The 9th edition of Sweden's sparkling and up-and-coming fest Filmfest Sundsvall will take place in Sundsvall, Sweden, Sep 29–Oct 4, 2026. Featuring international competitions for both shorts, features and mid-length films, the festival's aim is to be as ambitious in the shorts programming as in the programming of longer formats.

In the past we’ve had jury members from Festival de Cannes (Short Film Competition), Semaine de la Critique – Cannes, Tribeca, Locarno, IndieLisboa, Kurzfilmtage Winterthur, Premiers Plans, Zurich Film Festival, Tampere Film Festival, YLE, SVT, Swedish Film Institute, Varicoloured, Premium Films – and many more.

In addition to our international and national competitions we host a symposium each year – dedicated to a specific profession within film production. In 2025 we focused on Film Sound featuring panel talks, case studies and a masterclass from Oscar-winning sound designer and composer Nicolas Becker ("Sound of Metal"). VFX was the topic of our 2024 symposium, featuring case studies from Important Looking Pirates and Goodbye Kansas. The 2023 topic was Production Design, featuring masterclasses with Antxón Gómez (Pedro Almodóvar) and Josefin Åsberg (Ruben Östlund). Within our 2022 edition’s focus on Film Composing we had a masterclass with British composer and Emmy winner Nainita Desai (“The Deepest Breath”, "14 Peaks"). 2021’s seminar focus was Film Editing including a masterclass with the groundbreaking editor Jill Bilcock (Baz Luhrmann).

In 2025 Filmfest Sundsvall grew from 5 to 6 days, adding an extra industry day on music supervision, synk and film composition with panelists and lecturers such as composer Jon Ekstrand, director Daniel Espinosa and Estera Leedham (Theodore Music).

In 2025 we also added a new International Shorts Competition cash award.

Awards & Prizes

2026 AWARDS*

● Stone City Award – Best Swedish Short. 70 000 SEK in cash sponsored by the Swedish Film Institute (50 000 SEK) and Scen & Film (20 000 SEK) to the winning director. Free beverage from VASA Bryggeri on your next film production. A wooden sculpture created by regional artist Cecilia Tjärnberg.

● Stone City Award – Best Norrland Short. 25 000 SEK in cash sponsored by Film i Västerbotten, Film Västernorrland, Filmpool Jämtland Härjedalen, Filmpool Nord and Region Gävleborg to the winning director. Free beverage from VASA Bryggeri on your next film production. A wooden sculpture created by regional artist Cecilia Tjärnberg.

● Pija Lindenbaum Award – Best International Children's Short Film. 20 000 SEK in cash sponsored by Sundsvalls kommun, Kultur och Fritid, to the winning director.

● Stone City Award – Best International Feature/Mid-length Film. The winning director gets 10 000 SEK in cash sponsored by Svenska Kyrkan.

● Stone City Award – Best International Short Film. The winning director gets 10 000 SEK in cash sponsored by Film Västernorrland.

*Some of the awards from 2025 are still to be confirmed – but historically there are very few changes between festival editions.

Rules & Terms

FILMFEST SUNDSVALL – REGULATIONS 2026

The 9th Filmfest Sundsvall will take place Sep 29–Oct 4 2026. The festival is organized by Film Västernorrland, Sundsvall, Sweden. By submitting a short film or a feature film to Filmfest Sundsvall, the following terms are accepted.

1. Films between 0-100 min will be accepted depending on which section (please see information on our sections further down).

2. The production year shall be 2025-2026, please check each individual section.

3. Already submitted films cannot submit again.

4. The final deadline for our sections is May 6, 2026 (International Shorts Competition, Swedish Shorts Competition, International Features & Mid-length Competition, International Children’s Films Competition).

5. No entry fee for Swedish Shorts Competition. The entry fee for International Shorts Competition and International Features & Mid-length Competition is 9, 12 or 14 EUR depending on the deadline (earlybird deadline, Mar 6: 9 EUR; regular deadline, Apr 6: 12 EUR; final deadline, May 6: 14 EUR). The entry fee for International Children’s Films Competition is 9 EUR.

6. Entries must be made through FilmFreeway and a preview copy of the film must be available on the site no later than May 6, 2026. The entering of a film is binding and implies the acceptance of these regulations.

7. For selected films, the festival reserves the right to use stills and excerpts for promotional purposes, not exceeding 10% of the running time, or a maximum of 2 minutes.

8. The screening format is, in most cases, DCP. There might be exceptions for special screenings/venues.

9. English subtitles are required on submission and screening copies – also for films submitted to our Swedish section.

10. Screening copies of selected films must be received no later than September 1, 2026.

11. All preview copies may be stored in the festival archive and used for research purposes.

12. All preview copies and submitted entry information may be available for viewing in a video library by individual accredited guests.

 
COMPETITIVE SECTIONS:

International Shorts Competition
All genres. 0-30 min. Films must have been completed after January 1, 2025. No premiere requirements. Main awards: Stone City Award – Best International Short Film. The winning director gets 10 000 SEK in cash sponsored by Film Västernorrland.

International Features & Mid-length Competition
Features and mid-length films. 30–100 min. Only fiction. No documentaries. Films must have been completed after January 1, 2025. Films may not have been theatrically released in Sweden or broadcast on Swedish TV. International jury. Main award: Stone City Award – 10 000 SEK in cash sponsored by Svenska Kyrkan to the winning director.

Swedish Shorts Competition
All genres. 0–30 min. Films must have been completed after March 1, 2025. No premiere requirements. International jury. Main awards: Stone City Award for Best Norrland Short – 25 000 SEK in cash sponsored by Film i Västerbotten, Film Västernorrland, Filmpool Jämtland Härjedalen, Filmpool Nord and Region Gävleborg to the wining director. Free beverage from VASA Bryggeri on your next film production. Stone City Award for Best Swedish Short – 70 000 SEK in cash sponsored by the Swedish Film Institute and Scen & Film to the winning director. Free beverage from VASA Bryggeri on your next film production.

International Children’s Films Competition
Children’s films from all over the world. 0–15 min. Target audience: 3–7 years old. Films must have been completed after January 1, 2025. No premiere requirements. International jury. Main award: Pija Lindenbaum Award – 20 000 SEK in cash sponsored by Sundsvalls kommun, Kultur och Fritid, to the winning director.
2 Reviews
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  • Pablo Udenio

    Wonderful little festival in a wonderful little city. This people loves cinema!. Thank you for having us and our film Gatillero (Gunman) in the official competition. Cheers!

    October 2025
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  • Bianca O'Neill

    An absolutely wonderful festival. The Organisers and Volunteers are super friendly, helpful who went above and beyond. I simply can't thank them enough.

    I felt right at home with my film Yellow Daisy Butterfly. The screenings with the kids watching was a special moment that I will cherish forever. This kids were just to adorable.

    I highly recommend this festival if you want to have an enjoyable and memorable festival experience. I made some great friends and watched awesome films. I will for sure come back in the future.

    October 2024
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