Darkroom FAQ

Darkroom is IFFR’s work-in-progress platform that takes place during CineMart. Darkroom is a platform for recently completed or nearly finished films or immersive media works – all supported by the Hubert Bals Fund, formerly presented at CineMart or with a Rotterdam Lab alumni attached – seeking completion funding, sales agents and festival exposure. 

Each year, it selects a number of filmmakers/creators and producers to present their projects to co-producers, funds, sales agents, distributors and other potential financiers. Read more about the full profile of Darkroom here.

Darkroom takes place during CineMart, IFFR’s co-production market. Its new edition will take place during the 55th International Film Festival Rotterdam (29 January to 8 February 2026), from 31 January to 4 February 2026.

In case you are interested in presenting your project at Darkroom, you can read more about the submission deadline and regulations here.

In case you are interested in attending to meet with the selected projects, please note that Darkroom takes place during CineMart, which operates as a by-invitation only market. We carefully review the guestlist each year in order to ensure that the attending industry representatives can contribute and possibly commit to the works in the selection. Darkroom delegates are sales agents, distributors, festival programmers, broadcasters, co-producers and potential financiers.

Darkroom presents around 10 projects each edition. You can read more about the projects selected in 2025 and in previous years here.

Darkroom gives you the opportunity to launch a film project to the international film industry. The selected teams will have the chance to present an excerpt of their work to international sales agents, festival programmers, buyers and other industry professionals in a closed presentation. In addition, each team will receive tailored mentorship according to the project’s needs from senior editors, marketing strategists, festival experts and distribution professionals. 

All Darkroom projects get the opportunity to connect with potential creative and business partners via a curated agenda of one-to-one meetings and many facilitated informal networking events. In addition, IFFR Pro awards are handed out to projects from the Darkroom selection.

Darkroom is designed for completed or nearly finished films or immersive media works. Projects can be at any of the following stages: assembly, rough cut, fine cut, or final cut, as long as there is as a minimum of 10 minutes of footage that can be provided as a preview link in the application.

You can submit your project via our Darkroom project entry page during the call for projects. Applications can only be processed if all necessary information has been submitted online and by the deadline via your personal account.

In most cases, Darkroom applications are submitted by the producer of the project. An application submitted by the director of the project will be accepted as long as there is a second person involved in the production of the project. 

Before submitting, please ensure your project meets all Darkroom eligibility criteria by checking our Regulations. Projects submitted to Darkroom 2026 must meet at least one of the following eligibility criteria:

• Supported by the Hubert Bals Fund (HBF) through any of their funding schemes
• Formerly presented at BoostNL
• Formerly presented at CineMart
• Produced by a former Rotterdam Lab participant in the role of main producer or main co-producer

Projects that do not meet the requirements will not be considered.

A Rotterdam Lab alumni can submit a project if they play a central producing role, either as the main producer or as a main co-producer. 

In this context, we consider a main co-producer a key producer working alongside the main producer, with significant involvement in the project. There is no strict percentage of participation in the film or immersive media work required: what matters is that the person has a central producing role in the project, including significant involvement in decision-making, securing financing and overseeing the production.In case of doubt, please reach out to the Rotterdam Lab team at talent@IFFR.com to discuss your eligibility before submitting your project.

The application must be submitted by the producer who participated in Rotterdam Lab, even if they are not the main producer. The Lab alumni must always be the applicant.

Projects submitted must be new to the market. Our industry delegates expect Darkroom to feature a highly curated selection of film projects fresh to the international market. Darkroom will therefore prioritise works that will have their first work-in-progress presentation in Rotterdam.

Projects that have been previously selected for one national or regional market may still be eligible for consideration, but world premiere market status is preferred. Please reach out to the Darkroom team at cinemart@IFFR.com to discuss the possibilities before submitting your project.

If you are informed that your project has been selected for another international work-in-progress initiative after submitting it for consideration for Darkroom 2026, please contact the Darkroom team at cinemart@IFFR.com as soon as possible to discuss how this may affect its eligibility.

All eligible projects submitted via the form on the Darkroom project submission page by 15 October  will be considered during the selection process.

In late November, the Darkroom selection committee will reach a decision on all submitted projects. The contact person indicated in the submission form will receive the decision by email.

During the selection process, the contact person might be contacted in case extra information is needed to assess the project.

Please be aware that it is highly unlikely that more than one project by the same director or producer will be selected at once. We advise you to carefully think about the project that has the most priority for you.

Application materials and subtitles should be in English. If the language spoken in the film is not English, the submitted excerpt or preview must include English subtitles.

The Darkroom application entry form allows you to submit detailed information about your project. A summary of what you need to fill out:

1. Project information: Title, production country/ies, type of film, current status of the project, goals at Darkroom, logline (max. 350 characters), synopsis (max. 2,500 characters), director/creator’s statement (max. 3,500 characters), director/creator’s biography (max. 3,500 characters), recent festival selections or awards for director and producer.
2. Film credits: Name and contact details for director/creator, (co)producer, (co)production companies, contact person.
3. Technical info: Duration, format, colour/b&w, languages, location.
4. Financial info: Total budget (in euros), Financing needed (in euros) – amount as well as explanatory overview.
5. Preview link: a rough cut, sequence or scene(s) that represents your project at this stage (a minimum of 10 minutes).

You may submit any sequence, scene(s), cut or preview link that best represents your project at its current stage, with a minimum duration of 10 minutes.

Yes, you may submit any cut you feel best represents your project at the time of application. Please note that the selection committee might not be able to watch the full cut in its entirety.

Not necessarily. Once all projects are selected, each team will be asked to choose a final excerpt of 8–12 minutes to present at the event, which can be different from the one presented in the moment of the submission.

An estimated top-sheet will suffice. In other words, we are interested in knowing the general budget of the film.

The financial plan should explain, first of all, which financiers you have on board and for which amount. Also indicate any pending fund applications, and please do feel free to contact the Darkroom team via email if you receive updates on those during the selection process. Finally, we would like to read your goals at Darkroom. How would you like to cover the remaining financing?

The environment in which independent films are distributed is constantly changing. That makes the distribution of your film difficult to predict. At the same time, there is an even bigger need to think about appropriate and realistic distribution methods. We would like to read about your strategies for creating awareness about your film. How do you intend to find and to attract your audience?

Previous work is an important element in considering the project dossier. This is the previous work of the director. This can be a short film, a documentary and/or a feature film. Please provide the committee with the work you think is most relevant in assessing the project at hand. Please do not send showreels, trailers or individual sequences.