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, 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 program, La Setmana de Girona de Cinema Independent, held in June at Cinema Truffaut in Girona. This program 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.
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, narrative capacity, emotional impact, script quality, direction, production, editing, performance, art direction, music, photography, and special effects. Originality and distance from convention are explicitly valued.
The D.O. (Designation of Origin) Girona Talent section is specifically for films with a connection to Girona: the director, screenplay, producer, actors, music, or the film's theme or location must be connected to Girona or its surrounding area.
La Setmana de Girona de Cinema Independent, the festival's independent feature program in June, selects only 4 finalist feature films for its official competition. The winning film receives guaranteed commercial distribution through a specialized company and screening at independent cinemas across Spain.
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 added a distribution-focused component that directly connects selected filmmakers with Spanish commercial distribution.
Past Winners
The 36th edition (2024) awarded Best Feature Film to El extraño detrás de la puerta (Renton Mendez) and Rosinante (Baran Gunduzalp). The Festival Prize went to Tango Bar. Best Short Film was awarded to Intercambio (Amaia Yoldi) and Wszystko to co mamy.
Best Animation went to Landscapes for Freedom and Robofauna. The FICGLB Award (Latin American cinema focus) recognized Car Wash. Best Cinematography was awarded to Giovanni Mammolotti for Global Harmony, which also won Best Humanitarian Message.
The 37th edition (November 2025) awarded films across 16 categories. La Roba Estesa received a Special Jury Mention and Si No Fuera Por Mi received an Honor Mention. The FICGLB section awarded Capitanes (Kevin Castellano and Edu Hirschfeld) for its political and social commentary.
Notable Alumni Films
Takbir (2022), directed by Jordi Calvet, won Best Short Film at Girona and went on to collect 71 prizes across festivals in the US, Japan, Italy, Switzerland, Indonesia, Greece, and Spain. The film qualified for Goya consideration after winning at the Festival de Sax, a Goya-qualifying festival.
Global Harmony (2024), directed by Fabio Massa, won multiple awards at Girona including Best Cinematography and Best Humanitarian Message. The film also won Best Humanitarian Film at the Golden FEMI Film Festival in 2025.
Girona Film Festival winners have received nominations from the Hollywood Academy (Oscar), Catalan Academy (Gaudi), Spanish Academy (Goya), Brazilian Academy (Grande Otelo), and Mexican Academy (Ariel). The festival's broad category structure allows films in niche categories to gain academy recognition.
Submission Tips
- Submit to niche categories (Jewish Film, Sustainable Film, Handicapped) if your film fits. These categories receive fewer submissions than the main Short Film and Feature Film competitions, improving acceptance odds.
- The D.O. Girona Talent section requires a connection to Girona (director, cast, location, theme). If your film has any Girona connection, this local category offers a less crowded competitive space.
- For La Setmana de Girona de Cinema Independent (June), submit undistributed fiction features over 70 minutes without a Spanish distribution deal. Only 4 films are selected as finalists, but the winner receives guaranteed commercial distribution across Spain.
- Deliver DCP in Interop JPEG 2000 format (2K, 24fps, max 250 Mbps). The festival enforces specific technical requirements that differ from standard festival DCP specs.
- Submit through FilmFreeway for the main November festival. Use Festhome for La Setmana. The two events have separate submission systems.
- Originality and distance from convention are explicitly valued in judging criteria. Conventional narratives score lower than films that take formal or thematic risks.
Industry Reputation Notes
Girona ranks #10 on FilmFreeway out of over 14,000 festivals, reflecting high submission volume and filmmaker satisfaction. The festival is not FIAPF-accredited and does not host a film market.
The festival's strength is its breadth: 16 award categories covering formats from web series to advertising films to music videos. This structure attracts filmmakers who cannot find category fits at conventional festivals.
Compared to Sitges Film Festival (Catalonia's largest genre festival), Girona is smaller and less industry-connected. Sitges attracts major genre distributors and international sales agents. Girona has no comparable industry presence.
Compared to D'A Film Festival Barcelona (the main Catalan festival for independent cinema), Girona is less selective and more inclusive of emerging filmmakers. D'A programs fewer films but attracts more Catalan industry professionals. Girona's La Setmana de Girona offers a concrete distribution outcome that D'A does not match.
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.
