Now accepting submissions for VIFA 2023!

Vienna International Film Awards (VIFA) is an annual film festival held in the heart of Vienna.

VIFA accepts short-films in various genres and categories from across the globe.

Our judges consist of international filmmakers and industry professionals.

To view the judges of our festival please make sure to visit us on:
www.viennainternationalfilmawards.com

VIFA is an IMDb qualifying film festival.

Our festival is run by a small group of volunteers, film enthusiasts, and professional film judges.

The objective of VIFA is to provide support to independent filmmakers, help promote their talent and to give them the unique chance to present their work to industry professionals with vast experience in their field.

In case you still have any questions about our festival, please don’t hesitate to send us a message and we will get back to you within 24 hours.

VIFA 2023 CATEGORIES:

Best Director

Best Directress

Best Actor

Best Actress

Best Cinematography

Best Production Design

Best Comedy

Best Romance

Best Horror

Best Thriller

Best Drama

Best Documentary

Best Science Fiction / Fantasy

Best Action / Adventure

Best Dance / Musical

Best Animated

Best Experimental

Best Music Video

Best of Iran

Best of Austria (NEW!)

All Artisan/Technical Categories (NEW! - money saver! 50% Discount!)

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VIFA 2023 AWARDS:

3 honorable mentions in each category.

10 official selections in each category.

1 award winning film in each category.

The winning films will receive our official VIFA laurels, a trophy and a certificate.

60 selected films will be screened in a movie theater in front of a live audience at our screening event in Vienna.

In addition to our live screening, we will also host a red carpet award show, workshops and networking events.

Austrian short films that make it into our official selection will receive a free one-year-membership with the Austrian Directors Association.

1) Films that are not in English are required to have English subtitles.

2) Duration 25 minutes and under.

3) Films must be 2019 or newer to be able to submit.

4) When submitting in multiple categories, please submit each category separately.

5) To submit a film you have to own all rights or have permission from the owner of the content to submit the film to us.

6) Student Films will require proof of student ID to qualify for the discounted rate. Any non-student films submitted into the category will be disqualified.

7) Only online submissions using FilmFreeway are accepted.

8) VIFA reserves the right to refuse acceptance of submissions deemed by the festival to be inappropriate and violating the Rules and Terms. Should you wish to question VIFA about the decision, you can contact us by email.

9) All fees are non-refundable.

Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • We're tremendously thankful that our short film "The Origin" made it to the official selection at the fabulous Vienna International Film Awards. Within a short period of time the festival has established a good reputation and attracts renowned filmmakers from all over the world. The communication with the responsibles - thank you Alexander & team! - is reliable, friendly and appreciative, full of love for the industry and it's people, for movies and for filmmakers. Unfortunately I couldn't make it to the festival in person last year but I can't wait to make up for it. See y'all there. :)

    February 2023
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    Response from festival:

    Hi Katrine,
    Thank you so much for your kind words and your wonderful film! We are looking forward tom your next project and we hope we can meet you in person this year at VIFA 2023 :-)

  • Clelia Di Briggido

    I’m honored and grateful to have won the Best Directress award for my short Annavespa at VIFA 2022. It’s truly a great festival, well organized, excellent communication with prompt and kind responses. The Red Carpet Night was a gorgeous event that really moved me.
    Thanks to Vienna International Film Awards and to the president Alexander Bruckner for boosting us, independent filmmakers, with this amazing festival. I hope I will be part of VIFA again with my next short.

    January 2023
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    Response from festival:

    Thank you so much Clelia!
    It was so wonderful having you and your film at our festival and our red carpet event this year! :-)
    We really loved your film and we are looking forward to your next project! :-)
    Thanks again, all the best & stay healthy,
    Alexander & the VIFA team

  • Thank you for the honor of being able to participate and create film. It is a joy. We wish we could have attended! Communication was great. Honored to have our film win Honorable Mention for Best Documentary (Ukranian Refugee for Peace with Ukranian Cat Art). It has been an educational and love to make this documentary. Thank you again for such a great festival. Gabrielle O’Neill

    January 2023
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    Response from festival:

    Thank you Gabrielle,
    it was a pleasure having your film at VIFA2022!
    We hope to see you again in 2023 :-)

  • Alain Kulmburg

    Nice festival with a great selection of movies! I couldn't attend but I was happy about the festival's communication and awards.

    December 2022
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    Response from festival:

    Hi Alain, thank you for your message! We hope we can meet you in person this year at VIFA2023! :-)

  • Aiken Veronika Prosenc

    The Vienna International Film Awards is an event that celebrates the love of film and appreciates artists and their diverse visions. It is a wonderful opportunity to meet filmmakers from all over the world in the beautiful city of Vienna. Long live VIFA!

    December 2022
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    Response from festival:

    Thank you Veronika for your kind words! :-) We hope to see you again at VIFA2023 and we are looking forward to your new films! :-)