𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐈𝐂𝐋𝐄 𝐈 - 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬
The 24th Zagreb Film Festival will take place in Zagreb, Croatia, from November 9 to 15, 2026. Its aim is to get the Croatian audience acquainted with emerging film directors and to organize creative meetings with international and local professionals.The festival thus aims to make a positive impact on the improvement of Croatian film production and culture. The Festival's specific focus is to enable insight into European cinema.
𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐈𝐂𝐋𝐄 𝐈𝐈 - 𝐒𝐮𝐛𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐑𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬
In its competition program, the Zagreb Film Festival will present an international selection of films by emerging directors in the following categories:
𝐅𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐅𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐅𝐢𝐥𝐦
To qualify for the festival’s competition program, the following criteria must be met:
● The film must be 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫’𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐦, 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓 𝐨𝐫 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔, and intended for theatrical screenings.
● It must have a runtime of 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝟕𝟎 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐬.
● An online screener must be provided in the submission form at the time of submission, and the link must remain accessible until the end of the selection process.
● If selected, the film must be screened in DCP format.
● The film must not have had any public screenings in the Republic of Croatia prior to the festival. If selected, its screening at the festival 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐂𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐞𝐫𝐞.
● Feature films produced in Croatia must not have been screened elsewhere, with the sole exception of a screening at the Pula Film Festival, which is permitted.
𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐅𝐢𝐥𝐦
To meet the festival requirements for the competition program, the following criteria must be met:
● The film must be 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓 𝐨𝐫 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔.
● The film should have 𝐚 𝐦𝐚𝐱𝐢𝐦𝐮𝐦 𝐝𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝟐𝟎 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐬.
● An online screener must be provided in the submission form at the time of submission, and the link must remain accessible until the end of the selection process.
● The festival is open to submissions of 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝, 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐦𝐬.
● Only 𝐝𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐥𝐲 𝐝𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐚 𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐦 are eligible to apply. 𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐮𝐛𝐦𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫'𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐦𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐡𝐲 as verification of eligibility.
● It must not have had any public screenings in the Republic of Croatia prior to the festival. If selected, its screening at the festival 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐂𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐞𝐫𝐞.
𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐬
Checkers is the national competition program of short fiction films.
To meet the festival requirements for the competition program, the following criteria must be met:
● The film must be 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓 𝐨𝐫 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔.
● The film should have 𝐚 𝐦𝐚𝐱𝐢𝐦𝐮𝐦 𝐝𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝟑𝟎 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐬.
● An online screener must be provided in the submission form at the time of submission, and the link must remain accessible until the end of the selection process.
● The festival is open to submissions of 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐦𝐬.
● Only 𝐝𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐥𝐲 𝐝𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐚 𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐦 are eligible to apply. 𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐮𝐛𝐦𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫'𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐦𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐡𝐲 as verification of eligibility.
● To be considered, a film may have prior screenings only if it was shown at Dani hrvatskog filma (eng. Days of Croatian film) or had a single screening at a Croatian film festival, but only in a non-competitive program.
● Preference is given to films that would have their Croatian premiere at the Zagreb Film Festival.
𝐒𝐮𝐛𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐞 𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐫 𝐝𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝.
𝐒𝐮𝐛𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐬
Submissions for international feature and short film programs are subject to a fee, payable during the online submission process. Submissions for feature films produced in Croatia are free of charge.
All payments must be made through the FilmFreeway platform.
The submission fee is non-refundable.
Submissions for the Checkers competition program are free of charge.
Filmmakers from countries with restricted online payment access or those impacted by war or conflict may request a submission fee waiver.
Please note that the number of available waivers is limited.
The submission and participation of a film in the Festival implies acceptance of the Terms and Conditions for participation. In any unforeseen eventuality, the decision of the Festival Management is final.
𝐒𝐮𝐛𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬
Feature Fiction & Short Film Submissions
Early Bird Deadline: 𝐀𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐥 𝟏𝟓
Standard Deadline: 𝐉𝐮𝐧𝐞 𝟑𝟎
Checkers Competition Submission
Deadline: 𝐒𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟓
𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐈𝐂𝐋𝐄 𝐈𝐈𝐈 - 𝐒𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐅𝐢𝐥𝐦 𝐒𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬
For the competition program, the selection panel will choose up to 9 feature fiction films, up to 12 short films and up to 12 Croatian short films (Checkers program).
All selected films will be screened in its original version with English and Croatian subtitles. Films produced in Croatia must have subtitles in English.
After the festival’s selection team has seen all the films and has made the final selection, the festival organizers will inform the authors of their decision via a letter of invitation.
All authors of the selected films will have been 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐎𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟗, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔.
Submissions that reflect or promote discriminatory attitudes or content will not be accepted.
𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐈𝐂𝐋𝐄 𝐈𝐕 - 𝐉𝐮𝐫𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬
𝐅𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐅𝐢𝐥𝐦 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧
The international jury for the feature film competition will consist of at least three film professionals and will present:
● 𝐆𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐏𝐫𝐚𝐦 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐁𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐅𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐅𝐢𝐥𝐦
○ The director of the winning film will also receive a cash prize.
𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐅𝐢𝐥𝐦 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬
The international jury for the international short film competition and the Croatian short film competition (Checkers) will consist of at least three film professionals and will present:
● 𝐆𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐏𝐫𝐚𝐦 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐁𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐅𝐢𝐥𝐦
○ The director of the winning film will also receive a cash prize.
● 𝐆𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐏𝐫𝐚𝐦 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐁𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐂𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐅𝐢𝐥𝐦 (𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧)
○ The director of the winning film will also receive a cash prize.
● 𝐄𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐅𝐢𝐥𝐦 𝐂𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞 – 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐱 𝐕𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐨 (𝐄𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐅𝐢𝐥𝐦 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟕)
○ The jury will select one short film as a candidate for the annual European Film Awards 2028.
𝐏𝐋𝐔𝐒 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧
The young jury, composed of at least three aspiring film professionals, will present:
● 𝐏𝐋𝐔𝐒 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐁𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐅𝐢𝐥𝐦 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐠 𝐉𝐮𝐫𝐲
○ The director of the winning feature film will receive the PLUS Award.
PLUS program showcases films by emerging directors who explore themes of coming of age in an innovative and daring way. The competition includes films from the Main Program of feature-length films.
𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐈𝐂𝐋𝐄 𝐕 - 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥
Upon the notice of selection, the Festival will request materials for each of the selected films, which must include the following:
● At least 3 high-resolution stills from the film
● A photo of the director
● A document containing a brief synopsis, a credits list, and information about the production
● Poster of the film in .jpg format
● A list of festivals and awards, as well as any other relevant information that can be used to promote the film
● Trailer, short excerpts, or a teaser of the film
● A downloadable screener and dialogue list in .srt format (in English and the film's original language) for the purpose of translating the film
By providing these materials, the producer or director authorizes the festival to use and publish all listed materials for the purpose of promoting the festival in the media.
All screening materials of feature and short films should be delivered digitally by October 10, 2025. Film copies need to have English subtitles, except the films done in the English language.
In case of physical deliveries, details should be arranged with the Festival.
𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐈𝐂𝐋𝐄 𝐕𝐈 - 𝐆𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐥
Directors whose films have been selected in the competition program are invited to the festival. The directors will be contacted by the Festival's hospitality office.
𝐀𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐥𝐞 𝐕𝐈𝐈 - 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬
Terms and Conditions are written both in Croatian and in English. In case of ambiguities in the interpretation of the text, the Croatian version is prevalent. Items that are not included in these Terms and Conditions will be considered directly by the festival organizers in compliance with the generally established Terms and Conditions. All the participants of the festival accept these Terms and Conditions. In case of complaints, all the issues related to the festival fall exclusively within the jurisdiction of the ratione materiae court in Zagreb.
