*WE ARE ACCEPTING SUBMISSIONS NOW!*
7th REFUGEES FILM FESTIVAL 
17.11.2024-23.11.2024
FEZ BERLIN AND/OR ONLINE FESTIVAL OR BOTH OF THEM
The Refugees Film Festival has been born due to the necessity to highlight the enormous drama of the crisis of millions of people in the XXI century that must leave their homes searching for a better life or only escape from death. Through a selection of films from all across the globe, the Film Festival aims to raise awareness of common persons that had changed radically their way and place of living in a desperate bid for freedom or only to survive. Ranging from blockbusters to independent films, the program aspires to shed light on their situation and contexts, their fears, losses, hopes, successes, and their despair, courage, and resilience. The line-up also includes stories of resilience and hope, population under war, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV), racial persecution against native Americans, genocides against minorities, etc.
Also, the film festival includes productions made with and by women, men, and children in their new lives in the cities or places of temporary settlement. The Film Festival will also be featuring special guests from the films, including the filmmakers, actors, and protagonists. In one week of programming in the 1st RFF (2018) we have seen have 48 great films from Germany, Austria, the USA, Canada, Italy, France, Spain, Greece, Kosovo, Poland, Netherlands, Romania, Iraq, Iran, Argentina, Honduras, Australia, Sweden, Bangladesh, Cyprus, and Egypt///////. The majority will be a premiere in Berlin and many of them in Germany also, like “Are you volleyball”, “Der Schwarze Nazi”, “Touch of Angel”, “The boys next door”, “Y”, “Tin Can”, “88 Cents”, “A Piece of Germany”, “Strange Guests”.In the 2nd RFF (2019) we have seen 46 great films from Germany, Austria, the USA, Canada, Italy, France, Spain, Switzerland, Greece, Poland, Romania, Netherlands, the UK, North Korea, Cambodia, Vietnam, India, Iraq, Iran, Syria, Armenia, Turkey, Guatemala, Trinidad and Tobago, Chile, Australia, Sweden, and Japan. The majority will be a premiere in Berlin and many of them in Germany also, like “The Tank and the Olive Tree”, “Yara”, “Kreuzberg”, “You can’t kill my Dreams”, “The Wanderings of Ivan”, “Intercontinental”, “Doing Money”, “Who is Europe”, “Undeterred”, “They will not trespass”, “Once in Purple Dungarees”, “The Climate Limbo”, “Alara”, and “The Bomb”, among other. In the year of the pandemic 2020, we achieved the challenge of running the 3rd RFF at BABYLON, with the presence of the directors, producers, protagonist, and of course, the audience of our festival. Even accomplishing strict health measures we performed a very successful third chapter with the nomination of almost 50 great movies. In the 4th RFF -2021- we have a large selection of great films on the main screen of BABYLON with a great response from the Audience! We have selected Oscar Awards films, great shorts and features, dramas, and documentaries with tons of nominations and awards in the most important film festivals all over the Word. This window to the best of the movies about this dramatic and concerning issue, that cross not only Europe-Middle East-Africa, but also different regions with migrations (international and internal, Natives of the USA and Canada, etc.), unknown wars like the Honduran – Salvadorian War, persecutions against the Rohingya Nation and beautiful cooperative movies made by and for children, racism in Trinidad and Tobago against Venezuelans, the Armenian Genocide, past, and current migrations because old wars, like in Vietnam and Cambodia, discrimination in between neighbors in Berlin, persecutions in North Korea, and beautiful and poetic movies that go beyond the issue of migration to the condition of the Human Being, upcoming wars (¿?) in Eastern Europe, Worker Class Solidarity that cross the Atlantic, the Ukraine War, etc., will permit here, in Berlin, to empathize with millions and millions of Human Beings that exist, and not only in the queue of Ausländerbehörde (Migration National Office). We hope that the fifth edition of the Refugees Film Festival could help to understand, through the cinema, this complex reality that is going on in the entire world. More info at http://www.refugeesfilmfest.com https://babylonberlin.eu/programm/festivals/rffAll the films have English subtitles 
(if the language spoken in the movie is not English)The RFF can be at Babylon Theater, online, or both of them.

ATTENTION

- Be advised that some films may contain scenes that some viewers may find disturbing.

- The views and opinions expressed in these films do not necessarily represent those of the sponsors, partners, supporters, or others involved in organizing the Refugees Welcome Film Festival.

- Images, texts, copyrights, and trademarks for all films mentioned herein are held by their respective owners and are solely for promotional, non-commercial, and educational purposes.

The RFF Award for Best Feature Film (fiction or documentary)

The RFF Award for Best short (fiction or documentary)

The Audience Award (fiction or documentary)

REGULATIONS
The Refugees Film Festival is open to all film genres (drama, documentary, animated, short, etc.) on the issues of migration, refugees, IDPs, stateless persons, the context surrounding those population, and/or films made by former/current migrants, refugees, IDPs, and stateless persons.

Dates and venues

1st REFUGEES FILM FESTIVAL: 25 to 31 of October 2018: BABYLON

2nd REFUGEES FILM FESTIVAL: 24 to 30 of October 2019: BABYLON /
UT CONNEWITZ: 4th-8th of May 2020

3rd REFUGEES FILM FESTIVAL: 29th of October to 05 of November 2020: BABYLON /
UT CONNEWITZ: 8th to 12th of May 2021

4th REFUGEES FILM FESTIVAL: 30th of September to 06 of October2021: BABYLON

5th REFUGEES FILM FESTIVAL: 29th of September to 05 of October 2022: BABYLON, OR ONLINE OR BOTH OF THEM

6th REFUGEES FILM FESTIVAL 
16.11.2023-22.11.2023
FEZ BERLIN AND/OR ONLINE FESTIVAL OR BOTH OF THEM

BABYLON
Neue Babylon Berlin GmbH

Rosa-Luxemburg-Str. 30, 10178 BERLIN

U-Bahn: U2: Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz

S-Bahn: Alexanderplatz

Bus: 100, 200, 340, 348 - Alexanderplatz

Kinokasse: Karten/ Informationen ab 17 Uhr bzw. ab 30 Minuten vor der ersten Vorstellung: Fon: +49 - (0)30 - 24 25 969

UT Connewitz e.V.
Wolfgang-Heinze-Str. 12a
04277 Leipzig

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Please send a preview screener (the format must be a DVD or a link in Vimeo) together with the submission form to the address stated below.
(The submitted screener DVD will not be returned.)

SUBMISSION FORM
All films that use languages other than English need to have English subtitles.
Please enclose the publicity material (trailer, press kit, posters, stills, etc.) together with the DVD screener or online screener. Make sure that the Festival has the right to use the material to promote the film and the festival.

SCREENING FORMAT
Screening film format: DCP in a USB flash drive or hard disk (for Windows, not Mac) with English subtitles (if the language of the film is not English). Other formats like .mov, .mp4 could be converted into a DCP.

All shipping costs and insurance to and from the festival office are the sender’s responsibility. Original film material must be accompanied by return instructions. International carrier account number, or authorization for charges to be paid by the addressee, or a stamped, self-addressed envelope must be included.

Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • A great communication between the festival team and the selected filmmaker. Would surely recommend it!

    December 2020
  • Excellent festival. Great communication and professional projections. The festival programme was very well presented in their web page. Thank you so much!

    November 2020
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    Response from festival:

    Thanks to you for your great Kettling. We hope to have more of your films for the 4th RFF!

  • Ken Sagoes

    I'm deeply honored that “The McHenry Trial - Don't Judge a Kid by Their Hoodie" was selected to be a part of your remarkable festival! The festival is well-organized with great communication. May the festival continue to provide filmmakers a platform that fosters creativity and self expression.

    November 2020
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    Response from festival:

    Thanks to you Ken! You are a remarkable fighter in the search for the truth. We hope to watch more of your films in the 4th RFF.

  • Nice festival in the heart of Berlin! Great topics again this year!

    March 2020
  • Sean Wirz

    Great team and great effort. Unfortunately I couldn't attend. The team was very friendly and very communicative though.

    November 2019
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    Response from festival:

    Thanks Sean, we hope to see you the next year!