AsterFest Film Festival

Overview

AsterFest is the longest-running specialized short, documentary, and auteur film festival in North Macedonia. Founded in 2005 by Goran Trenchovski, the festival is held annually in August in Strumica, a city in southeastern North Macedonia near the Bulgarian and Greek borders. The 21st edition runs August 4 to 8, 2026, under the motto "With Open Eyes." The festival screens approximately 20 strictly selected films per edition, selected from over 1,000 films submitted from 60+ countries over its 20-year history.

AsterFest specializes in auteur cinema, focusing on short films, documentaries, and independent work that prioritizes artistic expression over commercial appeal. The festival is a project of the Association for Culture and Arts AsterFest Film Festival Strumica, a registered non-profit organization. It is supported by the Film Agency of the Republic of North Macedonia and the Municipality of Strumica.

For filmmakers, AsterFest provides a platform for auteur short and documentary work in the Balkan region. The festival requires Macedonian premiere status for competition films, meaning films must not have been screened in Macedonia before AsterFest. Submissions are accepted via FilmFreeway. Macedonian-born filmmakers can submit for free. The festival's cross-border location near the triangle of North Macedonia, Bulgaria, and Greece gives it a regional character that connects Balkan film communities.

Key Sections

• Global Fiction - international fiction short films in competition
• AsterDocs - documentary films in competition
• Animotion - animated films in competition
• Merry-Diones - a category for medium-length and experimental works
• Tributes - non-competitive programs honoring laureates and featuring special screenings, including student film showcases and feature-length films
• Tiveriopolian Film Events - year-round screenings, author events, workshops, and panel discussions in Strumica and other cities (including Belgrade), extending the festival's impact beyond the annual event

What Filmmakers Should Know

Submission Process and Fees

AsterFest accepts submissions via FilmFreeway. The submission process requires:

• A completed FilmFreeway entry form
• Online screener (Vimeo link, WeTransfer, or equivalent)
• Short synopsis in English
• Film stills, poster, and trailer
• A non-waivable submission fee (check FilmFreeway for current amount and deadlines)
• Macedonian-born filmmakers can submit for free

Eligibility Requirements

• Competitive programs: Short films (fiction, documentary, animation) produced in 2025 or 2026
• Special programs: Feature-length films may qualify for non-competitive categories (tributes, student films), but short films are preferred
• Premiere status: Films must be Macedonian premieres - no prior screenings in Macedonia before AsterFest
• Content restrictions: No content promoting racism or pornography
• Technical format: HD H264 encoded QuickTime movie
• Subtitles: English subtitles recommended for selection (required for non-English films). If selected, an SRT file with English subtitles must be provided.
• Selection criteria: Films are evaluated on artistic merit and content expression. The Festival Director has final say on competition entries.
• Screenings: Competition films are screened 2 to 3 times in Strumica and other North Macedonia locations. Additional screenings require producer or author permission.
• If selected: Provide HD film copy, SRT subtitles, and promotional materials. The festival may use a 10-second clip for promotional purposes. A digital copy is archived for research and education.

Festival Context

Strumica is a city of approximately 35,000 people in southeastern North Macedonia, located in a fertile valley near the border triangle of North Macedonia, Bulgaria, and Greece. The city is known for its agricultural production, thermal springs, and the Strumica Carnival, a centuries-old tradition. Its location gives AsterFest a cross-border character that reflects the interconnected histories of the southern Balkans.

Evening screenings are held at the Strumica Amphitheatre in the City Park, an open-air venue. Additional screenings and events take place at the ARM House and the Youth Cultural Center. The festival also includes a traditional film pilgrimage to the Veljusa Monastery, an 11th-century Byzantine monastery near Strumica.

North Macedonia declared independence from Yugoslavia in 1991. The country has a small but resilient film culture, with directors like Milcho Manchevski (Before the Rain, 1994) achieving international recognition. AsterFest provides the most important domestic platform for short and auteur filmmaking in the country.

Notable Laureates and Programming

AsterFest presents Aster Laureate awards to filmmakers who have made significant contributions to cinema. Past laureates include:

• Milcho Manchevski (Macedonian filmmaker, Academy Award nominee for Before the Rain)
• Rebecca O'Brien (British producer, Ken Loach's long-time collaborator)
• Emil Ruben (respected Macedonian and Balkan actor)
• Zelimir Zilnik (Serbian auteur filmmaker)
• Laila Pakalnina (Latvian director)
• Rangel Vulchanov (Bulgarian filmmaker)
• Kim Longinotto (British documentary filmmaker)
• Jackie Shroff (Indian actor)
• Kiro Urdin (Macedonian multimedia artist)

The 2025 edition (20th, "Film Crossroads") featured an official competition lineup including films from the Netherlands, France, Croatia, the United States, and North Macedonia. Many foreign entries were screened as Macedonian premieres, with several marking world, international, or regional debuts. The 2026 edition (21st, "With Open Eyes") programmed 20 strictly selected films across Global Fiction, AsterDocs, Animotion, and Merry-Diones, including an Oscar-winning Canadian short (The Girl Who Dived for Pearls), a Cannes-winning French-Palestinian-Greek film, and films from Georgia, Denmark, Greece, Czech Republic, UK, Mexico, China, Bulgaria, Poland, Russia, Norway, South Korea, Mozambique, and France.

AsterFest also hosts book promotion events featuring new titles in film studies and arts literature, and maintains collaborative ties with film and academic institutions in London, Sorbonne (Paris), Novi Sad, and Prague.

Major Awards

AsterFest's competition awards are decided by a professional jury. The main awards are:

• Grand Prix - overall best film in competition
• Golden Horseshoe - top competition award
• Silver Horseshoe
• Bronze Horseshoe
• Aco Aleksov Award - for Best Director
• Gjorgi Abadziev Award - for Best Screenplay

The festival's signature statuettes are designed by visual artist Nikola Pijanmanov. Awards are presented at the festival's closing ceremony.

Festival History

AsterFest was founded in 2005 by Goran Trenchovski, who continues to serve as the festival's President. The festival was created as a platform for short and documentary film culture in North Macedonia, with an emphasis on auteur cinema and independent filmmaking. "AsterFest" and its logo are registered trademarks.

Over 20 editions, AsterFest has selected approximately 1,000 films from over 60 countries for its competitive categories. The festival has maintained its focus on short and documentary form throughout its history, even as other Balkan festivals have expanded into feature film competition.

The festival has expanded its activities beyond the annual August event through the Tiveriopolian Film Events, a year-round program of screenings, author events, workshops, and panel discussions held in Strumica and other cities, including Belgrade. This extension has deepened AsterFest's regional impact and strengthened its connections with film institutions across the Balkans and Europe.

AsterFest is financially supported by the Film Agency of the Republic of North Macedonia and the Municipality of Strumica. It operates as a registered organization established for promotional, educational, and non-profit purposes.

See Also

For Balkan cinema and international film markets, see International Film Markets. For festival submission strategy, see Film Festival Strategy. To calculate the return on festival submission spending, use the Festival Entry Fee ROI Calculator. For submissions, visit the AsterFest FilmFreeway page. For more information, see the AsterFest official website.