$500
Cash prize
A cash award for the Grand Jury winners, paid directly with nothing to claim back.
Awards
Awards & Categories
What the festival gives, what you can enter, and when it closes.
The Grand Jury Prizes
The top honours
Awarded to the festival's most outstanding work, in film and in screenwriting.
Trophy
The official award
A premium, heavy-weight physical trophy, presented at the live event in Rotterdam.
$5,000+
Industry package
Targeted PR distribution, network exposure and production service discounts from us and our industry partners, aimed squarely at your next project.
Category winners
Diploma, laurels and a seat in the room
Every film and screenplay selected for a category win is honoured with the Official Rotterdam Indie Festival Diploma and Laurels.
Beyond the awards themselves, the real prize is access. Selected filmmakers and screenwriters take their place at the January screening and pitching event, in front of the jury and one of the more useful rooms on the European independent circuit.
Categories
What you can enter
- Best Feature Film
- Best Feature Documentary
- Best First-Time Feature Director
- Best Indie Short Film
- Best Short Documentary
- Best First-Time Short Director
- Best Student Film
- Best European Film
- Best American Film
- Best Experimental Film
- Best Animation
- Best Music Video
- Best Feature Screenplay
- Best Short Screenplay
- Best TV/Web Pilot Script
Entry fees vary by deadline and are listed on our FilmFreeway page, which is always the current one.
Deadlines
Dates for the 2027 edition
20 Aug 2026Submissions open
27 Aug 2026Earlybird deadline
28 Sep 2026Festival deadline
22 Oct 2026Indie deadline
19 Nov 2026Late deadline
9 Dec 2026Final deadline
16 Dec 2026Notification date
16 Jan 2027Live screening and pitching event at KINO Rotterdam, a Saturday
Ready when you are.
Entries run through FilmFreeway, where the current deadline and fee are always shown.