026, featuring training activities, screenings, and an awards ceremony.
Objectives
The project aims to promote artistic expression, social integration, and the development of the creative economy enabling any participant with a smartphone to produce their own film.

Schedule
March – April: Cinema Workshops
May – June: Submission Period Opens
July – August: Film Selection & Curation
September: Festival with Jury
October: Trophy Ceremony
November: Financial Accountability Report

Theme & Content
There is no pre-defined theme — participants are free to choose any subject. However, all content must comply with applicable law and must not include obscene, offensive, discriminatory, abusive, or violent material, nor content that promotes illicit practices, hate speech, bullying, harassment, or any form of intolerance.
Conceitoh Filmes reserves the right to request adjustments, veto, or disqualify any submission deemed inappropriate, offensive, or inconsistent with the project’s educational, cultural, and social purpose.

Awards & Prizes

AWARDS & PRIZES
Competition Categories
A total of 44 trophies will be awarded across four categories:
Local Film (Serra Gaúcha – RS)
First Steps in Cinema (ages 8 to 12)
Cinematic Exploration (ages 13 to 16)
Professional Initiation (ages 17 to 21)
Awards per Category (11 trophies each):
1. Best Film
2. Best Direction
3. Best Screenplay
4. Best Cinematography
5. Best Editing
6. Best Sound Editing
7. Best Art Direction
8. Best Actor
9. Best Actress
10. Best Supporting Actor
11. Best Supporting Actress

Jury & Evaluation Criteria
Films will be judged by a Technical Jury of cultural professionals appointed by the organizers. The evaluation criteria are:
Creativity: 20 pts
Screenplay & Narrative: 20 pts
Direction: 15 pts
Cinematography: 15 pts
Sound: 10 pts
Editing: 10 pts
Performance: 10 pts
In case of a tie, the highest score in Creativity prevails. If still tied, the jury president will make the final decision.
Trophy Delivery
Prizes will be presented at the closing ceremony. Winners not present at the event will receive their trophies by post within 90 business days at no additional cost. Conceitoh Filmes does not cover travel, accommodation, or production costs for any participant.

Rules & Terms

Eligibility
Open to any individual — Brazilian, naturalized, or foreign — aged 8 to 21 and enrolled in a public or private school.
Minors must submit a signed Parental/Guardian Authorization Form.
For group films, only one representative may register the submission.
Each participant may register only one film as lead, but may collaborate on others.

Film Requirements
Films must be produced and captured exclusively with smartphones, with a duration of 1 to 10 minutes including credits.
Still images (photos) are permitted, provided they are also taken with a smartphone.
Films must include production credits (opening or closing).
A single participant may perform multiple roles: acting, directing, and editing.
Foreign-language films must include Portuguese subtitles.

Registration Process
Registrations are free and must be completed at www.conceitoh.com.br via Google Forms, in two steps:
Step 1 – Registration Form: fill in participant and technical data.
Step 2 – Video Upload: the file must be in MP4, MOV, or AVI format, uploaded to YouTube as unlisted, with the link submitted to the organizers.
Registration is only confirmed upon receipt of all required data and files.
Selection Process
Films are first reviewed by a Curatorial Committee for regulatory compliance.
60 films will be selected for the competitive showcase across the four categories.
Selected films will be announced in September 2026 at the festival event.
The final vote will be cast by a Special Guest Jury.
Films not meeting specifications will be automatically disqualified without appeal.

Intellectual Property & Rights
By registering, the participant grants Conceitoh Filmes and Festival Curtas Caxias a non-exclusive, royalty-free license for 5 years covering: public screenings at festival events (in-person or online); use in institutional and Lei Rouanet reporting materials; distribution on social media, digital platforms, and partner media; circulation in traveling showcases associated with the project.
The participant declares ownership of all image and voice rights for anyone appearing in the film.
If third-party intellectual property (music, images, etc.) was used, the participant must hold valid licenses.
In cases of plagiarism or rights violations, the film will be disqualified and removed from all platforms.

Ethics & Compliance
No obscene, defamatory, racist, or discriminatory content will be accepted, nor any content that violates Brazilian law or is otherwise inappropriate according to the Curatorial Committee’s criteria. By registering, participants automatically assume full responsibility for the content and rights associated with their film. Any participant found in breach of any part of these regulations during the selection process will be automatically disqualified.
Results & Notification
Results will be published on the official website www.conceitoh.com.br and on Conceitoh Filmes’ social media channels.
Winners will be notified by email and/or phone call.