After three successful runs, the annual Mashariki African Film Festival is back for its fourth edition. The week-long festival will run from March 25 th to 31st, 2018 at a yet-to-be-identified venue in Kigali.

Submissions of film entries for the festival opened in Kigali on Monday October 16, according to a statement from organizers. Submissions are free for all eligible filmmakers, both local and international.

The submissions are grouped under two categories; In Competition, which is open to all African filmmakers, and the Out Competition, which is open to filmmakers worldwide.

Under the In Competition category, film entries will be grouped under six sub categories;

Best African feature fiction; Best African Short; Best African Documentary; Best East African Short; Best East African Documentary, and Best Rwandan shorts (fiction, documentary and promising cinematographer).

In the Out Competition category, entries will be grouped under two sub categories;

Short (fictions and Documentaries of 52 minutes or less, and Feature length (fictions and Documentaries of 52 minutes or more.

Only films directed by an African filmmaker, and whose storyline relates to Africa are eligible for selection. The films must be in English or have English/French subtitles, and must have not been completed before 2016. Films submitted in previous editions of the Mashariki African Film Festival are not eligible to apply.

Film entries can be submitted either by Vimeo Link or a set of DVDs.

The deadline for submission of film entries and submission forms is December 16, 2017. Selected Films will be announced not later than January31, 2018.

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