The 16th River Film Festival is an international short film festival that will be held in Padova (Italy) from the 1st to the 12th June 2022.

The Festival is organized by the Cultural Association Researching Movies and it is sponsored by the Padua City Council - Cultural Office and the University of Padua. Padua has now entered the UNESCO World Heritage List thanks to Giotto's Scrovegni Chapel and Padua's fourteenth-century fresco cycles so it is a special Art town which attracts many tourists and creative people from all over the world!

The festival is totally free entrance.

The films selected will once again be shown on the floating screen in the middle of the 16th-century fluvial port used for trade between Padua and Venice at the city gate of Porta Portello. This enchanting setting is just one of the many features that attract people to RiFF year after year! During the 11 days of the Festival, all the directors with their crew members will be able to show their works and talk to the audience with a special Q&A after the screening.

On the Final Ceremony River Film festival programmers and judges will award the winners on a boat from the Festival setting in Padua towards Venice with special guests!

Awards & Prizes

A Jury Laurels, certificates and GOLDEN RIVER (Murano glass sculpture made by Venetian artists) will be given to the best film short in the following category:
VIRTUAL REALITY
ITALIAN GAZES
QUEER/LGBTQ+
FICTION
ANIMATION
DOCUMENTARY
GRADUATION FILM SCHOOL

Rules & Terms

How To Submit
Via FilmFreeway or via our web site www.riverfilmfestival.org. where the Application form to enter the competition it should be filled in online (a maximum of three entries per director). Alternatively a copy of this application should be printed off and sent, together with A ProRes H.264, mp4 or similarly low compression /high quality file format/codec copy of the film to filmentry@riverfilmfestival.org . Entries must arrive on or before 31st March 2022, with english subtitles to the festival mail filmentry@riverfilmfestival.org

Pay for your entry fee: Early bird deadline 31th December 2021 – Euro 15
Regular deadline 29th February 2022 - Euro 20
Late deadline 30th April 2022 - Euro 25

The entry fee is waived for single entries if the applicant resides in one of the Least Developed Countries

Terms & Conditions
Films must have been completed after 1st January 2021.
Films can be documentary, student, narrative, fiction or animation.
Total running time must be from 100 sec. to 30 minutes in length, including front and back credits.
The short film can be in any language or any genre. All non-English films must have English subtitles.
Entry for the Festival implies unconditional acceptance of the published regulations. Should any dispute arise, the festival organizers will have the right of final decision on all that is not specified in the Regulations. Should there be controversy, the Padova Law Courts are competent to deal with any litigation.
Selection
The Films will be selected by a panel of judges nominated by the Festival. The decision of the selection committee is final.
No work or artist will be either discriminated or favoured by their country of origin, language, age, race, education, gender, ideology, or by their economic resources. Every content, every form, every technique will be admitted with no censorship of any kind except that enshrined in current Italian Law.
Finalists will be notified on our website or by email the 05th May 2022. The River Film Festival will do its best to announce the selected films and winners at the designated time, but will not be held liable for any unforeseen delays.
The catalogue listing the films selected will be published after the 15th May 2022.

The owners of the winning films must deposit a ProRes H.264, mp4 or similarly low compression/high-quality file format/codec copy of the film in the Archives of the Festival. This will only be used for study purposes. Permission will be requested from those who hold the rights to the film should it be required for any other usage.
Winning films must mention the prize awarded whenever shown.

17 Reviews
Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Rafał Małecki

    How yo put it. This was a super great experience to be selected by River Film Festival. We received the honorable mention. Hospitality, quality of films and the venue is really splendid, on the river bank with a great story how this place was re-discovered again. I met friends there and I will never forget it. Submit your films! Truelly!

    February 2022
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  • Sina Dolati

    I was not able to attend due to COVID restrictions but the festival organizers were very communicative through email and social media, and I had the chance to check what my VR film's screenings looked like. Thanks for showcasing my piece!

    September 2021
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  • DANIELE PIGNATELLI

    we are very glad to be part of this amazing festival with our "Nuovo Cinema Para-Virus"! thank you so much!

    August 2021
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  • Isak Kohaly

    Unfortunately I was not able to attend in person, but friends and family have visited and I have as well in the past as a moviegoer. This festival is truly a gem, with a picturesque location like no other - the team was responsive and always available.
    I highly recommend visiting, and on top of that, Padova is a beautiful city that deserves a stay!

    August 2021
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  • Tathagata Ghosh

    What a great festival! The ambiance, the screen, the programming! Everything about the festival is magical! Thank you for screening "The Scapegoat". Can't wait to be back again with a new film.

    August 2021
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