International Youth Film Festival “Copper Flower” 2027

About Copper Flower International Youth Film Festival

Copper Flower is an international youth film festival in Russia’s Ural region, with festival activity in Verkhnyaya Pyshma and Yekaterinburg. Since 2019, it has focused on films made by children, teenagers and emerging directors from around the world.

The festival accepts directors up to age 35 and programmes short and feature-length work across documentary, fiction and animation. Its jury structure also includes children and young people alongside professionals from cinema and culture.

Copper Flower Age Categories and Eligibility

The current competition is organised by the director’s age at the time the film was made. The published age bands are 0–10, 11–14, 15–17 and 18–35.

The current submission form records the director’s age together with mentor or school information and separate team roles such as directing, camera and screenwriting. This makes school-based and mentored production contexts visible without confusing the director-age route used by the current call.

Copper Flower Competition Categories for Young Filmmakers

For directors aged 0–10, 11–14 and 15–17, the 2027 call includes Best Animation and Best Short Film, with documentary and fiction accepted within the short-film route.

The 18–35 group includes Best Animation, Best Documentary, Best Fiction and the Grand Prix. The current call also lists the Copper Lotus special prize.

Copper Flower Youth Jury

Copper Flower’s published festival structure combines recognised cinema and culture professionals with children and young people on its juries. Youth jurors evaluate work in age-relevant categories, so young participants are present not only as filmmakers but also in the festival’s evaluation process.

Copper Flower 2027 Dates and Submission Deadline

The eighth Copper Flower International Youth Film Festival will take place from 26 to 30 January 2027 in Verkhnyaya Pyshma and Yekaterinburg.

Submissions opened on 29 June 2026 and remain open until 30 September 2026. The call is worldwide and open to directors up to age 35.

Copper Flower Submission Requirements

The current submission form asks for the director’s age at the time the film was made, the selected nomination, original and international titles, runtime, production year and premiere status.

Applicants are also asked for a film link, poster, subtitle and trailer links, together with director, camera, screenwriting and mentor or school information where relevant.

From a Youth Film Project to a Copper Flower Submission

Copper Flower’s age-based structure makes the young director’s creative role central to the submission. In AD1 FILM Academy’s project-based programme for ages 10–17, participants develop the idea and screenplay and remain actively involved through practical production, while equipment, production infrastructure and producer support are organised around the shared film project. Once a film is completed, AD1 can assess the director-age route, project authorship and current eligibility, then prepare the film information and festival materials for Copper Flower or another suitable youth-filmmaker route. Selection or awards are never guaranteed.