Alternativa Film Festival, a global film project by inDrive, has opened submissions for its 2027 edition. This year, it will take place in Africa for the first time.
The festival announced this on Thursday during the MIP Africa event. They are inviting filmmakers from Africa, Asia and Latin America to submit feature films for this fourth edition.
But short film submissions are only open to African filmmakers. This shows the festival’s focus on Africa for its 2027 edition.
All films must be completed after 1 January 2026. The call for entries will close on 1 March 2027. Filmmakers can submit their work for free on the festival’s official website.
Alternativa Film Festival is offering $120,000 in prize money across seven award categories. Three awards are set aside for African filmmakers. These include the $20,000 Focus Award and two $10,000 Short Film Awards. African filmmakers can also compete in other categories.
Directors of selected films will be invited to the festival and the awards ceremony. Their travel and accommodation costs will be covered by the organisers.
The 2027 festival is planned for late 2027, but the host country, city, and exact dates are yet to be announced.
More Opportunities for African Filmmakers
The organisers say the festival wants to showcase impactful films from the Global South. This area has about five out of every six people worldwide but is often under-represented in films and on international cinema platforms.
Liza Surganova, Head of Alternativa, spoke about the festival’s move to Africa. She mentioned that the festival aims to build on past successes while providing more chances for filmmakers in Africa.
“With each edition, the 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.
“As we prepare to bring the festival to Africa for the first time, we want to build on everything we’ve achieved so far, making this edition our biggest and boldest yet while introducing new initiatives for our community,” she said.
Ms Surganova also noted that Africa’s cultural diversity and film perspectives would enrich the festival’s next chapter.
The program will include public screenings, discussions and other activities to spark conversations about social issues in the selected films.
It will also feature Industry Days, a professional program designed to connect filmmakers, producers, industry experts and social impact leaders from the Global South.
Over 1000 Submissions in 2026
The Alternativa Film Festival is a nomadic event that takes place in different regions each edition.
It started in Almaty, Kazakhstan, in 2023, then moved to Yogyakarta, Indonesia, in 2024, and held its third edition in Medellín, Colombia, in 2026.
The Medellín edition received 1,831 film submissions from 55 countries, making it the largest edition so far. It attracted 11,000 attendees, hosted 107 international guests and partnered with over 60 organizations.
The festival is also expanding into distribution to help filmmakers from the Global South reach international audiences.
Alternativa Distribution
Alternativa Distribution, launched earlier in 2026, runs a non-profit distribution model. It offers upfront minimum guarantees for non-theatrical rights, funds subtitling and dubbing, and shares revenue with filmmakers after covering distribution costs.
Its catalogue includes Nepal’s Elephants in the Fog, which won the Un Certain Regard Jury Prize at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival; Afghanistan’s No Good Men, the opening film at the 2026 Berlin International Film Festival; Malaysia’s Lost Land, winner of the Special Jury Prize in the Orizzonti section at the 2025 Venice Film Festival; and Tunisia’s Four Daughters, a nominee at the 2024 Academy Awards.
Films selected for the 2027 festival may also be included in the distribution catalogue.
Arsen Tomsky, founder and CEO of inDrive, said this project was created to help filmmakers from under-represented regions find international audiences.
“Exceptional filmmaking can come from anywhere, but access to international audiences is still hindered by a deeply unequal system,” he said. “Alternativa Distribution was created to challenge that imbalance.”
Elise Shick, a producer from Malaysia of Lost Land, which won the Nativa Award at the 2026 edition, called the festival a platform for international collaborations.
“We’ve built a family here at the festival,” she said. She added that participants have already started a co-production project involving nine countries, hoping to premiere it at the next edition in Africa.
Alternativa Film Festival accepts fiction, documentary, animation and hybrid films from all genres.
Filmmakers can find the full eligibility criteria, list of participating countries and submission details on the festival’s official website.
Entries close on 1 March 2027.
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