The Alexandre Trauner ART/Film Festival (ATAFF) announces a short film competition entitled WITHIN REACH offering emerging filmmakers an opportunity to present their work and ideas to a wider audience. The competition is open to young creators working at the intersection of production design, film and moving image, who reflect on contemporary social issues through their unique visual language.
We are looking for short films or concept art created for a short film project in which the visual concept is not merely a backdrop, but an essential element of storytelling. We believe that visual design can communicate ideas in its own right, evoke emotions and open up new perspectives.
THE THEME
WITHIN REACH
Today, we can connect with almost anyone with a single touch – yet forming genuine connections seems increasingly difficult.
Who and what can we truly reach? Each other, ourselves, the future – or merely the other side of a digital interface?
The keyword WITHIN REACH explores the many meanings of connection, presence, proximity and distance.
The theme may relate, among other things, to:
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love, friendship and family relationships,
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communities and social relationships,
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the digital world and artificial intelligence,
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relationships between generations,
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the relationship between people and their environment,
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or the invisible walls that drive us apart.
What does it really mean to reach someone today?
What does it mean to be available?
And does every connection constitute a genuine human connection?
The theme is open to interpretation. We welcome personal, socially engaged and experimental works that explore the concept of WITHIN REACH through an original visual approach.
The genre and format of the work are open: it may be fiction, adaptation, allegory, symbolic storytelling, animation or any other creative moving-image work, as well as a visual concept developed for a film project.
The work may be created using any moving-image technique, including:
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live action,
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animation,
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stop motion,
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hybrid techniques,
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AI-generated or AI-assisted works,
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experimental and other moving-image techniques,
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manually or digitally created production designs, character designs, storyboards and moodboards.
TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS
For short films
For visual concepts
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A PDF document presenting the film's visual concept, including production design and/or character designs, and optionally a storyboard and/or moodboard. The materials should be combined into a single PDF document.
WHO CAN APPLY?
The competition is open to:
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students currently enrolled in production design, set design or film design programmes,
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recent graduates in production design,
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emerging artists and filmmakers.
Applications may be submitted individually or as a group.
APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS
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For a short film, please submit a link to the film that can be viewed online (Vimeo, YouTube or another video-sharing platform).
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For a visual concept, please submit a single combined PDF document. For large files, a shared Drive link may be provided.
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Applications must also include a synopsis of no more than 1,000 characters, presenting:
- the story or concept of the work,
- the intention behind the creation of the visual world,
- the artistic approach.
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Please name the submitted documents as follows, using consecutive numbering where applicable:
- ataff2026_project title_01
- ataff2026_project title_02
EVALUATION CRITERIA
The jury will evaluate the submissions based on the following criteria:
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originality of the idea,
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strength of the visual concept,
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cinematic thinking,
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production design approach,
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coherence of form and content,
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creativity and quality of execution.
SHOW US YOUR OWN VISUAL WORLD!
Submission deadline: 12 October 2026
HOW TO APPLY
Please send your application materials to: festival [at] ataff.hu
Subject: ELÉR(HETŐ) – (applicant's name)