Helsinki International Film Festival – Love & Anarchy invites short filmmakers to participate in this year’s National Competition. The submission is open from March 18 until May 31. All films selected for the competition will be screened as part of the 38th Love & Anarchy festival 18.–28.9.2025.
The submission for the National Competition is open for fiction, documentary or animated films completed after 1st of January 2024 and that are max. 30 minutes long. The production or co-production country of the film must be Finland. The competition line-up is selected by members of the Love & Anarchy Festival Ministry. An independent jury appointed by the festival will choose the winners. All films selected for the competition will be screened as part of the 2025 R&A Shorts programme.
The main prize is the R&A Shorts Award which is a monetary award. The Finnish Film Foundation’s New Wave Award will be given to a new talent whose short film represents the bright tomorrow of Finnish film. The purpose of the award is to support the professional career of a promising new filmmaker working with the short film format. Established in 2021 in collaboration with AMPI, The Moving People and Images Award is sponsored by the Finnish Film Foundation. It is given to a filmmaker whose work emphasises inclusion and diversity.
The Best Student Film Award is an accreditation to the Love & Anarchy festival and Finnish Film Affair industry event in 2026. Student films also compete for all the other prizes. In addition, all 2025 competition films will compete for the Audience Award, which is a product prize given to the director.
The submission for the 2025 R&A Shorts National Competition is now open until May 31. HIFF – Love & Anarchy takes place on 18–28 September 2025.
Link to the submission form, competition rules and further information about participating can be found on the festival website.
The National Competition, which has been organised since 2018, presents a wide range of the high level of Finnish short films through professional and student works. In 2024, Elina Talvensaari’s documentary How to Please won the main prize.