Regulations

Selection Criteria

The Competition is open to short films by university students from Bulgaria and around the world that meet the following criteria:

The film must be in one of the following categories: Fiction, Animation, or Documentary.
The director must have been a student at the time of filming. A document issued by the university, bearing an official stamp and signature and confirming the student status of the applicant, is required.
The film must not exceed 30 minutes in length.
The Festival accepts HD digital screening copies with English subtitles burned into the image for films with dialogue in languages other than English. Accepted file formats are AVI, MOV, and MPEG-4 (H.264).
For the pre-selection, films must have been completed after January 1, 2025.
Films previously submitted to the Early Bird International Student Film Festival are not eligible for re-entry.
A director may submit up to two films, provided they are entered in two different categories and submitted using separate entry forms.
Each film may be entered in one category only. Once the registration has been completed, the category cannot be changed.
There is no entry fee.

Submission

To participate in the Early Bird 2026 pre-selection, applicants must complete the submission form available on our website.

Each submission must include:

A link to an online screener with English subtitles if the dialogue is not in English. Please note that the link must remain active until November 5, 2026.
A valid password, if required.
Detailed information about the film and its authors.

The submission deadline is September 10, 2026.

Official Selection

The Selection Committee will determine which films will be included in the Early Bird ISFF 2026 Competition Program.

The list of selected films will be announced on September 25, 2026, on the Festival website under Official Selection.

The designated contact person for each selected film will receive an email containing a personalized link to upload the following materials:

The film with English subtitles, if the dialogue is not in English
Three stills from the film
A recent photograph of the director
A scanned copy of a document confirming the director’s student status
Film poster
Trailer (optional)

Copyright and Promotional Rights

Applicants are solely responsible for obtaining all necessary rights and permissions for any third-party materials included in their films, including music, images, footage, and other copyrighted content.

The designated contact person for each submitted film confirms that they are authorized to submit the film and its accompanying materials and accepts responsibility for any copyright claims or other rights-related issues arising from the submitted content.

By submitting a film, applicants grant the Early Bird International Student Film Festival a non-exclusive, royalty-free right to use excerpts from the film, as well as its stills and trailer, for the promotion of the film and the Festival. This includes use on the Festival’s website, social media channels, press and promotional materials, and other non-commercial Festival-related communications.

These promotional materials may also be used to promote the activities of the Festival and its organizer, the American Foundation for Bulgaria.

Jury

One of the Festival’s distinctive traditions is that the President of the Jury is the student filmmaker who received the Grand Award at the previous edition of the Festival.This year the President of the Jury is Mariusz Rusiński from Poland, a graduate of the Lodz Film School and director of Houdini, winner of the Early Bird Grand Award at the 21st edition.

The Festival management appoints the remaining members of the independent international jury. The Jury is responsible for determining the award winners, and its decisions are final.

Awards

The prize fund of the Festival is 4 700 USD, divided into 12 categories:

Early Bird Grand Award- original sculpture, diploma and financing of the next film project - 1000$.
Best Bulgarian film - diploma and financing of the next film project - 500$.
Best Foreign film - diploma and financing of the next film project - 500$.
President of the Jury Award - diploma and financing of the next film project - 300$.
Best Fiction - diploma and financing of the next film project - 300$.
Best Animation - diploma and financing of the next film project - 300$.
Best Documentary -diploma and financing of the next film project - 300$.
Best Directing - diploma and financing of the next film project - 300$.
Best Screenplay - diploma and financing of the next film project - 300$.
Best Cinematography - diploma and financing of the next film project - 300$.
Best Editing - diploma and financing of the next film project - 300$.
SEECS Award - diploma and financing of the next film project - 300$.
Special mention - diploma

One film can receive more than one award. All prizes will be awarded after the final screenings of the festival. The jury members are required to keep secret their decisions till the Award ceremony.

General Provisions

The Festival Organizing Committee reserves the right to amend these Regulations. Any changes will be promptly announced on the Festival website.

The Committee is the sole decision-making authority regarding any matters not covered by these Regulations.

The Festival cannot be held responsible for cancellation or changes to the Festival programme due to unforeseen circumstances beyond its control.