Tempo Short Award is aimed at professional filmmakers who have previously completed at least one short film. For unestablished filmmakers, we recommend applying to New Doc.
Tempo Short Award 2027 is organized by the Tempo Documentary Festival in collaboration with the Swedish Film Institute and Storyline Studios.
All Swedish documentary films that meet the requirements below are eligible to compete for Tempo Short Award 2027.
Rules and Regulations
Conditions for Participation:
- • The film must not have had its official premiere prior to April 1, 2026.
- • The film must have a maximum runtime of 30 minutes.
- • The film must have a Swedish main producer. If no producer is specified, the director is considered the producer.
- • Films distributed via television, streaming platforms, or cinemas prior to screenings at the Tempo Documentary Festival 2027 are not eligible for selection. Screenings at other film festivals, both in Sweden and internationally, are permitted.
Submission
All films submitted for selection to the competition at Tempo Documentary Festival must be registered online via the official submission form no later than November 13, 2026.
A viewing link for the film must be provided. The link should be password-protected or unlisted (accessible only via direct link) through platforms such as YouTube, Frame.io, Google Drive, Dropbox, Vimeo, or another video-sharing service, and must remain valid through March 31, 2027.
Films with spoken language other than Swedish or English must include Swedish or English subtitles at the time of submission.
The same film may be submitted to both Tempo Short Award and New Doc, provided it meets the criteria for each respective competition. If a film is deemed more suitable for the other section, we reserve the right to reassign it.
The submitting party is required to inform the festival’s responsible editor of any changes to the film or viewing link until the festival’s selection process has concluded.
We do not accept screening copies via direct file transfers during the submission phase.
Selection
A selection committee, appointed by the Tempo Documentary Festival, is responsible for selecting films for the competition and the festival’s 2027 program. Decisions made by the selection committee are final and cannot be appealed. The committee does not provide written justifications for individual decisions.
Priority during selection will be given to films that are not yet publicly available online, such as on YouTube, Vimeo, or other video-sharing platforms.
Submitters of selected films will be contacted directly. Submitters whose films are not selected will be notified shortly after the confirmed participation of all selected films. All submitters will be notified no later than January 31, 2027.
Material Delivery & Technical Specifications
All selected films must be delivered as a DCP with English subtitles. The festival will provide detailed technical specifications and delivery instructions upon selection. Screening copies must be delivered in accordance with these guidelines and by the deadlines specified by the festival.
The festival reserves the right to request additional formats and materials if needed.
Screening copies must be made available to the festival no later than February 15, 2027.
Marketing
Once the submitter has accepted the film’s inclusion in the festival’s official program, Tempo’s official laurel will be issued. The laurel may be used in all future marketing of the film, including press materials and social media. The festival encourages filmmakers to use the laurel to highlight the film’s selection for the Tempo Documentary Festival 2027.
Following acceptance, Tempo’s programming department will request supplementary marketing materials, which may include, but are not limited to, press kits, still images, and production details.
By submitting, the rights holder grants the festival permission to use press materials (such as stills, synopsis, and trailers) as well as short excerpts from the film for marketing and promotional purposes connected to the festival. The director also agrees to participate in press activities leading up to and during the festival.
The Festival
Tempo Documentary Festival reserves the right to screen selected films as many times and at such times as the festival deems appropriate, according to the schedule established by the festival. Selected films may also be screened digitally as part of the festival’s online program.
Filmmakers will be informed of screening schedules before the official festival program is published.
The film’s director may be invited to attend and represent their film at one or more of the festival screenings.
The film’s director(s) will receive complimentary festival accreditation.
If a film is withdrawn from the festival program after January 1, 2027, the film’s producer must reimburse the festival for expenses incurred regarding venue rental and other operational costs tied to the scheduled screenings.
Jury & Award
A separate jury, appointed by the Tempo Documentary Festival, will select the winner of Tempo Short Award 2027. Decisions made by the jury are final and cannot be appealed. A written justification for the winning selection will be provided to the winner; no other individual decisions will be explained.
The winning director will receive an award of 40,000 SEK and a equipment voucher worth 10,000 SEK.
The award ceremony takes place during the festival’s closing weekend, with invitations sent out close to the festival opening. Following the ceremony, the winner will be publicly announced, and the category’s official winner laurel will be provided to the film’s representatives for marketing purposes.
Rights
At the time of submission, all necessary rights for the film must be secured or in the process of being secured, including participant releases and clearance for music, archival material, or other third-party content. All obligations must comply with standard industry practice, applicable laws, and professional standards within the documentary and film industry.
Tempo Documentary Festival disclaims all liability for disputes or claims relating to these rights.
Acceptance
By submitting a film to Tempo Short Award 2027, the submitter confirms that they hold the authority to make the submission and that the film’s director, producer, and other key personnel have been informed of, understand, and accept the festival’s competition rules and terms.
Submitting a film to Tempo Short Award 2027 constitutes full acceptance of the above competition rules by the film’s creators and producer.