Bozcaada International Festival of Ecological Documentary (BIFED) has officially opened its call for submissions for its 13th edition, set to take place on the island of Bozcaada from 7 to 11 October 2026. The application deadline is 1 April 2026, with submissions accepted free of charge via the festival’s website.
Directed by Petra Holzer and coordinated by Ethem Özgüven, BIFED continues its long-standing commitment to accessibility and ecological solidarity, inviting documentary films produced within the last four years. The festival’s ecological framework extends beyond environmental themes to encompass justice, inequality, labor, migration, violence, and war, emphasizing the interconnected fragility of life and the politics of coexistence.
BIFED 2026 places a renewed focus on solidarity as a form of survival, positioning documentary cinema not merely as a representational tool but as an ethical space for contact, responsibility, and collective thinking. The festival explicitly rejects the aesthetics of disaster in favor of resistance, defiance, and shared futures.
Awards include the Fethi Kayaalp Grand Prize, the Madam Melpo Second Prize, the İdil Schneider-Bulut Award for Best Music and Sound Design, and the Naci Güçhan Student Award. Submissions can be made via bifed.org, FilmFreeway, or Festhome.
