4th Refugee Film Festival Short Film Competition
4th Refugee Film Festival Short Film Competition
Every year on 20th June, UNHCR, The UN Refugee Agency commemorates World Refugee Day, honoring the resilience and courage of millions of people who have been forced to flee war, persecution and violence. In 2023, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. signed Proclamation No. 265 series of 2023, declaring 20 June of every year as National Refugee Day. The proclamation enjoins all agencies and instrumentalities of the National Government, including government-owned or –controlled corporations, state universities and colleges, all local government units, non-government organizations, civil society groups, Philippines-based UN agencies, and the private sector “to actively participate and render the necessary support and assistance for the effective implementation” of the Proclamation. In particular, the observance of the National Refugee Day is deemed necessary to uphold and respect the rights of the refugees and stateless persons and promote awareness of their predicament.
Building on the momentum from the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Refugee Film Festivals, UNHCR Philippines will be holding the 4th Refugee Film Festival on 20 June 2026, showcasing the stories of people forced to flee through films and documentaries from the Philippines and around the globe.
As part of the Film Festival, we are inviting interested young people in the Philippines to submit their entries for the Short Film Competition, with the theme Solutions in Motion: Rebuilding Futures Together.
Interested participants are encouraged to use their talent and skills in filmmaking to help bring awareness, build empathy, and mobilize action for and on behalf of more than 123 million forcibly displaced persons worldwide.
MECHANICS
Participants must abide by the following rules, requirements, and guidelines:
General rules: Registration will be open from 16 April to 01 June 2026, 11:59PM.
Registration is FREE of charge.
The competition is open to all young people in the Philippines who are 18-25 years old. All entrants (director, videographer, editor, scriptwriter, crew, and others) must not be professional filmmakers. There is no limit on the number of entries per group. If necessary, non-students may be cast members/actors.
All genres and forms are welcome, including animated and experimental films. The film entry should be appropriate for the general audience and should not contain any offensive or inappropriate language, image and/or content.
The film entry must revolve around the theme Solutions in Motion: Rebuilding Futures Together, in the context of forced displacement and statelessness for refugees, asylum-seekers, internally displaced persons, stateless persons, or populations at risk of statelessness.
The film entry must have a minimum length of 3 minutes and a maximum length of 7 minutes, including the credits.
All entries must be original. In accordance with copyright laws, the music or scoring used must be original, licensed, or royalty-free. If the filmmaker chooses to use published or released music, written consent must be secured by the filmmaker from the original artist.
The official entry must contain the following:
A soft copy of the film in MP4 format with English subtitles
A soft copy of the film poster (A4)
All the requirements detailed below. Incomplete applications will not be included in the selection process.
Deadline of entry submission is 01 June 2026 11:59 PM. All requirements must be submitted via email to [email protected] with subject line WRD Short Film Competition <Insert Title of Film>
By signing the official entry form and letter of commitment, the entrants agree to abide by the competition rules and guidelines, as well as the decision of the panel of judges which is final and irrevocable.
REQUIREMENTS
Completed and signed official entry form. To download the entry form, please click on this link
Signed letter of commitment
Proof of age (any of the following)
Scanned copy of School ID for all production members who are in-school; or
Scanned copy of any document reflecting birthdate
Proof of enrollment for all production members who are in-school
Endorsement from the school (for in-school production teams)
CRITERIA FOR JUDGING
Creativity and Originality (30%) – novelty and imagination of the entry’s approach to story-telling
Relevance to the theme (25%) – the degree to which the entry faithfully captured and depicted the theme of the competition
Technical Quality (20%) – production value in terms of direction, cinematography, sound, and editing
Impact (20%) – resonance to the emotions and intellect
Social Media Engagement (5%) – the film poster’s engagements (likes and shares) in UNHCR Philippines’ Facebook account.
Prizes of WRD Film Festival short film winners
- Best Festival Short Film – P13,000 and Certificate
- First Runner-Up – P10,000 and Certificate
- Second Runner-Up – P7,000 and Certificate
Other Guidelines:
All submitted films will be reviewed and shortlisted to the Top 5 films.
The Top 5 films will be announced during the week of 15 June 2026 via the UNHCR Philippines Facebook and Instagram accounts.
The Top 5 films will be screened during the Short Films screening of the 4th Refugee Film Festival. The Awarding Ceremony for the Top 3 films will follow.
UN Staff and their relatives up to the second degree of affinity or consanguinity are disqualified from the competition.
The competition organizers will not provide compensation for any costs incurred by the filmmakers to produce submitted entries. Only winning entries will be awarded a cash prize.
Views and opinions expressed in the film entries are of the filmmakers and do not represent the views and opinions of the competition organizers nor the panel of judges.
The logos of the competition organizers cannot be used in any part of the film or on any of the posters and publicity materials.
The filmmaker(s) retain ownership of copyright in their film. By submitting an entry, the filmmaker(s) grant UNHCR (and its affiliated entities, implementing/operational partners, and event partners) a perpetual, worldwide, non-exclusive, irrevocable, royalty-free licence to use, reproduce, edit (including to create excerpts/trailers and to subtitle or dub), adapt, translate, distribute, communicate to the public, and display the film and related materials (including the poster, stills, and the filmmakers’ names/biographies) for UNHCR’s non-commercial advocacy, awareness-raising, educational, reporting, archival, and event-related purposes, in any media now known or later developed. UNHCR will not use the film for commercial advertising or sell the film as a standalone product without further written agreement. UNHCR is not obliged to use, screen, or publish any entry and may remove content from its platforms at its discretion.
By submitting an entry, the filmmaker(s) represent and warrant that they are the sole owner(s) of the film and/or have secured all rights, licences, permissions and consents necessary to submit the film and to grant the licence set out above.
The filmmaker(s) further represent and warrant that the film, including but not limited to its images, footage, music, sound recordings, text and performances, does not infringe the intellectual property rights, moral rights, privacy rights, portrait or image rights, or any other rights of any third party, and that all individuals appearing in the film have consented to the filming and to the use of their image and voice as contemplated under these competition rules.
The filmmaker(s) agree to hold UNHCR harmless from and against any claim, demand or liability arising out of a breach of the above representations in connection with UNHCR’s use of the film in accordance with the licence granted herein.
To the extent permitted by applicable law, the filmmaker(s) waive, or where such waiver is not permitted, agree not to assert, any moral rights they may have in the film and related materials against UNHCR, and consent to the editing, adaptation, subtitling, dubbing, excerpting and contextual use of the film by UNHCR, in accordance with the licence granted herein.
Participation in the competition is voluntary. UNHCR shall not be liable to any participant for any loss, damage or claim arising out of or in connection with the selection, non‑selection, screening, modification or permitted use of any submitted film, provided such use is in accordance with the licence and terms set out herein.