Film submissions are now open and the AIU film festival is back for our third consecutive year, this time we’ve rebranded to AIU Kuwait International Film Festival to better reflect the festival’s vision and mission.

Our vision is to establish the AIU Kuwait International Film Festival as a premier international film festival that showcases the beauty and diversity of Kuwaiti Cinema, and to serve as a cultural bridge between Kuwait and the global filmmaking community. 

Our mission is to promote and celebrate cinematic excellence, encourage cultural exchange, and foster the growth of the film industry in Kuwait and the Middle East. 

The AIU Kuwait International Film Festival aims to be a beacon of cinematic diversity, showcasing a wide array of talents and stories from Kuwait and around the world. The film programming and screening strategy is designed to reflect this ethos, with a focus on premiering films that highlight both Kuwaiti and international talent, and ensuring a rich diversity in genres, regions, and themes. 

Awards & Prizes

All films directed by a Kuwaiti, GCC, or Arab filmmaker accepted through this open call will be automatically considered for various awards in the Documentary and Narrative categories for short and feature-length films.

We also offer an Audience Choice Award and Honorable Mentions for both the feature and short films category.

Rules & Terms

Submission is free and open to filmmakers worldwide.

Only Vimeo submission screeners are considered.

Only one submission per director is considered; multiple submissions will not be accepted.

All films must be original and must have been produced no earlier than 2022. 

Short Films between 4 to 30mins only.
Feature Length 60 to 120 mins only.
Without exception, film entries must be submitted before 11:59 pm Kuwait time (GMT+4), 9th September 2024 .


Submissions will be rejected if they do not follow the technical specifications mentioned below.

Film Rights and Copyright
With the submission of their film, applicants grant American International University the right to do the following:

The AIU Kuwait International Film Festival may screen any submitted films publicly in the AIU Kuwait International Film Festival programme or in participating venues. AIU Kuwait International Film Festival reserves the right to use segments of the film for marketing purposes, such as publicizing and promoting the film in any media, without time or territorial restrictions. No Screening fee is offered, and the festival does not cover travel or accommodation expenses for participating filmmakers. The AIUKIFF may use trailers, names, photographs, screenshots and/or biographies submitted or available on the Film Freeway platform for marketing purposes such as publicizing and promoting the film in any media, without time or territorial restrictions. The Festival reserves the right to change and alter the screening plan.

Technical specifications for selected films:

• The file name must be in the following format:

SFP5_Film Title_First Name_Last Name

• Video specifications:

Encoding: H.264 or MP4

Aspect ratio: 16:9 Full Frame

Resolution: 1080p (1920×1080 pixels)

Bitrate: 15.0 Mbps CBR

Color sampling: 4:2:0

• Audio specifications:

Stereo audio: LC-AAC 2.0 @ 192 kbps
o Surround: Dolby Digital AC-3 @ 384 kbps
o
Audio Channel: Assignment 2.0 + 5.1

Sampling rate: 48 kHz

Audi levels: Reference -18 dBFS; Peak <-10 dBFS (EBU R68)

• English and Arabic subtitles must be embedded in the film copy.

If your film is in English, please provide the Arabic subtitles, and vice versa.

If your film is in another language, please provide both English and Arabic subtitles.