Alternativa Film Festival opens 2027 entries, Africa to host first time
- Alternativa Film Festival is accepting entries for its 2027 edition, which will be held in Africa for the first time.
- Organisers say $120,000 in prizes is on offer, with three awards reserved for African filmmakers.
- Entries close March 1, 2027, but the host country, city and dates are yet to be announced.
African filmmakers now have a new international stage to aim for. The Alternativa Film Festival has opened submissions for its 2027 edition, and for the first time the festival will be held in Africa.
Organisers announced the call for entries on October 29 at MIP Africa, according to Tribune. Feature films are welcome from Africa, Asia and Latin America, but short film entries are open only to African filmmakers, since the continent is the festival's focus region for 2027.
All films must have been completed after January 1, 2026. Submissions are free and close on March 1, 2027, through the festival's website.
What African filmmakers stand to gain
The festival is putting up $120,000 (about ₦172m at the official rate of roughly ₦1,435 to the dollar) across seven award categories. Three of those awards are reserved for African filmmakers: a $20,000 Focus Award and two Short Film Awards of $10,000 each. African entries can also compete in the other categories.
Directors of films picked for the competition will be invited to the festival and awards ceremony, with travel and accommodation covered by the organisers.
Liza Surganova, head of Alternativa, said the move reflects a push to open more doors for filmmakers and build connections across the industry. She described Africa as a continent with extraordinary cultural diversity and cinematic talent.
"With each edition, Alternativa Film Festival grows. Not only in reach and scale, but also in the connections it creates and the opportunities it opens up for filmmakers," she said.
The festival is founded and supported by inDrive, the global mobility company. It began in Almaty, Kazakhstan, in 2023, moved to Yogyakarta, Indonesia, in 2024, and held its 2026 edition in Medellín, Colombia. That edition drew 1,831 submissions from 55 countries and about 11,000 attendees, organisers said.
Beyond screenings and awards, the 2027 event will host Industry Days, a programme bringing filmmakers, producers and industry experts together, plus public discussions on the social issues explored in the selected films.
Films chosen for the festival may also be considered for Alternativa Distribution, a non-profit initiative launched earlier in 2026. It pays filmmakers upfront minimum guarantees for non-theatrical rights, funds subtitling and dubbing, and shares revenue after costs are recovered. Its catalogue includes Tunisia's Oscar-nominated Four Daughters.
inDrive founder and chief executive Arsen Tomsky said the distribution arm was set up to challenge what he called a deeply unequal system that keeps films from the Global South from reaching international audiences.
What happens next
Filmmakers have until March 1, 2027, to submit. The host country, city and exact dates for the late-2027 edition have not been announced.
