NaNo Film Market 2026: submissions now open for short films in development and seeking distribution

The NaNo Film Festival is expanding its offering dedicated to the audiovisual industry and is officially opening submissions for NaNo Film Market 2026, now in its second edition.

The festival’s industry area is designed to support authors and producers from project development through to their encounter with the audiovisual market, via two parallel and independent tracks: the NaNo Development Lab and the Industry Showcase.

Submissions will be open from July 16 to August 31, 2026, and selected projects will be announced on September 10. Activities will take place from October 1 to 3 at TAN – Teatro Area Nord, as part of NaNo Film Festival 2026. Registration for both programs is free of charge: a participation fee is required only from selected candidates.

Both tracks are preceded by an online Meet To Match session, designed to best prepare participants for meetings and pitches, and attendance is required for the entire duration of the program, including the online session.

The NaNo Development Lab was created with the goal of supporting authors as they grow their projects, offering concrete tools to prepare them for their encounter with the film and audiovisual industry. The program will select 6 unreleased short films (3 Fiction and 3 Documentary) still in the writing stage and not yet in production, with a maximum running time of twenty minutes. Each project may be represented by up to two people, in any combination of director, screenwriter, and producer.

Training sessions with industry professionals are planned, during which authors will work on refining their dossier, building their pitch, and honing public speaking techniques. The path will culminate in Pitching Day, during which each team will have a few minutes to present their project in front of producers, distributors, and industry professionals, followed by Q&A and networking moments.

Alongside the development track, NaNo Market offers the Industry Showcase, reserved for short films in an advanced stage of post-production or already completed, designed to connect these works with potential distribution and commercial partners. The program will select 5 projects, with a single accreditation provided per project, regardless of the number of people involved in making the work.

The initiative is divided into two categories. Category A is dedicated to strictly unreleased short films in an advanced stage of post-production, and aims to foster connections with festival distributors and sales agents interested in curating their international journey and premiere strategy. Category B, on the other hand, is aimed at already completed short films, offering the opportunity to present them to broadcasters, streaming platforms, and buyers interested in acquiring distribution rights.

With these new calls, NaNo Film Festival strengthens its role not only as a place for discovering and showcasing short-form cinema, but also as a space for professional growth and dialogue with the market. All details regarding participation requirements, required materials, and fees for selected candidates will be available shortly on FilmFreeway.