***Dublin International Film Festival's 2024 Submissions are now open!***
Full rules for short films, documentary and feature films below, please read carefully before submitting.
Taking place every spring, the Dublin International Film Festival is one of the most iconic events in Ireland’s cultural calendar. The programme has evolved over the years, but each Festival is guaranteed to offer a mouth-watering mix of cinema from around the world, with many screenings attended by the filmmakers and stars.
From hidden gems to red-carpet spectaculars attended by directors and stars, every Festival is a celebration of cinematic excellence in all its forms. Our awards recognise outstanding achievements in documentaries, features and shorts, while the Dublin Film Critics’ Circle Awards distribute accolades from Ireland’s professional film critics and the Audience Award gives festivalgoers a chance to vote for their favourite features and shorts.
But the Festival’s most prestigious accolade is the Volta. Named after Ireland’s first dedicated cinema, the Voltas are awarded each year to individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to the world of film. Previous recipients have included iconic figures such as Al Pacino, Julie Andrews, Ennio Morricone, Daniel Day-Lewis, Claudia Cardinale, Martin Sheen, Kristin Scott Thomas, Brendan Gleeson, Terry Gilliam, Angela Lansbury and Adam McKay.
Many of these stars join us in helping to nurture the next generation of talent, as every year DIFF invites a wealth of leading industry professionals to run workshops, give talks, and offer inspirational advice. Over the years we’ve welcomed leading lights from every area of filmmaking, including writers and directors (and quite a few writer-directors), composers, producers and casting agents.
For our 2024 event, we are planning a hybrid festival presentation consolidating the new strand celebrating music, both features and documentary.
The shorts selection will be curated thematically into programs of approximately 90 minutes in duration which aim to bring together a diverse cross-section of contemporary cinema.
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Dublin International Film Festival's Commitment to Greater Diversity:
As part of Dublin International Film Festival's mission to employ greater diversity in its programming, we welcome submissions from varied ethnicities and marginalised voices, as well as seeking greater parity and a 50/50 gender-balance. Please make us aware of the diversity in your project when submitting your film.
Dublin International Film Festival aims to be an inclusive and diverse organisation that promotes and delivers equality of opportunity regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, gender or sexual orientation across all its activities, from programming and audience development to employment policies.
The Festival is not complacent about its progress to date, and recognises that there is more work to be done to achieve diversity in all of its activities.
For full list of winners visit our previous recipients page on diff.ie
DOCUMENTARY AWARD
The documentary jury chose "Notes From Sheepland" as the winner of the Dublin International Film Festival 2023 Documentary Competition.
DUBLIN HUMAN RIGHTS FILM AWARD
"406 Days" was announced as the 2023 winner of the Dublin Human Rights Film Award, a partnership with the Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) with a Special commendation to 'My Imaginary Country'.
AUDIENCE AWARD
Audience Award Feature Winners:
2023: '406 Days', Joe Lee
2022 - 'An Cailín Ciúin', Colm Bairéad
2021 - "Minari", Lee Isaac Chung
2020 - "Endless Sunshine on a Cloudy Day", John Connors
2019 - "Maiden", Alex Holmes
2018 - "The Breadwinner", Nora Twomey
Audience Award for Short Film:
2023 - 'Mud Queen', Luke Daly & Nathan Fagan
2021 - "To All My Darlings", Eamonn Hughes
2020 - "Iarscoláire", Shaun Dunne
2019 - "99 Problems", Ross Killeen
2018 - "Time Traveller", Steve Kenny
DISCOVERY AWARD
The Five Lamps Discovery Award has enabled the Festival to shine a spotlight on emerging Irish talent since 2008. The programme offers unique mentoring opportunities with Festival guests as well as networking opportunities.
DIFF Discovery Winners:
2023: Laura O'Shea (Director), Greg Burrows (Producer), Rory Kerr (Screenwriter/Director)
2022 - Colm Bairéad (Director), Kate Dolan (Director) , Rioghnach Ní Ghrioghair (Director)
2021 - Burschi Wojnar (DoP) Rachel Carey (Director), Hazel Doupe (Actress), Saileóg O'Halloran
2020 - Cara Holmes (Director), Dónall Ó Héalaí (Actor), Paddy Slattery (Writer/Director), Claire Byrne (Director)
2019 - Alexandra McGuinness (Writer/Director), Ian Hunt Duffy (Director), Oonagh Kearney (Director), Special Mention: Madonna Bambino (Make Up Artist)
2018 - TJ O'Grady Peyton (Actor), Mia Mullarkey (director), Trevor Whelan & Rua Meegan (Director/Cinematographer)
SHORT FILM AWARD
The Short Film Awards support and nurture emerging Irish and international talent in the short film form as voted for by an international jury of industry professionals.
Short Film Award Winners:
2023 - Best Irish: 'Lamb' Sinead O'Loughlin
2023 - Irish Special Mention: 'Shadow' Janna Kemperman
2023 - Best Interntional: 'Will You Look At Me' Shuli Huang
2023 - International Special Mention: 'On Xerxes's Throne' Evi Kalogiropoulou
2023 - International Special Mention: 'Blind Spot' Lotfi Achour
2022 - Best Irish: 'An Encounter' Kelly Campbell
2022 - Irish Special Mention: 'Don't Go Where I Can't Find You' Rioghnach Ní Ghrioghair
2022 - Best International: 'Stiletto: A Pink Family Tragedy' Can Merdan Dogan
2022 - Special Mention: 'In Flow of Words' Eliane Esther Bots
2022 - Special Mention: 'Store Policy' Sarah Arnold
2021 - Best Irish: "Her Song" Éabha Bortolozzo/Jack Kirwin
2021 - Best International: "Anita", Sushma Khadepaun
2020 - Best Irish: "Welcome to a Bright White Limbo," Cara Holmes
2020 - Best International: "Quiet Land Good People," Johannes Bachmann
2019 - Best Irish: "Five Letters to the Stranger Who Will Dissect My Brain," Oonagh Kearney
2019 - Irish Special Mention: "The First Was A Boy," Shaun Dunne
2019 - Best International: "Inanimate", Lucia Bulgheroni
2019 - International Special Mention: "Child", Joren Molter
2018 - Best Irish: "Mother & Baby", Mia Mullarkey, Alice McDowell
2018 - Best International: "Retouch", Kaveh Mazaheri
THE DUBLIN FILM CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD
Every year the Dublin Film Critics vote for their Best Film, Best Director, Best Irish Film, Best Documentary, Best Performances and the Michael Dwyer Discovery Award and the George Byrne Maverick Award, named in honour of the contributions of two late Irish critics, from the DIFF programme.