We are an independent international film festival that aims to showcase the best indie films twice a year in Plovdiv, Bulgaria.
 
Our mission is to help talented film artists that create meaningful films, that are worth seeing and sharing, but who lack the backing of studios, expensive marketing campaigns, or famous personas.
 
We want to help these filmmakers to show their films and shine a light on the value of their non-studio productions. And, our goal is to educate audiences on the quality and importance of independent cinema.

This year the festival will be held in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, an up-and-coming creative and cultural city in the heart of Eastern Europe. Plovdiv was chosen as the European Capital of Culture in 2019, and ever since, it's been attracting visitors from various countries for its cultural events.

We believe our film festival will add to this rich atmosphere and give filmmakers a chance to showcase their work to a wide range of audiences from different parts of the world. 

If your film has a strong story, then submit it to Mind the Indie Film Festival.

Awards*:
Best Feature Film
Best Short Film
Best Student Film
Best Documentary
Best Animated Film

* Awards will be sent to winning filmmakers after the event's conclusion if weren't collected in person.
The postage of the award is covered by the festival.

FILM FESTIVAL ELIGIBILITY:

Submissions may be:  
- feature fiction films, documentaries, and animation,
- short fiction films, documentaries, and animation
or
- student fiction film, documentary, and animation.

All can be of any genre and topic; as long as short films are under 40 minutes long and feature films over 40 minutes long.

Films with a language other than English must have English subtitles.

A valid student ID is required for student submissions.
We would consider a film to be a student film if the filmmaker was a student at the time of the completion of the film.

Student ID proof should be attached to the application or sent with a tracking number to: info@mindtheindie.com

We will consider all films that have been completed after January 2012.

Filmmakers are welcome to submit a FilmFreeway online screener. No DVD submissions.

Filmmakers must have secured clearance to use all copyrighted or trademarked material (music, images, text sources, etc). Failure to obtain clearance could result in your film being withdrawn from the festival.

More than one entry may be submitted. Each must be submitted separately.

Entry fees are non-refundable.

FILM FESTIVAL NOTIFICATION:

All notifications of acceptance or rejection will be made by email from Mind the Indie Film Festival by September 14th, 2024.

FILM FESTIVAL SELECTION:

All films that have a higher average, or are a favourite of a programmer, go on to final deliberations.

If selected, a high-quality H.264 file will be the allowed format for an exhibition.

Mind the Indie Film Festival is not responsible for failure to meet its predetermined screening dates where such failure is due to an event that is beyond our reasonable control, which includes but is not limited to fire, flood, storm, riot, civil disturbance, war, nuclear accident, terrorist activity, and pandemic. In case our festival dates are postponed due to such circumstances, we will reschedule and recommence at the earliest possible dates.

Mind the Indie Film Festival will take place in Plovdiv, Bulgaria from November 14-15th, 2024.

Awards will be sent to winning filmmakers after the event's conclusion if weren't collected in person. The postage of the award is covered by the festival.

Unfortunately, Mind the Indie Film Festival does not provide room, board, or travel for filmmakers.

Festival dates and the venue are subject to change.

Participation in the Mind the Indie Film Festival grants us the authorisation to show elements of the entered film for promotional purposes if required.

By submitting your film to the Mind the Indie Film Festival you agree that you have read, understood, and agree to all the terms and conditions of the festival's rules and guidelines.

Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Daniel Requena Lambert

    One not to miss, communication and hospitality better than at Christmas with my parents! Thank you for your patience "Mind the Indie Film Festival"

    May 2023
  • Christina Zorich

    The New Abolitionists had a great experience being apart of Mind the Indie Film festival. Thank you for all the support and what a lovely blessing to be amoung the selected and honored!

    July 2021
  • I regret I couldn’t attend the festival, but I’m proud my debut feature Six has been premiered at Mind the Indie. The festival has been noted among 10 unmissable European film festivals of 2018 along with such dinosaurs as Locarno, BFI London and San Sebastián, but it deserves much more acclaim.

    December 2018
  • Karni Haneman

    Unfortunately I couldn't attend in person but the communication was great and it seemed like it was a great festival and screening!

    July 2018
  • Kelly Holmes

    Unfortunately wasn't able to attend but the festival was curated carefully and we won a beautiful award that was posted straight out to us - thank you so much xx

    June 2018