The International İstanbul Film Festival was first presented as a film week in the summer of 1982, within the framework of the International İstanbul Festival. Beginning in 1984, the event became a separate activity and was shifted to April. In 1985, two competitive sections, one national and the other international, were included in the Festival program. Accredited by FIAPF since 1989, the Festival, features a thematically specialized international competition, provides a showcase for recent Turkish film productions, and thus represents a rewarding medium where Turkish and foreign filmmakers get together. The Festival draws a special interest to world classics, presenting retrospective sections within its programs particularly attended by young audiences. The Festival, whose aim is “to encourage the development of cinema in Turkey, to help Turkish cinema attain international recognition and to promote films of quality in the Turkish market”, has also introduced international institutions and organizations like EURIMAGES and EFDO to the Turkish market.

The festival was established in 1988 and it is the third largest of its kind in the world. Films selected into the competition fall into one of the following sections: Alpine Documentation, Climbing on Rock and Ice, Adventure, Nature and Environment, and Alpine and Foreign Cultures.

Panorama explores the boundaries of picture and sound. Different styles and trends from all over the world form a live workshop on the art of motion picture. Every year the festival hosts filmmakers from more than 50 countries, and presents more than 200 films and videos. The festival sets out to promote creative and independent filmmaking, and to explore new trends and experimentation. The festival accepts documentary (max. 60 minutes), short (max. 25 minutes), feature films (max. 90 minutes). There is no limit on running time for videos, animated and experimental films.

Cinema – Festa Internazionale di Roma aims to explore the vast potential of cinema as a means of cultural expression, and promote experimentation and modernization in the field of film techniques. Alongside the premieres of mainstream productions slated for the public at large, the festival present works that might otherwise be penalized by the distribution system. The Festival program is divided into five main sections and two sidebars: 1 Competition - innovative films made by filmmakers all over the world, world or international premieres; 2 Premiere - celebrates the great tradition of cinema as entertainment but with the highest quality and style; 3 Il lavoro dell’attore (The Actor’s Craft) - pays homage to a great living actor and an acting technique, screenings, exhibitions, debates and workshops; 4 Extra - showcases an international spectrum of the latest trends in documentaries and new forms of expression in the audiovisual field; 5 Alice nella citta; (Alice in the City)

The main goal of the festival is to present films of various genres that are related to science - films that tell us about scientific work and achievements, or films in which science plays an important part in their plot, language or manner of interpretation. • Scientific and educational films which approach and discuss scientific problems and topics related to it in a novel and creative manner. • Documentaries on scientific discoveries and film portraits of scientists. • Short films and features in which science and scientific activity play an integral part. • Experimental films which strive to renew the formal language of moving pictures making use of recent achievements in science and technology. • Films about the relationship between science and pseudo-science. • Faux documentaries, mockumentaries, which present and discuss fictitious scientific discoveries as existing ones. • Films on nature protection and environmental issues.

The aim of the festival is to promote and propagate the production of short films and to develop a spirit of friendship and cooperation among filmmakers. ISFFC has as its main objective the promotion of cinematographic art by presenting a diverse showcase of short films from around the globe. It also aspires to present the work of talented filmmakers who successfully use creative cinematic language forms and effectively tell a story in a short film. It is an annual event. Fiction, documentaries, experimental and animation short films not exceeding 25 minutes in length are eligible for participation in the festival?s competition. Cypriot films compete for both the international awards and the national awards of the Cyprus Ministry of Education and Culture. Cypriot Directors who live and work in Cyprus or abroad are entitled to submit their work. Foreign films running the international contest for 2011 are selected and invited by the Artistic Committee, comprised by directors Alexia Roider and Ioakim Mylonas. The right to participate is reserved for films that were not shown in any other festival in Cyprus.

The Hamburg International Short Film Festival has its roots in the independent filmmaking scene. The Festival first took place in 1985 under the title NoBudget, a name which clearly defined the Festival’s mission. In 1994 it received its current name. Since it was founded, it has always been the Festival’s aim to rise to the challenge presented by new developments and changing parameters in technology, society, and aesthetics.

The International Student Film Festival, Tel-Aviv, is one of the largest festivals in the world for student films, and is considered one of the most important in this field. Every two years, in the month of June, hundreds of students, lecturers and well-known guests of honour from the first line of the world cinema industry, gather in Tel-Aviv for a week of rich and intensive fresh young cinema, and for a unique cultural gathering. Hundreds of films, premiere screenings, fascinating cinematic events, workshops, conferences and special projects take place alongside each other, inviting thousands of visitors to the cinematheque theatres daily. The International Student Film Festival is run and produced since 1986 by film students from the Tel-Aviv University, and has gathered in its 20 years of existence much prestige and reputation.

The International Women’s Film Festival presents the latest in short and long films of all genres made by women directors. The festival is the result of a merger between the two film festivals of femme totale (Dortmund) and Feminale (Cologne). With a total of around 100 films and a number of international film competitions, the new festival presents a broad-based programme of both current and historical films made by women.The festival awards the debut prize Horizonte, presents special programs on specific themes and provides a platform for discussing current topics. The festival is divided into the following sections: 1 Horizons - International competition for first long fiction films by women directors; the best debut will be awarded the prize of 10,000 euros. The Audience Award is also presented in this section; 2 Panorama - Current international films and videos made by women directors. Long and short films, documentaries, animation and experimental films; 3 Queer Looks - International films on GLBT issues, 4 Focus, 5 Special thematic programmes.

The Stuttgart Festival of Animated Film (ITFS) was founded in 1982 and is one of the world’s largest and most important festivals for animated film. Cash prizes worth more than 70,000 Euros are presented in nine competition categories. The ITFS works closely with the FMX, Europe’s largest conference for animation, effects, games and digital media (18th Conference on Animation, Effects, Games and Transmedia), and organises the Animation Production Day business platform in co-operation with the FMX and Michael Schmetz Media Consult.

Since 1990 Invideo has established itself as an international benchmark for the full range of audiovisual production connected to electronic art and new technologies. From the outset, the aim has been to create in Milan a permanent archive of non-fiction art from around the world - video art, research and experimental film and video, documentaries, music, theatre and dance video, portraits of artists, etc. Every year the organizers select outstanding Italian and international works that are acquired for the archive and presented to audiences. As part of the annual event, alongside the rich and varied programme of screenings, there are meetings with videomakers, introductory presentations to premieres, debates, retrospectives, performances and video installations.

The Ismailia International Film Festival for documentary and short films takes place every year in Ismailia (Egypt) to promote an intercultural dialogue for a deeper understanding of others by presenting their creative works to the audience, and to support filmmakers of documentary and short films.

The leading event for documentary films in Latin America, the It's All True International Documentary Film The festival is also an international meeting place for the exchange of cultural, political and financial experiences.

The festival was created in 1983 and presents advance screenings, previously unreleased features, thematic retrospectives, a competition of short films, tributes and cineconcerts. The festival also organizes special events aimed at young audiences, and wants its program to include both fiction and documentary films, and to reflect both cinematic heritage and new discoveries. Every year the festival screens c. 170 films to an audience of 35 000.

The festival screens comedy and humourous short films from Spain and other countries, the length of submitted films must not exceed 30 minutes. The winner of the Ja Ja Festival Award for Best Short Film will receive Euro 10,000. The festival also awards winners in the following categories: Special Press Award: Euro 3,000; the Miguel Angel Lamata Award for new director: Euro 3,000; Other Format Award: Euro 3,000; Special Audience Award: Euro 500; Best Actress Award: Euro 500; Best Actor Award: Euro 500.

The Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival, held in the fall of each odd-numbered year, is an unparalleled industry gathering focused on film competition, cutting-edge equipment presentations and an exceptional slate of seminars, panel discussions, and screenings. The Festival is attended by 6-700 hundred television and film professionals from more than 30 countries. Set against one of the most scenic natural settings in North America – the Grand Teton mountain range and surrounding Jackson Hole valley – the Festival and its majestic backdrop are both inspirational and enlightening.

JIFF intends to organize a festival that connects the common man with the film world, especially the small film makers and their associates so as to bring about greater understanding of the art of film making. Three prizes will be awarded, namely : 1. Best Critic Film 2. Best Documentary Film 3. Best Short Film. Our aim and objective is to host and promote the festival as a people’s event; striving to attain a stature and niche of its own on the world platform in future.

The Festival is a competition of films on Jewish themes in the following categories: feature, documentary, experimental, animation, short. The Festival prizes are: the statues of the Warsaw Phoenix – a symbol of revival, money prizes (in 2008, the first prize was $10 000.

Jihlava IDFF is the largest festival of creative documentary films in Central and Eastern Europe. It draws attention to socially relevant documentaries, which lack neither an innovative style and image, nor a depth of reflection and confrontation. In its three competitions, the Festival awards remarkable Czech as well as international documentary films, offers screenings dedicated to experimental film and organizes a host of industry events for film professionals. The central symbol of the Jihlava Festival is a funnel, that becomes a metaphor for perception and for bringing alive one's thinking which is how the organisers intend the festival to work. This attitude is reflected in the festival's central motto: Thinking through Film! Through selected works of cinema, the festival tries to capture the diverse contemporary openness of thinking and the variety of creative approaches - from strictly traditional to maverick experiments.

The festival programme includes some 30 feature and short films (max. 30 minutes), also open-air screenings, silent films with live music, interesting seminars and special guests. Winners of the short film competition will receive the Guldfisken statuette, 1 week's hire of complete camera equipment (16mm) and 7000 SEK (Swedish productions only).

The Jewish Film Festival is an annual event that presents roughly 60 feature, documentary and short films by Jewish filmmakers or films related to Jewish issues + retrospective, focus.

Founded in 1995 on the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II, the Berlin/Potsdam Jewish Film Festival is one of the oldest of its kind in Europe. This unique cultural event in Germany, aimed at film lovers of any background, is a showcase for new cinema that explores Jewish life in Germany and around the world. The Festival's strength is its offering of perspectives rarely seen in the daily stream of headlines and broadcast news. The film screenings provide a lively forum for dialogue and debate about a wide range of issues, drawing larger audiences every year.

KALIBER35 Munich International Short Film Festival is run by the Munich Film Society (Muenchner Filmwerkstatt e.V.). It showcases the world's best contemporary short films.

The Kansas International Film Festival (KIFF) was founded in 2001 as a Kansas based non-profit organization dedicated to the exhibition and preservation of independent and classic cinema. KIFF attracts local, regional, and national work, with the intention of increasing public awareness of independent and classic cinema as a cultural, economic, and educational asset.

The Karlovy Vary IFF is intended for lay as well as professional public and it offers visitors a carefully composed program, high-quality background, and a wide array of services. The closest attention is paid to the Official Selection - Competition (non-specialized) as well as to the East of the West competition (1st and 2nd films from Central and Eastern Europe), featuring films in World or International premieres. Next to Documentary Films in Competition (up to 30 minutes and over 30 minutes) and Forum of Independents - Competition KVIFF presents highlights of the current season in the informative programs Horizons and Another View.