IV Euro Balkan Film Festival - About the Festival

The Euro Balkan Film Festival is an international film festival based in Rome, dedicated to contemporary cinema from the Balkans and to fostering cultural dialogue between Europe and the Balkan region.

The heart of the festival is its Official Feature Film Programme, presenting a curated selection of outstanding contemporary films from the Balkans and Europe. Selected filmmakers are invited to attend screenings, Q&A sessions, masterclasses, industry events and networking activities.

Feature films are primarily selected through direct invitation by the Artistic Direction and the Festival Programming Team.

Alongside the Official Feature Film Programme, the festival organizes an International Short Film Competition and the Euro Balkan Short Pitch, two initiatives dedicated to discovering emerging filmmakers and supporting new projects in development.

Through screenings, educational activities and industry events, the festival promotes artistic exchange, international collaboration and new connections between filmmakers, producers, students and cultural institutions from across Europe and the Balkans.

The 2026 edition of the Euro Balkan Film Festival will take place in Rome from 31 October to 7 November 2026.

Awards & Prizes

EURO BALKAN SHORT PITCH - Awards

Professional Jury Awards

A Professional Jury composed of international film professionals, including directors, screenwriters, festival artistic directors, film selectors and industry experts, will award:

Best Euro Balkan Short Project Award — €1,500

Artistic Vision Award — €1,000

Euro Balkan Story Award — €500

Industry Jury Award

An Industry Jury composed of producers, distributors, commissioning editors, representatives of film funds and audiovisual development professionals will award:

Production Potential Award — €1,500

Festival Award

Assigned by the Artistic Direction and the Euro Balkan Film Festival team:

Euro Balkan Film Festival Development Award — €1,000

Partner Awards

Institutional, cultural and private partners may assign up to three special awards to support the development of selected projects:

Partner Development Award — €500

Partner Development Award — €500

Partner Development Award — €500

Additional awards, industry opportunities and in-kind services may be announced before the event.

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SHORT FILM COMPETITION - Awards

An International Jury and a Young Jury composed of students, film enthusiasts and emerging cultural professionals will award:

Best Short Film Award — €1,000

Best Director Award — €1,000

The juries may also assign Special Mentions to outstanding films, directors or artistic achievements.

Additional awards may be announced before the festival.

Rules & Terms

EURO BALKAN SHORT PITCH - Rules & Terms

The Euro Balkan Short Pitch is an industry programme of the Euro Balkan Film Festival dedicated to supporting emerging filmmakers from the Balkans and Europe through the development of new short film projects.

The programme offers selected participants the opportunity to present their projects to an international jury, industry professionals and potential partners during the Euro Balkan Film Festival in Rome.

Eligibility

The call is open to citizens of Balkan countries, European Union countries and countries involved in the European integration process.

Applicants must be under 35 years old at the time of submission, must not have previously directed a feature-length film, and must have sufficient English language skills to participate in pitching activities.

Projects developed by filmmakers from the Balkan diaspora are also eligible.

Project Requirements

Only fiction short film projects are eligible.

Projects must be in development and not yet completed.

Projects should engage with themes related to Euro-Balkan cultural dialogue, identity, memory, contemporary society and social transformation.

Submission Materials

Applicants must submit a single PDF including:

Logline

Synopsis

Moodboard

Director's biography

Motivation letter

Only submissions made through FilmFreeway will be accepted.

Selection & Participation

Up to 15 projects will be selected.

Selected participants will be notified by 15 September 2026.

Participation in all mentoring, feedback and pitching activities is mandatory.

Travel, accommodation and personal expenses are the responsibility of participants.

Pitch sessions will take place during the Euro Balkan Film Festival in Rome (31 October – 7 November 2026).

Rights

All rights remain with the authors.

By submitting, participants authorize the Festival to use project titles, loglines, synopsis excerpts and visual materials for catalogue, website, social media, press and promotional purposes, with proper credit.

Acceptance of Terms

Submission to the Euro Balkan Short Pitch implies full acceptance of these Rules & Terms.

The Festival reserves the right to modify these regulations and to make decisions regarding matters not explicitly covered herein.

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SHORT FILM COMPETITION - Rules & Terms

The Euro Balkan Film Festival International Short Film Competition is dedicated to discovering and promoting emerging filmmakers from the Balkans and the Balkan diaspora.

The competition is open to fiction, documentary, animation, experimental and hybrid short films that demonstrate a strong cinematic identity, originality of vision and artistic quality.

Selected films will be screened during the Euro Balkan Film Festival in Rome in their original language with Italian subtitles.

The Festival does not pay screening fees for selected short films.

Once a film has been officially selected and participation has been confirmed, it may not be withdrawn from the programme.

The Festival reserves the right to use excerpts of up to three minutes, trailers, still photographs and promotional materials for press, publicity, catalogue, website, social media and archival purposes.

The decisions of the Festival Selection Committee and the Festival Juries are final.

Eligibility

The competition is open to fiction, documentary, animation, experimental and hybrid short films.

Maximum running time: 20 minutes, including opening and closing credits.

Eligible countries include Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia and Turkey.

International co-productions and films made by filmmakers from the Balkan diaspora are also eligible.

Films must have been completed within the two years preceding the current festival edition.

Films publicly available online at the time of submission are not eligible.

No premiere status is required.
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