The International Festival of Ethnological Film is an event organized annually by the Ethnographic Museum in Belgrade. The Festival seeks to promote the outstanding visual research of traditional and modern cultures all over the world and to contribute to raising public awareness of the importance of cultural heritage for a beneficial development of human communities.

The International Festival of Ethnological Film was established in 1992 and it initially mostly presented the national TV production on folklore and customs of the Balkan and Slavic peoples. Over the years, the Festival began to cover a wide variety of issues in cultural and social anthropology around the world.

Its mission is to foster research and creative approaches to ethnographic documentaries, to educate public on diverse local cultural traditions, as well as to raise voice addressing problems of the modern society, which often neglects the values of cultural heritage.

The Festival targets young people and the academic population involved in social sciences and humanities, students, scholars and artists. It also endeavors to attract local communities involved in safeguarding their own cultural heritage.

Awards & Prizes

Films in the Main Competition program will be nominated for the following awards:

The “Dragoslav Antonijević” Grand Prix;

The Best National Film Award;

The Best International Film Award;

"Dobrivoje Pantelić" Award for the best film about indigenous culture in independent production;

Films in the Student Competition program will be nominated for the following award:

The Best Student Film Award.

The International Jury may also grant the following special mentions to Films in Competition:

Special mention for the contribution to intangible cultural heritage;

Special mention for the best ethnographic record;

Special mention for cinematography;

Special mention for editing;

Special mention for sound;

Press Award;

Audience Award.

Rules & Terms

The submissions that meet the following criteria will be considered eligible for inclusion in the Festival program:
• The submitted film is a documentary film concerned with ethnological and anthropological issues;
• The submitted film has been produced no longer than three years preceding the Festival. The Festival Board and the Selector/Selection Committee may decide to include films made prior to this date;
• The submitted film presents a scholarly and research contribution to the area of ethnology and anthropology, while at the same time offering distinct artistic quality in the author’s approach;
• The submitted film has not applied to this Festival so far. The submission has to provide the evidence of its previous public screenings.

No Festival participation fee is charged.

No compensation is paid for screening films within the Festival program.

Festival screenings are free of charge.

Only submissions with complete documentation will be taken into consideration. The complete documentation includes:

1. A copy of the film provided via a hyperlink (HD format; minimum resolution of 1280x720 or more, 16:9 picture format). Films can be sent via video hosting sites (such as vimeo or dailymotion) or shared via file hosting services (e.g. Google drive, OneDrive, iCloud) – it is important that links remain active until the conclusion of the Festival;
2. A filled-in entry form (.doc format), downloadable from the Festival’s webpage;
3. Synopsis of the film (between 70 and 120 words);
4. Trailer for the film (obligatory);
5. Two film stills (minimum resolution 300 dpi);
6. A short biography and photograph of the author (no more than 200 characters); two film stills (minimum resolution 300 dpi);
7. A complete credits’ list (the names of directors, producers, screenplay writers, directors of photography, editors, sound editors, music editors);

The films which are not in either Serbian or English must be subtitled into English. All films selected for Competition must be subtitled into English;

The film, as well as the accompanying documentation for the film should be sent via email as separate attachments to the address: mfef@etnografskimuzej.rs

Detailed regulations can be found on the Festival's homepage: www.etnofilm.org
9 Reviews
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  • Ananthakrishnan PILLAI

    We received a Special Mention award. I would like to request that Special Mention awards also include prize money.

    January 2025
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  • Marco La Gala

    Excellent organization and communication. A festival that gives the right importance to the works of directors, putting them at ease. Definitely recommended

    December 2024
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  • Grão Filmes

    I was really glad I was invited to join this festival. I could never imagine I would some day know Belgrade, and now I am amazed for such intelligent and capable people I have met there. I learned a lot with the selected films and the crew was amazing and hard working. I am glad the first international screening of my movie was in such a good festival!

    October 2023
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    Response from festival:

    Dear Eduardo, we hope this will be the first of many. Thank you for your kind words!

  • Vinko Štefanac

    Excellent festival, and thanks for a selection.

    October 2023
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    Response from festival:

    Dear Vinko, it was a pleasure to screen your film, thank you!

  • Dorna Van Rouveroy van Nieuwaal

    Beautiful festival. We were very honored to be the opening film of 2023, we met a lot of interesting people and saw a couple of great films (Margot). Well organized and what a beautiful city Belgrade is. Thanks for everything!

    October 2023
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    Response from festival:

    Dear Dorna, it is a pleasure for us to read your words. We wish you and your film much success and hope to see you in Belgrade again!