HNIFF — Hollywood North International Film Festival

Film of the week · from the jury’s shortlistRock of the DeadDiego Ramos · United States · 20 minA punk rock group bargains more than they ask for when their new gig at an old mysterious house goes wrong.About the film →

In the spotlight

Latvia

3 films have come to the festival from Latvia.

From the Selection Room: What Our Judges Have Learned from Hundreds of Submissions

01Decisions form in the first minuteScreeners work through large volumes in one sitting. An opening has to establish tone and signal control before it earns the rest of the runtime.

02Sound is scored before pictureDialogue must be clear without effort. Uneven levels and room noise read as carelessness, and strong images do not compensate for them.

03Scenes justify their own lengthThe strongest field each year runs five to twenty minutes. A film padded past its natural length competes worse than the tighter cut of itself.

04Endings decide what gets rememberedJudges look for a final beat that resolves, reframes or lingers. An ending that feels accidental weakens everything before it.

05Enter the category your film isFormat, runtime band and genre decide who judges the film and against what field. A documentary entered as narrative competes in the wrong one.

06The poster is the first frameProgrammes, archive pages and social feeds all lead with the artwork. A film without a real poster is harder to programme and harder to promote.

07Write the synopsis for a strangerTwo or three sentences on what happens and why it matters. Describe the film that exists, not the one that was intended.

08Consent decides where a film goesStreaming window, archive, clips for social: what is ticked on the entry is what the festival can do. Films that opt in are seen more.

The jury · HNIFF 2025