WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR
Format
We are open for submissions of films that are
- FEATURES (at least 60 minutes)
- SHORTS (between 5 and 20 minutes)
- Fiction features, documentary features, hybrid, animation, fiction shorts, and documentary shorts are accepted.
Content
KEY ASPECT: To untangle today’s pressing social issues by listening to the most affected ones. Through transnational cinema stories, we question the global currents of our time.
Your film is one of the following:
- Transnational cinema story concerning an individual, group, or community that needs to be heard, but faces difficulties in expressing its voice;
OR
- The portrayal of a situation that shows how the environment reverberates on humans.
And contains at least one of the following themes:
- Environmental or ecological stories
- Stories about racism or discrimination
- LGBTIAQ+ / Queer stories
- Migrant stories
- Female-centered stories
- Social (in)justice stories / colonial histories
- Stories about mental or physical impairments
MOST IMPORTANT CRITERIA POINTS
Please only submit your film after you have read all the festival criteria, rules, and terms. Double-check to see if your film, and passwords are working and if the English subtitles are present.
CRITERIA | FILMS WE WANT;
Should have a good pace, be a cinematic experience for in cinemas, be about current topics and new topics (for example those topics that haven't been discussed much or at all as of yet), that can appeal to our broad and diverse audience.
CRITERIA | FILMS WE DON'T WANT;
Films that rely a lot on talking heads interviews, voice-over, narration, experimental or abstract, too historic, TV documentary styles, films that should be an art installation in a museum, monotonous films, and films that do not connect to our topics. So please think about it and read the guidelines before submitting.
REQUIREMENTS FOR SUBMITTING THE FILM
- The film was released between 2024 and 2026;
- The film has not been screened (online or in a cinema, etc) or broadcasted (online or on television, etc) in the Netherlands or in Amsterdam before;
- The film would have a Dutch premiere or at least an Amsterdam premiere at our film festival;
- The film has English subtitles available (even if it’s spoken in English);
- The film has a DCP (physical or (preferably) digital).
>>> If your film is missing any of the above-listed requirements, your film is not eligible and will not be taken into consideration.
SUBMISSION FEE
To avoid spam and films that do not follow the submission guidelines we ask filmmakers for an administrative fee. This fee goes directly to making the organization of the festival possible.
For filmmakers who are in a difficult position or are located in certain regions, we offer a waiver or discount (we do NOT take such requests via e-mail, only the google form). Please see the next section for more information.
HoFF submission waivers and discounts (DEADLINE IS UNTIL 31ST of August 2026)
A waiver or discount can be given to approximately 5 filmmakers in need, who face one or more of the following situations:
- Filmmakers from impoverished countries (for example: the currency rate makes it impossible to afford the fee);
- Filmmakers living in Iran or Venezuela, Afghanistan, Congo, Sudan, Yemen, Ethiopia, Palestine
- Filmmakers who were able to make their film with a very low budget (meaning no funding, perhaps only crowdfunding);
- Filmmakers who are not supported by Western funding, producers, distributors, etc;
Copy this link to go to the waiver and discount form:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScJkXtyXEN_vdrVZI7Flrr1jTi3Uxtft3bl4xtBqUJmkQ2SKg/viewform
We are looking forward to your submission!
If you have any questions, send us an email to: office [at] humansoffilmfestival.com **
**Please do NOT mail us to ask for a fee waiver request (we don't have the capacity to respond to these requests), fill out the form on the website as best as you can, and we will message you after the 31st of August 2025 to inform you if you will receive a waiver or not.
REGARDING : VR / AR / INSTALLATION / INTERACTIVE FILM
From 2026 onwards, we welcome submissions in a wider range of media, including installations, interactive works, AR, VR and other expanded artistic practices. As the festival continues to evolve, we are opening up space for these formats within the programme and encourage artists to submit proposals. Selected works will be curated in relation to the festival's vision and presentation possibilities.
