Rules & Regulations

Festival accepts applications in all running times, topics, style and production technologies and in the following categories: Fiction/Live Action, Animation, Documentary, Experimental and Video Art.
The director/producer with the submission of his/her application accepts the terms of the Festival and has no objection to the submission process, screening, and election of prizes. The director/producer with the submission of the film affirms that he/she has all the copyrights of audio, video, images and music of the film and he/she remains responsible before the law.

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS | CONDITIONS

Entry fee must be paid online by PayPal (email account: info@tiranafilmfest.org) or if submitted through other available platforms online.
Entry fees are non-refundable. There are no entry fees for films in the Albanian language.
Films in competition must have been completed after January 2024. Feature films may not be shorter than seventy (70) minutes in length. Short films may not exceed thirty (30) minutes in length.
Competition in Short Documentary must not exceed sixty (60′) minutes in length. Documentary films that exceed sixty (60′ in length) must apply to the Documentary Feature Films category.
All films in competition must be Albanian premiere. All films must be submitted with English subtitles and/or a timecoded srt file attached. All requirements specified in the checklist should be uploaded immediately after the completion of the submission.
Submissions made via platforms are 100% online and do not require any other documents to be sent by email.
All entries must be submitted via a downloadable secure link on Vimeo or YouTube HD file compliant with the technical requirements. Entries must be submitted by May 21, 2025.

Recipients of the Tirana International Film Festival Best Short Film will be eligible for consideration in the Animated Short Film/ Live Action Short Film category of the Academy Awards® without the standard theatrical run, provided the film otherwise complies with the Academy Rules. (Please check the rules at: http://www.oscars.org/oscars/rules-eligibility) Eligible students can submit one film to the Student Academy Awards if that film meets all other eligibility criteria and has been selected for screening in competition at three film festivals recognized by the SAAs over the last two years. (For more information, please visit the following link: https://www.oscars.org/saa/apply)

 

CHECKLIST

Required items for submitted films:

• DCP, trailer and all the materials requested in the following checklist must be uploaded by the submitter at our ftp account immediately after the selection is confirmed by email.
• A secure link downloadable. Are acceptable for application only preview private links, not wetransfer or other cloud-based computer file transfer service.
• Dialogue list/Srt timecoded file in English and/or voiceover’s text for all films, including films in English.
• Still frames (print quality).
• Poster, banner and cover.
• Separate electronic press kit (EPK) with a passport-sized photo of the film’s director(s), synopsis, list of credits, biography and/or filmography, festival and awards. Additional material is welcome.
• A trailer link downloadable.

 

SELECTION

Please note that the online screening link (with English subtitles) of the film can be downloaded for the use by TIFF team and the password remains valid until the end of TIFF. Applicants must apply clearly for each of the new services. By submitting a film, the applicant accepts that the film can be selected for any of the competitions and/or for another program section.
TIFF reserves the right to invite films outside the specified deadlines.
If a film is selected, the festival will notify the applicant and/or director, producer, distributor of the film no later than August 21, 2025.
Once the film has been selected, the applicant may use the TIFF logo and the relevant TIFF laurel for publicity purposes. The file will be sent in digital form.
Due to the volume of entries received, TIFF cannot offer individual feedback of declined films. Once the participation of a film selected for one of the competitions has been confirmed by the Director or the Producer, no cancellation is allowed. Should this occur, a lump sum of 1.000,00 Euros will be paid to the Tirana Film Festival as compensation for damage.

SCREENING

All films in the main competition must be available for festival screening in DCP. All films submitted optionally for the Parallel Screenings must include a signed and properly filled in entry form, whether it is submitted by postal mail or through online platforms. Each selected film will be screened not more than three times during TIFF. There is no screening fee for films in competition.

PROMOTION | PUBLICITY

By filling the submission form, the applicant authorizes TIFF to use and publish press packages, posters, other specified materials and information in the TIFF catalogue, programs, flyers, promotional materials and in press for promotional purposes. For the purposes of publicity all film entries agree that up to three minutes of the selected film may be used by TIFF for promotional activities. Up to three minutes of the competing film may be shown on the TIFF website, official social networks and in media TV partners.

 

ACCOMMODATION

TIFF offers 3 days/nights of full board accommodation to the director or producer representing the selected film in competition during the festival. Other guests will be provided with facilities for accommodation and tariffs. Guests of the festival are not covered by the festival’s insurance. Anyone who wants to attend the festival must fill out an online accreditation form via the festival’s website.

INSURANCE
All DCP films will be insured for the period that they are in the festival’s possession. In the case of loss or damage during this period, the festival is only responsible for the replacement value of the disc. Only films in perfect condition for projection will be accepted. The submitting party or the film-maker has insured the exhibition copy for damage and loss, and TIFF is not liable for any damage or loss during shipping, preview or screening.

NOTIFICATION | SHIPPING 

All filmmakers of official selected films will be notified via e-mail and on the TIFF website approximately four weeks before the festival. Shipping instructions for films selected for competition will be included upon notification. The festival will pay for one-way shipping of DCPs screening copy of films by forwarding them to their next destination approximately four weeks after the conclusion of the festival. All films/hard discs chosen to compete in the festival must arrive in Tirana, Albania by September 1, 2025.

Label the outside of the package: FOR FESTIVAL ONLY – NO COMMERCIAL VALUE

Do NOT courier film discs to Albania via EMS or other similar couriers, as you may be liable for duties which the festival will not pay. If this is done by the filmmakers, TIFF will return the discs at the cost to the filmmakers. All customs duties and taxes incurred when sending packages with express couriers must be paid by the sender. TIFF will refuse any packages that arrive cash-on-delivery.

 

POSTAL ADDRESS:
TIRANA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

Address: Komuna e Parisit, Nd. 6; H. 11; Ap. 1; Njësia Administrative Nr. 5; 1019; Tirana- ALBANIA

Phone: +355 692088771
info@tiranafilmfest.org
www.tiranafilmfest.org

I want to compete in the following sections:
Ɵ Fiction Ɵ Documentary Ɵ Animation Ɵ Video Art & Experimental
Ɵ In Albanian Ɵ Student Ɵ Balkan Film Ɵ Non-Competition

I want to participate in the following services:
Ɵ TIFF.TV Competition (one year of rights) Ɵ TIFF on Tour (five years of rights)
Ɵ TIFF Online Library (five years of rights) Ɵ TIFF Market Corner (two years of rights)

ENTRY DEADLINE: May 21, 2025