The festival

Call for Short Films 2026

Registration must be made on www.filmfreeway.com.

We will be accepting fiction and animated short and feature films of any subject.

We do not accept documentaries, videoclip or video art.

Each director is allowed to participate with a maximum of two works, realized starting from 30/06/2024.

Short films must have a maximum running time of 20 mins, including credits.

Works already enrolled in other festivals are also accepted.

Films of any origin or language are allowed.

ATTENTION: For all non-Italian films, also in English, Italian and/or English subtitles are required, plus the dialogue list in Italian and/or English.

The organization reserves the right to admit to the contest films notwithstanding the current regulations.

By enrolling to the contest, every author and distributor agrees to these rules and declares himself/herself responsible for the content of his/her work.

In case of failure to comply with these conditions the candidate will be excluded from the event.

All entries that comply with the current regulation will be screened by the Selection Commitee, which, at its sole discretion, will select participants of the contest to be presented to the award-assigning Jury.

Submitted material will not be returned, and will be archived.

It is possible that some material may be re-used in other events, as clips, for non-commercial use.

The films could be screened in other festivals twinned with the Fabriano Film Fest.

The selection of the admitted short films and the corresponding screening days will be communicated in good time on the following site: www.fabrianofilmfest.it and on the Facebook page of the festival, so as to allow the authors to be present at the screening and/or, eventually, at the awards ceremony.

The Jury, made up of journalists and Cinema professionals, will assign the awards and any special mentions to short films.

The Young Jury will also decide the best short film of the festival.

There will also be a prize awarded by the public audience present at the screenings, one for best short and one for best feature film.

Personal data (L. 675/96) will be processed for the purposes of the festival only.

Registration for enrolment implies full acceptance of the current regulations.

For any information not provided, the Italian Civil Code rules apply.

Short film section awards:

– Best short film “Bisci Award”: 1,000 euros

– Best short film Young Jury

– Best comedy “IBeer Award”

– Best animated film

– Best film Teens section

– Best film Kids section

– Best European film

– Best Italian film

– Best film from the Marche region

– Best low budget film (under 5,000 euros)

– Best direction “Rotary Club Fabriano Award”

– Best actress “Valentina Tomada Award”

– Best actor

– Best photography

– Best screenplay

– Special Award “Claudio Casadio Tarabusi” – Eyes on the World

– “Women Empowerment Award” Lions Club Fabriano – stories of strength, self-esteem, awareness

– “We care Award ” for the best short film on an environmental theme

– Best film “Micro 5”

– “Faber Award” – The Purest Air Experience

– Audience Award for best short film

Other awards are provided by technical sponsors. The various Juries may award special mentions.

Team

Festival conception

Valentina Tomada

Director

An actress, director, and screenwriter, she worked on various television series that brought her recognition from the general public (including "Incantesimo," "Provaci ancora Prof," "Centovetrine," "Vivere," "Un passo dal cielo," "Il Paradiso delle Signore," and others). She began writing for the theater, and her scripts were produced by Gigi Proietti at the Brancaccio Theater. Her first short film, which she both wrote and directed, was "Loop" in 2008. Among her other works are "Do ut des," which won three awards at the "Tulipani di Seta Nera" festival, "Ecce mater," and her final work, "Domani è un altro giorno." All of her films carry a strong social message. In 2017, her first novel, "Poker di donne in cerca di cuori," was published. Since 2013, she had been the creator and artistic director of the Fabriano Film Fest. Her sudden passing in April 2025 has left an unfillable void in the festival and in the hearts of all those who knew her.

Artistic committee

Mimmo Calopresti

Director

Director, made his cinema debut in 1995 with the film La seconda volta with Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, whose screenplay won the Solinas prize, while the film was presented in the official section of the Cannes festival. His second work La parola amore esiste, won the prize Nastro d’Argento for Best Original Story. He continues his career as a director of feature films and documentaries, such as L'abbuffata, Uno per tutti, Volevo solo vivere, Aspromonte – La terra degli altri, Romanzo Radicale (2022) and as an actor in films by Comencini, Peréz, and Valeria Bruni Tedeschi.

Massimiliano Bruno

Actor and director

Director, screenwriter and actor, made his directorial debut in 2011 with the film Nessuno mi può giudicare, with which he received five nominations for the David di Donatello prize and won the Nastro d'Argento prize for best comedy. The following year his second film, Viva l'Italia with which he obtained two nominations for the David di Donatello prize. Gli ultimi saranno ultimi received three nominations for the David di Donatello prize and two for the Nastri d’Argento prize. Beata ignoranza obtains a nomination for the Nastri d’Argento for best subject. He is the author, director and actor of the crime trilogy: Non ci resta che il crimine, Ritorno al crimine and C’era una volta il crimine starring Giallini, Gassmann, Tognazzi, Pastorelli Buccirosso.

Paola Mammini

Screenwriter

Screenwriter, won the David di Donatello prize in 2016 together with Paolo Genovese and the other screenwriters, for the hit movie Perfetti sconosciuti. He also signs with Paolo Genovese, who is also the director, Tutta colpa di Freud, the subject of which is taken from his novel Stavolta giuro è diverso. Her professionalism leads her to teach at the “Luchino Visconti” Civic School of Cinema in Milan and to collaborate with some of the best-known names in the Italian cinema scene: Fausto Brizzi, Neri Marcorè, Maurizio Careddu, Maria Di Biase, Beniamino Catena, Liliana Cavani, Paolo Costella , Carlo Verdone, Rolando Ravello.