Call for Entries Stu­dents’ Platform

 

Since 1985, the forum has been ded­i­cat­ed to screen­ing films that sen­si­tive­ly por­tray cur­rent, his­tor­i­cal, socio-polit­i­cal, and cul­tur­al phe­nom­e­na. Estab­lished in 2015, the Stu­dents’ Plat­form emerged as a par­al­lel pro­gram that opens up space for the lived real­i­ties and expe­ri­ences of young and emerg­ing film­mak­ers that are devel­op­ing exper­i­men­tal, and socio-polit­i­cal­ly engaged cinema practices.

The Stu­dents’ Plat­form invites works from stu­dent and debut film­mak­ers, media artists, and visual anthro­pol­o­gists from across the world, with the aim of fore­ground­ing the diver­si­ty, cre­ativ­i­ty, and crit­i­cal engage­ment of the next gen­er­a­tion of film­mak­ers. Rather than func­tion­ing as a com­pe­ti­tion, the Stu­dents’ Plat­form exists as a forum for dia­logue, reflec­tion, and exchange. Screen­ings are accom­pa­nied by in-depth dis­cus­sions where film­mak­ers engage with audi­ences, prac­ti­tion­ers, researchers, and fellow artists.

For the CALL FOR ENTRIES, we are look­ing for films that dare to exper­i­ment with new ways of sto­ry­telling and are com­mit­ted to por­tray­ing the com­plex­i­ty of our world and its diverse real­i­ties. We wel­come col­lab­o­ra­tive and par­tic­i­pa­tive meth­ods and exper­i­men­tal approach­es that seek to por­tray social real­i­ties. There are no restric­tions in terms of length or form. What mat­ters is the film’s attempt to listen and observe close­ly, the film­mak­er’s sen­si­tive engage­ment with its pro­tag­o­nists as well as a syn­er­gy between con­tent and form.

Spe­cial Focus: LINES OF PLAY

In a world increas­ing­ly shaped by spec­ta­cle, algo­rith­mic per­for­mance, and man­u­fac­tured cer­tain­ties, this year’s spe­cial focus turns toward play as a crit­i­cal and cre­ative force. Refus­ing the binary between seri­ous­ness and friv­o­li­ty, the pro­gram calls for films that engage humour, irony, exper­i­men­ta­tion, impro­vi­sa­tion, and sub­ver­sive imag­i­na­tion as ways of respond­ing to con­tem­po­rary real­i­ties. Rather than treat­ing play as an escape from pol­i­tics, these works approach it as a method of inquiry, rela­tion, and inter­ven­tion. Through absur­di­ty, mis­chief, spec­u­la­tion, and col­lec­tive inven­tion, they explore how cinema can chal­lenge dom­i­nant nar­ra­tives, open unex­pect­ed con­nec­tions, and imag­ine other ways of being together.

 

Submit your film via Film­Free­way.

 

Sub­mis­sion Rules

• Sub­mis­sion Plat­form: All film sub­mis­sions must be made through Film­Free­way. 

• Eli­gi­bil­i­ty: Only works produced/released after Octo­ber 15, 2024, are eli­gi­ble. 

• Film Types: We wel­come films of all dura­tion (short to fea­ture-length) and forms, with a focus on anthro­po­log­i­cal­ly-informed approach­es, method­olo­gies, and prac­tices. These may include non­fic­tion, fic­tion, exper­i­men­tal, ani­ma­tion, hybrid, and essay films. Adver­tise­ments, pro­mo­tion­al con­tent, and PSAs will not be con­sid­ered. 

• Cat­e­go­ry Spec­i­fi­ca­tion: All fea­ture-length films (60-minute and above) will only be con­sid­ered in the Debut cat­e­go­ry. 

• Lan­guage & Sub­ti­tles: Films can be in any lan­guage and must have Eng­lish sub­ti­tles. 

• Mul­ti­modal Works: We also wel­come instal­la­tions, expand­ed cinema, AR/VR/360 works, per­for­mances, and other moving-image prac­tices beyond a single-screen format. 

• Fee Waivers: If you are a stu­dent, a film­mak­er from the Global Majority/Global South com­mu­ni­ty, and/or some­one facing finan­cial lim­i­ta­tions, please email us with a syn­op­sis and trailer/screener link of your film. We will review your request and share a fee waiver code where pos­si­ble. 

• Dis­claimers: 

• • We do not tol­er­ate sexist, homo­pho­bic, trans­pho­bic, racist, islam­o­pho­bic, anti­se­mit­ic, ableist, or oth­er­wise hate­ful and dehu­man­is­ing nar­ra­tives. 

• • Film­mak­ers are respon­si­ble for secur­ing all nec­es­sary rights for music, archival mate­r­i­al, images, and any other copy­right mate­r­i­al used in their films. Select­ed film­mak­ers may be asked to pro­vide a dec­la­ra­tion regard­ing rights and per­mis­sions. 

• • The fes­ti­val reserves the right to screen select­ed films during the fes­ti­val and asso­ci­at­ed events. 

• • We do not pay any screen­ing fees to the film­mak­ers. 

We look for­ward to wel­com­ing film­mak­ers, artists, researchers, and audi­ences to Freiburg and our part­ner venues, and to col­lec­tive­ly engag­ing with the urgent, frag­ile, and trans­for­ma­tive pos­si­bil­i­ties of cinema today. 

 

 

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