The Herat International Women’s Film Festival (HIWFF) is an iconic and the most prestigious Women’s Film Festival in the region. It was established by the Roya Film House and Armanshahr Foundation/OPEN ASIA in 2013. It is an annual event held in Afghanistan; gathering filmmakers, cinema lovers, and activists from all over the world, HIWFF tackles issues such women Rights, gender equality, sexual identity, domestic violence among others through the power of the lens and cinema which is the window to society and particularly women in this case.
HIWFF, which comprises films about women and/or executed by women, aims to highlight the power of women in different life situations, the festival organizers believe in promoting a positive image of women struggling with dignity to make a change in their environment. The festival’s judges and programmers are coming from different film backgrounds, and are eager to put together an exciting and truly high-quality program of various films focusing on human problems.
Official Selection Films will be publicly screened in competition during the festival. There is no entry fee for submissions. There is no restriction on the year of production of the films or the duration, though preference will be given to films produced after January 2017.
In the world cinema section, there’s no limitation, the festival is open to everyone regardless of budget and experience. We consider the films submitted for each category for all individual categories. In this section, HIWFF aims to discover new talent, films, and filmmakers with potential, and to recognize the collaborative work this art form is funded on.
The last 3 editions of the Festival were held in the ancient Citadel of Herat, the 4th edition was held at the Gardens of Babur (Bagh-e-Babur) in Kabul and the 5th edition was held at Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul; attracted one thousand films from the region and from across the world. Many renowned national and international filmmakers attended the fifth previous editions of the festival, hundreds of the media covered them worldwide and thousands of people watched a selection of the films. The Herat International Women’s Film Festival is perhaps the most important cultural event of its kind in the Heart of Asia.
We are now accepting submissions for our 2020 edition
The Secretariat of the 6thedition of the Heart International Women’s Film Festival requests filmmakers to send in short or long feature and documentary films the main theme of which should be concerned with women-related issues for the one-week Festival to be held as of August 2020 in Afghanistan.
The regular deadline for submitting the films to the Secretariat is from January 1, 2020, till 15 of February 2020.
The 6thFestival is a competition event and the winners will receive the Festival’s Statue. A jury comprising domestic and international filmmakers and critics shall judge the films in two national and international sections. In the National Films Section, the Festival Statues and other prizes shall be awarded to the best fiction and feature film, best documentary, best animation, best feature director, best documentary director, best film script, best leading female and male actors, best female child actor, best cinematography, best sound mixing and best editing. In the International Film Section, the Festival Statue shall be awarded to the best feature film, best documentary, best short film, and best animation.
The 6thFestival is a competition event and the winners will receive the Festival’s Statue. A jury comprising domestic and international filmmakers and critics shall judge the films in two national and international sections. In the National Films Section, the Festival Statues and other prizes shall be awarded to the best fiction and feature film, best documentary, best animation, best feature director, best documentary director, best film script, best leading female and male actors, best female child actor, best cinematography, best sound mixing and best editing. In the International Film Section, the Festival Statue shall be awarded to the best feature film, best documentary, best short film, and best animation.