ZSIGMOND VILMOS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

The Zsigmond Vilmos International Film Festival draws attention to cinematographers, one of the most important co-creators of a film, together with giving an opportunity to young artists to show their craft. The festival jury will evaluate the films submitted to the festival primarily on the basis of innovative cinematography, but will also consider the overall artistic quality.

APPLICANTS SHOULD BE AWARE THAT THE DIFFERENT AWARDS OF THIS FESTIVAL GO TO THE CINEMATOGRAPHERS.

THE FESTIVAL PAYS NEITHER RENTAL FEES NOR COPYRIGHT FEES FOR THE FILMS SCREENED WITHIN THE FESTIVAL PROGRAMME.

The call is open to individual filmmakers and artistic communities without age restriction, and the festival organisers also look forward to receiving films made by students majoring in film studies, directing or cinematography.

The current call is open to films in four categories, each completed after the 1st of January 2023:
FEATURE FILMS
SHORT FILMS (with no restrictions on genre or technical aspects, but max 60 min long)
DOCUMENTARIES
MUSIC VIDEOS

Part of the competition program of the festival is a section called HUNGARIAN CINEMATOGRAPHERS' WEEK, in which the films are selected from the submitted works by the selection jury. The winner in this category is awarded by the Hungarian Cinematographers Association (HCA).

One filmmaker can submit more than one film.

Each and every submission is subject to a registration fee: 10 euros for short films and music videos, 15 euros for works longer than 60 minutes.

Technical requirements

For viewing purposes we only accept online screeners, and if applicable, with a password that will expire after the festival. All films should be subtitled in English. Please note that the viewing copy should be the final cut of the film submitted.
Submissions selected for the competition programme will be accepted only in DCP format.

An integral part of the Call for Application is our SUBMISSION POLICY: https://www.zsigmondvilmosfilmfest.com/en/festival/submission-policy

1. General information
Feature films, short films (with no restrictions on genre or technical aspects but max. 60 minutes long), documentaries and music videos completed after 1 January 2023 can be submitted to the festival. There is no restriction on the length and number of the films submitted, and one filmmaker or filmmaking community can submit more than one film.
As for films selected for the competition program, in case the film was not submitted by the cinematographer, we will later ask for his/her declaration of consent.

2. Deadlines
Application deadline: 15 January 2026, midnight (Pacific Time)
The competition programme will be published on the 3rd of February 2026.
Date and venue of the festival: 13-17 May 2026, Belvárosi Cinema, Szeged, Hungary

3. Film submission, application form
Submission and payment of the registration fee is available via FilmFreeway.

E-mail address of the festival: zsigmondvilmosfeszt@gmail.com

4. Information on film copies and screening
The festival pays no rental or screening fees.
Applicants whose films are selected to take part in the competition programme have to submit their films in DCP format with English subtitles. These DCPs have to be available until the end of the festival.
The festival reserves the right to publish a maximum 2-minute long part of the submitted films on its website for promotional and educational (non-commercial) purposes. Belvárosi Cinema may screen the award-winning films on two further occasions after the festival.

EVALUATION: The films submitted will be pre-selected by a jury of cinematographers, film directors and film professionals.

The awards will be voted by a professional jury chaired by Gábor Szabó, Béla Balázs Award-winning cinematographer, Vilmos Zsigmond’s former colleague, founder and current president of the Hungarian Cinematographers Association (HCA). The main festival prize, the Zsigmond Vilmos Main Award for Best Cinematography, will be given to the best cinematographer. The best films in each category will also be awarded, while the City of Szeged, the Association of Hungarian Film Directors (AHD), the Film critics’ jury, the Student jury and the Hungarian Cinematographers Association (HCA) will also hand out an award respectively.

The jury reserves the right not to present every award.