Are you developing a short film that explores the social, political, or democratic challenges of our time ?
DEMOCRACY NOW is our new international programme dedicated to emerging filmmaking teams (writer/directors and producers) studying or working in France, Germany, Switzerland, or Austria.
About the programme
The programme consists of a first 5-days residential workshop in November 2026, dedicated to story exploration and story development, a four-months remote work period dedicated to further story development and project packaging, and a second 4-days residentital workshop dedicated to the development of a financing and distribution strategy. For all particpants, travel and accomodation costs will be covered and one participating project will receive the AUGENBLICK AWARD (12.000 EUR) as initial financing.
Cinema is uniquely positioned to explore the complexities, contradictions, and possibilities of democratic life. In moments of political uncertainty and rapid technological transformation, filmmakers offer essential perspectives on what democracy means, how it functions (or fails), and what futures remain possible. We seek short film projects that refuse easy answers, that honor the intelligence of audiences, and that recognize both the fragility and resilience of democratic ideals. We believe that urgent contemporary issues deserve urgent artistic responses. Projects may explore all cinematic genres (drama, thriller, comedy, documentary, etc.) and take the form of real or imaginary stories dealing with current societal issues in contemporary or future settings. The narrative must be rooted in a historical, political, or social context that shapes the behavior of protagonists.
Who can apply ?
Teams of 2 people: writers/director(s) and producer(s) (maximum age: 35 years per team member) studying or working in France, Germany, Switzerland, or Austria.
Either currently studying at a film school, OR graduated within the last 3 years from a film school, OR must have completed at least one short film that was released at a film festival (if no formal film school background).
Must speak fluent English to present and discuss projects effectively in English with other participants.
How to apply ?
The application must be submitted by Email to democracynow@festival-augenblick.fr as one PDF file (max. 15 MB in size) and should contain:
Team motivation letter: Why you want to take part in the programme?
Project presentation containing title, genre, length, logline, synopsis and one key art picture (max. 2 pages)
Estimated production budget of the proposal film and outline of the financing plan
CV and contact details of writer/director and producer
Declaration that applicants are able to attend the complete programme, particularly the residential workshops in Strasbourg from 2-6 November 2026 (writers/directors only) and from 1-6 March 2027 (writers/ directors and producers), and that they will participate in remote online sessions between November 2026 and March 2027.
Application deadline: 31 August 2026.
