altcineAction!, unique in its kind, is the first Online Short Film Festival for Balkan Filmmakers.

Organized by altcine, the web platform dedicated to Balkan Cinema, and under the patronage of Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports and the Creative Europe Media Programme, altcineAction! is open to every young filmmaker from Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Greece, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo*, Moldova, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia and Turkey, to exhibit their work to the entire planet and win great awards for their next production.

What makes altcineAction! even more unique, is that the international audience is the one that with its votes and critiques highlights the Festival's first three winners!

With altcineAction!, any web surfer will be able to have free access to films from the Balkan Peninsula, connect in a direct and playful way with the creative young professionals, while the region’s young directors will have the opportunity to find mentoring and support by top companies and Institutions of the Balkans for their films and studies.

So far, during the last 3 years of its activities, altcineAction! has brought together 145 films from 13 Balkan countries in its online library and counts more than 6200 registered users, while continuing to offer great prizes, sponsored by top companies and institutions in the audiovisual sector. The festival aids film production and co-production in the Balkans by putting the spotlight on the next generation of directors, while at the same time transforming young audio-visual literate surfers into engaged audiences and creating sustainable communities.

Awards & Prizes

All altcineAction! prizes are of a highly educational and career-evolving nature. The three major prizes, exclusively based on the audiences’ votes and critiques, as well as altcine’s choice, the “Alida Dimitriou Award”, offer services for the winners’ next film sponsored by top film companies. Specialist juries award two more prizes for photography and editing offering professional software. This year, our most innovative award, the Best Critic Award, has expanded and become a larger action through the 5C project supported by Creative Europe – MEDIA programme of the European Union. Τhe 5C will allow five emerging critics to join the Cine-Caravan on a journey through the Balkans. If you are one of the lucky five, you will have the opportunity to perfect your writing under the guidance of established professionals and academics, travel to Athens, Split, Cetate and Tirana and share your experiences through digital media.

Rules & Terms

Filmmakers

•Submission is open to all Balkan filmmakers from Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Greece, Kosovo*, Moldova, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia and Turkey, who have not directed more than one feature film, excluding employees at altcine, the sponsors and cooperating agencies.
•The Festival has the “capacity” of 480 minutes of audiovisual content. Submissions will close once the 480 minutes have been filled. Submissions will be accepted on a “first come, first served” basis.
•The submitted film should not exceed 15 minutes and must have English subtitles.
•The submitted film must have been completed between January 2013 and December 2015.
•Only directors and producers have the right to submit their films to the Festival.

Voters and Critics

•Any individual from around the world has the right to vote, and from now on will be referred as the “Voter”.
•The “Voter” can submit their votes and write critiques on the Festival’s online service. The critiques must be written in English.
•Any “Voter” between the age of 18 and 35, who is not a professional film critic, and has written at least 5 critiques (up to 200 words each) on altcineAction! 2015 films in competition, will automatically enter the “5C Project” contest.