Submissions are now open for the 17th edition of the Balkans Beyond Borders Short Film Festival, inviting filmmakers from the Balkans and beyond to submit their short film inspired by this year’s theme ‘’Shift your gaze to the unseen’’until May 31.

By taking part with your short film at Balkans Beyond Borders Short Film Festival you become part of a festival that through its content it shows the diversity and nuanced identity of the Balkan region and it gives space to hidden stories and pressing societal issues to be heard and shown; You get connected with a network of filmmakers and cultural professionals across the Balkans and beyond; Your work is presented in an international context with engaged audiences through network screenings around Europe; You get the opportunity to be awarded for the BBB Best Film Award (monetary prize), BBB First Entry Award (in kind) & BBB Audience Award (monetary), three Special Mentions. For the second consecutive year, Balkans Beyond Borders continues to explore the creative possibilities of Artificial Intelligence in filmmaking giving the BBB Creative AI Award (in kind). The 17th edition introduces the BBB Gen Alpha Award (in kind) inviting filmmakers to bring the magic of cinematic storytelling to the Gen A. All short film submissions will be reviewed by our pre-selection committee consisting of emerging professionals from the film industry.

This year’s edition intends to explore the architecture of the gaze, sides that often go unnoticed remaining outside the frame. Our memories, experiences, and social environments influence what and how we see, while dominant narratives and structures of power determine which realities become visible and which are pushed to the margins.

The festival invites filmmakers to turn their attention toward the unseen. Sometimes the most important stories are not hidden; they simply lie beyond the frames through which we have learned to look. Therefore, we welcome films that question the limits of visibility and challenge dominant ways of seeing, by revealing what has been ignored, silenced, or forgotten.

Balkans Beyond Borders Short Film Festival is an annual thematic short-film festival that takes place in a different European city every year with a special focus in South-Eastern Europe, thus maximizing its regional impact on promoting the Balkan culture and European values. It engages new audiences and promotes inter-Balkan cooperation creating a hub for productive networking among the region’s community of filmmakers, art professionals, stakeholders, cultural organizations and partners. The hosting city for the 17th edition will be Athens, Greece offering a space of discovery of who we are in the Balkans for all generations and lived experiences, a networking hub for balkan festivals and a multithematic event.

Submission guidelines:
- Filmmakers are invited to submit short films of up to 30 minutes, produced after 2024.
- The festival accepts fiction, documentary, animation, and experimental films that creatively engage with the theme.
- Filmmakers must be up to 35 years old, or older than 35 under the condition that their submitted film is their debut.
- Submissions are open to filmmakers originating from the Balkans, and/or films produced from the Balkan region.

202 Destination: Greece, Greece

Since 2010 the Festival has taken place in Belgrade, Tirana, Athens, Bucharest, Sarajevo, Thessaloniki, Sofia, Brussels, Novi Sad and again Athens), Izmir, Pristina, Bitola, Niksic, Spetses and Istanbul featuring over 450 Balkan and over 210 non-Balkan short films.

In every Festival we invite participating directors, guest speakers, BBB Ambassadors and local partners in order to create a hub for productive networking and cooperation among the region’s stakeholders. It is all about a growing community of artists, researchers, journalists, and partners.

Awards & Prizes

Best Film Prize (800€)
Audience Prize (monetary)
First Entry Prize (in knd)
Creative AI Prize (in kind)
BBB Gen Alpha Award (in kind)

Rules & Terms

Terms of Participation
1. Period for admission of films: 30th of March to 30th of May 2026
2. The theme: Shift your gaze to the unseen (Check our website for more information on the theme).
3. Age: Eligible to participate with their film are filmmakers under 35 years of age, or over 35 under the condition that their submitted film is their debut.
4. Origin: The origin of the filmmakers should be from a Balkan country or/and their film should be a Balkan production or co-production.
5. Films’ duration: Maximum 30 minutes.
6. Film genres: fiction, documentary, animation, experimental, video art.
7. Filmmakers should apply through the FilmFreeway platform.
8. The files of the films should be in one of these formats: AVI, MP4 or MOV and high quality (frame size 1080*1920).
9. Production must be of the last 3 years.
10. The film should be uploaded in its original format without English subtitles embedded but with an SRT file with the english subtitles attached.
11. In case the filmmaker has the subtitles captioned for d/Deaf and hard of hearing people, they must attach the file in their application.
12. Regardless of the number of submitted films only one film per filmmaker will take part in the competition programme
13. Optional: Participants can send all relevant information about the film as well as photos of their film for promotional reasons for the festival.

Film Festival Terms
1. Balkans Beyond Borders (BBB) is a non-profit organisation based in Athens with the purpose to promote intercultural dialogue and an innovative way of learning through the Art of Filmmaking and Image. To this extent, BBB organises a film festival every year, with a different theme which travels to a different Balkan city.
2. Τhe 17th Edition of Balkans Beyond Borders Short Film Festival will take place in Athens, Greece in November 2026. The exact date will be announced in due time.
3. The main title of the festival is: Balkans Beyond Borders Short Film Festival.
4. The number of films that will be projected during the festival in Athens depends on the number of participants and the final decision of the organising team.
5. The final films will be selected by the International Jury of the Film Festival until the end of August 2026.
6. The jury consists of 3 well-known film experts from three Balkan countries.
7. The selection of the projected films, the order of projection and the programme are decided by the organisers, based on the technical specifications, the duration and the grouping of the films.
8. The finalists will be informed in August-September about the acceptance of their film in the competition section.
9. BBB Film Festival organising team reserves the right to screen part of the final films whenever it is needed, for reasons of promotion of the Festival and under no circumstances for commercial causes.
10. The finalists must inform the organisers whether they are going to attend the festival in Athens, so that the organising team can coordinate their travel and accommodation.
11. There will be a prize from the Jury and a prize from the audience attending the Festival. The organisers will decide about the possibility of giving special prizes regarding the amount and the characteristics of the finalist films.
12. The award ceremony will take place in Athens, in a special ceremony right after the end of the Balkans Beyond Borders Short Film Festival.
13. BBB Best Film Award (monetary prize), BBB First Entry Award (in kind) & BBB Audience Award (monetary), three Special Mentions. For the second consecutive year, Balkans Beyond Borders continues to explore the creative possibilities of Artificial Intelligence in filmmaking giving the BBB Creative AI Award (in kind). The 17th edition introduces the BBB Gen Alpha Award (in kind) inviting filmmakers to bring the magic of cinematic storytelling to the Gen A (4-15 y.o.) The Festival also gives three Special Mentions.
14. Participants agree to give interviews to the communication sponsors and to be photographed if asked.
15. Parts of the Festival will be filmed for the BBB archive and for its promotion to the public. Members of the audience and participants that may appear in these parts cannot claim anything from the organising company.
16. During the Balkans Beyond Borders Short Film Festival parallel events will take place.
17. BBB Film Festival organising team reserves the right to cancel the Festival if it is necessary.
18. The application of the film through filmfreeway entails the complete and unconditional acceptance of the above terms of participation.
19. The Festival will take into consideration the protection of the films’ copyrights.
20. The festival has the right to cancel the participation of a successful submission if it will not have received the film file one month before the festival organisation.
13 Reviews
Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Paula Benu

    A great festival that has a very special place in my heart ❤️✨️ Very well curated programme and the best hospitality ever. Me and my actress had an absolutely amazing time in Istanbul and we're very grateful for the people we met at Balkans Beyond. Sending love from Romania 🫶

    December 2025
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  • Begüm Aksoy

    A respected and long-running festival that brings together different nations in an atmosphere of mutual respect, open communication, and humility. We are thrilled it's taking place in Istanbul this year and deeply appreciate being invited. Thank you for this exceptional experience.

    November 2025
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  • Naz Çaybaşı

    Thank you so much for this amazing experience!

    April 2024
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  • Mihai Dragolea

    The Balkans are rising! Great event, very good media campaign and hospitable team. f you want your film to be shown, BBBSFF is the way to go

    October 2023
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  • Merve Bozcu

    We had such a great time in Kosova this year. Such a great festival, such a great people! Thank you for everything. After the pandemic, it was kind of a luxury to attend a festival physically but Balkans Beyond Borders made it possible. And this year's theme is connecting, you're sure we connected :) Thank you again!

    November 2021
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