About the festival

The BOO International Film Festival was created by merging two International Film Festivals ELBE DOCK and Young Film Fest and its first year will take place from 3 to 9 November 2025 in Prague.

The festival's dramaturgy is based on a selection of films from the most prestigious film festivals (Cannes, Venice, Locarno, Clermont-Ferrand, Berlinale, Sundance, Toronto, Oscar nominations), but also gives space to emerging talents. In addition, the industry programme will also play an important role, focusing on short films and audiovisual education.

You can look forward to a total of six competition categories in which contemporary short films will compete. The two main competition categories are the pan-European and Czech-German sections, which follow the tradition of the ELBE DOCK festival, in which the Czech-German programme had a special place alongside the pan-European programme. In addition to these two categories, films can also compete in the categories for children aged 3 years and older, two categories for young people (12-14 and 15-19 years), as well as in the category of films for seniors.

What makes BOO different from other film festivals? First of all, its approach to the audience, which tries to involve them as much as possible and actively lead them to an open dialogue, while also placing great emphasis on the peer-to-peer method, which consists in sharing experiences between members of the same age or professional group.

Another thing in which BOO excels is its industry program, where it will bring a rich industry program focused on short film. And most importantly, a pan-European program focusing on audiovisual education and best practice examples from abroad. So you can look forward to a wide range of topics from the worlds of audiovisual education and short film, presented by leading experts from all over Europe.

The main venue:
Kino Kavalírka (Plzeňská 210, Prague)
a multifunctional hall with a maximum capacity of 70 theatre-style seats

More venues will be added.
All screenings will take place in front of a live audience.

Filmmakers of the films selected for the competition sections are invited to the festival. Q&A sessions with the audience follow the screenings.

Program sections

The main competition sections:

AWARD FOR THE BEST CZECH OR GERMAN SHORT FILM
Award for a Czech or German short film (live-action, documentary, experimental, animation). A Czech or German film is defined as a film by a Czech or German director or a film primarily produced by at least one of these countries. A short film is defined as a film with a runtime of 30 minutes or less.

AWARD FOR THE BEST EUROPEAN SHORT FILM
Award for a European short film (live-action, documentary, experimental, animation). A European film is defined as a film by a European director or a film primarily produced by at least one of the European countries. A short film is defined as a film with a runtime of 30 minutes or less.

The parallel competition sections:

AWARD FOR THE BEST EUROPEAN SHORT FILM FOR SENIORS
Award for a European short film (live-action, documentary, experimental, animation). A European film is defined as a film by a European director or a film primarily produced by at least one of the European countries. A short film is defined as a film with a runtime of 30 minutes or less.

AWARD FOR THE BEST EUROPEAN SHORT FILM FOR YOUTH (15-19 YEARS OLD)
Award for a European short film (live-action, documentary, experimental, animation). A European film is defined as a film by a European director or a film primarily produced by at least one of the European countries. A short film is defined as a film with a runtime of 30 minutes or less.

AWARD FOR THE BEST EUROPEAN SHORT FILM FOR YOUTH (12-14 YEARS OLD)
Award for a European short film (live-action, documentary, experimental, animation). A European film is defined as a film by a European director or a film primarily produced by at least one of the European countries. A short film is defined as a film with a runtime of 30 minutes or less.

AWARD FOR THE BEST EUROPEAN SHORT FILM FOR CHILDREN
Award for a European short film (live-action, documentary, experimental, animation). A European film is defined as a film by a European director or a film primarily produced by at least one of the European countries. A short film is defined as a film with a runtime of 30 minutes or less.

In addition to the competition sections, the festival programme will offer films out of competition, an accompanying cultural programme (live music and others) and an industry programme for film professionals.

Awards

The AWARD FOR THE BEST CZECH OR GERMAN SHORT FILM is awarded to the director of the film and is accompanied by a financial reward of EUR 1,000. The winning film in this section will also receive a prize in the form of distribution in the Czech Republic for a total of EUR 2,000. This is a non-financial award; this amount will be reinvested in the distributor's costs associated with the film's release. The amount includes the preparation of the screening copies, technical production, programming of the film for cinemas, PR and marketing activities in the Czech Republic. The terms and conditions of distribution will be defined in a separate contract to be signed after the prize has been awarded. The rights holder has the right to refuse the prize without compensation.

The AWARD FOR THE BEST EUROPEAN SHORT FILM is awarded to the director of the film and is accompanied by a financial reward of EUR 1,000. The winning film in this section will also receive a prize in the form of distribution in the Czech Republic for a total of EUR 2,000. This is a non-financial award; this amount will be reinvested in the distributor's costs associated with the film's release. The amount includes the preparation of the screening copies, technical production, programming of the film for cinemas, PR and marketing activities in the Czech Republic. The terms and conditions of distribution will be defined in a separate contract to be signed after the prize has been awarded. The rights holder has the right to refuse the prize without compensation.

The AWARD FOR THE BEST EUROPEAN SHORT FILM FOR SENIORS is awarded to the director of the film. The winning film in this section will receive a prize in the form of distribution in the Czech Republic for a total of EUR 2,000. This is a non-financial award.

The AWARD FOR THE BEST EUROPEAN SHORT FILM FOR YOUTH (15-19 YEARS OLD) is awarded to the director of the film. The winning film in this section will receive a prize in the form of distribution in the Czech Republic for a total of EUR 2,000. This is a non-financial award.

The AWARD FOR THE BEST EUROPEAN SHORT FILM FOR YOUTH (12-14 YEARS OLD) is awarded to the director of the film. The winning film in this section will receive a prize in the form of distribution in the Czech Republic for a total of EUR 2,000. This is a non-financial award.

The AWARD FOR THE BEST EUROPEAN SHORT FILM FOR CHILDREN is awarded to the director of the film. The winning film in this section will receive a prize in the form of distribution in the Czech Republic for a total of EUR 2,000. This is a non-financial award.

The jury can grant a special award/recognition which is not financial. The award can go to either film, or a film professional.

Further details can be found in the Festival Statute.