Zinemaldia Startup Challenge 2026

Annual competition run by the San Sebastián Film Festival with TECNALIA, ALÍA and Vicomtech for startups whose technology applies to film and audiovisual production. Two tracks, Spanish and European, each with its own jury, plus an entrepreneurship mention. 2026 prizes: €30,000 best Spanish project, €10,000 best European project, €3,000 entrepreneurship mention, all gross.

The Zinemaldia Startup Challenge is the San Sebastián Film Festival’s competition for Spanish and European startups building technology for film and audiovisual production. It is the central event of Zinemaldia & Technology, organized by the festival with TECNALIA, ALÍA (Alianza Industrial Audiovisual) and Vicomtech, and part of Spanish Screenings: Financing & Tech.

The 2026 edition, the eighth since 2019, opened for applications from 24 April to 5 June 2026 and received 68 projects, a record. Ten finalists, five Spanish and five European, pitched at Prisma, Tabakalera, on 24 September 2026 during the 74th festival. Two independent juries picked the best Spanish and best European project, and a third jury awarded an entrepreneurship mention.

Prizes in 2026: €30,000 for the best Spanish project, raised this year with support from the Ministry for Digital Transformation and Public Function, €10,000 for the best European project and €3,000 for the entrepreneurship mention. Pixentinel won the Spanish prize. Gaussian Scout, entered as Virtual Location Scouting, won both the European prize and the mention.

Earlier winners cited by the festival include Largo AI (2019), Filmchain (2020), Kinetix (2021), Motmo.pro (2022) and Hyperate.io (2023).

Sources: Zinemaldia Startup Challenge, winners announcement.