Alternativa Film Festival opens 2027 submissions for Pakistani filmmakers

KARACHI (PR): The inDrive-backed Alternativa Film Festival (AFF), a nomadic film festival championing impact-driven cinema from the Global South, opened submissions for its fourth edition, set to take place in Africa in late 2027.

The festival welcomes feature-length films from Pakistan and across Asia, as well as Africa and Latin America, offering a total prize fund of $120,000. Submissions are free and open until March 1, 2027.

Alternativa Film Festival is part of Alternativa, a non-profit film initiative founded by Arsen Tomsky, Founder and CEO of inDrive, a global mobility company committed to challenging injustice through fair choices.

Commenting on the festival’s broader vision and opportunities for filmmakers in Pakistan and across the Global South, Arsen Tomsky said exceptional filmmaking can come from anywhere, but access to international audiences remains hindered by a deeply unequal system.

“Alternativa Distribution was created to challenge that imbalance. This slate has been carefully curated and showcases the high quality and transformative power of filmmaking from the Global South, and the positive impact these films can have when they reach wider audiences,” he said.

Liza Surganova, Head of Alternativa, said with each edition, Alternativa Film Festival grows not only in reach and scale, but also in the connections it creates and the opportunities it opens up for filmmakers.

“As we prepare for our fourth edition, we look forward to welcoming compelling stories from across the Global South. We invite filmmakers to share their work and become part of a growing international filmmaking community,” she said.

For Pakistani filmmakers, the festival presents an opportunity to showcase their work on an international platform, connect with industry professionals and gain international exposure.

The festival welcomes fiction, documentary, animation and hybrid films of all genres completed after January 1, 2026. Feature-length films of 40 minutes or longer are eligible from Asia, Africa and Latin America.

Directors of films selected for the competition will be invited to attend the festival and awards ceremony, with travel and accommodation covered by the organizers.

The 2027 edition also opens opportunities through Alternativa Distribution, a non-profit distribution label launched in summer 2026.

For its previous edition, held in Medellin, Colombia, the festival received 1,831 submissions from 55 countries.