Tell the Tale Film Festival is an independent film festival that aims to showcase the best international indie films to a live audience in Sofia, Bulgaria.

Our festival believes in the value of independent cinema and our mission is to help filmmakers get exposure in Sofia, a UNESCO declared Creative City of Film, and capital of Bulgaria.

As a Fest, our mission is to showcase the work of talented filmmakers. Our goal is to shine a spotlight on the hard-working and creative storytellers, who produce exceptional films without the backing of studios or famous personas.
 
We believe in the truly independent spirit of moviemaking and aim to popularize the love for indie productions in Bulgaria. Sofia is a diverse and fast-paced metropolitan city, as well as an internationally recognized hub for film production and education.

Submit to Tell the Tale Film Festival and let us show your cinematic tale to an engaged, artistic audience.

Rules & Terms

FILM FESTIVAL ELIGIBILITY:

Submissions may be:
- feature fiction film, documentary and animation,
- short fiction film, documentary and animation
or
- student fiction film, documentary and animation.

All can be of any genre and topic; as long as short films are under 40 minutes long and feature films over 40 minutes long.

Films with a language other than English must have English subtitles.

Valid student ID is required for student submissions.
We would consider a film to be a student film if the filmmaker was a student at the time of the completion of the film.

Student ID proof should be attached to the application or sent with a tracking number to: contact@tellthetale.today

We will consider all films that have been completed after January 2011.

Filmmakers are welcome to submit a FilmFreeway online screener. No DVD submissions.

Filmmakers must have secured clearance to use all copyrighted or trademarked material (music, images, text sources, etc). Failure to obtain clearance could result in your film being withdrawn from the festival.

More than one entry may be submitted. Each must be submitted separately.

Entry fees are non-refundable.

FILM FESTIVAL NOTIFICATION:

All notifications of acceptance or rejection will be made by email from Tell the Tale Film Festival by August 14th, 2021.

FILM FESTIVAL SELECTION:

All films that have a higher average, or are a favourite of a programmer, go on to final deliberations.

If selected, high-quality H.264 file will be the allowed format of an exhibition.

Tell the Tale Film Festival is not responsible for failure to meet its predetermined screening dates where such failure is due to an event that is beyond our reasonable control, which includes but is not limited to fire, flood, storm, riot, civil disturbance, war, nuclear accident, terrorist activity and pandemic. In case of our festival dates being postponed due to such circumstances, we will reschedule and recommence at the earliest possible dates.

Tell the Tale Film Festival will take place in Sofia, Bulgaria from September 16-18, 2021.

Unfortunately, Tell the Tale Film Festival does not provide room, board or travel for filmmakers.

Festival dates and venue are subjects to change.

Participation in the Tell the Tale Film Festival grants us the authorisation to show elements of the entered film for promotional purposes if required.

By submitting your film to the Tell the Tale Film Festival you agree that you have read, understood, and agree to all the terms and conditions of the festival rules and guidelines.