Constantly on the lookout for fresh new content by some of the most promising rising stars, our programming team provides our audience with a wider glimpse into the most essential works of the year. Therefore, FEST - New Directors | New Films Festival is an absolutely vital arena for all those interested in finding out what is the future of FILM!
The film program is focused on a series of competitive and non-competitive film exhibitions, covering different formats and styles, such as Feature and Short length Fiction, Documentary, Animation and Experimental Non-Narrative films. Our selection also includes content directed at children and young audiences.
These are the different competitive and non-competitive sections:
GOLDEN LYNX COMPETITION
The Golden Lynx competition focuses on first or second feature films by some of the most outstanding and innovative new figures in the international film scene. Throughout the years this section has showcased some truly inspirational works in the fields of Fiction and Documentary, by figures such as Kyle Patrick Alvarez (USA), Mounia Meddour (Algeria), Rúnar Rúnnarson (Iceland), Rungano Nyoni (UK/Zambia), Sebastian Silva (Chile), Ainhoa Rodriguez (Spain), Dome Karuskoski (Finland), Maya Vitkova (Bulgaria), David Pablos (Mexico) and Ha Le Diam (Vietnam), among many others.
Full List of previous selections of Golden Lynx Competition
SILVER LYNX COMPETITION
The Silver Lynx Competition is a short film competition that attempts to provide a launch board for new filmmakers, covering four different formats: Fiction, Documentary, Animation and Experimental Cinema. In past editions this section has showcased artists such as Christos Massalas (Greece), Mati Diop (France), Adriano Valerio (Italy), Ninja Thyberg (Sweden), Patrick Vollrath (Germany), Daria Belova (Russia), Manuel Abramovich (Argentina), Aga Woszczynska (Poland), Simon Mésa Soto (Colombia), and Jela Hasler (Switzerland), only to name a few.
Full List of previous selections of Silver Lynx Competition
NATIONAL GRAND PRIX COMPETITION
The Portuguese scene obviously takes a stand-out position at FEST, with films spread across the program, as well as a special competition focused just on local filmmakers. Salomé Lamas, Basil da Cunha,Mariana Gaivão, Diogo Costa Amarante, Cristele Alves Meira, Margarida Rego, Jorge Quintela, Leonor Teles, Ico Costa, Pedro Lino, Bruno Carnide or Bernardo Lopes, you name it, the names that have turned Portugal into a hotbed of cinematic creativity have all been through our scope.
Full List of previous selections of National Grand Prix.
NEXXT COMPETITION
A festival that aims at discovering all the freshest talents in filmmaking could not possibly stray off too far from academic circles, where new creative minds are incubating. Through a widespread network of film and audio-visual schools and institutes from across the planet, built over the last 19 years, FEST created NEXXT, an all-inclusive academic competition that intends to let the world know that brilliance knows no age.
Full List of previous selections of NEXXT COMPETITION
FESTinha COMPETITION
Originally a non-competitive series of screenings for children, FESTinha has been one of the fastest expanding sections of our event, opening the festival to a wide new audience. Three different juries composed of children or young teens of different ages will analyze several blocks of short films and a series of feature-length productions finely tuned for each age group. This section is divided in three subgroups: Under 10, Under 12 and Under 18.
Full List of previous selections of FESTinha COMPETITION
SPECIAL SCREENINGS (non-competitive)
Our opening and closing sections have often been the highlights of our programs, together with several other special events taking place throughout the years. Authors such as Sean Baker (USA), Asghar Farhadi (Iran), Carlos Marques Marcet (Spain), Jonathan Glazer (UK), Catherine Corsini (France), or Wes Anderson have caught everyone’s attention, in theatrical, open air and drive-in screenings at our event. This section will continue to be a considerable highlight of our program.
List of previous SPECIAL SCREENINGS (non-competitive) Selection
BE KIND REWIND (non-competitive)
With so much focus on the future of cinema, you would tend to think that FEST has a one-track mind. Well, you’d be wrong. Without understanding the past you’ll hardly get a proper sense of the future, and to make sure the past is not forgotten we created Be Kind Rewind, a section focused on retrospectives and/or thematic screenings, covering all sort of issues. In the recent past, this section has been dedicated to subjects such as the Role of Women in Filmmaking, Different Political Movements in Cinema, the insanity of North Korean cinema, an extension of Odesa Film Festival, or simply deeper looks into the filmography of artists such as LM Kit Carson, among others.
List of previous BE KIND REWIND (non-competitive) Selection
ECHOES (non-competitive)
While we aim at showcasing the widest possible variety of film discourses in most of our sections, in Echoes we attempt to expand the horizons of our audience with challenging and courageous efforts in the world of film. This section compiles a series of feature and short films, as well as TV and Online visual discourses, that expand the conventional borders of cinema.
List of previous ECHOES (non-competitive) Selection
Full List of previous selections of Echoes available soon
