Helsinki International Film Festival - Love and Anarchy

Overview

Helsinki International Film Festival - Love and Anarchy (HIFF) is Finland's largest film festival, running 11 days in late September. The 39th edition takes place 17-27 September 2026. The festival programs approximately 150-200 features and short films each year, with a focus on formally adventurous and thematically challenging international cinema alongside new Finnish work. In 2024, the festival attracted nearly 55,000 attendees with 117 sold-out screenings - the best post-pandemic result for any Finnish film festival. The 2025 edition set new attendance records.

The festival is invitation-based for its international program. There is no open submission process for international features. The only competitive section with open submissions is the R&A Shorts National Competition, restricted to Finnish or co-produced short films. For Finnish short filmmakers, this is the primary competitive platform in the country. For international filmmakers, HIFF is a screening opportunity you secure through your sales agent, distributor, or festival programmer - not through a submission form.

The festival runs alongside the Finnish Film Affair (FFA), an industry event that in 2025 brought a record 550 delegates from 25 countries to Helsinki. FFA has operated since 2012 and has presented 234 fiction and documentary projects, 250+ completed films, and hosted 2,000+ curated meetings. International attendees have included representatives from Netflix, HBO, Tribeca, Festival de Cannes, Marche du Film, and Berlinale.

Submission Process and Fees

HIFF is an invitation-based festival. The programming team selects films internally. You can submit a film for consideration via the form on the HIFF website, but the festival explicitly states they cannot guarantee viewing submitted films. The general submission form is open until 30 June 2026 for the 2026 edition.

The R&A Shorts National Competition has a formal submission process:

• Eligibility: Fiction, documentary, or animated films completed after 1 January 2025, maximum 30 minutes, production or co-production country must be Finland
• Submission fee: Free (no fee charged)
• Deadline: 15 May 2026, 23:59
• Submission form: Available on the HIFF website
• Screening format: DCP with English subtitles (if not spoken in English)
• Screening fees: The festival does not pay screening fees for competition films

Key Sections

• R&A Shorts National Competition - Competitive short film program for Finnish films (fiction, documentary, animation, max 30 minutes)
• International Program - Non-competitive, invitation-based selection of international features
• Finnish Film Program - New Finnish features, typically non-competitive
• Retrospectives and Spotlights - Programs dedicated to established filmmakers and thematic focuses
• Finnish Film Affair - Industry market event (separate accreditation required)

Awards and Prizes

The R&A Shorts National Competition awards include:

• R&A Short Award - Main prize, a monetary award for the best Finnish short film
• Uusi Aalto (New Wave) Award - Presented by the Finnish Film Foundation to a new talent whose short film represents the future of Finnish cinema
• Best Student Film Award - Accreditation to HIFF and Finnish Film Affair in the following year
• Audience Award - Product prize given to the director, determined by audience vote

Finnish Film Affair (Industry Event)

The Finnish Film Affair (FFA) is the industry component of HIFF, running for three days during the festival. The 14th edition in 2025 brought 550 delegates from 25 countries and 4 continents, hosted over 230 meetings, and presented 45 current film and television projects in development. Awards at FFA include Best Fiction Project, Best Nordic Project, Best Documentary Project, and the Finnish Weird prize.

FFA accreditation is separate from festival accreditation. The event is designed for film professionals - producers, sales agents, distributors, festival programmers, and financiers. Since 2012, 212 different production companies have been represented in the FFA programme, and international attendance quadrupled during its first decade.

What Filmmakers Should Know

For Finnish short filmmakers: The R&A Shorts National Competition is your primary competitive platform. Submission is free, but the 30-minute maximum and Finnish production/co-production requirement are strictly enforced. Selected films screen as part of the R&A Shorts programme during the festival. The Uusi Aalto Award specifically targets emerging talent, making this competition a career-launching opportunity for new Finnish directors.

For international filmmakers: HIFF does not have an open submission process for international features. Your film needs to be invited by the programming team. The festival runs immediately after Venice, which means programmers are looking for titles that have premiered at Venice, Toronto, or other early autumn festivals. HIFF is non-competitive for international films, so there are no prize money opportunities for international work.

For industry professionals: FFA is the main draw. It is the only Finnish industry event with consistent international attendance. The event focuses on Finnish and Nordic productions seeking international distribution and co-production partners. If you are a sales agent or acquisitions executive looking for Nordic content, FFA is the most efficient single event in Finland for that purpose.

Festival History

HIFF was founded in 1988 by a group of Finnish film enthusiasts and has operated continuously for 38 editions. The "Love and Anarchy" subtitle was adopted to reflect the festival's programming philosophy: cinema that challenges comfortable assumptions and explores the full range of human experience. The festival is publicly funded, supported by the Helsinki city government and Finland's national government, with additional revenue from box office. The Finnish Film Affair was added in 2012 as the festival's industry component, growing from 30 project pitches in its first year to 45 projects presented to 550 delegates in 2025.

Practical Information

• 2026 dates: 17-27 September 2026
• Venues: Multiple cinemas across Helsinki
• Tickets: Serial cards available at Early Bird and regular prices. Gala tickets cost 17 EUR. Discount tickets (students, unemployed, over 70) available at 3 EUR. Early Bird pricing applies to serial cards.
• Accreditation: Festival accreditation and FFA accreditation are separate. FFA accreditation details are published on the HIFF industry website.
• Website: hiff.fi

See Also

For Finnish short film strategy, see Tampere Film Festival - the Academy Award-qualifying short film festival held in March. For Nordic industry events, see International Film Markets. Use the Festival Entry Fee ROI Calculator to evaluate the cost-benefit of submitting to festivals with paid submission fees.