International Film Schools Festival (Festival Internacional de Escuelas de Cine)

International Film Schools Festival

Festival Internacional de Escuelas de Cine

Also known as: FIEC
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The International Film Schools Festival (FIEC) in Montevideo screens short films made by students of film and audiovisual schools from around the world, with free admission to every screening. The Escuela de Cine del Uruguay (ECU) and Cinemateca Uruguaya have organised it since 2000. Entries arrive mainly through the member schools of CILECT and FEISAL, in which the ECU is the only Uruguayan member, though non-member schools may also take part, and a team of ECU students pre-selects the competition.

Fiction, non-fiction and animation shorts compete alongside Latin American and Uruguayan sections. A professional jury and, since 2014, a student jury give separate awards, and the audience votes for its favourites. The dates for the 2026 edition, the 26th, are 18–21 August 2026, at Cinemateca and Sala Zitarrosa, with 49 shorts by students of 44 schools from 28 countries.

Country

Uruguay

Categories

Animation, Documentary, Short, Student

Awards and prizes

Professional Jury: Best Fiction, Best Non-Fiction, Best Animation, Best Latin American Short Film and Best Uruguayan Short Film. Student Jury: Best Fiction, Best Non-Fiction, Best Animation, Best Latin American Short Film and Best Uruguayan Short Film. Audience Award: Best International Short Film and Best Uruguayan Short Film. Each jury may also give special mentions, at most one per category. Winners receive a diploma; Uruguayan short films may receive production or post-production services as prizes.

Festival rules

The festival accepts short films made by students of film and audiovisual schools or tertiary professional training institutions from any country; student status must be certified. Under the rules of the 2026 edition: films completed after 1 January 2025, in the categories fiction, non-fiction and animation, up to 30 minutes long. Each institution may submit up to three films per category; if a school does not make its own pre-selection, its students may enter individually, up to two films each. Submissions are accepted only through FilmFreeway. Films publicly available on YouTube or another free online platform are not considered. Films not in Spanish need Spanish subtitles, or a clean version with English subtitles in SRT format. Member schools of CILECT and FEISAL and entries from Uruguay are exempt from the entry fee. The international call usually opens in January and closes in April; the selection is announced in July, about a month before the festival.

Contacts

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