Breakout Film Festival is an international short film festival with an annual event held in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Submissions are open each month, January to December, for our monthly short film contest. Notification of selection will be sent on the 20th of the following month.
In January 2021, the winning short film of each monthly contest will be screened at our live event with an overall winner chosen by our esteemed jury.
The inaugural 2019 film festival was held on the 15th June 2019 in the world's art & culture capital, Edinburgh. ‘Answer’ directed by Adam Palmer was our inaugural winner of Best Short Film.
The inaugural 2018 winner of Best Short Screenplay was awarded to Mark Oxtoby for his short script 'My Week with Maisy'.
Breakout Film Festival will now take place in the summer of 2022!due to the COVID-19 delays.
BFF 2020 OFFICIAL SELECTION
Bye Bye Bridges
Directed by Estanis Bañuelos
With the arrival of Brexit, a couple who emigrated to Scotland are afraid that in the near future they will have to change their destination again.
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Don't
Directed by Jordan Blanch
Matt is a bully, but he's also a victim of an abusive father. His friends are conflicted when Matt attacks another student, but they don't stop him either.
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Hazy
Directed by Jonny Magowan
'Hazy' follows the lives of three young men in Edinburgh, best friends each struggling with their own personal demons, and failing to help each other out.
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Home
Directed by Jahvis Loveday & Joy Ben Hur
A girl must leave her home town, her family, her friends. Everything she remembers that was horrible, how the town was so small, everyone knew everyone, becomes the things she will miss the most.
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I'm Here
Directed by Kasper Christiansen
How will the last couple of hours be like on earth if we were forced to leave it, is everyone invited on a journey to a new place or will some be left behind, and who decides who is staying and who is leaving.
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It's a Match
Directed by Lamara Sogomonyan
It's a sunny day, a brief HELLO. And there it is - Love. It's no longer just a match, it is destiny, desperation, desire, thirst! The long-awaited date and a dead end ... In an ideal world a small setback can lead you to drown in your own feelings.
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Just Friends
Directed by Marc Lesperut
Sometimes the thrill when starting a new relationship leads to a downfall of irrepressible emotions.
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Seawolf
Directed by Chris Sitaridis
16 year old Joe lives and works with his unyielding mother, at the family-owned gas station. When two best friends Danny and Rich visit the gas station to buy chewing gum, Joe sees an opportunity to break free. While being bullied by the two troublemakers, he hangs out with them at the local rave club Seawolf.
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Summer Lightning
Directed by Andrew Saunderson
For a father and son, a baseball tournament isn’t the most important battle of the weekend.
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The Plunge
Directed by Simon Ryninks
After a night of passion Emily tells Jay that she’d like to use a strap-on. Scared of losing a girl he has a connection with, Jay reluctantly agrees.
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2021 OFFICIAL SELECTION
JANUARY WINNER
Trucker's Atlas
Directed by Dan Thorburn
A peaceful working relationship between two power-line repair men is put under pressure when one returns back from a family bereavement.
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FEBRUARY WINNER
Safe & Happy
Directed by Richard Ulrich
An ex-cop who for years has kept an explosive secret from his wife and the world is suddenly exposed at a critical moment - with life-changing consequences.
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MARCH WINNER
Loco
Directed by Rory Wilson
A train driver is left traumatized after an incident on the tracks.
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APRIL WINNER
Swing
Directed by Natacha Horn
A dark comedy where abuse is depicted in familiar situations, highlighting how accustomed we have become as both the victims and perpetrators.
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MAY WINNER
Forgive Us Our Debts
Directed by Howard Mitchell
A terrified African-American boy hides foreclosure notices from his family only to have his fears realized when the police arrive to remove them from their home.
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JUNE WINNER
Yet;
Directed by Ivy Chin
A 22 years alcohol addict, struggles to live with herself. Only being drunk will her anxiety goes away.
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JULY WINNER
Prey
Directed by Aiken Chau, Ella Ye, Keni Xiao Xuan Ji, Ryan Maman, Anastasia Adela Putra, Alice Liu, Sabrina Shan, Saniya Baig, Danny Del Toro, Rujun Ma, Summer Oh, Sabrina Shan, Nathan Chen
A relentless hunter travels through the forest collecting antlers and discovers monstrous consequences for his actions. A stop-motion animated short film.
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AUGUST WINNER
Mr Clean
Directed by Lee Bailes
Someone is breaking into empty homes and cleaning them. But are these seemingly harmless crimes hiding something much worse?
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SEPTEMBER WINNER
Doorbells and Gunshots
Directed by Michael Hanratty
A modern coming of age story about a young man trying to find his place in a sexually-charged, violent world where nothing is as it seems.
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OCTOBER WINNER
Danni the Champion
Directed by Laura Cameron-Lewis
Young Danni isn’t like the other girls in town. She’d rather be watching drag races down at the airport or tearing about behind the wheel of her brother’s car, Lynyrd Skynyrd tunes blasting on the stereo.
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NOVEMBER WINNER
Clean
Directed by Richard Paris Wilson
The story of a man who loses his clothes at a launderette and his journey to get them back.
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DECEMBER WINNER
She Decided Not To Remember
Directed by Ozan Boz
KOWINA meets HELIAC to give their relationship another chance. It is gut-wrenching for HELIAC, because in this world, one can not only erase memories of someone, but also erase someone’s memories of oneself.
Monthly winners will be awarded our official selection laurel.
Winners of Best Short Film 2020 and Best Short Film 2021 will be awarded $500 USD, official selection laurel and our coveted trophy.
Short Screenplay winner is awarded $200 USD, laurel and trophy.