Crossing Europe Film Festival Linz

Overview

Crossing Europe Film Festival Linz is a European cinema festival held annually in Linz, Austria. The 23rd edition runs April 28 to May 3, 2026, screening approximately 140 feature, documentary, and short films over 6 days. The festival presents EUR 27,000 in prize money plus the EUR 3,000 MIOB New Vision Award, across fiction, documentary, and local artist competitions.

The festival programs exclusively European cinema with a focus on films that address social and political themes. The name "Crossing Europe" reflects its mission: presenting cinema that crosses borders - geographic, social, and political. The festival has built its reputation on programming films that engage with migration, labor, inequality, gender, and political power.

Linz is Austria's third-largest city and its former industrial capital. The city reinvented itself from steel town to European Capital of Culture (2009), giving Crossing Europe a specific context for socially ambitious filmmaking that differs from Vienna's more traditional cultural institutions.

Submission Details

Submissions are made through the Crossing Europe online submission form. There is no submission fee. Key details for the 2026 edition:

European Films Section

The European Films section accepts feature-length fiction and documentary films (60 minutes or longer) produced in 2025 or 2026. Short films are not accepted in this section. A film is considered "European" if it was (co-)produced in one of the countries of the continent and tells stories from, related to, or about Europe.

You can submit more than one film, but a completed submission form is required for each individual film. Submit only one form at a time - starting multiple forms simultaneously can cause technical issues.

Local Artists Section

The Local Artists section presents recent films from 2025/26 with relevance to Upper Austria. Filmmakers are eligible if they were born in, currently live in, work in, or study in Upper Austria, or if they received financing from Upper Austria, were (co-)produced by a production company based in Upper Austria, or if the film has a clear thematic reference to Upper Austria. For music videos, the origin of the musicians also counts.

All genres, formats, and lengths are accepted in the Local Artists section, including music videos. Films that have not been screened or broadcast in Linz or Upper Austria prior to Crossing Europe 2026 are given preference. No rental fees are paid for festival screenings in the Local Artists competition.

Competition Sections and Awards

The 2026 festival awarded EUR 27,000 in prizes plus the EUR 3,000 MIOB New Vision Award:

Competition Fiction

The 2026 Best Fiction Film award was split between two Lithuanian films: Renovation (dir. Gabriele Urbonaite, Lithuania/Belgium/Latvia) and The Visitor (dir. Vytautas Katkus, Lithuania/Norway/Sweden), with each receiving EUR 2,500. The Audience Award went to Caravan (dir. Zuzana Kirchnerova, Czech Republic/Slovakia/Italy).

Competition Documentary

The 2026 winner was If Pigeons Turned to Gold (dir. Pepa Lubojacki, Czech Republic/Slovakia), which also won the Berlinale Documentary Award. A Special Mention went to Imago (dir. Deni Oumar Pitsaev, France/Belgium).

YAAAS! Competition

The 2026 winner was Stereo Girls (dir. Caroline Deruas Peano, France/Canada), selected by a youth jury of students from Linz schools.

Local Artists Competition

The 2026 Local Artist cash prize went to Gay By Nature (dir. Isa Schieche, Helen Weber, Austria). The non-cash prize (post-production voucher from The Grand Post) went to Days Yet Unknown (dir. Jola Wieczorek, Austria). The Innovation Award went to From Something to Nothing (dir. Michael Heindl, Austria).

MIOB New Vision Award

The 2026 winner was Wind, Talk to Me (dir. Stefan Djordjevic, Serbia/Slovenia/Croatia).

Festival History

Crossing Europe was founded in 2004 and has operated continuously for 23 editions. The festival was established to provide Linz with an international film event focused on European cinema, distinct from the Vienna Film Festival and the Viennale.

The festival's programming philosophy centers on films that reflect the political and social realities of Europe's changing societies. This focus on socially engaged cinema has distinguished Crossing Europe from other Austrian and European festivals that program broader or more commercially oriented selections.

The festival is supported by Linz Kultur, Land Oberoesterreich Kultur, and other regional cultural institutions. The MIOB New Vision Award is presented in collaboration with the MIOB (Moving Images - Open Borders) network, which connects film festivals across Europe.

What Filmmakers Should Know

The absence of a submission fee is unusual for a European festival of this scale. This makes Crossing Europe one of the most accessible submission targets for European filmmakers working on socially engaged content. The trade-off is that the festival only accepts European films (60+ minutes for the main competition) - non-European productions are not eligible.

For European filmmakers with social justice, migration, labor, or political content, Crossing Europe provides an unusually engaged audience. The festival's programming explicitly seeks films that "reflect current political and social realities of Europe's changing societies." If your film does not engage with these themes, it is less likely to be selected.

The EUR 5,000 top prizes in fiction, documentary, and local artist categories are substantial for a mid-sized European festival. The Social Awareness Award specifically recognizes documentary films that address social issues, which is rare among European festival prize structures.

For Upper Austrian filmmakers, the Local Artists section provides an international platform with no rental fees and a dedicated EUR 5,000 prize. The preference for films that have not been screened in Linz or Upper Austria prior to the festival means local filmmakers should plan their regional premiere strategy around Crossing Europe.

The notification date (end of February 2026) gives selected filmmakers approximately 2 months before the festival begins on April 28. This is a shorter turnaround than larger festivals, so travel and accommodation planning should begin immediately upon notification.

See Also

Calculate your total festival submission costs and projected return using the Festival ROI Calculator. Estimate your acceptance probability with the Festival Acceptance Odds Estimator. For festival circuit strategy and planning, see Film Festival Strategy. For European film markets and international sales, see International Film Markets. Submit through the Crossing Europe submission page.