{"id":4214,"date":"2026-11-02T05:10:45","date_gmt":"2026-11-02T05:10:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/africansmartphonefilmfest.com\/African-Smartphone-International-Film-Festival\/?p=4214"},"modified":"2026-11-02T05:10:46","modified_gmt":"2026-11-02T05:10:46","slug":"asiff-announces-vertical-stories-2026-stories-created-for-the-screen-in-your-pocket","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/africansmartphonefilmfest.com\/African-Smartphone-International-Film-Festival\/asiff-announces-vertical-stories-2026-stories-created-for-the-screen-in-your-pocket\/","title":{"rendered":"ASIFF Announces Vertical Stories 2026: Stories Created for the Screen in Your Pocket"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class='booster-block booster-read-block'>\n                <div class=\"twp-read-time\">\n                \t<i class=\"booster-icon twp-clock\"><\/i> <span>Read Time:<\/span>2 Minute, 15 Second                <\/div>\n\n            <\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The African SmartFilm International Film Festival (ASIFF) is pleased to announce the opening of submissions for <strong>Vertical Stories 2026<\/strong>, a special virtual film showcase and contest dedicated to stories created specifically for the vertical screen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Taking place virtually from <strong>December 18\u201320, 2026<\/strong>, Vertical Stories invites filmmakers from around the world to explore the creative possibilities of the 9:16 frame.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Stories Created for the Screen in Your Pocket<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Vertical filmmaking is no longer simply a way of adapting traditional films for social media. It has become a distinct storytelling language\u2014one built around intimacy, movement, close-ups and the way audiences naturally hold their screens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Vertical Stories 2026 will celebrate filmmakers who use this format deliberately and creatively. We are looking for stories that feel made for the vertical screen, rather than landscape films placed inside a vertical frame.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What Can Be Submitted?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The contest is open to vertical short films and vertical micro-series across all genres, including narrative, documentary, animation, experimental film, music video, micro-drama, AI-assisted work and other innovative forms of storytelling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Filmmakers may create their work using smartphones, mirrorless cameras, GoPro or other action cameras, drones, animation, virtual production, AI tools or a combination of filmmaking technologies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The focus is not on the equipment\u2014it is on how creatively the filmmaker uses the vertical frame.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Submissions must:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Be presented in a 9:16 vertical format.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Have a maximum total runtime of 10 minutes, including credits.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Include English subtitles if the spoken language is not English.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Be submitted by the filmmaker or an authorized rights holder.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A Vertical Short Film should present one complete story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A Vertical Micro-Series must contain at least two connected episodes. The combined runtime of all submitted episodes must not exceed 10 minutes, and the episodes should be uploaded as one continuous screener.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Free Submission<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Submission to Vertical Stories 2026 is completely free.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Selected films will be screened during the three-day virtual showcase and will compete for jury and audience awards. Selected filmmakers may also participate in virtual Q&amp;A sessions and receive recognition across ASIFF\u2019s official platforms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Important Dates<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Submission fee: Free<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Entry deadline: November 30, 2026<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Virtual showcase: December 18\u201320, 2026<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Maximum runtime: 10 minutes<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Required format: Vertical 9:16<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How to Submit<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Submit your film through the African SmartFilm International Film Festival page on FilmFreeway and select the <strong>\u201cVertical Stories 2026\u201d<\/strong> category.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Submit here:<\/strong><br><a href=\"https:\/\/filmfreeway.com\/africansmartphonefilmfestival\">https:\/\/filmfreeway.com\/africansmartphonefilmfestival<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The screen is already in the audience\u2019s hands. Now it is time to create stories made specifically for it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Vertical Stories 2026\u2014Stories Created for the Screen in Your Pocket.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Presented by the African SmartFilm International Film Festival, Africa\u2019s first mobile film festival.<\/p>\n        <div class=\"booster-block booster-reactions-block\">\n            <div class=\"twp-reactions-icons\">\n                \n                <div class=\"twp-reacts-wrap\">\n                    <a react-data=\"be-react-1\" post-id=\"4214\" class=\"be-face-icons un-reacted\" href=\"javascript:void(0)\">\n                        <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/africansmartphonefilmfest.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/booster-extension\/\/assets\/icon\/happy.svg\" alt=\"Happy\">\n                    <\/a>\n                    <div class=\"twp-reaction-title\">\n                        Happy                    <\/div>\n                    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film showcase and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4215,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[13,111,112,14,110],"class_list":["post-4214","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-african-best-film-festivals","tag-africanverticalfilms","tag-mobile-first-films","tag-smartphone-film-festival","tag-vertical-film"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/africansmartphonefilmfest.com\/African-Smartphone-International-Film-Festival\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4214","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/africansmartphonefilmfest.com\/African-Smartphone-International-Film-Festival\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/africansmartphonefilmfest.com\/African-Smartphone-International-Film-Festival\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/africansmartphonefilmfest.com\/African-Smartphone-International-Film-Festival\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/africansmartphonefilmfest.com\/African-Smartphone-International-Film-Festival\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4214"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/africansmartphonefilmfest.com\/African-Smartphone-International-Film-Festival\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4214\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4216,"href":"https:\/\/africansmartphonefilmfest.com\/African-Smartphone-International-Film-Festival\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4214\/revisions\/4216"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/africansmartphonefilmfest.com\/African-Smartphone-International-Film-Festival\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4215"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/africansmartphonefilmfest.com\/African-Smartphone-International-Film-Festival\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4214"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/africansmartphonefilmfest.com\/African-Smartphone-International-Film-Festival\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4214"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/africansmartphonefilmfest.com\/African-Smartphone-International-Film-Festival\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4214"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}