12th International Special Film Festival – SPEFI 12
An international film festival dedicated to films about or made by people with disabilities.
We accept only films about people with disabilities, or films created by filmmakers with disabilities.
For 2026, we especially welcome films focusing on people with intellectual disabilities.
Important:
We cannot accept films that do not relate to disability.
A person with a disability may take part in the filmmaking process as an experiential expert.

Who can apply?
• Filmmakers with disabilities
• People with intellectual disabilities, autistic creators, and people with Down syndrome
• Social care and special education professionals
• Independent filmmakers
• Television professionals
• Students
• Anyone whose film is connected to the topic of disability

Eligible film categories
• Fiction – short or feature
• Documentaries or portrait films
• Animated films
• Methodological or PR films
The only thematic requirement:
Your film must relate to the world of people with disabilities in some meaningful way.

Submission Deadline:
1 July 2026

Festival Venue:
Eötvös10 Cultural Centre
Budapest, District VI, Eötvös u. 10.
Festival Date:
13–16 November 2026

Awards & Prizes

- Golden Wing Award (Prize money)
- Best Documentary Film (Prize money)
- Best Portrait Film (Prize money)
- Best Feature Film (Prize money)
- Best Short Film (Prize money)
- Best Animated Film (Prize money)
- Best Hungarian Film (Prize money)
- Special Jury Award (Prize money)
- Special Prizes (Prize money)

Rules & Terms

Attention! If you are unable to use the PayPal payment option to enter, please contact us at info(at) msmke.net

- We only accept films by people with disabilities or films about people with disabilities by independent filmmakers, professional filmmakers.
Attention! We cannot accept films that are not about people with disabilities or that are not made by people with disabilities. (The person with a disability may also be involved in the making of the film as an experiential expert.)
Disability filmmakers, people with intellectual disabilities, people with autism, people with Down's syndrome, social care and special education workers, independent filmmakers, television professionals, students and anyone whose film touches on disability.
- Submissions must be subtitled in English (srt) - Films made after 1 January 2022 in any genre are eligible for the Film Festival.
- Films with a running time of 120 minutes or less are eligible, but priority will be given to films under 30 minutes.
- Submitted films will be selected by the jury for the competition programme. Pre-selection will be based on stricter criteria for films longer than 30 minutes.
- The shortlisted films will be pre-selected by a jury for the competition programme, the results of which will be announced on 15 September 2026.
- By submitting an entry, filmmakers agree to make their film available to the festival if it is selected for the competition programme, i.e. to send a screenable copy of their film electronically to the organisers, who will be able to screen it once at the festival venue during the festival.
- The films selected for the competition will be screened at the Festival venue during the Festival and published online between November 2026. Online streaming will be available on a digitally protected platform during these days.
- The Film Festival will not use or disclose the films entered in their entirety for other events or platforms.
- The Film Festival may use short extracts from the films for the promotion of the event and for professional purposes.
- The films will be shown in their entirety at professional events and screenings only with the prior consent of the filmmaker.
- Submitted films will be kept in the Film Festival archives.
- Prizes may include a cash award. In all cases, we will require a tax certificate issued by the country of origin certifying that the winner is a genuine tax-paying individual.
- The entry fee for the films is $15, $10 for FilmFreeway Gold members.
12 Reviews
Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Evrim İnci

    I've been trying to reach the festival for weeks. My emails go unanswered. The awards have been announced, but I can't find them anywhere. We would have loved to attend, but no one invited us. I think we deserved to be there with my disabled character. I hope directors are treated better in future years.

    November 2025
    Helpful
    Response from festival:

    We provided you with a free waiver for submitting your film, and later asked you to send us the subtitle files. It’s true that sometimes we can only reply slowly due to organizational workload, but regarding your question about whether we could cover your travel and accommodation costs for attending the festival, unfortunately we were not able to provide financial support. This was mainly for budgetary reasons, and also because at that time we ourselves did not yet know who the award-winners would be.

    We published the results on our website and social media channels, and—especially for participants living in distant countries—we also made the awards ceremony accessible online in English and Hungarian, as well as with sign language interpretation, so that everyone could follow it live and learn the results.

    We sincerely regret that what we were able to offer was so little for you, and we are grateful that you still did not leave us a one-star review.

    We wish you continued success and many wonderful films in the future!
    As the organizers of the festival, we truly loved your film, and we were cheering for you!

  • Karly Bergmann

    We were honored that our film "Boy Band in a Haunted Hotel" won Best Short Film at the 11th annual SPEFI International Special Film Festival. The festivals was communicative and professional. We were very grateful that they live streamed the awards ceremony in Hungarian and English so we could watch from the US.

    November 2025
    Helpful
  • Sarah Howe

    A very sympathetic festival. Very good communication et hospitality

    December 2024
    Helpful
  • Christine Jezior

    The festival was simply fantastic. The organizers communicated clearly and kindly, making the experience particularly enjoyable. The selection of films was impressive; each work was profound and thematically strong.

    I am thrilled by how the festival highlights important topics while also being entertaining. Big kudos to the organizers for this successful event. I am looking forward to the next editions with great anticipation.

    November 2023
    Helpful
  • Katie Mayhew

    It was an absolute pleasure to be part of such an important and powerful film festival. Very proud for our film 15 Years to have been awarded the Golden Winged Grand Prize. The festival was very well organised and the communication was brilliant. Thank you :)

    November 2023
    Helpful