Barcelona International Film Festival is an international competition celebrating the best and major independent films and filmmakers from around the globe. The most adventurous audiences are waiting for you!
Our mission is to discover high-quality and ambitious films, promote filmmakers’ works, and be the next step in their careers.

*Kindly note that the festival does not offer accommodations or cover travel expenses.

All nominees participants receive the notification letter along with our Official Selection laurel.
Our Jury will award the best films through private screenings. Every submitter can enter multiple categories to increase their probability to win an award. Every Official Selection Member will receive our Official Laurels.
https://www.imdb.com/event/ev0002817/overview/?ref_=ev_sa_1
https://www.imdb.com/event/ev0034034/overview/
Occasionally, projects of noteworthy significance may also be bestowed with AWARDS of MERIT
*Some of the Best Films will be chosen by the Committee to be screened during The World Class Film Awards 2023. Filmmakers included in the screening are notified 4 weeks prior to the event. DCP and Spanish subtitles are required at this point.*

Submissions DO NOT guarantee selection.

-All international films MUST have English subtitles if in another language.
-Official Selections will be announced on the website, social media and partners.
- The festival does not pay for accommodations or cover travel expenses
* BEFORE SUBMITTING YOUR FILM PLEASE READ CAREFULLY ALL RULES AND REGULATIONS * ENTRY FEES ARE NON-REFUNDABLE *

- In order to submit a film, you must own the rights or have permission from the owner.
- The Barcelona International Film Festival relationship will exclusively be related to the film submitter.
- Any Foreign film that is not in English must have English subtitles.
- You always retain 100% of all rights to your intellectual property.
- All fees are non-refundable.
- The Barcelona International Film Festival will not be responsible for damaged copies.
- Students must present a valid Student ID in order to receive our student discount.
- Not all the submissions are selected for the official competition. Our Judges are free to make their own choices and no answers will be given about not selected films.
- The Barcelona International Film Festival can consider any film to be disqualified if the festival considers the content inappropriate.
- Filmmakers can submit the film in multiple categories in order to become a multi-award film. Still, the decision about the selection is strictly determined by our judges' team and no selection is guaranteed.
- The applicants (submitters) must accept The Barcelona International Film Festival Rules and Terms.
All submissions in personal categories require the name of the person you are registering to the category. You can easily send us this information in the cover letter at the FilmFreeway website, otherwise, your film could be disqualified from that specific category.
- Submitting your movie, you authorize The Barcelona International Film Festival to use, distribute and share the film poster, trailer, synopsis and movie stills on our social media. (but we do not release, under any form or circumstances, the full film or project)
- We do not require premiere status.
- Submissions DO NOT guarantee selection.
- We highly suggest adding a cover letter on your submission.
- If a feedback option is selected, the entry will be judged and the submission status will be updated (From Undecided to Selected) within the next 72 hrs after your full submission. Note that this is not a writing review service.
If no main category is selected in the expedited feedback option, automatically the entry cannot be considered.
The full submission is a main category or more selected in your entry. The feedback is an additional option to get notified if your project is worthy of being included in our Official Selection within 72 hours from the time we receive your full submission.
All films must be submitted in at least one main category and may also be submitted with the feedback option.
* ​Films submitted with the feedback option without at least one main category will be disqualified with no refund.
All our main categories are listed underneath the trophy and feedback option.
Note: any DISCOUNT CODES ARE NOT VALID for the purchase of trophies at “FilmFreeway”. DISCOUNTS CODES ARE VALID, ONLY for submitting films at the festival. If there is a trophy purchased at “FilmFreeway” with a discount code, that purchase will be CANCELED. *Before purchasing trophies we highly recommend contacting our agents by email. If necessary, you will need to cover the difference of the fee.*
Remember that payments are not refundable**
- Winning categories vary every month depending on the submissions we receive. If we think the categories submitted are not to a standard of the The Barcelona International Film Festival win, they will be removed.
- If the project is "Selected" to be included in our festival, it will be sent to the review sessions that are the next stage to know whether or not they will be considered as part of the official selection of the edition. If the project does not advance at this stage, the Judging Status cannot be upgraded to "Nominee" to be part of the Official Announcement.
The Competition reserves the right to refuse entries and the Jury can remove a movie from the competition at any time. Entry fees are non-refundable. The individual or corporation submitting the film/script hereby warrants that it is authorized to commit the film for possible screening (private and/or public) and understands and accepts these requirements, rules and regulations. You agree to indemnify and hold harmless The Barcelona International Film Festival, from and against any and all claims, liabilities, losses, damages, and expenses (including but not limited to attorney’s fees, and costs of the court) which may be incurred by reason of any claim involving copyright, trademark, credits, publicity, screening, and loss or damage of the screening videos entered.
The festival reserves the right to disqualify any submission at any time if there is any question of ownership, copyright infringement, or any sign of disrespect (in any form of media) to the festival or its representatives. When a project is submitted without a poster, trailer, credits or sometimes without any of the aforementioned topics, the judges take points off the final rating.
You cannot cancel your participation in the competition after the announcement of the official selection.
All our official communications must be through email. It is not possible for us to respond to messages through social media platforms, due to the large number of requests we have on them.
Festival dates & times may be subject to delay or change without notice. Please check our FilmFreeway page for deadlines and any other updates.
Regarding credits on IMDb, please note that only IMDb can approve or reject your submission(s). If your nominees/wins are not published, it doesn’t depend on us,
and you should report your problem to the official IMDb support community.
No work or artist will be either discriminated or favored by their country of origin, language, age, race, education, ideology, sexual orientation, or by their economic resources. Every content, every form, every technique will be considered with no censorship of any kind.
It is the Barcelona International Film Festival´s policy not to offer comments and reasons for films not selected, results and/or decisions for the program.

All stated information, eligibility and submission guidelines, terms and conditions of entry, and entry information is subject to change by the film contest, without notice. By submitting your film/script, you acknowledge you have read, understood and accepted all rules, regulations & conditions above.

** This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. Barcelona International Film Festival® 2021 All Rights Reserved **

Overall Rating
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Value
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Networking
  • Thanks for my screenplay THE WAITING ROOM being a nominee in the festival .

    September 2023
  • Thank you very much for the honor we received in winning with my film 'Let's Talk' first place in the competition for the best Jewish film. Bless you!

    July 2023
  • It was an honor to be selected and won in this wonderful festival!
    With love from Hungary!
    Bence Kotány and Martin Durányik.

    June 2023
  • Olivia Sandoval

    It was such a great experience and honor to have a project that made it to BIFF. The staff was very active communicating updates and feedback. I Would truly recommend this festival for all new and independent filmmakers!

    August 2022
  • James McCoy

    I was profoundly honored to receive the award for Best Drama Screenplay in the 2022 Barcelona International Film Festival. It was an incredible experience to have my work reviewed by such a talented group of professionals who are deeply dedicated to the true art of film making. I appreciate every moment you invest in writers, actors, producers and directors. It's been a pleasure, and I look forward to creating beautiful movies together for many years to come. Gracias por todo. ¡Estoy agradecido!

    August 2022