The theme of this edition, ‘NONVIOLENCE: FROM ME TO US,’ resonates around the world

As published in the rules for participation in the 8th International Film Festival of Active Nonviolence 2026, FICNOVA, on 1 August 2025 we closed the registration period for films competing in this edition.

A total of 2,565 films were submitted across the four categories: 99 medium-length films and 340 feature films in the 2023 General Section for Short Films, and 103 short films in the Educational Institutions section.

The films came to us from 121 countries, through the three festival platforms we use at FICNOVA (FilmFreeway, Festhome and Clickforfestival), thanks to which the proposal circulates across all continents.

The international organising team, bearing in mind that our work is entirely voluntary, despite being more demanding with the requirements for this edition so that the films comply with the theme proposed by the festival and with the requirement that the original languages offer the possibility of subtitles in Spanish and English, we see that we maintain a very high participation of works to be evaluated. For all these reasons, we are organising the festival on a biennial basis in 2026 and will not have the official selection for the competition until 15 July 2026, when we will publish the accepted works.

We would like to thank all the authors and producers for their participation in the 8th FICNOVA 2026, helping to spread the message of non-violence with their examples.

FICNOVA Organising Team

NONVIOLENCE: FROM ME TO US

With this motto we start the preparation of the 8th International Film Festival of Active Nonviolence 2026, FICNOVA.

We see two opposing directions in the world and in ourselves:

On the one hand, on a finally connected planet a sensibility of a ‘universal we’ is beginning to emerge in many people, a leap of consciousness that opens up a possible and hopeful future.

But on the other hand, the individual ‘I ’s and the ‘I ’s of the factions are fighting fiercely to impose themselves on each other by means of all kinds of violence.

One direction leads us to humanise, to recognise and acknowledge each other and to care for the world, while the other direction divides, disconnects and dehumanises us by focusing our interest only on personal desires.

In each new edition of this festival, we recognise valuable examples around the world of human beings who are mobilising to overcome pain and suffering in themselves and in others.

From all FICNOVA venues, we invite you to join us in this transformative sensibility.

Film registrations are open from 4 May to 1 August 2025.

You can find the rules and all the information on this link.