Be part of a global celebration of diversity and win a chance for your film to be screened in over 100 countries! IOM's Global Migration Film Festival is open for entries. Films of all genres and lengths are eligible for submission until 9 August.
 

Four years of festival, hundreds of screenings every year

IOM launched the Global Migration Film Festival (GMFF) in 2016, and the event has grown to a global celebration of culture and diversity. Last year, an Official Selection of 42 films led to over 500 screenings in 104 countries around the world, attended by a global audience of over 30,000 people.

The goal of the Festival is to pave the way for greater discussion around one of the greatest phenomena of our time: migration. Furthermore, it is an innovative avenue for normalizing discussions of migration through storytelling, and an advocacy tool that can draw attention to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), thus helping all nations as they work to meet them.

The Global Migration Film Festival has an itinerant and unique format. The films that make up the Official Selection are included in a list which is then shared with about 100 IOM offices and partners worldwide. Each participating country office will then select the films to be screened locally during the Festival, which runs from 28 November – 18 December 2019, worldwide.

Filmmakers will receive a final list of countries where their films will be screened by mid-November. Films can be screened in impromptu scenarios, from traditional cinemas and universities worldwide, to open-air theatres in the desert in Niger and detention centers in Libya. All screenings are entrance free. This means that IOM needs the authorization from the films' rightsholder(s) to host screenings without territory and frequency limitations for the duration of the Festival.

Deadline for entry

The call for entries is now open. Films of all genres (feature, documentary, animation, etc.) and lengths will be accepted from July 9 until August 9, 2019.

Festival theme

All submissions should portray the challenges and promises of migration, and the unique contributions migrants make to their new communities. Films that tackle negative perceptions of migrants, defy stereotypes and portray positive and welcoming actions by and toward migrants are encouraged.

Language

Films should be in English or subtitled in English. Subtitles are encouraged, even if the dialogue is in English, to ensure maximum comprehension for global audiences. Films in other languages are encouraged but must have subtitles in English.

Production year

Films completed on or after January 1, 2016, are eligible for consideration.

There is no submission fee.

GMFF and Finland

IOM's country office in Finland has organised local GMFF screenings since 2017 in Helsinki and Kuopio.

The Festival will also be coming to Finland again in the fall 2019. Further information about the local event will be shared later.

For more information, visit: filmfreeway.com/GlobalMigrationFilmFestival