The Alternativa Film Festival, supported by inDrive, is now accepting submissions for its 2026 edition, which will be held in Colombia. With an expanded prize fund of 120,000 USD (an increase of 20,000 USD from the previous edition), the submission window runs from June 10 to October 10, 2025.
Fiction films, documentaries, animations, and hybrid works of all genres completed after January 1, 2025, are eligible. For films with a world premiere before August 1, 2025, the submission deadline is September 1, 2025, at 23:59 (UTC -5). For films with a world premiere after August 1, 2025, the deadline is October 10, 2025, at 23:59 (UTC -5). A full list of eligible countries and detailed film requirements can be found in the Rules & Regulations, available on Alternativa’s official website.
Speaking about the film festival, Arsen Tomsky, CEO and founder of inDrive and the visionary behind Alternativa, said, “At inDrive, we believe that talent and powerful stories should never be limited by borders — and that art has the power to create meaningful change for millions of people around the world. It can also help advance inDrive’s mission of challenging injustice — both through our business and beyond. That’s why we founded and support Alternativa and its festival that gives impact filmmakers from the Global South a platform to be seen, heard, and celebrated”.
Alternativa was launched in Central Asia (Kazakhstan) in 2023 and expanded to Southeast Asia (Indonesia) in 2024, where it made a lasting impression with the 2nd Alternativa Film Awards & Festival, featuring a rich program and a memorable awards ceremony. Now, the initiative is moving to Latin America to continue its mission of spotlighting bold new voices in Global South cinema. This transition also marks an evolution of the project. What began as the Alternativa Film Awards has now grown into a full-fledged festival — a shift reflected in its new name.
The program will include public screenings, discussions, and professional networking through Industry Days — a professional program that connects filmmakers, producers, and social impact leaders, fostering thought-provoking conversations, exchange of experience, and new collaborations. The festival culminates in the awards ceremony. Directors, whose films are selected for the Competition, are invited to attend the festival and the ceremony, with travel and accommodation covered by the organisers.
The initiative shifts its focus region with each edition of the Alternativa Film Festival, an alternative system for recognising filmmakers from the Global South, enabling their work to reach broad and diverse audiences and build bridges across regions. The festival honours films that bring positive change to the world and society, combining artistic excellence with the potential for significant social impact. In 2024, the festival received over 1,000 submissions from 33 countries.
The host city and exact dates of the Alternativa Film Festival 2026, along with the names of the Selection Committee and the International Jury, will be announced in the coming months.
