Kaş International Film Festival

Eligibility:

• International, National, and National New Perspectives Competitions: Films must be produced in 2024 or later.

• Underwater Film Competition: Films must be produced in 2022 or later and include at least 25% underwater footage.

• Films with an underwater theme but no underwater footage (including animation/experimental) may be considered for special screenings only, not competition.

• Submissions that do not meet eligibility criteria will be disqualified.

National New Perspectives Category:

• To submit a film to this category, the director must be a Turkish citizen or holding a Turkish resident permit born in 2001 or later. Directors eligible for this category may choose to submit their films to the National Competition category instead, if they prefer.

• IMPORTANT NOTICE: Submissions from directors born before 2001 that are incorrectly submitted to the National New Perspectives category are strongly discouraged. While such submissions may be reassigned to the National Competition category by the preliminary jury, this does not work in the applicant’s favor. Applicants are strongly advised to submit to the appropriate eligible category.

• Submitters MUST provide a valid copy of the director’s ID during the National New Perspectives Category submission.

Category Selection:

• PLEASE do not submit your film to more than one category. Doing so may affect the jury’s ability to rate the film accurately and will not work in your favor. If a film is submitted to multiple categories, withdraw it from all but one category to remain eligible.

Film Length:

• Maximum running time for all categories is 20 minutes, including credits.

• Films exceeding this limit will be disqualified.

Submission Deadline and Fees:

• The submission deadline for all categories is March 16, 2026.

• Application fees increase over time, so early submissions are encouraged.

• Submission fees are non-refundable, even if the filmmaker withdraws their submission.

Submission Format:

• Films must be submitted via FilmFreeway as an online screener or a Vimeo/ YouTube link.

• If the link is password-protected, the password must remain valid through March 20, 2026. If the password is invalid, the submission will be disqualified with no refund. You will receive one reminder to update an invalid password before disqualification.

Language and Subtitles:

• Non-English films must include English subtitles, including submissions for national categories.

Copyright:

• Filmmakers are fully responsible for securing all necessary copyrights for the materials used in their films.

Selection and Screening:

• Selected films will be privately reviewed by the judging panel prior to the awards and public screenings.

• Once a film achieves "Nominee" status, the submitter will receive a congratulatory email along with the festival's 2026 Nominee laurel.

• Filmmakers whose works are accepted will be notified via email and must confirm their participation by the specified deadline. Failure to do so may result in the loss of their spot in the line-up.

Hospitality:

• All finalists will be invited to Kaş. Either the director or the producer will be offered 4 nights of accommodation.

• Finalists will also be invited to an exclusive dinner and cocktails with other filmmakers and jury members.

• The festival does not cover travel expenses for participants traveling from outside Turkey or domestic flights that DO NOT have a direct route to Dalaman Airport.

Festival Rights:

• By submitting a film, filmmakers grant Kaş International Film Festival the right to use images and video excerpts from the film for promotional purposes on the festival’s website and social media.

• Kaş International Film Festival reserves the right to modify event dates or details as needed.