Submissions for the Oscar® qualifying Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival (5-15 March 2026) are now open. The Festival, which presents its 28th edition in 2026, has four competition sections: Feature Length International Competition, Newcomers International Competition, >>Film Forward International Competition and Immersive: All around cinema International Competition.
TiDF is among the most important documentary festivals in Europe and an Oscars® documentary feature qualifying festival, celebrating the art of documentary via a rich program of films, events, initiatives and the Agora Doc Market, a lively hub for film professionals.
Submission dates are as follows:
- Early bird submissions are open until September 15 2025 with an entry fee of 35 euros for each submission.
- From September 16 on, submissions will be open until November 30, 2025 with an entry fee of 50 euros.
The Feature Length International Competition section presents 12-14 documentary features that will compete for two awards: The Golden Alexander award, which is accompanied by a €12,000 cash prize and the Silver Alexander, accompanied by a €5,000 cash prize. The films meeting the following conditions are eligible to participate in the Feature Length International Competition section:
- production must have been completed within 12 months preceding the Festival screening
- are a World, International or European Premiere
- have not been released or screened publicly in Greece either in cinemas, television or online
- have a running time of over 70 minutes
The film that wins the Golden Alexander award will automatically be eligible to submit for Academy Awards consideration in the Documentary Feature category.
The Newcomers International Competition section for first or second-time directors presents 10-12 films of over 50 minutes in length that will compete for the Golden Alexander “Dimitri Eipides” award, which is accompanied by a €10,000 cash prize, and the Silver Alexander, which is accompanied by a €4,000 cash prize. The films meeting the following condition are eligible to participate in the Newcomers IC section:
- a director’s debut or sophomore documentary feature film
- production must have been completed within the 12 months preceding the Festival screening
- are a World, International or European Premiere
- have not been released or screened publicly in Greece either in cinemas, television or online
- have a running time of over 50 minutes.
The >>Film Forward International Competition presents 8-10 films that experiment with the form and method of documentary filmmaking. The Golden Alexander award is accompanied by a €6,000 cash prize, and the Silver Alexander, which is accompanied by a €3,000 cash prize. The films meeting the following conditions are eligible to participate in the >>Film Forward IC section:
- production must have been completed within 12 months preceding the Festival screening
- are a World, International or European Premiere
- have not been released or screened publicly in Greece either in cinemas, television or online
- have a running time of over 45 minutes.
- Click here to submit
The Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival also presents the Immersive: All around Cinema International Competition section, featuring XR/AR/VR projects “which prove that this new medium can pave the way for novel cinematic experience and art.” The films that meet the following conditions are eligible to participate in the XR IC section:
- production must have been completed within 24 months preceding the Festival screening
- has not been released or screened publicly in Greece on online
- Click here to submit Immersive / XR projects.
- The deadline is January 5 2026. Submissions are free of charge.
