Regulations IndieJúnior Porto 2026
Preamble
The IndieJúnior Porto – International Children’s and Youth Film Festival will be held from 26th January to 1st February 2026. A cinema festival aimed at children and adolescents, segmented into programs for families, schools and the general public.
Animation, fiction and documentary films are part of a carefully planned program, taking into account each target audience: ages 3+, 6+, 10+, 12+ and 15+. Concerning schools, programs are segmented for preschool, 1st, 2nd and 3rd cycles and secondary school.
Article 1
(Objective)
IndieJúnior aims to encourage the public screening of films that are not distributed or shown through the traditional cinema circuits in Portugal. The festival seeks to promote access to culture through cinema, offering audiences the chance to watch films — short and feature-length, animation, documentary, or fiction — that typically do not reach mainstream distribution channels.
By doing so, it invites viewers to discover new ways of seeing and thinking about the world through the lens of cinema. IndieJúnior also aims to stimulate national film production aimed at young audiences and to create a rich and engaging environment for participants, both during festival screenings and through its parallel educational and leisure activities.
Article 2
(Date)
The 10th edition of IndieJúnior will be held from 26th January to 1st February 2026, at Batalha Film Centre, among other venues in Porto.
Article 3
(How to apply)
3.1 To apply to IndieJúnior´s International Competition, films must fulfill all the following criteria:
– Fiction, animation, documentary or experimental short films (up to 45 minutes)
– Completed in either 2024, 2025 or 2026;
3.2 The festival may, in exceptional circumstances, decide to select films that do not fulfill one or more of these criteria. Such selection is at the discretion of the festival organizers.
Article 4
(Subtitling)
4.1 Submitted films must have a screener subtitled in English (if the original language of the film is not English);
4.2 Selected films are required to have a non-subtitled exhibition copy;
4.3 It is imperative to send the dialogue list in English (including time codes), preferably in .SRT format before sending the final version of the film.
Article 5
(Juries and Awards)
5.1 IndieJúnior juries are:
a) Jury composed of adults and young people who will give the Impact Award (1000 euros);
b) An audience jury that will give the Audience Award (300 euros);
5.2 Juries may grant honorable mentions when deemed necessary;
5.3 Individuals directly connected with the production, exhibition or distribution of films presented in the various competitive sections cannot be part of the respective juries.
5.4 Prize payments will be made based on the bank details provided by the prize recipient in the prize certificate, to be completed after the award is announced. IndieLisboa shall not be held responsible for any incorrect information provided. Any additional bank charges incurred during the transfer are the sole responsibility of the prize recipient.
5.5 Prize payments may take up to 180 days after the end of the festival and only upon receipt of the duly completed and signed certificate.
Article 6
(Submissions)
6.1 Submissions must be completed online via https://filmfreeway.com/IndieJunior no later than September 30th, 2025;
6.2 Only online screeners (requested in the application form) will be accepted;
6.3 Links and passwords for the films must remain active until February 1, 2026. If this is not respected, the film in question may not be considered. If you have submitted an online viewing link and the film is selected we will need the downloadable file, for press/internal use;
6.4 If relevant, please indicate if the submission is a work-in-progress;
6.5 If the film is selected you should send to program@indiejunior.com the following materials:
– Immediately after the communication of the selection: dialogue list, film stills, director’s headshot, credit list, technical specifications and / or EPK (electronic press kit); exhibition authorization, trailer and / or excerpts.
– Until January 2nd 2026: exhibition copy (preferably unsubtitled) in the requested format accompanied by the detailed technical specifications.
Article 7
(Submission fee)
7.1 Submissions include an entry fee:
– early bird – June 3rd to July 3rd (5 Euros)
– regular deadline – July 4th to September 8th (6 Euros)
– extended deadline – September 9th to September 30th (8 Euros)
7.2 Portuguese short films are exempt from fee;
7.3 Entry fees are per film.
Article 8
(Selection)
8.1 The official selection will be announced one month before the beginning of the festival. After the communication of the selection and until after its exhibition in the festival, the selected films must not be publicly exhibited in Portugal.
8.2 After accepting the selection in any section of IndieJúnior, the selected film cannot be withdrawn from the program.
8.3 Unsuccessful submissions will be notified at least one month prior to the festival.
Article 9
(Retention of films)
All film copies screened during the festival must remain in the possession of the festival during its complete duration, and will be returned only after the festival is over, or in some cases, when authorized, until one month after the festival.
Article 10
(Transports)
IndieJúnior shall be liable for the shipping costs of the exhibition copies (to the festival and back), as well as for insurance. If the film copy is shipped to another festival after IndieJúnior is over, the succeeding festival must cover the costs of the shipment.
Article 11
(Insurance)
Insurance for all film copies is the entire responsibility of the festival, from the moment the festival receives a copy until its return.
Article 12
(Publicity)
The producer (and/or the owner of the exhibition rights) of the awarded films must include the mention and the logo of IndieJúnior in all its promo and press materials produced after the award ceremony has taken place.
Article 13
(Acceptance)
Participation in the festival implies the acceptance of all the aforementioned regulations.
Article 14
(Extensions)
Any film selected for IndieJúnior may be included in the extension of the festival within four months of the event. If you do not authorize the film to integrate the extension, you must send an email to program@indiejunior.com, until December 15th, 2025.
Article 15
(General disclaimer)
All the decisions of the festival’s direction are final. IndieJúnior’s directors will be responsible for any decisions regarding issues not covered by the above regulations, in accordance with the international rules of film festivals.