Video on the Beach: Call for Short Films Open Until 12 March

The 22nd International Film Festival Kino Otok – Isola Cinema will once again light up the screens in Izola and across Slovenia between June 10 and 14, 2026. The bold Video on the Beach section will once again bring a selection of fresh, impactful, open-minded short films and their authors to the screen under the stars! You are invited to submit your films by March 12, 2026.

In the Video on the Beach section, Kino Otok supports screenings of film production by new generations of emerging filmmakers, which explores the wealth and daring of film expression in both form and content. In addition to Slovenian independent production, the section also screens films from neighbouring countries and beyond. Video on the Beach is not a competition programme, but rather, it functions as an exploratory platform that enables not only public screenings of films, but also a dialogue, an exchange of ideas and experiences between the visiting established filmmakers and those who are either at the beginning of their film career or those whose work places them outside the established spaces of conventional and market-oriented filmmaking.

We call on young filmmakers (young at heart, that is) from Slovenia, Italy, Croatia, Austria and beyond to submit their works, which, if selected, will be screened during the festival in a relaxed atmosphere under the stars in close proximity to the Lighthouse beach in Izola.

The selected authors will be entitled to:
– festival pass that enables access to all screenings, PRO and other events,
– invite to Inspiration Accelerator, moderated meetings for the exchange of ideas,
– and free-of-charge camping at the festival camp Scamp.

There are no restrictions on film genres. Documentary, fiction, experimental or animated shorts should first and foremost be marked by unbridled, free and affiliative spirit that in one way or another does away with a series of constructed social, religious, cultural, ethnic, political, intergenerational and, of course, expressive barriers.

Length of submitted films: under 30 minutes. Films completed in 2025 or 2026 will be given priority. There are no limits to the number of entries by one filmmaker, but these have to be submitted separately. Video on the Beach does not require a submission fee.

You are invited to submit a completed online submission form with attachments by 12 March 2026.

For more information please write to video@isolacinema.org. We are looking forward to your submission(s)!

See you at Otok!