Bangladesh stands as South Asia's verdant gem—a nation intricately woven with rivers and steeped in a rich culture waiting to be uncovered by intrepid explorers. Similarly, the International Open Film Festival – Dhaka is a distinctive entity in the industry. It goes beyond the norms of traditional film festivals by being both a magnet for established powerhouses and an inviting platform for emerging filmmakers. This sets it apart as a genuinely international awards competition.

The International Open Film Festival – Dhaka stands as a cutting-edge global competition that is committed to providing talented directors, producers, actors, new media creators, and all creative team members a singular stage for their creations and the positive recognition they rightfully deserve. We aim to discover and celebrate the accomplishments of filmmakers who craft exceptional short films and new media.

In essence, our festival aspires to curate an exhilarating and dynamic program that embodies the essence of adventure, innovation, and distinct storytelling. We are dedicated to honouring the creativity and ingenuity that thrives in the world of cinema.

At the International Open Film Festival (IOFF), each officially selected project in every season is honoured with the IOFF laurel and a certificate, recognizing their outstanding achievement. All seasonal Award Winners are presented with a laurel and a personalized certificate to commemorate their excellence.

In addition to the BEST CATEGORY AWARDS, IOFF also recognizes outstanding achievements through our OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS, celebrating the incredible talent and creativity within the world of filmmaking.

We are open to any film completed after January 1, 2000, regardless of content, subject, or origin. Submitting your film to the festival is not a guarantee of selection. All the winning films will receive an award or certificate. Please note that we do not offer application fee waivers. We treat every filmmaker equally.

1. Submissions must be accompanied by the applicable submission fee PER ENTRY and a completed online entry form. All films must be in English or have English subtitles at the time submitted.

2. Films must be submitted as an online streaming video via a participating submission platform (WFCN), a password-protected streaming URL (please test before sending).

3. In the event of a password change or link change after submitting, you must email the Festival immediately with that change so we may update your record. If the Festival is not notified of the change and the link is found to be inactive or the password is incorrect, the submission may be deemed ineligible.

4. The festival has no obligation (other than as stated in these rules or on our website) to disclose any of the following information: i) identities of screeners or judges; ii) notes, feedback, or information relating to the submitted project; and/or iii) details regarding the submission review or selection process.

5. The film submitted to the Festival for a particular season can be re-submitted at any time for a second chance, considering that we have different judges' panels for each season.

6. A director/producer may submit more than one film in a category and more than one category at a time.

7. A nominee will be privately screened for the festival judging panel, and will not be screened initially to the public.

8. “Best” films of each category will receive a laurel & certificate.

9. A filmmaker’s submission fee will not be reimbursed if they decide to withdraw their submission. All entry fees are non-refundable.

10. We require an official trailer or poster, a synopsis and a link to your film. Please select the correct category while submitting to avoid disqualification. We reserve the right to re-assign films to the appropriate category.

11. Filmmakers who are not Iranian yet submitting in the Iranian category, their films will be disqualified.