9th BEAST IFF – Festival of Central & East European Film
June 3 - 7 2026
Porto, Portugal

Submissions: until April 30

Entering its 9th edition, BEAST International Film Festival is returning to Porto, turning it into the centre of Central & Eastern European cinema culture through screenings, masterclasses, workshops and several industry-related events.

BEAST IFF 9.0 is looking for short films to join its Official Competition Programme – productions from Central & Eastern Europe or by filmmakers of Eastern European descent worldwide irrespective of theme, as well as films by international filmmakers with a focus on the CEE region. The official competition presents four categories: EAST WAVE (fiction film), EAST DOC (documentary film), experimentalEAST (experimental film) and AnimaEAST (animation film), screening short films released in the last two years.

Since its first edition (2017), BEAST International Film Festival brought Porto’s community together in celebration of the best cinema from Central & Eastern Europe. Through its public screenings, BEAST IFF premieres a highly curated programme including feature films, documentaries, short films and animation. The post-screenings Q&As create a space for connecting filmmakers, pioneers, opinion-makers, and the wider audience. BEAST IFF aims to provide a platform for emerging CEE filmmakers and Portuguese directors working abroad.

Submit your film until April 30: https://filmfreeway.com/beastfestival