ÉCU – The European Independent Film Festival is calling for submissions for the 20th edition of the festival. As one of the world’s most recognized independent film festivals in the world, ÉCU embraces innovation and creativity and allows directors in competition to showcase their films to audiences who love and appreciate independent cinema. The Festival is competitive and focuses on original and independent works that demonstrate quality, creativity and innovation across fourteen categories.

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The Comic-Con International Independent Film Festival (CCI-IFF) is now accepting submissions for its 2025 festival. Judged by a panel of industry luminaries, the CCI-IFF accepts genre-related films in multiple categories. Awards and prizes will be given out at Comic-Con, with film screenings all four days of the event, scheduled for mid-July 2025.

Read more about Comic-Con International Independent Film Festival (CCI-IFF) 2025 on Contest Watchers.

Il Varco invites you to join the tenth Passepartout Photo Prize, a photography contest born to promote and widen the exposure of emerging photographers. Passepartout Photo Prize aims to support the development of talented photographers from all over the world by awarding 500 Euro in monetary prizes every year, organizing exhibition in a fine art gallery in the heart of Rome, publication in our partners’ magazines, and other opportunities What makes this contest unique is that the organizers collaborate with various professionals in the contemporary art and photography industries. The jury is a diverse blend of photographers, editors, gallerists, curators and educators who bring kaleidoscopic perspectives into our selection process.

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Bolivia Design and Poster Biennial BICeBé presents its 2025 International Poster Call and invites graphic designers from all over the world to participate in this important activity of the world’s poster design agenda. Contestants may be design students, graphic designers, plastic artists, photographers and graphic producers in general, of any age and nationality, having posters printed between April 2023 and April 2025, except for those submitting as Category D and Category F that must be unpublished posters. Each contestant can submit up to ten (10) posters in categories A, B, C, D and F. Categories D and F do not accept series. Series are not counted as a single poster. Category E will accept up to two (2) motion design posters per designer.

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The Bogliasco Foundation is currently accepting applications for Fall 2025 & Spring 2026 residential fellowships. Bogliasco Fellowships are awarded to gifted artists and scholars working on projects of any subject area in the following disciplines: Archaeology, Architecture, Classics, Dance, Film/Video, History, Landscape Architecture, Literature, Music, Philosophy, Public Humanities, Theater, and Visual Arts. During their month long stay at the Center, Bogliasco Fellows are provided with living quarters, full board, and a and a work space or separate studio, depending on the discipline.

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Applications are now open for the İstanbul Photo Awards 2025, an international contest where the photos that define the world agenda compete. Organized by Anadolu Agency (Anadolu Ajansı) for the 11th consecutive year, the contest aims to promote press photography globally. The contest will distribute $58,000 in prize money in total, with the Photo of the Year awarded to the top image in the Single News category, which comes with a $6,000 prize.

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SIFF announces its call for submissions for the 51st annual Seattle International Film Festival running 15-25 May, 2025 at SIFF Cinemas and venues throughout the city. Continuing the Festival’s 50 year history, the 2025 Seattle International FIlm Festival will spotlight new voices alongside established directors, films from more than 80 countries, sensational hit independents, and films that have yet to break through to the US audiences. Every year, SIFF gives out the Golden Space Needle Audience Awards for Best Narrative Film, Best Documentary Film, Best Director, Best Performance, and Best Short Film, and the Lena Sharpe Award for Persistence of Vision (presented by Women in Film Seattle, this audience award is given to the feature film by a woman director that receives the most votes in our Golden Space Needle balloting). In addition, the Festival sponsors ten (10) juried awards, awarding over $30,000 in cash prizes.

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The Type Directors Club, the world’s leading typography organization, has opened the global call for entries for its prestigious TDC71 competition. TDC71 recognizes typographic excellence and innovation, while maintaining its ongoing commitment to the art and craft of typography and design. Winners of TDC71 receive a Certificate of Typographic Excellence and digital seal certifying their work is among the world’s best of the year. Winning work will also be featured in the highly respected TDC Annual, The World’s Best Typography®, and showcased in eight exhibitions that travel to museums, schools and design organizations around the world. These shows travel throughout North America, South America, Europe and Asian countries.

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The AZ Awards turns 15 this year! The call for entries for 2025 is now open to participants from all parts of the world. AZ Awards is AZURE Magazine’s international architecture and design competition, recognizing excellence and innovation, and showcasing the world’s best projects, products and ideas. This is a unique opportunity for designers, architects, urban designers, developers, clients, manufacturers and students to get their work seen by our jury of international experts and receive global recognition. Longlisted entries will be published online. Winners and shortlisted entries get published online and in print in the annual AZ Awards issue.

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Holcim Foundation Awards, the world’s most significant competition for sustainable design is now accepting submissions for 2025. The Swiss-based Holcim Foundation seeks client-supported projects of all scales in the late-stage design phase to be recognized from a global prize pool of $1 million. The competition is free to enter and is open to client-supported and commissioned projects in the detailed design phase that are yet to be realized. Projects already under construction are eligible, provided construction is not completed before 11 February 2025.

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