Best Short Film Festivals: Top 15 Short Movie Festivals

Short film festivals are events that focus on the screening of short films.

The typical length for a short film is 10 minutes or less, which has been found to be an optimal amount of time that will keep viewers engaged and entertained.

What Are Short Film Festivals

Short films typically have low budgets, so many filmmakers rely on crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter to fund their projects.

Here’s some interesting stats about short films!

-In 2016, there were 2 million submissions worldwide and only 40% of those submissions made it into competition at a festival.

-There was $5 billion worth of revenue generated from ticket sales in 2016 alone.

-The average cost to produce one minute of footage is around $300-$500 per minute.

Short film festivals are a great opportunity for filmmakers to showcase their work. If you’re interested in submitting your short film to one of these festivals, here is a list of some of the best ones out there!

Sundance Film Festival (USA)

The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival held in the small town of Park City, Utah. The event has been running for over 40 years and it’s a gathering place for both filmmakers and movie fans alike.

In recent years, they have also expanded to include music performances and art installations which are shown alongside films.

   

Attendees can spend their days checking out panels with speakers discussing the industry or exploring the many galleries that show off new work from emerging artists.

One of my favorite events was when I saw Werner Herzog give a talk about his experiences as a filmmaker through his own personal lens – it was incredibly powerful!

It’s hard not to get excited by all of these incredible opportunities lined up throughout the week-long event. This year, there were more than 150 films with various traditional and non-traditional categories to choose from.

The best way to experience these films would be by attending a screening or event at one of the many theaters around Park City from January 18th through January 27th.

For those who can’t physically make it out to Park City this year, you can still catch some screenings on YouTube Red (a service offered by Google) or watch them on other streaming services like Netflix as they become available.

This year’s event will be held from January 18 to 28th at various venues across Park City Utah USA. These include:

-Park City Mountain Resort;

-The Kimball Art Center;

-Temple Square Historic Site;

-The State Theatre of Utah;

-Utah Museum of Contemporary Art (UMOCA)As well as a number of other locations throughout Salt Lake County.

This year’s Sundance Film Festival promises to be a great success with an impressive lineup that includes over 100 feature films and 148 short programs!

In addition, there are also many panel discussions for those interested in learning more about filmmaking or participating in Q&A sessions with directors and actors.

Cannes Film Festival (France)

The Cannes Film Festival is a global event that focuses on the film industry and takes place in France. The festival will take place from May 8th to 19th, 2019.

It was founded in 1946 by French filmmaker Jean Zay and is one of the world’s most prestigious events for cinema professionals as well as amateurs who enjoy watching films.

Film Festival which had been running since 1932 but had become too commercialized under Mussolini’s fascist regime.

The festival includes some short films under 15 minutes only, but it does not include any longer-length movies or documentaries. Short films are judged by their artistic quality and creativity.

It’s a place where stars come out to play and directors want their films to shine. The festival has been going on since 1946 when it was set up as an alternative to Venice’s International Film Festival.

The prizes awarded at this festival include Palme d’Or (Gold Palm), which is given to best feature film; Grand Prix (Grand Prize) which goes to best director;

Jury Prize, which honors a supporting actor or actress; and other awards such as Best Screenplay, Best Short Film, etc.

In 2016 there were 280 movies screened out of 4374 entries from 92 countries worldwide.

Palm Springs International Festival Of Short Films (USA)

The Palm Springs International Festival of Short Films has been held for the past 25 years.

   

The event is open to filmmakers from all over the world and showcases their work, with more than 11,000 submissions in 2018. This year’s theme was “The Future.”

The Palm Springs International Festival of Short Films is a great way to spend your weekend. With 34 films and 8 live performances, there’s something for everyone.

Film screenings are taking place at The Annenberg Theater from November 4th – 6th and the festival culminate with a free screening on Sunday, November 6th at 10:30 am.

The Palms Spring International Festival of Short Films will take place on November 4-6th and culminate in a free screening on Sunday, November 6th at 10:30 am.

This year’s lineup includes over 350 films, including features and documentaries as well as animation, experimental work, and even some live-action shorts.

The festival will be held at multiple venues across Palm Springs starting on March 1st until March 10th.

Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival (France)

The Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival is France’s largest. It has been in operation since 1964 and it is held annually in the city of Clermont-Ferrand, which is located in central France. 

The festival aims to promote short films and filmmakers by awarding prizes for Best Short Film, Director, Actor/Actress, Cinematography, Scriptwriting, and Editing.

This year’s edition will take place from November 29th until December 5th with screenings taking place at the Kinepolis film center on Rue de l’Etoile du Nord.

It is an international organization that has been around since 1967 and has taken place every year with the exception of 2005, when it took place in November 2006. The festival was created by Jean-Luc Godard and Claude Chabrol and began as a way to celebrate cinema on a smaller scale than Cannes or Venice Film Festivals.

The festival showcases over 200 short films from all around the world to an audience of approximately 30,000 people each year. In addition to screenings, workshops are offered for filmmakers and industry professionals to learn more about their craft.

History Of Short Film Festivals

Short film festivals have been around ever since the beginning as well, but they first began to really take off in the 1920s with a festival at Olympia Hall in Paris called “The First International Festival Of Animated Films.”

One of my favorites is The Chicago Underground Film Festival which was started by Bruce Conner who is an American artist and filmmaker known for his work with collage techniques and assemblages.

Typically these movies last from 15 minutes up to 40 minutes long without any breaks in between scenes, and often contain only one storyline which can be compared to a full-length feature.

Short film festivals are still popular today because they have become a great place for budding filmmakers to make connections and get noticed by industry professionals.

The history of Short Film festivals starts in the late 1800s with Robert Paul’s invention of the motion picture camera.

It was not until the advent of digital filmmaking that short films became more artistically respected and began receiving recognition outside of film schools, as well as at film festivals.

How Long Should A Short Film Be For Festivals?

Too often, filmmakers are discouraged from submitting their short films to festivals because they believe that it is too long for a festival.

Do you want to enter your film into festivals? If so, it is important that you know how long a Short Film should be. Usually, shorts are anywhere from 8-15 minutes in length.

Most festivals will have their requirements listed on their website or contest page.

The average length for a festival-ready short film is 10 minutes or less. Most festivals would prefer something in the 6-8 minute range, but there are exceptions.

If you want your film to be considered for awards at Cannes, then it should not exceed 20 minutes in length. For more information on how long your film should be, read this blog post!

How Do You Submit Short Films To Film Festivals?

If you’re still in the process of filming or editing, save this for later and focus on submitting a finished product. There are many different types of film festivals that accept submissions so do some research first and see what type is most appropriate for your style and genre.

You’ll also need to check whether they have an entry fee which can range from $25-$150 depending on the festival.

Finally make sure you send them all their requirements such as release form signed by director/producer, video file, or DVD with contact info visible at the beginning.

The submission process for short films is not always as easy as it seems. The first step needs to be finding the right festival for your film and then you can submit.

There are a number of different ways to submit, but the most common two are through FilmFreeway or Withoutabox.  Once on either website, there will be some information about the festival such as dates, fees, etc.

Some festivals allow online submissions while others require hard copies with DVDs or Blu-rays included in the package that must be mailed to them directly from your home address.