1. The International Festival of Documentary and Short Film of Bilbao – ZINEBI is an international competitive cinema event recognised by the International Federation of Film Producers Associations (FIAPF). The Festival presents the International Short Film Competition with a schedule running in parallel.
2. The 67th International Festival of Documentary and Short Film of Bilbao – ZINEBI will be held in Bilbao between 21 and 28 November 2025.
3. The Festival is organised by Bilbao Town Hall, in association with the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport (through the Institute of Cinematography and Audiovisual Arts – ICAA), the Basque Government's Department of Culture and the Bizkaia Provincial Council.
4. The Hollywood Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has accredited the International Festival of Documentary and Short Film of Bilbao – ZINEBI as a "Qualifier Festival" for the Oscar® awards. This means that the short film taking the ZINEBI Grand Prix and the winner of the Mikeldi award for Best Documentary Short Film will automatically be taken into consideration by the Hollywood Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Selection Committee as contenders for the Oscar® awards.
5. Spain's Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has accredited the International Festival of Documentary and Short Film of Bilbao – ZINEBI as a "Qualifier Festival" for the Goya awards. This means that the short film winning the Grand Prix for Best Spanish Short Film will be an automatic contender for the Goya awards.
6. The British Academy of Film and Television Arts has accredited the International Festival of Documentary and Short Film of Bilbao – ZINEBI as a Qualifier Festival for the Best British Short Film category in the BAFTA awards.
7. The European Film Academy has selected the International Festival of Documentary and Short Film of Bilbao – ZINEBI as one of the European festivals choosing a short film every year as a contender for the EFAs (European Film Awards). This means that, from among the short films in ZINEBI 67's Official Section - International Short Film Competition, the International Jury will select a European short film (in the context of the European Film Academy, which includes the entire continent of Europe, both EU and non-EU member states, Israel and Palestine) as a contender for Best European Short Film 2025.
CONDITIONS
8. The International Festival of Documentary and Short Film of Bilbao – ZINEBI accepts short films in the fiction, animation and documentary categories for its Official Section - International Short Film Competition. Short films must be entered by the producers or their legal representatives.
9. Short films in the Official Section - International Short Film Competition must have been produced after 1 January 2024, and to be eligible they must have been submitted via the FilmFreeway platform (www.filmfreeway.com) no later than 20 June 2025.
10. Only short films with a duration of no more than 30 minutes will be accepted.
11. Submissions must include the entry form and any additional information on the short film which the producer may deem appropriate. All documents must be written in Basque, Spanish or English.
12. Films already screened at the International Festival of Documentary and Short Film of Bilbao – ZINEBI or films previously rejected cannot be entered.
13. Any short films produced in the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country (in the fiction, documentary or animation categories) as contenders in the Official Section – International Short Film Competition must be State premieres. Any Basque short films which do not meet this requisite may compete in the parallel section "Bertoko Begiradak".
14. All short films with spoken languages other than English must be submitted with English subtitles. Any films submitted which are unreadable or in damaged files will not be considered for selection. It is the responsibility of the party submitting the film to ensure that the files sent are in proper working order.
The Festival supports accessibility and inclusion. Short films with subtitles for deaf people or those with hearing difficulties and audio descriptions for people with impaired vision will be positively appraised. Any producers wishing to provide these accessibility options must add them to their screening copies. The Festival undertakes to screen the access-friendly versions whenever they are available.
15. In order to be selected, all short films must be watched by the Selection Committee. The Festival's selection process will grant priority to any films of interest that lead to world, international and European premieres at ZINEBI.
16. The Festival will not take account of any short films submitted that do not meet all the requisites established by these regulations.
17. The producers or legal representatives of films submitted undertake to keep ZINEBI informed of any changes to the film following submission.
18. The Selection Committee will be appointed by management of the International Festival of Documentary and Short Film of Bilbao – ZINEBI, and will act as advisor to choose the films in its Official Section - International Short Film Competition. Management of the Festival will make the final decision in relation to this selection. Appeals against decisions by the Festival are not permitted.
The International Festival of Documentary and Short Film of Bilbao - ZINEBI supports diversity and favours the representation of different cinematographic perspectives in its programming and selection process.
19. The Festival will not pay over any amounts for short films entered in the Official Section - International Short Film Competition.
20. Those submitting short films will be informed before the end of September 2025 as to whether the films are (or are not) contenders in the Official Section - International Short Film Competition. ZINEBI will make an official announcement of all the films chosen before the end of October 2025. Those responsible for the films chosen undertake not to announce the selection prior to the official announcement by the Festival.
21. The maximum duration of sessions in the Official Section - International Competition may not exceed 6 hours a day as the total of any number of sessions.
22. Festival management decides screening dates and times for the films chosen. No film entered in the competition will be screened more than five times, including press screenings, as per international festival standards.
All screenings of the films chosen outside the Festival timeframe will require express authorisation in writing by the producers or those holding the rights to the film.
COPYRIGHTS
23. The producers or legal representatives of entries in the Official Section - International Short Film Competition will retain all copyrights pertaining to their work. When a film is entered in the Festival, the parties involved grant ZINEBI non-exclusive licence to screen it during the Festival, and also for screenings related to promotion of the event.
SCREENING COPIES AND MATERIALS
24. For public screenings, all films entered in the Official Section must be subtitled in English. The screening format is non-encrypted DCP.
25. The copies sent will be checked and compiled on hard drives to be screened subsequently at Festival venues.
26. These hard drives will be added to the Festival's records and, pursuant to Article 24 of these Regulations, they will not be used for other screenings without the express authorisation of those holding the rights.
Screening copies received will not be stored by the Festival or used for any other screenings unrelated to the event without the express written consent of the producers or those holding the rights to the film.
27. The International Festival of Documentary and Short Film of Bilbao – ZINEBI meets the security standards established by the International Federation of Film Producers Associations (FIAPF) to guarantee the protection of audiovisual works selected. To this end, the Festival implements control and security measures to administer copies, storage, screenings and access to audiovisual material.
A. All copies received will be stored in secure conditions and protected against unauthorised access.
B. The use of recording equipment at screening locations is expressly forbidden, and surveillance measures will be applied to prevent any unauthorised attempt to capture or distribute films.
C. The Festival reserves the right to carry out security inspections during screenings and to work with FIAPF on any audits that may be required.
D. After the Festival all hard copies will be returned to the holders of the film rights within two weeks at the latest, in the absence of any express prior agreement with the producers or distributors.
28. The Festival takes responsibility for the integrity of audiovisual material while this is in its possession, and will apply the best practices to prevent piracy and safeguard the rights of creators.
29. The screening copies (DCP) of the films chosen to compete in the Official Section must be uploaded to ZINEBI's internal server before 22 September 2025. This deadline must be scrupulously observed in order to enable the Festival to guarantee the best possible screening and subtitling during the Festival.
30. The producers or legal representatives of each film chosen must submit the following before 29 September 2025, and ZINEBI may use same to promote the films and the Festival:
a. At least three horizontal stills from the film (JPG or TIFF format, 10 cm x 15 cm, 300 DPI).
b. A photo of the filmmaker or filmmakers (JPG or TIFF format, 10 cm x 15 cm, 300 DPI).
c. Posters, flyers and promotional material for the film.
d. A list of the film's dialogues in English, with their timecodes.
e. A film file or the link to the film trailer (three minutes maximum).
f. A file or a link with password protection to the final version of the film with high-quality English subtitles.
The trailer may be used either partially or in its entirety to promote the Festival and the films chosen, and may also be used in promotional material, social media and screenings prior to the event. It may also be used either partially or in its entirety for any promotional setups combining images of a number of productions, for the purposes of generating interest among the general public and communication media, and the Festival is responsible for the criteria relating to choice of images and editing and any soundtracks.
INTERNATIONAL JURY AND AWARDS
31. The decision on official awards will be taken by an International Jury appointed by the management of the International Festival of Documentary and Short Film of Bilbao – ZINEBI.
32. The International Jury for the Official Section - International Short Film Competition must have at least five members, and Spanish nationals may not exceed 40% of the total. The secretary of the Jury will be appointed by Festival management, and may take part in deliberations with no voting rights. Festival management may appoint a member of the Jury to chair it, and this person will have the casting vote should the Jury have an even number of members.
No member of the jury may have a direct connection to the films competing, as producer, director, distributor or in any other function or with any other links that could compromise their impartiality.
33. The International Jury will establish its internal Regulations in accordance with Festival management. Its decision will be final, and the prizes listed below may not be declared void or be shared ex aequo.
a. ZINEBI Grand Prix (8,000 €), open to all short films in the Official Section - International Short Film Competition.
b. Basque Cinema Grand Prix (6,000 €), open to all short films produced in the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country competing in the Official Section - International Short Film Competition.
c. Spanish Cinema Grand Prix (6,000 €), open to all short films produced in Spain competing in the Official Section - International Short Film Competition.
d. Mikeldi Award for Best Documentary Short Film (5,000 €), open to all short films qualified by ZINEBI in the Official Section - International Short Film Competition's Documentary category.
e. Mikeldi Award for Best Animation Short Film (5,000 €), open to all short films qualified by ZINEBI in the Official Section - International Short Film Competition's Animation category.
f. Mikeldi Award for Best Fiction Short Film (5,000 €), open to all short films qualified by ZINEBI in the Official Section - International Short Film Competition's Fiction category.
34. Other prizes will be awarded at the 67th International Festival of Documentary and Short Film of Bilbao – ZINEBI:
a. EITB Audience Award of 3,000 €, to be decided by a public vote on all Basque films under 30 minutes screened in the "Bertoko Begiradak" section. Basque films contending for international competitions will also be screened in this section, and can compete for this award.
b. Young Jury Award of 2,000 € decided by a Jury of students in film faculties and schools, to be appointed by Festival management, and this will be selected from the "Bertoko Begiradak" section.
c. “(H)emen ZINEBI” Award of 2,000 € chosen by a Jury appointed by Festival management, which will be chosen from films in the "Bertoko Begiradak" section, as a prize for the feminist perspective.
d. “Cine Club FAS Award for best director”, 2,000 €, to be decided by a jury appointed by Festival management from among the films entered in the international competition.
e. UNICEF Award, of no economic value, to be decided by members of the UNICEF organisation in the Basque Country from among the films entered in the international competition.
35. The sum of the awards will be transferred in full to a single production company, stated on the application form by the producers or their legal representatives, regardless of the number of people or organisations involved in the production. The parties will be exclusively responsible for any subsequent distribution of the award, and will hold the Festival harmless against any actions or disputes in this regard.
36. Films winning awards at the 67th International Festival of Documentary and Short Film of Bilbao – ZINEBI must obligatorily and inexcusably specify the recognition secured at the Festival in all posters, communications and publicity, and also in the credits of copies in their communication after the Festival has come to an end, including communication in social media and other formats.
37. Awards at the 67th International Festival of Documentary and Short Film of Bilbao – ZINEBI will be paid over in 2025 with any tax deductions that may be applicable, when the prizewinning producer has furnished, before 16 December 2025, a tax residence certificate which must be issued by the tax authorities in the producer's country of residence.
38. Entry of any film in the 67th International Festival of Documentary and Short Film of Bilbao – ZINEBI entails acceptance of the conditions stipulated in these regulations, which will be construed and applied by Festival management, in due observance of the provisions of the FIAPF's International Festival Regulations.
39. The International Festival of Documentary and Short Film of Bilbao – ZINEBI will process the personal data of any participants for the following purposes:
a. To administer the participation of films in the Festival, including selection, programming and communication of results.
b. To assist with promotion of the films selected and of the Festival through communication media and social networks, pursuant to the conditions laid down in these regulations.
c. To add any relevant data to the Festival's records and specifically data concerning the films to its website, for the exclusive purposes of consultation, preservation of cultural heritage, and activities in relation to cinematographic research and promotion.
d. To meet any legal obligations applicable, including any relating to the protection of copyrights and distribution of awards.
Data will be processed pursuant to regulations in force concerning data protection, and any parties participating may exercise their rights of access, rectification, erasure and objection by contacting the Festival's organisers, using the contact information available on the official website.
40. These regulations are published in English, Basque and Spanish. In the event of any discrepancies, the Spanish-language version will prevail.
Bilbao, March 2025
