Humans of Film Festival

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, 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 stories on a micro-level, we question the global currents of our time.

Your film is one of the following:
- Micro-level 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
- LGBTIQ+ 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 2020 and 2024;
- The film has not been screened (online or theatrically) or broadcasted (online or on television) in the Netherlands or in Amsterdam before;
- 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 a symbolic 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 29TH of DECEMBER 2023)
A waiver or discount can be given to 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
- Filmmakers who were able to make their film with a very low budget

Copy this link to go to the waiver and discount form:
Link will come back in the last months of 2024

We are looking forward to your submission!

If you have any questions or trouble submitting, please send us
an email to: humansoffilmfestival [at] gmail.com **

**Please do not mail us to ask for a fee waiver request, fill out the form on the website as best as you can.