Stavanger Indie is an international film festival dedicated to bold, original, and independent cinema from around the world. It's a space for filmmakers and audiences to connect, featuring Q&As, networking opportunities, and unique festival experiences. We bring daring films and filmmakers to a city with a thriving creative community.

Our inaugural edition took place August 29–30, 2025 at Folken, and was a great success: more than 100 attendees joined us, with guests from both Norway and abroad. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive. With this foundation, we’re now building towards an even more ambitious second edition in August 2026.

We welcome distinctive, independent work from all over the world: low-budget, no-budget, deeply personal, or boundary-pushing.

If your film is unconventional and unapologetically original, Stavanger Indie is the place for it!

Awards & Prizes

Best Feature
Best Short
Best Actor
Best Actress
Best No-Budget Film
Best Soundtrack

Rules & Terms

- Must be 18+ to submit. This festival is a ticketed event, and attendance is restricted to adults due to alcohol sales and potential unrated content.
- Submission does not guarantee screening. Films will be carefully curated to fit the festival’s program.
- All submissions must be in English or have English subtitles.
- Short films must be between 1 and 59 minutes. Feature films must be a minimum of 60 minutes and a maximum of 150 minutes (above 90 minutes is a hard sell for us.)
- Filmmakers must own the rights to all content in their film. Proof of licenses/permissions may be required.
- We welcome films of all genres, as long as they align with the spirit of independent filmmaking.
- No overtly pornographic content will be accepted.
- No piece of the work (images, words, video clips etc) shall have been generated by AI.

9 Reviews
Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Gordon (Hei Yuen) Chan

    Thank you so much for including our film and taking such good care of us during the Q&A! Very glad to have went.

    September 2025
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  • Donald D'Haene

    Thank you for recognizing my documentary from Canada Interpreting Erik...great festival...Donald D'Haene on instagram @donalddhaene1961

    September 2025
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  • Bastiaan Rook

    Sadly I couldn't be there in person, but this is a great new film festival. Thanks for screening my short film Citroen!

    September 2025
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  • Markus Kvangraven

    One word, amazing! I strongly recommend people to give this one a chance. You won’t regret it!

    September 2025
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  • Liang Shi

    I'm honoured that my film was selected.
    (All The Way To The Endless）

    Although this was the first edition of Stavanger Indie, the communication with the staff was very smooth and efficient.

    Unfortunately, my team and I were unable to attend the event due to personal reasons. We hope to have the chance to visit Stavanger and attend the festival in the future.

    I didn't win any awards, but premiering in Norway was a great thing. The success of every film festival depends on the long-term efforts of the staff. Thank you.

    Wish Stavanger Indie all the best.

    September 2025
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