15th Berlin Independent Film Festival
The Berlin Independent Film Festival is at the epicentre for low-budget filmmaking in Europe.
While the Berlin Independent Film Festival is not connected with the Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale), BIFF runs at the same time, and not far from the European Film Market and draws on all the film industry power gathered in Berlin for those events.
As well as a offering plenty of screening opportunities for indie films, BIFF is developing into a crucial business hub for the low-budget film industry. BIFF hosts workshops and networking social events where attending filmmakers help each other out with marketing advice and EFM tips.
With an emphasis on showcasing new filmmakers achieving great things with tiny budgets, BIFF’s exciting programme of films and events combines a commitment to indie filmmaking ideals with a solid understanding of their potential in the marketplace
News
Natasha Marburger is the new Festival Manager of the Berlin Independent Film Festival (BIFF).
2025 Submissions are open closed.
for screenplay submission information, see here.
The BIFF team will present another fantastic festival of independent filmmaking from February 12-16, 2025 at one of Berlin’s favourite independent cinemas, the Kino Moviemento.
The Berlin Independent Film Festival is dedicated to showcasing emerging international film talent.
https://filmfreeway.com/festival/biff
The alternative is to pay via Paypal and complete the submission form.
We accept only digital submissions for consideration. Please use our festival submission platform FilmFreeway. If digital submission is impossible for you, drop up an email and we’ll work something out.
Deadlines:
Early — ending Sept 7, 2023;
Regular — ending Oct 5, 2023;
Late — ending Nov 9, 2023, and Final Dec 14, 2023
Fees for feature films are €85 early, €90 regular, €95 late .
Fees for short films are €55 early, €60 regular, €65 late.
Fees for music videos: €35 early, €40 regular, €45 late
Fees for feature scripts are €55 early, €60 regular, €65 late.
Please send any related press materials, including electronic press kit, and photos to info@berlinfest.com.
Although due care will be exercised, BIFF cannot assume any liability for damage to entries.
1. If selected to be showcased during the event, all screening copies must be received by Jan 12th, 2025
2. Films which have been broadcast on Television, Cable or have had an international theatrical release prior to BIFF are NOT eligible for any competition but may be screened, out of competition.
3. Non-English language produced films must have English subtitles or be dubbed in English.
4. All entrants certify that they have been given full rights to use any and all music in their films.
5. Film Producers are responsible for insurance and shipment costs of films to BIFF.
1. All film entries will be considered for the Awards competition. Award winners will be selected by a panel of active film industry professionals. All films go through a screening process and are reviewed by at least two film industry professionals.
2. Winners agree to participate in the publicity for the Festival as well as other promotional events, including the website.
3. Jury Film Award categories:
Best Feature (over €100k)
Best Micro-budget Feature (under €100k)
Best No-Budget Feature (under €10k)
Best Documentary
Best Sci-Fi / Horror Feature
Best Female Director Feature
Best LGBT film
Best Short Film
Best Short Short Film
Best UK Short Film
Best Short Documentary
Best Animated Short
Best Experimental Short
Best Horror / Sci-Fi Short
Best Music Video
Screenplay Awards categories:
Best Feature Screenplay
Best Sci-Fi / Horror Screenplay
Best Comedy Screenplay
Best EU Screenplay
1. Filmmakers or screenwriters accepted and are attending the festival are responsible for travel, lodging, and all other expenses.
2. Filmmakers or screenwriters accepted into BIFF – will receive the following:
Two(2) festival passes per submitted film to see all the festival films FREE
Admittance for filmmakers to the “Opening Night Party”
All stated information, eligibility and submission guidelines, terms and conditions of entry, and entry information is subject to change by the Berlin Independent Film Festival, without notice.
3. BIFF Nominees agree to participate in the publicity for the Festival and related promotional platforms, including BIFF events, website, social media, international press coverage and allowing BIFF to link to third party websites such as Vimeo hosting their film trailers.
When is the next festival?
BIFF will run February 16-23 2023 at the Kino Moviemento in Berlin, Germany. The same time as the European Film Market.
Where are the selected films shown?
BIFF films are shown at the Kino Moviemento in downtown Berlin.
Will I receive feedback or comments on my film?
No. Due to the high volume of submissions received every year, we are unable to provide feedback on your film.
How many films do you accept in the festival?
We the next festival line-up will include about 55 films. 5 features and 50 shorts.
What are the screening format for selected films?
The projects selected for the Festival are screened off DCP.
Which Preview Copy Formats do you accept?
Entries must be submitted digitaly.
Can I submit a work-in-progress or “rough cut”?
Works-in-progress are welcomed. Our programmers are very used to watching rough cuts, and will judge the film accordingly.
Will my screener be returned to me?
No. Due to the large volume of titles received by our Submissions Team, we are unable to return your screeners.
Do you waive fees for starving student filmmakers and/or established artists?
No. The reality is that it costs time and money for us to administrate the entire film submission process. We’re not getting rich off this, but we do have to cover our basic costs.
Do you consider requests for deadline extensions?
Please contact us if you need an extension. Before requesting an extension, please understand that the later we receive your film, the less time we have to view it. This means that your video can be viewed fewer times and by fewer people on our programming team.
Should I send a publicity kit with my submission?
No. We will require an electronic press kits ONLY if your film is selected. In keeping with our efforts to become a carbon neutral festival, we request that you do not send press kits, photo stills or any other propaganda materials.
Programme and Tickets
This is a chance for our filmmakers to mingle with each other and other VIP’s. Details by invitation only.
SHORTS BLOCK 1
Piecht by Luka Lara Steffen
Endgame by André Ramiro Barbosa & Anna Mochow
Closure by Melika Rezapour
Dmitri by Marla Xaviera
The Queer Community Project by Sophia Emmerich & Lisa-Sophie Kempke
Only Way by Furkan Cetin & Tony Özkan
SHORTS BLOCK 2
Woman in a Bottle by Baonan Wang
The Yellow Bike By Mario Bergmann & Hasan H. Taşgin
Soulmate by Richard Fenwick
False Perception by Artur Denissov
TUS Neukölln: Durch die Decke by Kai Morgan
You Dare by Antonella Desini
SHORTS BLOCK 3
Fernherrlichkeit by Sebastian Kern
The Filthy Three by Raphael Oettel
Parrot by Dan Floresco
Who am I now by Alexandra Konopleva
A Ghost in the machine by James A. Delancey
FEATURE
Berliners by Elliot Blitzerhoof
SHORTS BLOCK 4
Pigeonman & Cockroachboy by Simon Begemann
The Nightclub by Niels Dalgaard
Happy Wedding Anniversary by Nadja Beinert
Tango to go by Alina Levshin
Patterns of Indifference by Tomas Datko
Alina by Jan Levi Wagner
SHORTS BLOCK 5
Heartificial by Paul Weiss
The Serial Däter by Gülce Öztürk
Berlin. Everything’s-Changed Place by Wolfgang Friedrich Müller
Parasite by Emma Wilkens
Raoul le Raëlien by Stéphane Martineau
This is our awards event and another chance for our filmmakers to mingle with each other and other VIP’s. Details by invitation only.
SHORTS BLOCK 6
Wizard of Oz by Alex Sebastian
A Taste of Christmas by Alexander Boris Grohmann-Velchev
Rejection is God’s Protection by Charlotte Geissler
Lena & Lou by Cara Terbrüggen
Looking For by Hagen Rohling
Now or Never by Ruben Meier & Leonel Dietsche
FEATURE Beyond the Berlin Wall –
Reports from Stasi Prisoners by Abhiroop Banerjee, Berglind Sóley
Elstermann Jansdóttir, Marcela Faganello Galluzzi & Matthias Leupold
FEATURE
Gridlocked by Ilka Marie Sparringa
FEATURE
Gridlocked by Ilka Marie Sparringa
Coming soon
Past Editions
Best Drama Feature
Lichtenberg by Carl Bessai
Best No-Budget Feature
The Making Of Blonde by Gesine Danckwart & Fabian Kuehlein
Best Documentary Feature
We’re All Going To Die by Benjamin Knight
Best Low Budget Feature
The Session Man by Michael Anthony Treen
Best Mystery/Thriller Feature
The Washer by Nils A Witt
Best Short Documentary
Under*score by Noam Gorbat
Festival Award for Best Short Film
Lucinda´s Pandora by Sylvia Piechocki Gonzalez
Jury Award for Best Short Film
The Best Gift in Life is Life Itself by Mauricio Ovalle
Festival Director’s Award for Best Short Film
We Are Bleach by Zoë Greenbaum
Best Comedy Short
Punkow Nights by Mattea Cavic
Best Thriller Short
Sticky Fingers by Nicolai Joseph
Best Animated Short
My Deer by Juliane Block & Orla Wolf
Best Sci-Fi Short
The Hall Under The River by Melissa Budweg Duarte
Best Horror Short
Butzemann by Jule Jessenberger
Best Experimental Short
Far from Sporky by Karsten Kramer
Best Music Video
Ophelia’s Aria – Opera Music Video by Mario Bergmann
Feature Screenplay
Mothers by Christina Macaulay
Sci-Fi/Horror Screenplay
Moksha by Saurin Lakhia
Comedy Screenplay
The Weather Just Got Sexy by Zoë Greenbaum
Best Drama Feature
Under Spanish Skies by Nathan Buck
Best Low-Budget Feature
Pink Puzzle by Mike Adler
Best Documentary Feature
The Fire Cats – Save Something Small by Katharine Parsons
Best Sci-Fi/Horror Feature
The Bystanders by Gabriel Foster Prior
Best Short Documentary
Hadi, Go! by Imran Ahmed
Jury Award for Best Short Film
Obsession by Moira Sophia Grohé
Festival Director’s Award for Best Short Film
Scrap by Isam Karahasanovic
Best Comedy Short
Gardez by Julian Isfort
Best Thriller Short
Separate Powers by Joschua Keßler
Best Animated Short
Carry On by Sophie-Kristin Siebert
Best Sci-Fi/Horror Short
A Panfeminine Future by Rachel Donaldson Clarke
Best LGBT+ Short
Libre – A Celebration of the Queer Body by Arthur Lopes
Best Experimental Short
A Poem is a City by Tracey Snelling & Arthur Debert
Best Music Video
You Have Won by Sebastian Nozon
Best Feature Screenplay
No Time by Giulia Lomuscio & Roberta Martinelli
Best Sci-Fi/Horror Screenplay
Moonscope by David Hunter Fein
FEATURES:
Under Spanish Skies by Nathan Buck
Pink Puzzle by Mike Adler
The Bystanders by Gabriel Foster Prior
SHORTS:
Weekend Cowboy by Mads Erichsen
The Earth Will Swallow It All by Dominik Ritszel
Res Pola by Marc Comes & Pola Sieverding
Six Feet of Separation by Toni Nordli
Koza by Leyla Giraud
CoronaFAUST by Nicole Felden
Evening Ritual by Nanna Hauge Kristensen & Ruth Storm
Life in sand by Lionel Reinhardt
A panfemale future by Rachel Donaldson Clarke
Separate Powers by Joschua Keßler
Libre – A Celebration of the Queer Body by Arthur Lopes
Divorce Day by Victor Martini
Omnia by Leon Hipp
Keep Live Alive by Julia Patey
A Poem is a City by Tracey Snelling & Arthur Debert
You have won by Sebastian Nozon
Obsession by Moira Sophia Grohé
Illusion by Sihan Chen
Lucinda´s Pandora by Sylvia Piechocki Gonzalez
Into The Light by Dennis Schigiol
Oh Claire! by Alexander Graeff
Carry On by Sophie-Kristin Siebert
Hadi, Go! by Imran Ahmed
Hidden by Paul Riordan
Last Apartment in Berlin by Markus Bräutigam
Machen by Tarek Shayne Tabet
The One-Way Ticket by Melika Rezapour
Kamakiri by Masato Riesser
Scrap by Isam Karahasanovic
Room Upon Room by Angela Nina Yeowell & Robert Erwin Heim
Gardez by Julian Isfort
Burly Girls by James David & Kevin Tancill
Audience Award for Best Feature
Precarious by Weston Terray
Best Drama Feature
One Punch by Darcy Yuille
Best Comedy Feature
Shellfish by Hunter Hopewell
Festival Director’s Award for Best Feature
The Fusion Solution by Jeff Mehiel
Best Documentary Feature
Any Given Day by Margaret Byrne
Best Environmental Documentary
Land of the Free: In the Shadows by James Ganiere
Best Short Documentary
When They’re Gone by Kristen Hwang
Best Screenwriting Short Film
Shutter the Doors by Sheri Sussman
Audience Award for Best Short Film
One Last Time by Ernesto Rowe
Jury Award for Best Short Film
Maenad Fever by Tamara Cook
Festival Director’s Award for Best Short Film
Aska by Clara Milo
Best Comedy Short
I Mustache You by Shara Ashley Zeiger
Best Drama Short
Meet the Sky by K.J. Edwards
Best Animated Short
Sina ma Tinirau by Vilsoni Tausie Hereniko
Best Horror Short
The Maid by Kristin Goodman
Best Sci-Fi Short
Orbital Christmas by Mitsuyasu Sakai
Best Experimental Short
Hejleh by Lauren Merage
Best Feature Screenplay
Might Come a Windstorm by Jill Elaine Hughes
Best Comedy Screenplay
Rebranding Henry by Daniel Keith
Best Sci-Fi/Horror Screenplay
Mind Out of Time By Rapsodies
FEATURES:
3.14… by G. Gotham Smith
Any Given Day by Margaret Byrne
One Punch by Darcy Yuille
Precarious by Weston Terray
Savage Land by Campbell Dalglish & Dr. Henrietta Mann
Shellfish by Hunter Hopewell
The Fusion Solution by Jeff Mehiel
SHORTS:
An Eye for An Eye by Phoenix Shi
Aska by Clara Milo
Emily’s Do by Gary Beeber
Hejleh by Lauren Merage
Here & Gone, Extended by Taylor Graham
I Mustache You by Shara Ashley Zeiger
June by Dwayne Cameron
Kepley by Michael Grant & Stephanie Katherine Grant
Kintsugi by Justine Kaneda
Land of the Free: In the shadows by James Ganiere
Maenad Fever by Tamara Cook
Meet The Sky by K.J. Edwards
One Last Time by Ernesto Rowe
Orbital Christmas by Mitsuyasu Sakai
RunRainbow by David A. Holcombe
Seedtime by Connie Zheng
Shutter the Doors by Sheri Sussman
Sina ma Tinirau by Vilsoni Tausie Hereniko
The Decipio by Jason Gullifer
The Grave of Saint Oran by Jim Batt
The Heartbeat Of Life by Giuseppe Malpasso
The Long Night by Terry Aderholt
The Maid by Kristin Goodman
The Package by Marc Desaulniers
The Pratt in the Hat by Susan Hillary
Two Different Eyes by Juho Lee & Juseung Lee
When They’re Gone by Kristen Hwang
Best Romance Feature
Lust Life Love by Stephanie Sellars & Benjamin Feuer
Best Drama Feature
Ruby by Juliet Ellis
Best Horror Feature
The Reckoning by Neil Marshall
Best Sci-Fi Feature
The Unhealer by Martin Guigui
Best Thriller Feature
The Subject by Lanie Zipoy
Best Documentary Feature
TOPOWA! – Never Give Up by Philip Sansom & Inigo Gilmore
Best Actor
Charlotte Kirk for The Reckoning
Best Short Documentary
We Travel vy Ethan Payne & Brian Foster
Audience Award for Best Short Film
The Bag by Samira Navidi
Jury Award for Best Short Film
Black Key by Yuchen Gao
Festival Director’s Award for Best Short Film
Inner Selves by Meriem Sakrouhi
Best Animated Short
In Solidarity – The Migration Blanket by Salma Zulfiqar
Best Experimental Short
We Agree on the Sun by Writer, Artistic Director, and Producer Sarah Rosenthal; Film Director-Editor Team Amelia Tierney and Jonah Belsky; and Dancer-Choreographer Ayana Kathryn Yonesaka
Best Horror Short
BOB by Johannes Schmidt
Best / Sci-Fi Short
Accepted by Stefano Di Pietro
Best Music Video
Love Song by Yuki Kubo
Best Short Short
Who We Are by Alexis Sallee
Best German Language Short
One Last Job by Sophia Vester
Best Feature Screenplay
Ramona At Midlife by Brooke Berman
Best Sci-Fi Screenplay
City of Silence by E.B. Hughes
Best Comedy Screenplay
Two Sisters by Francesca Van Horne
FEATURES:
TOPOWA! – Never Give Up by Philip Sansom & Inigo Gilmore
Ruby by Juliet Ellis
The Reckoning by Neil Marshall
The Unhealer by Martin Guigui
Lust Life Love by Stephanie Sellars & Benjamin Feuer
The Subject by Lanie Zipoy
No Ordinary Love by Chyna Robinson
We Agree on the Sun by Sarah Rosenthal, Amelia Tierney, Jonah Belsky, and Ayana Kathryn Yonesaka
The Shadow of Your Smile by Carlos Ospina
Leo by Fabienne Mahé
New Dutch Herring by Ruben van Duijn
The BAG by Samira Navidi
BOB by Johannes Schmidt
Accepted by Stefano Di Pietro
Sheltered by Charlotte Rose Manning
This One’s for Emily Post by Cronin Cullen
The Others by Jeanne Koepp
Driven by Keir Beck
One Last Job by Sophia Vester
Man Of Fire by Heather Schmidt
We Travel by Ethan Payne & Brian Foster
In Solidarity – The Migration Blanket by Salma Zulfiqar
Proof of Loss by Katherine Fisher
The Cat by Mary Apick
Who We Are by Alexis Sallee
Goodbye Home by Jonathan Chong
Oldboy’s Apples by Brad Hock
Black Key by Yuchen Gao
Hairdryer by Jinglu Ji
Unblinded by Paul Jerndal
Love Song by Yuki Kubo
ORO by Francesca Malinverno
Inner Selves by Meriem Sakrouhi
Daughters of Revolution Eritrea – Peace in Time of War by Christine Vogelsang
A Circle Line Train by Martin Venier
The Shadow Of Your Smile by Carlos Ospina
Pride of Katanga by SJ Finlay
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