Cork International Film Festival

IMPORTANT: Please click 'Show More' to consult the Rules & Terms carefully before submitting a film or query.

Entries are invited in the following categories:⁣
- Feature films (International -Fiction)
- Feature films (Irish - Fiction)
- Feature films (International - Documentary)
- Feature films (Irish - Documentary)
- Short films (International - Fiction)⁣
- Short films (International - Documentary)⁣
- Short films (Irish - Fiction)⁣
- Short films (Irish - Documentary)⁣
- Short films (Cork - Fiction)⁣
- Short films (Cork - Documentary)⁣

Form and Premiere Status:⁣

- The Festival welcomes all forms of film production – animation, experimental, etc. However, promotional films (e.g. films promoting tourism, charitable appeals, etc.)⁣⁣ and music videos are not eligible.
-- All short films selected for competition will be Irish Premieres.
- All short films and all Irish feature films selected for non-competitive strands will be at a minimum Cork premieres.
- All feature films in competitive strands, and all new international feature films, will be at minimum Irish premieres.
- Films that are currently available to rent or purchase are NOT eligible; this includes DVD/Blu-ray/VOD formats.
- Films that were previously publicly screened, broadcast or otherwise made publicly available (including online) in Ireland are not eligible to the strands requiring Irish premieres.
These premiere conditions do not apply to repertory cinema.

Conditions for Entry⁣:
- To be eligible for the short film competitions, films must have been completed after 1 July 2025 and be 40 minutes or less in duration⁣.
- Feature films and documentaries for out of competition sections must have been completed or premiered after 15 September 2025 and be 41 minutes or greater in duration
- To be eligible for the feature film competitions, films must have been completed or premiered after 1 December 2025 and be 41 minutes or greater in duration⁣.
- For in-cinema screenings, the screening format eligible for inclusion is DCP. If a DCP is not available, please contact the Festival to arrange for the creation of a DCP for screening purposes from a ProRes or similar digital file.⁣
- For digital online screenings, the screening format eligible for inclusion is h264 1080p digital file.
- Films should be presented in their original versions with English language subtitles or commentary where necessary.⁣
- Please note that films submitted through the incorrect category will not be considered.
- Please note that refunds will not be issued for submitted films.

Criteria for Cork Shorts⁣:
- Filmmakers who are based in Cork.⁣
- Filmmakers from Cork but based elsewhere.⁣
- Films shot by non-Corkonians throughout Munster. ⁣(to incentive filmmakers in the region)
This applies to the Cork Shorts submission category on FilmFreeway. To be eligible for the Best Cork Short Award, films must be made by filmmakers based in or from Cork, with a strong connection to Cork, and/or their films set in Cork or show a specific focus on Cork City or County Cork.

Non-English language films⁣:

To qualify for selection, all non-English language films must have an English-subtitled screening copy available.⁣

How to send your film⁣:

Please submit your film via the online submission platform, FilmFreeway. WE DO NOT ACCEPT FILMS OTHER THAN VIA THIS PLATFORM.⁣

Unsolicited submissions, waivers and discounts⁣:

The Festival respectfully requests that entrants do not send unsolicited screener (Vimeo etc.,) links to Festival staff, and do not appeal for fee waivers.

Submission fees are necessary to finance a fair and thorough review process of the thousands of submissions we receive each year, as well as to support the costs of curation and film exhibition.⁣ If you wish to request a waiver regardless of the above, please email info@corkfilmfest.org with ‘WAIVER REQUEST’ in the title. Your email should clearly explain why you are requesting a waiver and why CIFF is the festival where you specifically want your film to premiere. We will review these requests in a monthly internal meeting.

If you are a cultural institution or college or have a number of films you would like to enter at once, the Festival may be able to offer a group discount; please email info@corkfilmfest.org to request.

A fee waiver may be granted if the submitter has previously had their work in the Festival.

Notification⁣:

Filmmakers with work selected will receive an invitation by September 2026. Rejected films will receive notification through FilmFreeway at the end of September.

Unfortunately, it is not possible for the Festival to offer feedback regarding films that are not selected for the programme. Please don’t be discouraged if your film is not accepted to Cork International Film Festival. There are often many influencing factors on why your film may or may not be accepted or be suitable for the Festival.⁣

Screening File Delivery:

Please note: The preferred method of receiving screening materials for the festivals is via digital online transfer. If you are selected for CIFF2026 but are unable to send your film digitally, please do not send your film without contacting the Print Traffic team first.

If selected, DCPs and screening files must be received by the Festival by Friday 2nd October, latest.

Using extracts of the films and film stills for promotion⁣:

The entrant agrees that up to three minutes of their film may be used by the Festival in promotional activities, including screening a clip on television and social media, inclusion in the Festival’s trailer, and on the Festival’s website. Please ensure that uploaded stills and headshots are of print quality and that you have permission to allow the Festival to use these for promotional and press purposes in perpetuity. ⁣

General⁣:
Acceptance of the Terms and Conditions detailed above implies that the entrant will abide by them in their dealings with the Festival and also that the entrant is legally entitled to submit the film for consideration. Entry to the Festival implies that the entrant has the right to do so, has pre-cleared all materials that comprise the film, and is an authorised representative of the team that holds the intellectual property in the film.⁣

CIFF’s Artistic Policy is available to view here https://corkfilmfest.org/app/uploads/2026/04/CIFF2025-Artistic-Policy-Aug-2025.pdf .

Entering a film to Cork International Film Festival implies the acceptance of these Terms and Conditions.⁣

Cork International Film Festival reserves the right to withdraw an invitation if the Terms and Conditions are found later not to be met.

The Festival wishes all potential entrants the best of luck with their submission and their film.⁣

The Festival reserves the right to change the Terms and Conditions at any time.⁣
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Updated January 2026.⁣