This year, the Portuguese Competition promises to be one of the festival's highlights, presenting the latest works by both established filmmakers and emerging talents in national premieres.

Among the returning names are familiar figures such as Gabriel Abrantes, Sofia Bost, Carlos Lobo, Diogo Salgado, Inês Oliveira, and Paulo Abreu, among others. Alongside them, a new generation of promising filmmakers begins to make its mark, reinforcing Curtas' role in discovering and supporting new voices in Portuguese cinema.

This year, Curtas Vila do Conde also strengthens its international reach by becoming a qualifying festival for the IberShorts Award, an initiative promoted by the Málaga Film Festival in collaboration with Festhome. The festival will nominate two films from the National Competition — the winner of the jury prize and the audience award — which will join the selections from other qualifying festivals and compete for the IberShorts Award for Best Ibero-American Fiction Short Film, to be awarded in 2026.

2025 Official Selection – Portuguese Competition

This year's competition includes 15 short films, both fiction and animation, featuring international co-productions and a wide range of artistic and narrative approaches. Highlights include:

A EMANCIPAÇÃO DE MIMI
Marcelo Pereira, Portugal, 2025, FIC, 13'

AMARELO BANANA
Alexandre Sousa, Portugal, Hungary, 2025, ANI, 13'

ARGUMENTS IS FAVOR OF LOVE
Gabriel Abrantes, Portugal, 2025, FIC, ANI, 10'

ATOM & VOID
Gonçalo Almeida, Portugal, 2024, FIC, 9'

BECAUSE TODAY IS SATURDAY
Alice Eça Guimarães, Portugal, France, Spain, 2025, ANI, 12'

CALHAU
Paulo Abreu, Portugal, 2025, FIC, 22'

DOG ALONE
Marta Reis Andrade, Portugal, France, 2025, ANI, 13'

FLYING CARPET
Justin Amorim, Portugal, 2025, FIC, 28'

ICEBERGS
Carlos Pereira, Germany, 2024, FIC, 21'

NEKO
Inês Oliveira, Portugal, 2025, FIC, 30'

NOITES MAIS FÁCEIS
João Pedro Mamede, Portugal, 2025, FIC, 16'

OFÉLIA
Carlos Lobo, Portugal, 2025, FIC, 21'

RUI CARLOS
Margarida Paias, Portugal, 2025, FIC, 15'

SOL MENOR
André Silva Santos, Portugal, 2025, FIC, 27'

STONE BEACH
Sofia Bost, Portugal, 2025, FIC, 29'

UNDER THE MOUTAINS' SHADOW
Diogo Salgado, Portugal, France, Belgium, 2025, FIC, 20'

Portuguese Competition Awards 2025

The awards for this edition underline strong support for national film production, combining direct financial incentives with essential post-production and distribution services:

• Best Film

  • Escola das Artes Award, Universidade Católica Portuguesa: €1,500

  • Pulsar Studios Award: €6,000 in audio post-production services

  • TVCINE Channels Award: acquisition of broadcasting rights

  • Festhome Award: €400 in submission credits on the platform

• Audience Award

  • SPA – Portuguese Authors’ Society: €1,500 for the film with the highest average rating by viewers

Both awarded films — Best Film and Audience Award — will represent Portugal at the IberShorts Award, at the Málaga Film Festival.