Iceland Documentary Film Festival has its first edition in the summer of 2019.

Our mission is to introduce quality documentaries to the local audience and visitors alike and connecting filmmakers and industry people from all over the world. The event will take place in the small and quaint industry town of Akranes, just 45 minutes outside of Reykjavik.

Unaffected by the rise of tourism in Iceland, Akranes is a unique place to visit. Located by the roots of mount Akrafjall and with the North-Atlantic surrounding it, the town and its inhabitants are used to battling the natural forces. During summer there are 20 hours of sunlight in Akranes creating an ambience with none other like it.

Our main venue is Biohollin, a beautiful theater that is one of the oldest operating cinemas in Iceland fitted with state of the art projection equipment.

Awards & Prizes

IceDocs will present awards for best Documentary Short and best Documentary Feature as well as an audience award.

Rules & Terms

When can I apply and does it cost?

We will open for submissions via FilmFreeway on September 20th 2018 and close for submissions on  April 20th. If for any reason you do not wish to submit through the platform please send us an email at icedocs(at)icedocs.is. The fee for submissions is 35USD and 25USD for students. Icelandic productions can be submitted without a fee. Please make sure your film fits our criteria for Icelandic productions before you submit it as such. We offer a Early bird deal of submission fees from September 20th 2018-February 20th of 2019. The Early bird fee for regular submissions is 25USD and student films is 20USD.   

PLEASE NOTE – your fee is non-refundable. If your film does not match the criteria listed above and you still submit your film, we will not consider your film and will not refund your fee.

What are the guidelines?

We screen all selected films at our venues. We accept documentaries of all lengths. All submitted films should have been released no earlier than January 2017 and meet with the selection criteria as described below. We regard short films to be 50 minutes and under and Feature films as anything over 50 minutes.  Films that are available to purchase in Iceland are not eligible. This includes DVD/Blu-ray/VHS formats. By submitting you certify that all film and music rights and clearances have been obtained (in accordance with Icelandic copyright laws). All films selected to screen at the festival must have their Icelandic premiere at the festival and can not have been screened at other festivals or other types of public viewings including TV or Icelandic on-line/on-demand platforms, (VOD). By submitting your film you agree to these terms and conditions and agree not to withdraw your film after it's been selected in the festival's program.

What happens next?

The final selection is at the discretion of our selection committee and can not be disputed. No refunds will be made if your film is not selected. Once we have made our selection you will be notified via email by the end of May 2019. If your submission is successful you will receive our entry form and guidelines.

Please note that all our communication with you will go through email so please be careful that you have given us the correct contact information.