The 7th edition of Sweden's sparkling and up-and-coming fest Filmfest Sundsvall will take place in Sundsvall, Sweden, Oct 2–6, 2024. Featuring international competitions for both shorts, medium-length and features, and with international juries, the festival's aim is to be as ambitious in the shorts programming as in the programming of longer formats.

In the past we’ve had jury members from Festival de Cannes (Short Film Competition), Semaine de la Critique – Cannes, IndieLisboa, Zurich Film Festival, Tampere Film Festival, Locarno Film Festival, YLE, SVT, Swedish Film Institute, Varicoloured, Premium Films – and many more.

In addition to our international and national competitions we host a symposium each year – dedicated to a specific profession within film production. In 2023 we focused on Production Design, featuring masterclasses with Antxón Gómez (Pedro Almodóvar, Steven Soderbergh) and Josefin Åsberg (Ruben Östlund, Lukas Moodysson). Within our 2022 edition’s focus on Film Composing we had a masterclass with British composer and Emmy winner Nainita Desai (“The Deepest Breath”, "14 Peaks"). 2021’s seminar focus was Film Editing including a masterclass with the groundbreaking editor Jill Bilcock (Baz Luhrmann, Sam Mendes).

Awards & Prizes

2023 AWARDS:

● Stone City Award – Best Swedish Short. 30 000 SEK in cash sponsored by the Swedish Film Institute. A wooden sculpture created by regional artist Cecilia Tjärnberg.

● Stone City Award – Best Norrland Short. 25 000 SEK in cash sponsored by Film i Västerbotten, Film Västernorrland, Filmpool Jämtland Härjedalen, Filmpool Nord and Region Gävleborg. A wooden sculpture created by regional artist Cecilia Tjärnberg.

● Pija Lindenbaum Award – Best International Children's Short Film. 20 000 SEK in cash sponsored by Sundsvalls kommun, Kultur och Fritid.

● Stone City Award – Best International Feature/Medium-Length Film. The winning director gets 10 000 SEK in cash sponsored by Film Västernorrland.

● Filmcentrum Distribution Award – Best International Short Film. A distribution offer from Filmcentrum.

2024 Awards TBC (Typically all awards stay for next edition)

Rules & Terms

FILMFEST SUNDSVALL – REGULATIONS 2024

The 7th Filmfest Sundsvall will take place 2–6 Oct 2024. The festival is organized by Film Västernorrland, Sundsvall, Sweden. By submitting a short film or a feature film to Filmfest Sundsvall, the following terms are accepted.

1. Films between 0-100 min will be accepted depending on which section (please see information on our sections further down).

2. The production year shall be 2023-2024, please check each individual section.

3. Already submitted films cannot submit again.

4. The final deadline for our sections is May 3, 2024 (International Shorts Competition, Swedish Shorts Competition, International Mid and Features Competition, International Children’s Films Competition).

5. No entry fee for Swedish Shorts Competition. The entry fee for International Shorts Competition and International Mid and Features Competition is 8, 11 or 14 EUR depending on the deadline (earlybird deadline, Mar 3: 8 EUR; regular deadline, Apr 3: 11 EUR; final deadline, May 3: 14 EUR). The entry fee for International Children’s Films Competition is 8 EUR.

6. Entries must be made through FilmFreeway and a preview copy of the film must be available on the site no later than May 3, 2024. The entering of a film is binding and implies the acceptance of these regulations.

7. For selected films, the festival reserves the right to use stills and excerpts for promotional purposes, not exceeding 10% of the running time, or a maximum of 2 minutes.

8. The screening format is, in most cases, DCP. There might be exceptions for special screenings/venues.

9. English subtitles are required on submission and screening copies – also for films submitted to our Swedish section.

10. Screening copies of selected films must be received no later than September 6, 2024.

11. All preview copies may be stored in the festival archive and used for research purposes.

12. All preview copies and submitted entry information may be available for viewing in a video library by individual accredited guests.

 
COMPETITIVE SECTIONS:

International Shorts Competition
All genres. 0-25 min. Films must have been completed after January 1, 2023. No premiere requirements. Main award: Filmcentrum Distribution Award – a distribution offer from Filmcentrum.

International Mid and Features Competition
Features and mid-length films. 25–100 min. Fiction. Films must have been completed after January 1, 2023. Films may not have been theatrically released in Sweden or broadcast on Swedish TV. International jury. Main award: Stone City Award – 10 000 SEK in cash sponsored by Film Västernorrland.

Swedish Shorts Competition
All genres. 0–30 min. Films must have been completed after March 1, 2023. No premiere requirements. International jury. Main awards: Stone City Award for Best Norrland Short –25 000 SEK in cash sponsored by Film i Västerbotten, Film Västernorrland, Filmpool Jämtland Härjedalen, Filmpool Nord and Region Gävleborg; Stone City Award for Best Swedish Short – 30 000 SEK in cash sponsored by the Swedish Film Institute.

International Children’s Films Competition
Children’s films from all over the world. 0–15 min. Target audience: 3–7 years old. Films must have been completed after January 1, 2023. No premiere requirements. International jury. Main award: Pija Lindenbaum Award – 20 000 SEK in cash sponsored by Sundsvalls kommun, Kultur och Fritid.

All awards TBC – awards might be added and/or replaced.