Silk Road International Film Festival

What Silk Road International Film Festival does

Silk Road International Film Festival (SRIFF) is an Ireland-based private limited company founded in 2012 by Carla Mooney, Delwyn Mooney, and Steinar Oli Jonsson, operating an annual film festival that curates features, documentaries, animations, shorts, and student films from countries along the historic Silk Road trading route spanning Asia, the Middle East, and Europe. The festival runs in a hybrid format, combining a one-week online window on the proprietary Silk Road On Demand streaming platform (geo-blocked to Ireland) with a two-day in-person screening block at Trinity College Dublin's Swift Theatre and the United Arts Club. Submissions are processed through FilmFreeway globally and through Sfilmmaker for Chinese productions, with Vimeo links or physical media as alternative intake channels.

SRIFF's supporting product surface includes the SRIFF Honours masterclass and lifetime-achievement program (honoring figures such as Vittorio Storaro, Mahmoud Kalari, Béla Tarr, and Claire Denis), the Silk Road Collection merchandise store, and membership in the Belt and Road Film Festival Alliance (BRFFA) which provides cross-festival award pathways. The festival holds IFTA recognition and IMDb Qualifying status, conferring industry credibility on its award winners.

Revenue is generated through four streams: per-ticket sales at Dublin venues (€5–€25 across student, standard, and special screening tiers), full-festival online packages (€35 for ~25 hours of content in 2023), per-submission fees via FilmFreeway and Sfilmmaker, and merchandise sales. Stripe powers online ticketing, Eventbrite handles selected special screenings, and partnerships with Screen Ireland and IFTA provide institutional legitimacy. The company operates with a lean team of seven including the three co-founders, with no disclosed external funding, parent company, or institutional sponsorship.

Name

Silk Road International Film Festival

Legal name

Silk Road International Film Festival Ltd

Website

https://silkroadfilmfestival.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Silk Road International Film Festival is an Ireland-based annual film festival, founded in 2012, that curates cinema from Asia, the Middle East, and Europe via hybrid online and Dublin-based in-person screenings, supported by the Silk Road On Demand streaming platform and IFTA-recognized awards.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Film Festival Services

NAICS

Motion Picture and Video Exhibition (51213)

SIC

Services-Motion Picture Theaters (7830)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYMPADAKAD

Film Festivals & Festival Organizers

Media, Entertainment & Sports/Film & Video Production/Distribution/Exhibition (Cinemas, Film Festivals, Screenings)

SECONDARYTHAJAFAI

Cultural & Community Festivals (Ticketed)

Travel & Hospitality/Tours, Attractions & Experiences/Live Entertainment & Ticketed Events (Shows, Concerts, Sports Experiences)

Keywords

• International film festival
• Film submission services
• Online film streaming
• World cinema programming
• Filmmaker masterclass events

Headquarters

HQ city

Dublin

HQ country

Ireland

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Ticket Sales: Revenue from in-person and online screening tickets at various price points for students and professionals
2. Film Submission Fees: Registration fees charged to filmmakers submitting films through FilmFreeway and Sfilmmaker platforms
3. Merchandise Sales: Sale of festival posters from various editions through the Silk Road Collection online shop
4. Festival Packages: Full festival package and individual ticket options for online access

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Silk Road International Film Festival operates an annual film festival (now in its 14th edition) celebrating films from countries along the historic Silk Road trade route connecting Asia to Europe, featuring competitive categories for Feature Films, Documentaries, Animations, Shorts, and Student Films. The festival operates both online via the proprietary Silk Road On Demand streaming platform (geo-blocked to Ireland) and in-person at Trinity College Dublin and United Arts Club venues. Revenue is generated through ticket sales, film submission fees via FilmFreeway and Sfilmmaker, merchandise sales, and sponsorship partnerships.

Product overview

The Silk Road International Film Festival operates as a multi-platform film festival ecosystem consisting of an annual in-person and online event combined with a year-round streaming platform. The core offering is the annual film festival (now in its 14th edition) featuring competitive categories for Feature Films, Documentaries, Animations, Shorts, and Student Films from countries along the historic Silk Road route. Supporting services include Silk Road ON DEMAND for virtual screenings, film submission management via FilmFreeway/Sfilmmaker integration, the SRIFF Honours masterclass program with industry luminaries, and the Silk Road Collection merchandise store. The festival maintains strategic alliance with the Belt and Road Film Festival Alliance (BRFFA).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• SRIFF Honours: Special awards program honoring lifetime achievement and masterclasses with renowned filmmakers
• Silk Road ON DEMAND

Products and services

• Silk Road International Film Festival (Annual Event) Annual film festival celebrating diversity through cinema, showcasing films from countries along the historic Silk Road trading route connecting Asia to Europe. Features competitive categories for features, documentaries, animations, shorts, and student films, with award ceremonies recognizing excellence in filmmaking.
• Silk Road On Demand (Online Streaming Platform) Virtual screening platform enabling online festival access for audiences unable to attend in-person events. Films are typically available for 24-hour viewing periods, geo-blocked to Ireland. Features include shorts bundles, student film collections, and featured documentary sections.
• Film Submission Services Comprehensive film submission management system accepting entries via FilmFreeway, Sfilmmaker (for Chinese productions), Vimeo links, or physical Blu-ray/DVD discs. Supports multiple categories including Feature, Documentary, Short, Student Film, and Experimental formats.
• Masterclass Program (SRIFF Honours) Educational masterclasses conducted by internationally recognized filmmakers and industry professionals. Past masterclasses include sessions with Abel Ferrara, Béla Tarr, Vittorio Storaro, Mahmoud Kalari, Tony Kearns, and David Pope focusing on topics like subtext in screenwriting.
• Silk Road Collection (Official Merchandise) Official festival merchandise store offering printed posters from various festival editions. Available poster editions include 8th (2020), 11th (2023), and 13th (2025), with multiple size options from 5x7 to A1 format. Paper sourced from Japan with museum-quality matte finish.

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration7 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Stage and Screen SocietyminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2024Collaboration for special film screenings in December 2024 featuring Stage and Screen Society short film selections alongside SRIFF films.
• Belt and Road Film Festival Alliance (BRFFA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Established at 21st Shanghai International Film Festival. SRIFF winners gain eligibility for BRFFA selection, providing bilateral film panorama, mutual guest recommendations, and distribution cooperation among contracted parties.
• Trinity College DublincoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2012Primary venue partner hosting festival screenings, masterclasses, and events at Swift Theatre, Arts Building. Supported Béla Tarr masterclass in 2017. Long-standing academic partnership for film education and cultural exchange.
• United Arts ClubcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2012Festival venue partner hosting film screenings and Q&A sessions. 3 Fitzwilliam Street Upper, Dublin 2. Long-standing gathering place for Ireland's artistic community.
• Silk Road CaféminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2012Festival venue for post-screening discussions and networking over Middle Eastern food. Beloved gathering spot creating cherished memories for filmmakers and audiences.
• Screen IrelandcoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2012National screen agency supporting Irish film industry. Partnership supports festival's mission to bring diverse international cinema to Irish audiences.
• IFTA (Irish Film & Television Academy)coreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2012Irish Film & Television Academy officially recognises SRIFF as an IFTA Awards qualifying film festival, providing industry credibility and pathway for award consideration.
• Silk RouteminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2012Partnership supporting cultural exchange initiatives along historic Silk Road trade routes.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Raindance Film Festival: Independent UK-based film festival with comparable emphasis on international independent cinema, filmmaker discovery, and educational programming. Closest UK peer in terms of scale and indie-cinema positioning.
• Galway Film Fleadh: Ireland's largest and most established film festival, held annually in Galway. Operates a similar annual-festival model with curated international programming, industry events, and masterclasses — making it the most direct national peer to SRIFF in terms of scale, audience, and Irish institutional positioning.
• Cork International Film Festival: One of Ireland's oldest film festivals (founded 1956), operating a comparable annual international-cinema model with award categories, masterclasses, and industry events. Competes with SRIFF for Irish filmmaker submissions and audience share.
• Shanghai International Film Festival: Asia's only A-category film festival and the founding home of BRFFA. SRIFF's BRFFA partnership creates direct programming and distribution cooperation, making this the most structurally relevant international peer for cross-festival filmmaker pathways.
• Busan International Film Festival: Asia's leading film festival with strong focus on Asian and Silk Road-region cinema. Highly comparable to SRIFF in thematic specialisation (Asian-cinema emphasis) and operates similar annual-cinema showcase plus industry programming models.
• Dublin International Film Festival (DIFF): Dublin's flagship international film festival, operating in the same city and competing for the same Irish film audience and sponsor pool. Both festivals share Dublin venues, similar audience demographics, and overlapping submission platforms like FilmFreeway.

Broad incumbents

• Tribeca Film Festival: Major independent-leaning film festival in New York with similar hybrid online/in-person evolution and filmmaker-discovery positioning. Operates at significantly larger scale but in an adjacent niche category.
• BFI London Film Festival: The UK's premier film festival operated by the British Film Institute. Significantly larger and broader in scope than SRIFF, but overlapping in international-curation model, Dublin-adjacent audience overlap, and accreditation-tier industry positioning.
• Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF): One of the world's largest and most prestigious film festivals. TIFF represents the upper-bound incumbent in the same broad category as SRIFF, sharing FilmFreeway submission infrastructure and overlapping international filmmaker network.

Emerging players

• MUBI (online film platform): Global curated online film streaming service. While not a festival, MUBI is the most relevant adjacent peer in the curated-cinema-on-demand space, representing the direction SRIFF's Silk Road On Demand platform could evolve toward if it dropped its Ireland geo-block.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/SilkRoadFilmFest
• Facebookfacebook.com/SilkRoadFilmFestival
• Instagraminstagram.com/silkroadfilmfestival
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/silk-road-international-film-festival

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Silk Road International Film Festival