THE FESTIVAL
Film submissions are now open for Bif&st 2026 – Bari International Film & TV Festival, scheduled to take place in Bari from 21 to 28 March 2026.
With a provision dated 7 October 2024, the Council of the Puglia Region entrusted the Apulia Film Commission Foundation with the production, organisation and implementation of the new artistic and cultural project of the BIF&ST – Bari International Film & TV Festival for the three-year period 2025-2027, appointing journalist and film critic Oscar Iarussi as artistic director and supervisor.
The Festival’s artistic and cultural project, “taking the South, the Sea and the Mediterranean as its cultural reference points and landscapes, aims to express the historical and cultural values of Apulia, as well as to use the universal language of culture and cinema to build bridges, relationships and cooperation between peoples and communities”.
In line with these objectives, the programme and structure of Bif&st 2026 will include the following competitive and non-competitive sections.
- FESTIVAL SECTIONS
The Festival includes the following Competitive Sections:
– “MERIDIANA” – International competition open to feature films, medium-length films, fiction films, animated films, film and television documentaries, which are at least Italian premieres, from countries in the Euro-Mediterranean area. The selection of films for “Meridiana” may include, at the discretion of the Artistic Direction, one or more films out of competition.
– “PER IL CINEMA ITALIANO” – National competition open to feature films, medium-length films, fiction films, animated films, cinema and television documentaries, which are at least Italian premieres, of Italian nationality, or majority Italian production or co-production. The ‘Per il cinema italiano’ section may include, at the discretion of the Artistic Direction, one or more films out of competition.
– ‘SARO’ BREVE’ – Competition open to Italian and international short films, with particular reference to Euro-Mediterranean countries, lasting no longer than thirty minutes and belonging to different genres (fiction, documentaries, animation, video art, etc.), which are at least Italian premieres, for which viewers will be invited on each occasion to assign a vote for the final awarding of an Audience Award. The ‘Sarò Breve’ section may include, at the discretion of the Artistic Direction, one or more short films out of competition.
The Bif&ST programme will also include additional Non-Competitive Sections (e.g. “Rosso di sera”, Retrospectives, TV series, television programmes, thematic focuses, world, international and European premieres, restorations, tributes, etc.), which will be detailed and duly communicated.
The films to be nominated may be selected at the sole discretion of the Artistic Direction for both the competitive and non-competitive sections.
The detailed programme of screenings, events and awards ceremonies will be communicated on the Festival’s official website and through other communication channels.
- JURY AND AWARDS
– Films in competition in the ‘MERIDIANA’ Section will be evaluated by an international jury composed of a maximum of 5 personalities from the world of international cinema, culture and the arts, who have not collaborated in the creation of the invited works or are in any way involved in their distribution.
For this Section, the jury will award the following PRIZES:
- Bif&st Meridiana ‘Franco Cassano’ Award for Best Film, which will also receive a prize of €10,000, of which €5,000 will be reserved for the film’s exclusive or majority production company and €5,000 will be reserved for the Italian distribution of the film, where applicable, or for a certified distribution agreement within three months of the Bif&st 2026 verdict. The latter part of the prize is intended as an incentive to promote the circulation and awareness of the winning film.
- Bif&st Meridiana Award for Best Director, which will also award a prize of €5,000, reserved for the director or directors of the film
- Bif&st Meridiana Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role
- Bif&st Meridiana Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role
- Award for Best Technical-Artistic Contribution (screenplay, cinematography, set design, music etc.)
The jury’s decisions are final. The Artistic Director of Bif&st is invited to attend the meetings of the International Jury, but does not have the right to vote.
The International Jury reserves the right to award up to a maximum of two special mentions, after consulting with the Artistic Director of Bif&st.
No Bif&st joint prizes will be awarded. Furthermore, the same film may only win one of the prizes provided for in the Regulations. Exceptionally, after consulting the Artistic Director of Bif&st, the Jury may also award a prize to the actor or actress of a film that has won one of the other prizes provided for in the Regulations.
– The films in competition in the “PER IL CINEMA ITALIANO” section will be evaluated by a popular jury chaired by a prominent figure from the world of Italian cinema, who may be supported by an assistant chosen by the Artistic Director.
For this section, the jury will award the following PRIZES:
- Bif&st Award for Italian Cinema for Best Film
- Bif&st Award for Italian Cinema for Best Director
- Bif&st Award for Italian Cinema for Best Male Performance
- Bif&st Award for Italian Cinema for Best Female Performance
The jury’s decisions are final. The Artistic Director of Bif&st is invited to the initial and final meetings of the popular jury and may participate without voting rights.
There will be no joint winners of the “Per il cinema italiano” awards.
A single film may only win one of the awards provided for in the Regulations. In exceptional cases, after consulting the Artistic Director of Bif&st, the Popular Jury may also award a prize to the actor or actress of a film that has won one of the other awards provided for in the Regulations.
The popular jury, after consulting with the Artistic Director of the Festival, reserves the right to award up to a maximum of two special mentions.
- FILM REGISTRATION
Registration is free of charge.
Candidate films must be submitted no later than 5 February 2026 by sending a secure link for streaming the film to this address: filmoffice@bifest.it with a password valid until the end of the festival.
By sending the link, applicants accept these rules in their entirety and undertake, in the event of selection, to irrevocably agree to the film being screened at Bif&st 2026.
- SELECTED FILMS
Candidates of selected works will receive an official invitation letter by email, which must be accepted no later than the date indicated by the festival management.
The Bif&st management is not required to communicate the reasons for any exclusion from the selection.
The proponents of the selected works undertake to send the festival organisation all the materials necessary for the participation of the work in the official festival programme in the manner and within the time limits indicated below, following the instructions that will be provided by the Festival Film Office.
Bif&st will not bear any leasing costs for screening copies of selected films.
The artistic director of the festival reserves the right to set the screening dates for all selected films, including any repeat screenings, based on the overall needs of the festival and the authors and performers.
- SUBTITLES
5.1. Non-Italian films
The selected works must be submitted by the applicant in their original version with English subtitles reproduced on the projection medium.
The costs of electronic subtitling in Italian will be borne by the festival, unless subtitles already exist.
The proposers of the selected works must provide the festival with all the materials necessary to carry out the electronic subtitling, in particular:
- list of dialogues in the original version
- for non-English language films, a list of English subtitles with a spotting list (in/out timecode) must also be provided
- a secure link for downloading the film, with final editing and identical duration to the screening copy, for the exclusive use of subtitling.
The lists and link must be sent by email to the address provided by the Film Office.
5.2. Italian Films
The Italian films that are selected will be presented in Italian, preferably with English subtitles (directly on the projection medium).
If filmed in a language other than Italian, they must be equipped (directly on the projection medium) with Italian subtitles.
The festival will not cover any expenses related to the production of Italian subtitles, either on the projection medium or electronically.
For Italian films, the festival will not cover any expenses for subtitling.
- FOR THE WEBSITE AND CATALOGUE/PROGRAMME
For the promotion of all selected works both on the festival website www.bifest.it and on other media, please send an email containing:
– official link from which to download the following materials:
- pressbook (max 3Mb)
- technical information: country, year, duration
- film poster, .pdf or .jpg format, in a light version for the web
- 3 photos of the film, .jpg format, minimum 300 dpi
- The synopsis of the film in English and Italian
- The biography and filmography of the director(s), in English and Italian
- Photographic material of the film and the director (in high resolution).
– link to the official film trailer (if available) and/or the official film page
The email must specify the TITLE OF THE WORK and the DIRECTOR in the subject line and must be sent no later than 15 February 2026 to filmoffice@bifest.it
- SHIPPING AND FORMATS
7.1. Shipping of copies
The cost of shipping the screening copies of the selected films to and from their country of origin will be borne by the applicants.
All screening copies of the selected works – carefully checked by the applicants before shipping and under their responsibility – must be sent to the festival’s official international courier, which will be communicated.
For customs purposes, shipments from abroad must bear the following indication on the outer packaging: ‘NO COMMERCIAL VALUE – FOR CULTURAL USE ONLY’.
7.2. Screening formats
Presenters will be sent a technical form to be completed online by the date communicated by the festival, providing all details relating to the screening copy.
The only format accepted is DCP-Digital Cinema Package (compliant with DCI/SMPTE standards). The KDMs for the selected films will be the responsibility of the presenters.
Should the DCP be encrypted, valid KDMs must be provided for all server certificates used during the festival, well in advance of the scheduled screenings, to ensure the screening of the film and to carry out the necessary technical screening tests on site, valid until midnight on 30 March 2026.
- INSURANCE OF COPIES
The festival will insure the screening copies of the selected works against all risks for the period of their storage at the festival, i.e. from their arrival in Bari until their departure from Bari. In the event that a selected copy suffers any damage for which the festival is responsible, Bif&st insurance will only reimburse the material cost of the damaged medium based on normal laboratory rates and in relation to the standard value of screening copies.
- ANTI-PIRACY
The admitted works will not be copied, duplicated or presented outside the official festival venues.
If the proposers of the selected films wish to use anti-piracy service agencies of their choice, the related costs are to be borne by them.
- PRESS AND PROMOTION
The presenters of the selected films are invited to send the following promotional material separately to the festival’s Press Office for distribution to the press, various media outlets and distributors accredited to Bif&st:
- pressbook
- 5 to 10 stills (high resolution) free from embargo and distribution deadlines.
- 3 promotional clips (maximum duration: 3 minutes) in Full HD format for TV, maximum size 250 Mb
- protected link to the film
The above materials should be sent to the following addresses: ufficiostampa@bifest.it, filmoffice@bifest.it
- 2 free-standing cardboard displays or 2 free-standing roll-ups of the film (also to be used for any press activities)
Promotional printed materials for the selected works may be sent by courier – at no cost to the festival – from 17 March 2026 and no earlier to the address provided by the festival, marked “Bif&st 2026 promotional material”:
Each participant and/or guest of the festival acknowledges that accredited television stations and other media partners will be present at Bif&st to carry out television and/or radio recordings. By agreeing to participate in Bif&st, each participant waives free of charge the broadcasting rights to any recordings, allowing the media partner that produced such recordings to use them according to their needs, with automatic release for Bif&st.
- USE OF THE BIF&ST BARI INTERNATIONAL FILM & TV FESTIVAL LOGOS
Should a work be selected by the Festival, the applicant undertakes to affix the logo(s) of the Bari International Film & TV Festival (BIF&ST) to the promotional materials of the work, as well as to the opening credits, with the specific wording that will be communicated.
- GENERAL RULES
The registration of a film and the submission of a copy thereof imply full acceptance of these rules in Italian. Producers, distributors or other parties submitting the film guarantee that they are legally authorised to register the film with Bif&st.
The Bif&st organisation accepts no responsibility for the cancellation of the festival.
- DISPUTES
Any dispute relating to the interpretation and/or application of these Regulations, if not settled by conciliation, shall be settled exclusively by the Court of Bari and Italian law shall apply.
- CONTACTS
Bif&st Artistic Direction
Film Office
Bif&st Press Office
