Where To Submit Your Experimental Film?

We have rounded up a selection of the best film festivals in Europe to present your experimental films.

Experimental film, experimental cinema or avant-garde cinema is a mode of artistic filmmaking that rigorously re-evaluates cinematic conventions and explores non-narrative forms and alternatives to traditional narratives or methods of working. If you are into pushing artistic boundaries, we have curated a selection of film festivals that would be ideal for showcasing your experimental works.

While many of the major international film festivals (Berlinale, IFF Rotterdam, RIDM…) exhibit an interest in experimental cinema, we’ve curated a list of festivals that specifically dedicate themselves to this avant-garde form of filmmaking. These festivals provide vital platforms for experimental filmmakers to showcase their visionary works and engage with audiences who appreciate the innovative and boundary-pushing nature of experimental cinema. Here are some of the most prominent festivals around the world that focus on experimental films:

FENDA – Experimental Festival of Film Arts (Brazil)

FENDA is an international encounter dedicated to experimental film arts, in a broad sense, taking place in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. FENDA is interested in experimental and avant-garde audiovisual work in a broad sense. The event seeks to expand the possibilities of film beyond traditional formats and spaces, creating a zone of creative contagions between cinema and the visual arts, historical works and the current production, analogic and digital, filmmaking and critical thinking. 

Lausanne Underground Film & Music Festival (Switzerland)

Over the last twenty years, Lausanne Underground Film & Music Festival (LUFF), which takes place in the Swiss Film Archives and other venues of Lausanne, Switzerland, has been dedicated to showcasing and promoting innovative and subversive films and music that do not benefit from wide distribution. In the course of its glorious history, LUFF has welcomed unmissable artists that broke the conventions of filmmaking.

Torino Underground CineFest (Italy)

The Torino Underground CineFest is an international festival of independent cinema that attracts the interest of over 2,500 filmmakers from around the world each year. Spanning 10 days, it showcases over 100 films, including competition entries, out-of-competition works, and special events, along with numerous meetings with authors and producers. The event captures the attention of film enthusiasts, industry professionals, and the curious from across northern Italy, benefiting from collaborations with various local media partners. The 11th edition is expected from September 26th to October 5th, 2024.

Paris Festival for Different and Experimental Cinema (France)

The Paris Festival for Different and Experimental Cinema is an annual event organized by the Collectif Jeune Cinéma. The films’ selection is a collective process led by a group of CJC filmmakers who, with their expertise, select experimental films from a large number of films submitted every year from all over the world. The festival promotes cinematographies which focus on the creative act and endeavors to guide audiences by producing editorial contents. Since 1999, the festival is increasingly recognized internationally.

FRACTO Experimental Film Encounter (Germany)

Growing in the lively Berlin scene, Fracto aims to offer a novel and unique focal point dedicated to experimental and avant-garde film, gathering a worldwide community interested in art film-based research processes. Fracto is conceived as an encounter for intersubjective exchanges, merging multiple perspectives into an embodied and shared experience where the primordial and the critical actively unfold in the enjoyment of unorthodox interpretation.

International Film Festival Cologne (Germany)

The IFFC (International Film Festival Cologne) is an emerging film festival created to highlight the international talent of emerging and established filmmakers alike. Its flagship experimental short film section is curated by festival director Anselm Diehl and video artist Patrick Alan Banfield.

Stockholm Experiental & Animation Film Festival (Sweden)

Focusing on animated shorts and experimental film, we present highly recognized artists and directors from the international scene as well as new and emerging independent artists and storytellers. The festival has been given attention in both Swedish and international press and has been supported by the cultural department of Stockholm City and by the Art Grant Committee in Sweden.

Bucharest International Experimental Film Festival (Romania)

BIEFF is the first showcase of avant-garde cinema and visual art in Romania.
An annual event dedicated to experimental films and visual arts, BIEFF aims to promote highly innovative films and filmmakers with strong personal views on contemporary reality, which also daringly explore the boundaries of cinematic language. The festival program includes two short film competitions (International Competition and National Competition), special short and feature film programs, exhibitions and installations, as well as panels and debates.

Experimental Forum (USA)

Experimental Forum is an international film and video art festival showcasing experimental film and artists’ moving image from auteur filmmakers and innovative video artists from around the globe. The festival’s mission is to provide a supportive platform for the exciting and challenging work that is outside the scope of mainstream film festivals and art galleries.

Videoex (Switzerland)

Videoex is Switzerland’s largest festival dedicated to experimental film and video. Over the course of ten days, Videoex shows films and videos beyond conventional narrative cinema: experimental, visually surprising, conceptually unexpected or controversially political films and videos on the threshold between visual art and film.

Asolo Art Film Festival (Italy)

Asolo International Festival of Film on Art and Artist’s Biographies is the oldest festival dedicated to the relationships between cinema and figurative arts. It is held annually in Asolo, Italy.

Tranås at the Fringe – International Arts Festival (Sweden)

The festival offers proximity to the performer, mingling, informal meetings and spontaneous conversations for participants, students and audiences, both local and international. It promotes and creates collaboration opportunities, exchanges, network dialogue, skill development, meeting places, opportunities to perform and more! Through the length of the festival, we want to make it possible for participants, both performers and audiences, to get to know each other and create connections that last for a long time.

Stuttgarter Filmwinter – Festival for Expanded Media (Germany)

For over 30 years, the Festival has been devoted to crossing the border between cinema and media art with an adventurous international programme comprising films, workshops, Expanded Media exhibition and performances for people of all ages. The Festival’s core are the international competitions for short film, Media in Space and Network Culture – flanked by a comprehensive programme. Every year, the Filmwinter Stuttgart has a new motto that is reflected in the design, supporting programme and the whole aura of the festival.