**CALL FOR ENTRIES**
The Cultural Association MARES DA FIN DO MUNDO organises the IX Mares da Fin do Mundo International Documentary Film Festival, which will take place in Rianxo (A Coruña, Spain) from 14 to 18 October 2026.
MDFDM is the only international documentary film festival in Galicia that focuses on sustainable fishing practices and the preservation of the marine environment. It is an event of contrasts, locally rooted but with a wide international reach, aiming at promoting traditional trades and knowledge from a global and modern perspective. It is a festival committed to the protection of the marine environment and the fishing sector, which seeks to raise awareness about the need to take care of one of our most valuable natural resources: the sea.
The IX edition will feature two competitive sections (both with cash awards): the Official Competition and the Galician Section, as well as other parallel sections.
GENERAL CONDITIONS
- The Festival is open to international participants.
- Documentary films from any nationality completed after 1 January 2025 may be submitted to take part in the Official Competition of the IX edition.
- Documentary films produced in Galicia and filmed in the Galician language may be submitted to the Galician Section of the IX edition. Recent productions will be positively considered, but there is no strict requirement regarding the year of production.
- The maximum length of the films submitted in any of the competitive sections will be 59 minutes (including credits).
- Film authors or producers may submit a maximum of three films. Works shown in previous editions of the Festival and those films produced by people who take part in the festival’s Organisation will not be accepted. Likewise, films with touristic or commercial content are also excluded.
- The criteria will consider the connection with the Festival's main topics (sustainable fishing, marine environment, climate change, traditional fishing communities, etc.), the relevance of the questions addressed, the technical quality and aesthetic sense, the innovation and its approach, and its social and scientific relevance.
- While it's not mandatory for the submitted works to be premieres, the Festival will value that the films have not previously been shown in Galicia.
FILM ENTRY
Films must be submitted through the FilmFreeway platform, completing all the steps indicated therein. For any questions about the registration process, please send an email to: info@maresdafindomundo.gal. The Festival reserves the right to invite films outside the platform.
The deadline for film submissions is 13 July 2026 at 23h59 (CET).
Films may be submitted in any language for the selection stage, but those made in languages other than Galician or Spanish must be subtitled, preferably in one of the aforementioned two languages (or at least in English). In any case, the films must be uploaded in the following formats for preselection:
— Format: MPEG-4 AVC (H.264 decoder)
— Maximum bitrate: 3000 kbps
— Minimum resolution: 640x480
— Audio: AAC
— Embedded subtitles or .srt file
— Files must not be greater than 2 Gb
SELECTION
The Festival will constitute a selection committee that will evaluate the submitted films. This committee will be responsible for deciding which ones will become part of the Festival's Official Competition and the Galician Section (or the parallel sections, if applicable). At the end of the selection process, the Organisation of the Festival will communicate its decision to the people responsible for the selected films. The screening schedule will be decided by the Organisation.
The selected films (in and out of competition) shortlisted will be made public on the Festival’s website (www.maresdafindomundo.gal) and social media approximately one month before the start of the IX edition.
A screening copy –preferably a high definition digital copy– of the selected films must be sent in the following format:
— Format: .mov or .mp4 (H.264 decoder)
— Maximum bitrate: 50000 kbps
— Minimum resolution: 1920 × 1080 o 1280 × 720
— Audio: AAC
The Festival will not accept copies that do not meet the minimum conditions of screening.
Screening copies should be received no later than 13 September and must be clean. Screening copies with embedded subtitles will not be accepted. These must be accompanied by a separate file (.srt) with Galician and/or English subtitles. All works will be screened with subtitles in Galician and/or English, except for films originally shot in one of these languages.
Within a maximum period of 15 days after the confirmation of the selection, the Festival must receive all technical information and some promotional materials: a “press kit”, a minimum of three digital images, a poster, a trailer, and other relevant materials for advertising. Works submitted for screening must be exactly the same as the copy originally sent for selection. Failure to comply with this requirement will result in the submission being disqualified.
JURY
The Official Jury will be composed of professionals from the film, audiovisual and cultural fields, selected by the Organisation of the Festival. The Jury will be responsible for giving out the MDFDM Award to the Best Film in the Official Competition, reserving the right to award an extra special mention (without a cash prize). The vote of the jury will be secret while the process of selecting the awards takes place. Decisions will be made by an absolute majority of votes. The Festival organisers may attend the deliberations, but will not participate in the voting. Any person who may have a professional interest in any of the films, in terms of production or commercialisation, will be unfit to be part of the jury.
AWARDS
The films selected in the Official Competition will vie for the:
- MDFDM Award for Best Film at the IX Mares da Fin do Mundo International Documentary Film Festival, consisting of €2,000.00 and the “O Faro” trophy.
- Audience Award, consisting of €1,000.00 and the “O Faro” trophy.
Films selected in the Galician Section (as well as Galician films selected for the Official Competition) are eligible for:
- Audience Award for Best Galician Film at the IX Mares da Fin do Mundo International Documentary Film Festival, consisting of €300.00 and the “O Faro” trophy.
The MDFDM Award winner will be selected by the Official Jury of the IX Mares da Fin do Mundo International Documentary Film Festival. Ex aequo awards are not allowed. The award may not be declared void.
The Audience Award winner will be selected based on the votes of the public at the Festival. In the event of a tie between two films (ex aequo), the monetary prize will be divided equally between the winners.
The winning film of the Audience Award for Best Galician Film will be selected based on the votes of the public at the Festival. In the event of a tie between two films (ex aequo), the monetary prize will be divided equally between the winners.
Financial awards are subject to current legislation. The amounts expressed in these regulations are gross, and the pertinent tax withholdings will apply. The cash prizes will be paid once the corresponding invoices and/or documents are submitted with the correct details and description, specifying the beneficiary’s bank account number (IBAN and/or SWIFT), along with their full name and address, and always for the amount previously specified in euros (€).
The “O Faro” statuette will be presented to the representatives of the winning films during the Closing Ceremony. If they are not present, the Festival’s organisers will collect and safeguard the statuette. The organisers do not commit to sending it, although it may be collected later by the representatives of the awarded films. If they wish, the winners may cover the costs and arrangements for shipping.
FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS
The person responsible for entering the film into the Festival must be authorised to lend a copy of the film by the production company and will accept the festival rules and regulations.
For promotional purposes of the event, the Organisation is authorised to make public use of screenshots and film footage of up to three minutes of the selected films in the media.
In the case of winning films, the rights owners grant the Festival permission to screen them —up to a maximum of 3 times, exclusively for cultural purposes— during the year following the current edition. These screenings will occur as part of special activities held outside the Festival dates. Regardless, such screenings will always be communicated to the rights holders and remain free for the public.
The person submitting the work will be responsible for the authorship and originality of each film submitted. The Organisation is exempt from any responsibility regarding the film content. Accepting the selection and the award will require including this information in later advertising of the film.
The Organisation reserves the right to change, modify or suspend the programme of the IX Mares da Fin do Mundo International Documentary Film Festival.
The submission of a film implies the acceptance of the conditions established in the Rules and Regulations, whose interpretation and application are the responsibility of the Organisation.
The Rules and Regulations are published in Galician, Spanish, and English. The Galician version will be the reference version for any problem concerning its interpretation.
Contact: info@maresdafindomundo.gal
