Mecal Lab is a professional short film development program held annually in Barcelona, Spain, as part of the renowned Mecal Pro Festival. The lab selects five short fiction projects (under 30 minutes) and provides filmmakers with intensive training and mentoring through seven specialized workshops. These cover topics such as crowdfunding, script doctoring, marketing and distribution, sustainable filmmaking, public funding, AI in cinema, and pitching strategies. Each selected project receives personalized coaching and a €3,000 grant to support the film’s production.
The 2025 edition will take place from June 26 to July 6. Applicants must submit a biography of the director and producer, a motivation letter, a full project dossier, and the short film’s script. The application fee is €15, and the deadline is May 15, 2025.
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MECAL LAB
Sheffield DocFest is the UK’s leading documentary festival and one of the world’s most influential markets for documentary projects. We champion and present the breadth of documentary form – film, television, immersive and art – in the vibrant city of Sheffield each June. We offer makers and audiences a place for inspiration, debate, development, learning and challenge. Our programming represents our core values – creativity, empathy, freedom, inclusivity and internationalism.
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Mercado de Sheffield DocFest
The Projects Submission call for the FEST – New Directors | New Films Festival in Portugal (Espinho) invites film projects to its Pitching Forum 2026. Submissions are open from December 18, 2025 to April 6, 2026, with Early Bird, regular, and late fee periods. The main event takes place during the festival, running June 20–28, 2026, with training sessions from June 23–25 and final pitch presentations on June 26–27, 2026. This call accepts international submissions with no country restrictions and is open to projects of all genres and filmmaking techniques (fiction, documentary, animation, experimental). The focus area is a Pitching Forum for development, funding, and co-production, where selected projects are presented to industry professionals. Accepted formats include feature films, short films, and series at various stages from development to post-production, organized in categories such as Feature Gems, Work In Progress, Make It Short, and Series, according to the participation guidelines.
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FEST — Pitching Forum
IDFAcademy 2026 is an intensive training program organized by the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) for emerging documentary directors and producers working on their first or second feature-length documentary. The program is designed to strengthen participants' artistic and professional development through workshops, case studies, talks, and networking opportunities with leading international documentary professionals.
The program welcomes international applicants from around the world and will take place in person in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, from November 12 to 15, 2026. Applications are open from June 1 to August 1, 2026, with August 1, 2026 as the final submission deadline. Around 100 participants are selected through an international competitive process. Although the program is not project-driven, applicants are encouraged to have a documentary project in development or a recently completed film to maximize the benefits of the training experience.
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IDFAcademy
The Industry Screenings at the Curtas Vila do Conde IFF are private sessions showcasing new short films that seek a world or international premiere. These sessions are exclusively dedicated to film industry professionals, offering a unique opportunity to view unseen films and generate interest and establish connections with programmers, distributors, and other professionals in the industry.
The event is aimed at a select audience, including programmers and artistic directors of festivals, who are responsible for selecting films for other international festivals, sales agents, who seek new titles to market globally, distributors, who are looking for cinematic content for different markets and platforms, and television channels, which are often looking for new works to broadcast. Other professionals, such as producers and filmmakers, can also participate to explore networking opportunities.
The program for the Industry Screenings is created in collaboration with the Agency for Short Film, an organization specializing in the curation and promotion of short films, ensuring the selection of high-quality and internationally relevant films.
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INDUSTRY SCREENINGS - Curtas Vila do Conde IFF
