Girona Film Festival (Festival de Cinema de Girona)

Overview

The Girona Film Festival (Festival de Cinema de Girona) is a Catalan international film festival held over 5 days in November in Girona, Catalonia. The 37th edition ran November 4 to 8, 2025, at the Casa de Cultura de Girona, Auditori Viader, and Auditori Irla, with additional streaming available through the festival's online platform. Founded in 1989, the festival accepts submissions through FilmFreeway, where it is ranked #10 out of over 14,000 festivals worldwide.

The Girona Film Festival is a hybrid festival, combining theatrical screenings with online streaming. The festival accepts short films (up to 60 minutes), feature films (over 60 minutes), documentaries (unlimited length), experimental films, children's films, web series, music videos, and advertising films. Submissions are open to international filmmakers across all genres and styles.

The festival operates a separate independent feature film showcase, La Setmana de Girona de Cinema Independent, held in June at Cinema Truffaut in Girona. This showcase is dedicated to independent fiction feature films without distribution in Spain, with a minimum runtime of 70 minutes. The winning film receives guaranteed commercial distribution through a specialized company and screening at independent cinemas across Spain.

Girona Film Festival winners are frequently nominated and awarded by major film academies, including the Hollywood Academy (Oscar), the Catalan Academy (Gaudi), the Spanish Academy (Goya), the Brazilian Academy (Grande Otelo), and the Mexican Academy (Ariel).

Key Sections

• Short Film - international competition for films up to 60 minutes
• Feature Film - international competition for films over 60 minutes
• Documentary - international competition, unlimited runtime
• Experimental Art Film - international competition for experimental and art cinema
• Children's Film - international short films for audiences aged 5 to 16
• Girona Talent (D.O.) - local competition for films with talent, themes, or production connections to Girona
• Jewish Film - international competition for films with Jewish themes or Israeli talent
• Sustainable Film - international competition for ecological, naturalist, or social films
• Handicapped - international competition for films about or by people with disabilities
• Web Series - international competition for web series
• Music Film - international competition for music videos
• Advertising Film - international competition for advertising films
• Cinema Schools - competition for student work

Submission Details

The Girona Film Festival accepts submissions through FilmFreeway. The separate La Setmana de Girona de Cinema Independent accepts submissions through Festhome or the festival website.

37th edition (November 2025):

• Festival dates: November 4 to 8, 2025
• Venues: Casa de Cultura de Girona, Auditori Viader, Auditori Irla
• Streaming available through the festival's online platform

La Setmana de Girona de Cinema Independent (June 2025):

• Festival dates: June 12 to 15, 2025
• Venue: Cinema Truffaut, Girona
• Registration deadline: April 31, 2025
• Submission platform: Festhome or festival website

Eligibility requirements for the main festival:

• Short films: up to 60 minutes. Feature films: over 60 minutes. Documentaries: unlimited length
• Films must not have been published for the Spanish commercial public (except web series, music films, and advertising films)
• International participation: open to all countries, all genres, all styles, all themes
• DCP required for theatrical screenings: DCP Interop JPEG 2000, maximum bitrate 250 Mbps, 24fps, not encrypted, 2K resolution (Flat 1998x1080, Complete 2048x1080, Scope 2048x858)
• Films in languages other than Catalan, Spanish, or English must include subtitles in one of those languages

Eligibility requirements for La Setmana de Girona de Cinema Independent:

• Independent fiction feature films without a distribution contract in Spain
• Minimum duration: 70 minutes
• National and international productions accepted
• Films must be in original version with subtitles in Catalan or Spanish if the language is not one of those two
• Four finalist feature films selected for the official competition

What Filmmakers Should Know

The Girona Film Festival has a broad competitive structure with 16 award categories, making it one of the most inclusive festivals in Europe in terms of accepted formats and genres. The festival evaluates submissions based on creativity and innovation in cinematographic language, narrative capacity, emotional impact, script quality, direction, production, editing, performance, art direction, music, photography, image processing, and special effects. Originality and distance from convention are explicitly valued.

The festival's #10 ranking on FilmFreeway out of over 14,000 festivals reflects high submission volume and filmmaker satisfaction. FilmFreeway is owned by the Backstage Group of New York, which is a global talent financing organization and primary creator supplier for Hollywood and other international industries.

The D.O. (Designation of Origin) Girona Talent section is specifically for films with a connection to Girona: the director, screenplay, producer, actors, music, cameraman, editing, SFX, art director, or the film's theme or location must be connected to Girona or its surrounding area. This local section gives Girona-based filmmakers a dedicated competitive platform.

La Setmana de Girona de Cinema Independent, the festival's independent feature showcase in June, is distinct from the main November festival. It selects only 4 finalist feature films for its official competition, making it highly selective. The winning film receives guaranteed commercial distribution through a specialized company and screening at independent cinemas across Spain, which is a tangible distribution outcome rather than just a trophy.

For theatrical screenings, the festival requires DCP delivery in specific technical formats. Filmmakers should verify their DCP meets the festival's Interop JPEG 2000 specifications before submission. The festival also operates a streaming platform that extends the audience beyond physical attendance, with an annual subscription plan for accessing the official selection online.

Major Awards

• Best Short Film - international competition
• Best Feature Film - international competition
• Best Documentary - international competition
• Best Experimental Art Film - international competition
• Best Children's Film - international competition
• Best Jewish Film - international competition
• Best Sustainable Film - international competition
• Best Web Series - international competition
• Best Music Film (Xavier Cugat Award) - international competition
• Best Advertising Film - international competition
• Best Visual FX - international competition
• Best Actors - international competition
• Best Editing - international competition
• Best Picture - international competition
• Best Girona Talent (D.O.) - local competition for Girona-connected films
• Best Handicapped Film - international competition
• Special Mentions - for distinguished talent

The prize for each category is a trophy. Winners are announced at the closing ceremony, where the prize is collected in person or by a representative.

La Setmana de Girona de Cinema Independent:

• Best Film - guaranteed commercial distribution through a specialized company and screening at independent cinemas across Spain

Festival History

The Girona Film Festival was founded in 1989, making it one of the longest-running film festivals in Catalonia. The festival was created to promote talent and artistic creation, with a focus on works containing human values and critical thinking. Over 37 editions, the festival has expanded from a local Catalan event into an international competition accepting submissions from around the world.

The festival's position at #10 in the FilmFreeway global ranking places it ahead of approximately 14,000 other festivals worldwide. This ranking reflects the festival's consistent operation, submission volume, and filmmaker engagement over nearly four decades.

In 2025, the festival launched La Setmana de Girona de Cinema Independent as a separate June event dedicated to independent fiction feature films without Spanish distribution. This addition expanded the festival's scope beyond its traditional November dates and added a distribution-focused component that directly connects selected filmmakers with Spanish commercial distribution.

The festival has been held at the Cinema Truffaut in Girona for its independent showcase and at the Casa de Cultura de Girona, Auditori Viader, and Auditori Irla for its main November edition. The festival's hybrid format, combining theatrical screenings with online streaming, was developed to extend audience reach beyond physical attendance in Girona.

Girona itself, with its medieval old city, Romanesque architecture, and well-preserved Jewish quarter, provides a distinctive cultural setting for the festival. The city's compact scale creates an intimate festival environment where filmmakers and audiences interact directly.

See Also

To calculate the return on your festival submission spending, use the Festival ROI Calculator. To estimate your probability of acceptance based on festival tier and film characteristics, use the Festival Acceptance Odds Estimator. For festival circuit planning, see Film Festival Strategy. For Catalan cinema, see D'A Film Festival Barcelona. For Spanish and Catalan cinema markets, see International Film Markets.