Filmmakers FAQ

Wondering is healthy. Curiosity may kill only cats. Here are some answers to the frequently asked questions we get.

  • Our Cinenights is not a film festival. It’s an ongoing film screening series where we take short films from around the world and show them in venues around the world, all year long.

  • While you certainly can keep your film online for free, you will still get something extra with Cineolio. We provide opportunities for short films to be watched on the big screen, and we follow our screenings by open discussions with the viewers about the themes, stories, and characters they’ve seen (some previous discussions lasted for nearly an hour). Nothing can replace this cinematic togetherness and the cultural exchange that comes with it.

  • It’s always great to have a film signed with a distribution company, and we understand that this could come with some restrictions during the course of the agreement, that’s why we do not require any exclusivity with any film we take. Talk to us; we believe there are always ways to avoid conflicts while giving your film the exposure it deserves.

  • Yes. However, each film must be submitted individually.

  • Yes. A film is a film.

  • No. We accept only narrative, documentary and experimental short films.

  • We would love to show every film we take in every venue in our network, but we currently can only do so much with our small team, and sometimes programming efforts face unavoidable challenges. Although it's not a rule, a selected film in average could be shown up to 3-5 times per year.

  • If you ever need us to stop showing your film for any reason, as long as it’s not part of a program that has already been announced, let us know and we'll not show it anymore, no questions asked. Similarly, we do not guarantee indefinite placement in Cineolio’s programs and may remove the film from our library.

  • For submissions, we accept screeners in any format that are hosted on Vimeo, YouTube, or Google Drive. If selected, we require the screening copy to be a high resolution digital file in mp4 format, with burned-in English subtitles (if applicable).

  • We do not pay screening fees. However, our small team works tirelessly to give every film the attention it deserves, and we invest in marketing and promotion to bring audiences to the screenings across the globe. This means that every film and filmmaker gets exposure in different communities and online.

  • The Panorama section on our website presents our recommended titles that are available online already so those who can’t attend our screenings may still get to watch some short films anytime; since 2025 every new list remains for a whole year before it moves to the archived lists. Cinenights is Cineolio’s traditional screening series that we organize in various venues around the world where people get to watch selected short films from our library on the big screen and have the chance to engage in discussions afterwards.