Filmmakers FAQ

Cineolio’s Cinenights is our own traditional screening series that we organize in various venues where cine lovers get to watch short films and engage in open discussions afterwards to share their feelings and express their thoughts about what they’ve seen.

With Cineolio Special Programs we collaborate with specialized events so that their communities explore short films they wouldn’t find otherwise.

Given the fact that not everyone can attend our screenings, we launched the Panorama section on our website to provide recommended titles that are already available online by the copyright holders or their affiliates so our visitors still get a way to watch some short films anytime. Since 2025, every new list remains for a whole year before it moves to the archived lists.

There is no contradiction here. While you certainly can keep your film online for free, having it also with Cineolio provides extra benefits. To mention a few, 1) we provide ongoing opportunities for short films to be watched by new audiences on the big screen in various venues around the world, widening their travel map, increasing their exposure, and extending their life, 2) we follow most our screenings (mainly Cineolio’s Cinenights) by open discussions with the attendees to give them a chance to share their feelings and express their thoughts about what they’ve seen, nothing can replace this cinematic togetherness and the cultural exchange that comes with it, and 3) we occasionally collaborate with events, including film festivals, which means with us the laurels counter continues.

Yes. We actually have short films that were submitted to us by distributors who believe in our mission. It’s always great to have a film signed with a distribution company, and we understand that this could come with some restrictions during the course of the agreement, that’s why we do not require any exclusivity with any film we take. We believe there are always ways to avoid conflicts while multiple parties push your short film to have the exposure it deserves.

Yes. However, each film must be submitted individually.

Currently, more than 40% of the short films in our library have been selected from submissions.

Yes. A film is a film.

No. We accept only narrative, documentary and experimental short films.

We would love to show every film we take in every venue in our network, but we currently can only do so much with our small team, and sometimes programming efforts face unavoidable challenges. Although it's not a rule, a film in our library could be shown up to 3-5 times per year. The term of our agreement is ongoing unless it’s specified otherwise by the film’s submitter.

No. We do not organize online screenings for any film in our library.

To finalize the selection process, and upon receiving the selection email notification, submitters will have a specific time window to send the following required material: high resolution digital file of the film (with burned-in English subtitles, if applicable), high resolution poster and film stills, and SRT files. The best way is to have everything organized and ready on an online hosting service such as Google Drive. Not sending the required material in a timely manner may result in disregarding the selection.

For film submissions, we accept screeners in any format that are hosted on Vimeo, YouTube, or Google Drive. If a film is selected, we require the screening copy to be a high resolution digital file in MP4 and MOV formats, with burned-in English subtitles (if applicable). The film poster is required to be a high resolution digital file, accepted in PDF, JPEG, or PNG formats. The film stills are required to be high resolution digital files, accepted in JPEG or PNG formats. We test all files regularly, and if there is an issue with a particular file we’ll notify the submitter and ask for another file (either in the same or another format), which has to be sent to us in a timely manner.

If you ever need us to stop showing your film for any reason, as long as it’s not part of a program that has already been announced, inform us formally in writing and we'll not show it anymore, no questions asked. Similarly, we do not guarantee indefinite placement in Cineolio’s programs and may remove the film from our library.

We do not pay screening fees. As pushing intellectual, cultural and educational exchange is at the core of Cineolio’s mission, our small team works tirelessly to give every film in our library the attention it deserves, and we invest in marketing and promotion to bring audiences to our screenings across the globe. This means that every film and filmmaker get continuous exposure in multiple communities during their journey with us.