People in Barcelona and nearby towns who want to make a short film on the metro or bus network have until Thursday 18 September to enter TMB's 16th Subtravelling festival, according to the operator's official festival pages. The deadline matters for residents, students and regular passengers because the contest is open to users who film a three-minute work inspired by TMB transport, and the promotion campaign is now running on local television.

TMB, the public operator for Barcelona's metro and bus network, said its cultural project featured on Via 15, a current affairs programme co-produced by 15 local TV stations in the metropolitan area through La Xarxa, the Catalan local television network. The segment was broadcast on Barcelona public broadcaster betevé on 23 June, and from 45:25 it focused on TMB's short story and short film competitions.

The programme interviewed Aurèlia Torné and Carla Rubio, whose short film In Transit won the Roda a TMB category in the 15th Subtravelling festival in 2025, and Ikram El Fanoun, whose free-theme story Bip won the 18th TMB short story contest in 2026. TMB said the interviews were recorded at Zona Universitària station on the L9 Sud line.

TMB's cultural coordinator Carme Gibert said in the report that the aim is to connect culture with mobility and position the operator as a cultural reference point for Barcelona and its immediate metropolitan area.

What local viewers were shown on Via 15

According to TMB's account of the segment, the three winners were asked how they first heard about the competitions, how they created their work, what inspired them and whether they would recommend taking part to other passengers. For viewers who use public transport every day, the report presented the contests as part of TMB Cultura, the operator's cultural programme run through Fundació TMB.

BARNA has attributed those descriptions to TMB's official material and the broadcast segment. Details on the cultural programme are published by Fundació TMB, and readers can find how BARNA handles official claims on our Source Transparency page.

TMB also said Torné and Rubio will travel to Seoul for the Seoul Metro International Subway Film Festival, which the operator described as the only other short film festival inspired by the metro. BARNA has not independently verified that exclusivity claim. TMB said El Fanoun's prize is a trip to London.

How to enter the 2026 Subtravelling festival

The active call for entries is for the 16th edition of Subtravelling. TMB's official festival site says participants must submit a short film of up to three minutes inspired by TMB transport.

  • Deadline: Thursday 18 September
  • Format: a short film of three minutes
  • Theme: inspired by TMB transport, including metro and bus
  • Official entry route: Subtravelling festival website and contest rules published by TMB

People considering an entry can check the official rules and FAQ on the festival website, which also includes information on previous winners and the festival format. Those pages are the key practical source for anyone planning to film, edit and submit a piece before the deadline.

The winners named in the TV segment are already listed in TMB's official records: In Transit appears in the Subtravelling palmarès, and Bip appears among the winning texts in the TMB short story contest. For readers who want to understand how BARNA reports official announcements and verified source material, our standards are set out in the Editorial Policy.

The Via 15 segment aired on betevé on 23 June, and TMB's official festival pages say entries for the current Subtravelling edition close on 18 September.

Primary sources: noticies.tmb.cat, Source Text Link, Source Text Link, TMB (Transports de Barcelona), TMB (Transports de Barcelona), Fundació TMB, TMB (Transports de Barcelona), Concurs de Relats Curts de TMB, TMB (Noticies), Subtravelling Festival TMB. Reported by Source Text Link, TMB Official Channel.