Un vínculo necesario: plataformas de distribución y festivales de cine universitarios en Europa

Film exhibition and distribution platforms currently lead the exhibition market. Film festivals hosted on these platforms provide students with their first opportunities for professional evaluation, allowing them to put their acquired skills to the test through public competition and expert review. This study examines the characteristics of European university film festivals, using the distribution platform FilmFreeway’s database as the main source of information. The analysis is both quantitative (focusing on festival locations, sample boundaries, and general data) and qualitative (addressing jury committees, their structure, and award processes). In this phase, in-depth interviews were also conducted to strengthen the comparative analysis. Initial findings show that few festivals are organized and targeted exclusively at university students. These festivals tend to be general in focus, international in scope, and centered on short films. They typically include two evaluation phases: selection, in which the organizing team is actively involved; and judging, carried out by industry professionals who are not part of the organizing team.