The central landmark of the festival is the Competitive Sections. Here, we celebrate national and international comedy cinema, providing filmmakers with a platform to screen and promote their genre‑based cinematic works.

As HaHaArt is a unique platform for launching and distributing comedy cinema, the official competition features a range of short and feature-length films, bringing together different cultural and cinematic perspectives, showcasing the diversity of approaches to the genre and the trends shaping contemporary comedy cinema in each edition.

In total, the list of awards consists of five honors:

• Best Feature Film;
• Best Short Film;
• Best National Short Film;
• Outstanding Contribution Award;
• Audience Award.

All films selected for competition are eligible for the best film awards, presented by the jury and the audience. Portuguese short films are further eligible for the Best National Short Film Award, created to recognize and honor Portuguese filmmaking and to encourage national production.

The festival also grants an Exceptional Contribution Award, which highlights a professional whom the jury believes deserves special recognition for the technical or artistic excellence of their contribution to one of the films in competition.