Interaction: Short Docs Festival 2025 | Open for Submissions

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Interaction: Short Docs Festival is an international festival dedicated to short creative documentaries that push boundaries in documentary creation, with their uniqueness and cinematic innovation. The festival aims to screen and encourage high-quality documentaries critically rethinking the world.

The next edition of the festival will take place between the 19th and 25th of August 2025 in Požega, Serbia.

Awards and Prizes

The festival hands out several awards to the films from the competition programme.

Best Film Award – This award is given to the best film from the competition programme, and awarded by a three-member international jury. The award will be given to the film’s director(s) and, apart from the statute, includes a cash award sponsored by a festival partner.

Green Doc Award – The international jury will also award the Green Doc Award for the best film that deals with environmental issues and sustainability. The award includes a statue.

Special Mention – The Jury, at its discretion, also has the option of handing out Special Mention to only one film.

Youth Jury Award – A youth jury, consisting of Interaction: Teen Doc Workshop participants, will decide on the winner of this award. The award will be given to the film’s director, and it includes a cash award.

Audience Award – The audience rates all the films from the competition programme and the highest-rated one will receive the Audience Award.

We are accepting applications only for the competition programme. The Artistic Director of the festival, supported by programme advisors, will make the final decision on which films will be selected for the 2025 competition programme.

SUBMISSIONS

Before submitting a film, please read the Rules and Regulations.

Eligibility Criteria:

  • Submissions are open to short creative documentaries, up to 40 minutes in duration, completed after 1 January 2024
  • The festival does not require premiere status, but advantage will be given to the films that haven’t had a Serbian premiere
  • Films that have been submitted for consideration in previous years are not eligible, even if the film has changed significantly since its previous submission.
  • Only fully completed films will be considered
  • Films promoting racism, any form of intolerance, or pornography, shall not be taken into consideration.

Submission Deadlines and Fees
The deadline for submitting to the festival is 1 May 2025
Submission Fee: €12

How to Submit
Films can be submitted exclusively through FilmFreeway. Submissions or links sent to the festival via email will not be accepted.

Selection Screener
To complete the submission, the festival requires a selection screener of the film.

The selection screener should be:

– Uploaded to a secured streaming platform (Vimeo or similar)

– Private and downloadable

– Available at least until the end of July 2025, but preferably until the beginning of the festival

The URL and password should be submitted through the online entry form. All selection screeners should be in the original language with English subtitles.

More information available here