If the film has been screened onsite or online in the production countries it can still be submitted as an international premiere. Please be aware that world premieres are favored. Please also be aware that for the competitive sections the Locarno Film Festival usually does not select films that have been previously presented in other major European film festivals. 

• World premieres: films that have never had a public screening (onsite/online); 

• International premieres: films that have never had a public screening (onsite/online) outside their production countries;

No, all Swiss productions and co-productions must be world premieres to be eligible for the Locarno Film Festival.

Yes, if the screening was available in the production countries only (in this case the film would be eligible as an international premiere).

If the film had a screening as part of an art exhibition in a museum – but not in a cinema – it is still eligible for the Locarno Film Festival (if all the other criteria are respected).

You can mark your film as a world premiere in the submission form. In case of selection elsewhere, we kindly ask you to inform us by writing an email to programming@locarnofestival.ch (for feature films) or shortfilms@locarnofestival.ch (for short and medium-length films).

Films must have been completed within the 12 (twelve) months preceding their Festival screening, therefore, the Festival will only consider films completed after August 31, 2024. 

We consider as first feature a director’s first feature-length fiction film.

Special cases:

• If the director has previously shot a feature documentary and would like to submit his/her first fiction feature, the latter would be considered as his/her first feature. 

• If the director has previously co-directed an omnibus film and would like to submit his/her first fiction feature directed solo, this will be considered as his/her first feature. 
  Omnibus film (or Anthology film): a film consisting of several shorter films or sequences made by different directors, usually tied together by the same theme.

• If the director has previously co-directed a film and would like to submit his/her first fiction feature directed solo, this will be considered as his/her second feature.

All genres are eligible for the Locarno Film Festival (fiction, documentary, animation, experimental, etc…).

The Locarno Film Festival has a section called Locarno Kids Screenings which offers films for children and teenagers, from 6 to 14 years old, mainly as world, international, European or Swiss premieres. The section is also complemented with restored titles that help rediscover film history.

The Locarno Film Festival accepts TV series although there is no section dedicated specifically to series.

No, the Locarno Film Festival does not accept virtual reality films.

Yes, the Locarno Film Festival does accept work in progress films as submissions. If you wish to submit one, we kindly ask you to tick the “Work in progress version” box in the entry form.

No, films submitted for previous editions of the Festival may not be resubmitted, not even in a new version.

Yes, it is possible to submit one or more films on our platform, although each film must be registered as a separate submission. 

Yes, in order to access and complete the entry form you must log in by entering your username and password. If you do not yet have a Locarno Film Festival account, you will have to create one. 

Films submitted will be considered for all official Locarno Film Festival sections that showcase new films. 

Special cases: 

• Concorso Cineasti del Presente: this section is open only to first and second features;

• Pardi di Domani: this section features short and medium-length films of not more than 59 minutes in length. The section is divided into three competitions: the Concorso Nazionale and Concorso Internazionale are open, respectively, to Swiss and international short films by directors who never previously made a feature. The Concorso Corti d’Autore is open to short films by established directors. 

No, when you submit your film it is not possible to apply for a specific section or competition. If the film is selected, the Artistic Direction will invite it for the section felt to be most appropriate.

The fee depends on the film’s length and on the date on which you register it on our platform. You can find detailed information at the top of this page. 

If the entry fee payment is not properly completed by the last possible deadline (on April 24, 2025, before 2 pm CEST), the submission cannot be considered.

Close to deadlines, the platform may run slower due to the high number of users. Therefore, we recommend completing the entry form and paying the submission in advance, in order to avoid technical problems and delays.

No, the registration fee cannot be reimbursed under any circumstances. 

If you are unable to pay with a credit card, you can transfer the submission fee (in Swiss currency) to our bank account, for which you will find all relevant details below. Please note that all bank charges are payable by the sender; we also kindly ask you to enter the film title in the bank transfer description.

Beneficiary: Locarno Festival, 6601 Locarno - Switzerland 
Bank: UBS SA, Po Box - 6601 Locarno - Switzerland 
Code: SWIFT/BIC: UBSWCHZH80A - Clearing Nr. 246 
IBAN: CH48 0024 6246 4867 7708 X 

Once the payment has been received, the film submission will be complete, and you will receive a confirmation email. If you pay by bank transfer, we kindly ask you to write an email to programming@locarnofestival.ch (for feature films) or shortfilms@locarnofestival.ch (for short and medium-length films) to inform us.

Once you have finished filling out the submission form, you will receive a first confirmation email with a link to the payment page (to which you will also be automatically redirected). After the payment, you will receive a second confirmation email from which you will be able to download your invoice. If you don’t receive any email, please check your spam folder as well.

Please remember that your film will not be considered until the registration fee has been received by the Festival. 

A screener link of the film must be added to the submission form. Films must be uploaded on Vimeo (preferably) or YouTube with the download option enabled. The screener link and the password must be copied correctly in the submission form; in case of any changes, we kindly ask you to promptly notify the Programming Office, by writing to programming@locarnofestival.ch (for feature films) or shortfilms@locarnofestival.ch (for short and medium-length films). 

The screener must be accessible until July 10, 2025. If the link or the password are no longer valid, it will not be possible to consider the film for selection. In case of any issues concerning the screener, we kindly ask you to promptly inform us via email, by writing to programming@locarnofestival.ch (for feature films) or shortfilms@locarnofestival.ch (for short and medium-length films). 

Yes, you can directly update the link you added in the entry form (or alternatively you can send us the new screener link via e-mail). If the film has already been watched at that date, the new version will be considered at the discretion of the Selection Committee. 

Yes, in order to be accessible by all members of the Selection Committee, all films must be submitted in their original language with English subtitles. English-language films do not require subtitles for the pre-selection phase.

The Festival encourages submission of films via the official platform, in order to allow the Selection Committee to watch the films as early as possible. The Selection Committee will not have the opportunity to watch feature films submitted on DCP before mid-June. Besides the regular submission fee, the submission of the DCP has also an extra cost of CHF 200. For short films, it is not possible to send a DCP. 

Each member of the Selection Committee is equipped with an excellent home-viewing system (projector, screen, quality sound), so your film will be seen in optimum conditions.  

The person of reference marked in the submission form will be officially informed via email about the outcome of the submission, by the end of the first week of July. 

Due to the high number of submissions, the Festival is unable to provide any personal feedback in case of non-selection.

For security reasons, our team has activated a no-tracking setting on all their devices. We guarantee that all films are watched and evaluated by the Selection Committee.