The British & Irish Film Festival Luxembourg (BIFFL) has announced the launch of the third edition of the Young Filmmakers Competition.
Submissions for the competition open on Monday 1 December 2025 and close on Saturday 31 January 2026, and the BIFFL has confirmed that it has again received support from the Œuvre Nationale de Secours Grande-Duchesse Charlotte, enabling it to hold the competition.
The winner will receive two industry passes to the Galway Film Fleadh being held in July 2026.
The winner of the inaugural competition was from the EIDE in Differdange, with this year's winner from the Lenster Lycée in Junglinster.
Short film entries must be two to five minutes long; for the 2025-26 competition, the BIFFL has confirmed categories, topics and genres, with the same judging criteria, are as follows:
Categories:
• Schools, Under 15s (at 31 January 2026)
• Schools, Over 15s (at 31 January 2026)
• University
Topics:
• Environment
• Cultural Heritage
Genres:
• Drama
• Documentary
• Animation
Judging criteria:
• Storytelling
• Artistic (in front of the camera)
• Technical (behind the camera)
GDPR: The BIFFL noted that they are conscious of GDPR issues in relation to young people and their artistic creations which may feature other young people and has stated artistic creations will only be shared with the nominated judges (to judge the competition), their editor (to edit clips from entries to create a complete Awards reel) and the screening venue (to be screened at the Awards next March). No content received from entrants will be posted on social media or shared with anyone else. The BIFFL will liaise with the winner(s) if other screenings are to be considered for the winning short film(s).
To help classes prepare for teams entering, the BIFFL has prepared a two-page document on Technical Recommendations which is available via email: geoff@festivalevents.lu.
Key dates:
Monday 1 December 2025: Submissions Open
Saturday 31 January 2026: Submission deadline
Submissions should be sent by email to geoff@festivalevents.lu with the following information:
• Title
• Duration
• Category: Schools, Under 15s / Schools, Over 15s / University
• Topic: Environment / Cultural Heritage
• Genre: Drama / Documentary / Animation
• Synopsis (maximum 100 words)
• Names:
• Director(s) & School
• Producer(s)
• Editor(s)
• Writer(s)
• Cast
• Crew (e.g. sound, lighting,...)
• Camera used
• Editing software used
A copy of the film should be sent, either:
• By WeTransfer or similar tool, or
• A link to the uploaded film to YouTube or Vimeo (or other streaming platform) plus password.
February 2026: Jury Deliberation
• according to the above criteria
Wednesday 18 March 2026: Young Filmmakers Competition 2025-26 Awards
• The BIFFL are planning to have a Shorts Evening on the Wednesday before the 2026 Spring Edition starts.
• Open to all entrants, including family and friends and members of the public.
• The BIFFL hope to have Andy Bausch, eminent Luxembourgish film director, to address the event to share his experience and guidance.
Thursday 19 to Sunday 22 March 2026: British & Irish Film Festival 2026 Spring Edition
