Introduction to the film festival
The 42nd Kurzfilm Festival Hamburg (Hamburg Shortfilm Festival) along with the section Junges Kurzfilm Festival Hamburg Mo&Friese (Hamburg Young Shortfilm Festival Mo&Friese) for young audiences will take place from June 2 to June 7, 2026.
The German and International competitions present a selection of films in composed programmes which reflect contemporary questions and aesthetics in the mirror of the present. The Triple Axel Competition with its annual changing topic challenges filmmakers to take full advantage of the three minutes max. The competitions of Kurzfilm Festival Hamburg function as seismographs for societally relevant questions and therefore allow brief glimpses into the future. Young new talents encounter well known artists. Contemporary cinema at eye level – international and national. Films shown in the competitions, were produced outside the framework of commercial exploitation strategies, thus offering an unobstructed look at questions, relationships, conditions, and moments.
The Kurzfilm Festival Hamburg awards prizes worth a total of 15.500 €. The Jury of the International Competition nominates one European film for the European Film Awards.
Our section "Mo&Friese" is one of the very few film festivals for a young audience that is exclusively dedicated to short film. Including all types of short films, we present nine programmes with three different competitions aiming at children and youth age 4 to 18 and an international industry. Mo&Friese awards prizes worth a total of 3000 €. In addition, an international Jury (containing of ECFA members) is choosing a shortfilm for the ECFA Shortfilm-Award.
The festival is organized by the association Kurzfilm Agentur Hamburg e.V.
Please check our Rules & Terms before submitting.
Films from all genres, countries and formats can be submitted for application. For the International and German Competition, only short films up to a maximum length of 30 minutes and with a production date not older than January 2025 are accepted. The festival reserves the right to programme films longer than 30 min in exceptional cases.
For Triple Axel Competition films must not exceed a running time of 3 minutes and a production date not older than January 2024 are accepted. Films for the Junges Kurzfilm Festival Hamburg Mo&Friese up to a maximum length of 30 minutes and with a production date not older than January 2024 are accepted.
Awards
Hamburg Short Film Award (3,000 €) Deframed Award (2,000 €), for a film which reflects reality in a poetic, formal and analytic way while ignoring all rules in a pioneering spirit. The Jury of the International Competition nominates one european film for the European Film Awards. The audience awards the Audience Award (1,500 €) for the best film from the International or German Competition. The competition spanning ARTE Short Film Award consists of the purchase of one film (up to 6000 Euros) and its subsequent screening in the Kurzschluss programme by ARTE, the Franco-German cultural TV channel. The Kodak Film Award for Best Analog Film (6 x 15m Super 8 or 4 x 30m 16mm film, B&W or Color Negative) is awarded to visual filmmakers who consciously use analog film in their artistic process and creatively use the look and texture of analog film as a stylistic medium in their project. All projects selected for International and German Competition that have an analog film content of at least 50% in terms of running length are automatically nominated, regardless of the film format used (8, 16mm, 35mm, 65mm). The Association of German Film Critics presents the Hamburg Short Film Award of the German Film Critics to a film in the German Competition. The festival is a qualifying festival for the British BAFTA Awards as well as the BIFA (British Independent Film Awards). Mo&Friese Awards: Friese-Award for the Best Short Film for Children 4+ / 6+ (1,000 €) Mo-Award for the Best Short Film for Children 9+ / 12+ (1,000 €) Neon-Award for the Best Short Film for Young People 14+ / 16+ (1,000 €) In addition, an international Jury (containing of ECFA members) is choosing a shortfilm for the ECFA Shortfilm-Award. All prizes of Kurzfilm Festival Hamburg including Mo&Friese will be awarded to the director/s of the film.
Rules
Films from all genres, countries and formats can be submitted for application. For the International and German Competition, only short films up to a maximum length of 30 minutes and with a production date not older than January 2025 are accepted. The festival reserves the right to programme films longer than 30 min in exceptional cases.
For Triple Axel Competition films must not exceed a running time of 3 minutes and a production date not older than January 2024 are accepted. Films for the Junges Kurzfilm Festival Hamburg Mo&Friese up to a maximum length of 30 minutes and with a production date not older than January 2024 are accepted.
| Jury Name | Judge photos | Jury Profile |
|---|
Authorization type
Duration (several sessions)
Film Festival Features
Dates & Deadlines
2025-10-01
Submission start time
2025-10-31
Earlybird Deadline
2026-01-29
Regular Deadline
2026-01-29
Submission end time
2026-04-21
Finalist notification start time
2026-04-21
Finalist notification end time
2026-06-02
Award ceremony start time
2026-06-07
Award ceremony end time
Categories and fees
2025/10/31
Earlybird Deadline
Standard: 13 Dollar
2026/01/29
Regular Deadline
Standard: 17 Dollar
2026/01/29
常规截止日期
Standard: 0 Dollar
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