1. All the works submitted must have been produced after 1 January 2025.

2. Feature films submitted to the competition must not have been released in commercial cinemas in Spain (outside of festivals) prior to the event, which will take place from 12 to 21 November 2026.

3. Authors from any country may submit films, provided that they are of legal age and their works are in Spanish, Valencian or subtitled in either language. Each filmmaker may submit as many works as he/she wishes.

4. The works can be fiction, documentary or experimental, created using any technique (live action, animation, etc.), as long as their themes are framed in the fantastic context and have not been submitted in previous editions of this festival.

5. Use of Artificial Intelligence: If Artificial Intelligence tools were used, the specific ways in which they were used must be specified in the work description (technical specifications).

6. Feature films in competition must be between 60 and 100 minutes in length, including credits.

7. The maximum length of the short films in competition will be 20 minutes, including credits.

8. The maximum length of the fake trailers in competition will be 5 minutes, including credits.

9. Delivery of materials: after notification of selection, materials must be sent within the established deadline and in the required formats. In the case of feature films, screenings will primarily be in DCP format.

10. The registration of the works in competition must be submitted exclusively through the FilmFreeway platform, along with payment of the required entry fee. This fee is non-refundable if the work is not selected.

11. For this year’s edition, Elche International Fantastic Film Festival – FANTAELX establishes the following distinctions:

— Best Feature Film: 600€. National and international feature films in competition will be eligible for this award.

— Best Feature Film Project: 300€. Feature film projects within the fantastic genre in any of its modalities (fiction, documentary, animation, etc.) that are in the pre-production phase, submitting dossiers, designs, storyboards, teasers or other development materials, will be eligible for this award.

— Best International Short Film: 300€ + direct access to Skyline Benidorm Film Festival (Alicante, Spain).

— Best National Short Film: 300€ + direct access to Festival de Cortometrajes de Terror y Fantástico 1000 Gritos de Buenos Aires (Argentina).

— Best Short Film from Alicante (Spain): 200€ + direct access to Madeira Fantastic FilmFest (Portugal). To be eligible for this category, the authors must prove that they were born in the province of Alicante, or have been residents in the province during the filming of the submitted work.

— Special “Social and Fantastic” Award: 200€ + direct access to Sant Joan d’Alacant Film Festival (Alicante, Spain). The short films in competition in the three categories (Alicante, national and international) will be evaluated to receive this distinction.

— Audience Award: 200€. All national and international short films and fake trailers screened in specific sessions, which will be announced in the festival program, will be eligible for this award.

— Best Fake Trailer: 100€ + direct access to Fantastic and Horror Trailer Festival TEASERFRENIA (Alicante, Spain). Provincial, national and international fake trailers in competition will compete for this award.

12. Award-winning filmmakers who attend the Closing Ceremony of the festival will also receive a gift during the awards ceremony.

13. The cash prizes will be subject to the withholdings established by law, as well as to the expenses derived from bank transactions.

14. Payment for selection: the works selected to compete for Best National Short Film and Best Feature Film will receive, as a payment for selection, the amount of 75€ (subject to the withholdings established by law). In order to receive this payment, the attendance and participation of the person or persons directly related to the creation of the work (direction, cast, production or others previously admitted by the festival) in the corresponding screening session will be required, as well as the prior issuing of an invoice.

15. Participation in the festival implies the acceptance of these rules and regulations and grants the festival the right to screen the selected works both at the festival itself and at the collaborating festivals where the winning works will be screened out of competition.

16. The international jury of this year’s festival will select, from among all the works presented, those that will make up the festival’s program. The decision of the international jury will be final.

17. The festival reserves the right to show the selected works in the venues and public sessions it deems appropriate within the framework of its program, the screenings of which will be free of charge. The production and distribution companies shall grant the festival the rights required for such screenings at no cost.

18. Participants authorise the dissemination of up to one minute of images of their work in any of the festival’s media. The festival assumes no legal responsibility for the works or their content, which remain the sole responsibility of their authors.

19. In the event that the screening cannot take place for adverse reasons, the selection of the works will also count for the purposes of this edition, with the aforementioned distinctions being granted to the works awarded by the international jury.

20. The date for the registration of works will be from Sunday, 7 June 2026, to Monday, 7 September 2026, inclusive.

21. Authors whose works have been selected will be notified by Monday, 5 October 2026, at the latest.