High turnout in the first edition of theRobotic Online Short Film Festival. A total of 50 short films from 16 different countries will take part in the first edition of this contest where robots become the main characters of the audiovisual works.

After the submission deadline on November 20, ROS Film Festival has received a total of 56 short films on robotics, although 6 of them have not been accepted as they failed to meet the participation guidelines. Therefore, the final number of short films taking part in the contest is 50, not a negligible amount for a first edition.

ROS Film Festival has two official sections, Real Robots, with 8 participating short films, and Fictional Robots, with 42.

In the Real Robots category, in which at least one of the actors must be a real programmable robot with the ability to speak, express emotions or interact with humans or other robots, there are 8 participating short films by filmmakers from 4 different countries. Five of the short films come from Spain, while the United States, Belgium and Germany contribute one short film each.

As for the Fictional Robots category, in which at least one of the actors must be a non-programmable fictional robot, 42 short films from 15 different countries are taking part. The highest participation comes from the United States with 9 short films, followed by Spain with 7, United Kingdom with 6, France with 5, Australia with 3 or Russia and Argentina with 2. The rest of the short films selected for this category come from Canada, India, Germany, Peru, Mexico, Switzerland, Poland and El Salvador.

The participating short films will be announced on December 20, when the public can start voting for their favourite short films for the Audience Awards through the ROS Film Festival website. The jury’s decision will also be disclosed in March next year. The jury is formed by several professionals of renowned prestige from the worlds of cinema, technology and communication.