WE ACCEPT SHORT FILMS THAT WERE COMPLETED AFTER JANUARY 2021.

The Paphos International Film Festival (PIFF) is an annual festival held every year in Paphos in the Mediterranean island of Cyprus.

PIFF is committed to supporting authentically independent SHORT films and it aims to research, promote and develop the art of independent film making. We support low (or no) budget films because we strongly believe that they are worth a chance. PIFF aims to become a platform giving a voice to directors and filmmakers who work with very little but have a lot to give.

The program includes screenings of short films from Cyprus and abroad as well workshops, master classes and lectures. Our categories include films up to 20 minutes from Cypriot and International filmmakers, student films up to 15 minutes (both Cypriot and international) and every year we have a special category dealing with a specific issue.

The festival focuses on community, inclusivity and (of course) good times. It aims to travel across borders in order to develop a spirit of friendship and cooperation with filmmakers from Cyprus and from all over the world.

Audience Award

- The best short film from each screening night will be voted from our audience.

Payment Information

- Early bird entries to all Short Film categories are $4 (until December 15, 2022).
- Regular Deadline entry fees for all Short Film categories are $6 (until April 30, 2023)
- Late entries fees for all Short Film categories are $8 (until May 21, 2023)

Eligibility

- The festival is open to short films of maximum 20 minutes in length (fiction and documentary) and student short film of maximum 15 minutes in length.
- All submitted films must have obtained necessary permissions for the inclusion of copyrighted music and/or images.
- We do NOT accept films that require a screening fee.
- We do NOT accept films that are available online and open to the public.
- Do not send us links to fully download your film. We do not have the capacity to download thousands of films. Submit your film and we will watch it on the FilmFreeway player, Vimeo, Youtube, etc.

Categories

- short films up to 20 minutes from National & International filmmakers (fiction and documentary)
- student short films up to 15 minutes from Cypriot and International students (fiction and documentary)
- special category short films up to 20 minutes from Cypriot and International filmmakers (fiction and documentary)

Selection and Notification

- Successful entrants will be notified of their inclusion in the festival before the festival begins.
- Selected films should be submitted as MP4 files. There is no need for DVDs (we prefer the paperless, Eco-friendly world)

Publicity

- To help promote the festival, we reserve the right for the reproduction of stills from submitted films for festival publications, flyers and programme, on line and print press and the Paphos International Film Festival website.
- We also reserve the right to broadcast clips of all films submitted to the festival, on the PIFF website, PIFF Vimeo channel and in the PIFF festival trailer.

Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Iordanis Theodosiadis

    Great festival, very happy that our film was selected to screen at Paphos! Very friendly and responsive. See you next time!

    July 2022
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    Response from festival:

    Dear Iordanis thank you so much! It was a pleasure to have you at PIFF!

  • Alexandre de Villeneuve

    Great festival with amazing program!

    July 2022
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    Response from festival:

    Dear Alexander, thank you for sharing your cleverly funny film with our audience! Keep them coming:)

  • While we didn’t get the chance to attend the festival (obviously, due to the COVID19) communication was great and we were well informed. Thank you for selecting SHHHH and Moon Drops!

    September 2020
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    Response from festival:

    Thank you for participating in our festival. Moon drops won the Audience Award and SHHHH put a smile on everyone's face!

  • Gargantua Film Distribution

    Thank you for screening "Blue Matter" by Andrea Gatopoulos and good luck to this growing festival made by passionate young people.

    September 2020
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    Response from festival:

    Thank you for sharing your beautiful film with us. Looking forward to seeing your next project!

  • Charalambos Charalambous

    Charming, emerging, quality Film Festival at the town of Paphos, accommodated at the summer garden of Technopolis 20 cultural centre. Great selection of films, warm local audience and laid back vibes throughout all days of screening, make it an ideal option for a visit by participating filmmakers. The organizers are approachable and available during the festival, while fellow cinephiles are always up for a chat and socializing. Overall a worthwhile experience!

    August 2020
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    Response from festival:

    Dear Charalambos, it was great having you at the festival! Thank you for your kind words.