REVENGE OF THE BABUSHKA! CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

The RhineMain Short Film Award is entering its 6th round under the motto “Revenge of the Babushka”! 

The Eastern European “babushka” (or “baba”, “bunica”, “bebia” in other Eastern European languages) has a very special reputation. She is usually much more than a family member – in many fairy tales she is the hidden actual heroine of the story, and a force to reckon with. 

This programme is a part of the side bar program Cinema Archipelago, which is funded by the Kulturfonds RheinMain.  

2025 we are looking for short films from the last three years from Central and Eastern Europe that focus on (OR were made by) aging women: Ladies, grannies, babushki, transwomen, witches, senior citizens and the like. Women middle aged and over are underrepresented on screen as well as behind the camera – let’s try and change that! 

A regional jury consisting of professional cinephiles from the Rhine-Main region will decide on the winning film, which will receive a prize of 2,500 euros. After the festival, the short film program goes on tour through the region, visiting independent cinemas on its way. 

Max duration: 20 minutes, all genres welcome.
Production years: 2023, 2024 or 2025.
Deadline for entries: February 10, 2025 

Please read the Terms & Conditions before submitting your film!

Contact the festival team, if you have any questions regarding the submission process.

 

SUBMIT VIA EVENTIVAL
SUBMIT VIA FILM FREEWAY

Terms and Conditions

  1. goEast is organized by DFF – Deutsches Filminstitut & Filmmuseum (Schaumainkai 41, 60596 Frankfurt).
  2. The 25th goEast Film Festival will take place in Wiesbaden, Germany, from April 23th–29th, 2025.
  3. Films must meet the following criteria for entering the competition:
    * Formats: DCP or Mp4, maximum length of 20 minutes, all genres welcome. Exceptions require an authorization of the festival.
    * Production year: 2023, 2024 or 2025.
    * The filmmaker has to have citizenship of one of the eligible countries in Central or Eastern Europe (see list below) and/or must be a permanent resident of one of these countries. 
  4. A selection committee chooses films for the program. Whether a submitted film fits the competition motto “Revenge of the Babushka” is decided by the selection committee. The selection process will not be public and there is no legal right to enter the competition.
  5. Once the rights-holders have confirmed their participation in the program a withdrawal is no longer possible. In case of late withdrawal of a film from the program, goEast  will charge the rightsholder an administrative fee of 500 Euro.
  6. The management of the festival appoints an independent jury. The jury will decide about awards and prizes. The jury’s decision is final, and the jury does not need to justify their decisions. The RheinMain Short Film Award is endowed with 2,500 Euros and is funded by the Kulturfonds Frankfurt RheinMain gGmbH. The prize money will be paid out to the director of the film. The prize money will be handed out personally in cash during the festival or will be transferred via bank transfer to the account of the winner within six months after the festival.
  7. goEast does not charge any submission fees for film entry.
  8. Please note that as of the 25th festival edition in 2025, goEast only pays screening fees for films out of competition. No screening fees will be paid for films in the short film competition.
  9. If a film is selected for the competition, goEast will invite and cover the full travel and hotel costs for one representative of the fillm team for the period between the first scheduled screening and the award ceremony.
  10. Films will only be screened in original language with English subtitles. The festival reserves the right to produce German subtitles for the films of the short film competition. The rights holder agrees that the selected short films have up to six further screenings in the Rhine-Main region within the framework of the RheinMain Short Film Tour.
  11. The deadline for entering films is February 10, 2025. By then the selection committee must have received: an online link, a completed entry form with all attachments. The right holders of selected films are requested to provide a digital version (screener) of the film with English subtitles.
  12. A print of the film and further deliverables are to be sent only after an official invitation has been received. The film print must arrive at least 14 days before the festival starts. (April 9, 2025).
  13. The festival is allowed to archive a digital version of the film and to upload the file to the media library, which usage is limited to accredited guests only, during the festival week.
  14. Entering a film means the acceptance of the festival’s regulations.
  15. The festival’s legal domicile is Frankfurt am Main, Germany.

Eligible Countries

Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, North Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Russia*, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan. 

*goEast strongly condemns Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine. Films that received funding from any Russian state institution, or from organizations or individuals on the international sanctions list, will not be selected for the goEast competition.