Bucharest ShortCut Cinefest is a monthly film competition focusing on international independent cinema. It takes place in one of the most vibrant and diverse cities in Europe.
Our goal is finding and promoting talented and emerging filmmakers. Here’s how we do it:
✶ Online presence - Website, Social Channels
✶ Film Screening Events
✶ Access to worldwide audiences through our partner Shortlist.film
Every month all the projects submitted go through a meticulous process where our programmers watch, rate and define the curatorial list which will further be published on our website and social media channels during the next month.
The Curatorial Programme is defined by two main categories converging as follows:
✶ The Official Selection - A shortlist of films that scored the highest in our selection process
✶The Official Competition (Winners & Nominees) - The ‘Best Of’ from every category
Why two main categories?
The Official Selection is a necessary extension of the Winners & Nominees list, our experience proving that nearly every month the number of submissions with a high rate exceeds the available competition slots. Eliminating it would create injustice to incredibly talented filmmakers who deserve to be acknowledged.
The film competition runs on a monthly basis. The final deadline for our next selection, as well as the notification date are posted in the right-grid competition timeline.
Our screenings gather a large number of film lovers every year. Looking back we are proud to have organized monthly screenings in Bucharest with thousands of spectators, in unconventional spaces from independent theatres to rooftop cinema, bookstores, universities, art hubs etc.
The new reality forced the majority of the industry to recalibrate. Beginning with 2020 we only screen competition-awarded films as the COVID pandemic made physical event planning a lot more challenging. This means that, at least for a while, the number of annual physical events will be limited to 1 or 2, in order to make sure that we can showcase all winning films safely & responsibly.
At this moment, the films showcased in the BscFest Official Screenings will only consist of the Competition Winners.
That doesn’t make Bucharest Shortcut any less attractive, as there are many benefits of joining our community.
We like to see ourselves as a network where you can definitely find support for your film and make your submission worth it.
Starting with 2021 we offer all the films qualified for Official Competition the opportunity of having online screenings.
After the COVID-19 breakout, many festivals have transitioned to a hybrid system for film screenings and we embrace the change as this is an important step towards the future.
It is important to mention that this IS NOT A MANDATORY REQUIREMENT for joining the festival and online screenings will only be provided WITH THE PRIOR PERMISSION granted by the filmmaker.
Our Online Catalogue will be offered in partnership with Shortlist.film, a highly secured streaming platform, where you can introduce your content to a worldwide audience.
Shortlist.film
One of the key benefits of joining us on Shortlist.film is a Special Filmmaker Pack consisting in 10 1-year fully paid subscription accounts with a total worth of 1200$.
Time Machine
Joining the Bucharest Shortcut Community will provide you all the perks and benefits, regardless of the moment you happened to submit. Therefore, all the partner benefits for the Official Selection & Competition are available to any filmmaker who submitted at any date in the past, per request.
Perks of getting your film selected
❗All Films accepted in the Official Selection will be given an awesome benefits pack worth 250$, very useful for future projects:
✶ Official Selection Laurel
✶ Filmstro 1-Year Pro Licence Exclusive discount worth up to 125$
✶ DCP2GO Exclusive Discount for mastering services worth 125$
By having the 250$ services discounts guaranteed for every film accepted in the Official Selection, we make sure that you get rewarded and your benefits of joining the Bucharest Shortcut Community exceed by far your submission fee.
🅱🅴🆂🆃 🆂🅷🅾🆁🆃 🅵🅸🅻🅼
✶ Live Screening
✶ Shortlist.film Screening (only with prior permission from the filmmaker)
✶ Special Filmmaker Pack from Shortlist.film - worth 1200$
✶ 5 Fee Waivers from our festival partners - worth 115$
✶ 90% DISCOUNT on DCP Mastering Services from KINOLIFE Distribution - worth 300$
✶ Filmstro Pro Licence discount - worth 105$
✶ Award Certificate signed by the Festival Director
✶ Official Laurels from the festival
Apart from the Best Short Film Award, the Film Competition has two award categories:
Individual Awards
✶ Best Actress
✶ Best Actor
✶ Best Director
✶ Best Screenplay
✶ Best Editor
✶ Best Cinematographer
✶ Best Original Score
Category Awards
✶ Best Music Video
✶ Best Experimental
✶ Best Documentary
✶ Best Student Film
✶ Best Animation
✶ Best Trailer
All the films awarded within these categories will receive the following prizes from the festival:
✶ Shortlist.film Screening (only with prior permission from the filmmaker)
✶ Special Filmmaker Pack from Shortlist.film - worth 1200$
✶ 25% DISCOUNT on DCP Mastering Services from KINOLIFE Distribution
✶ Filmstro Pro Licence discount worth 105$
✶ Award Certificate signed by the Festival Director
✶ Official Laurels from the festival
•• SCREENPLAY COMPETITION ••
The screenplay competition runs in 2-4 annual seasons, depending on the number of entries and quality of the scripts
• SCREENPLAY AWARD (Winner) •
✶ Review from Jury
✶ 90% DISCOUNT on DCP Mastering Services from KINOLIFE Distribution - worth 300$
✶ Filmstro Pro Licence discount - worth 105$
✶ Award Certificate signed by the Festival Director
✶ Official Laurels from the festival
• 2nd & 3rd Place •
✶ 25% DISCOUNT on DCP Mastering Services from KINOLIFE Distribution
✶ Filmstro Pro Licence discount worth 105$
✶ Award Certificate signed by the festival director
✶ Official Laurels from the festival
••• SOUNDTRACK AWARD •••
✶ 90% DISCOUNT on DCP Mastering Services from KINOLIFE Distribution - worth 300$
✶ Filmstro Pro Licence discount - worth 105$
✶ Award Certificate signed by the festival director
✶ Official Laurels from the festival
Partners:
Shortlist.film
Shortlist is a highly secured streaming service focused on film content which is usually available in film festivals only. With a top-class DRM Encryption and user gateways for increased security, it’s one of the best offers in the market right now.
KINOLIFE Distribution
KINOLIFE provides high-quality DCP services from A to Z. We are a reliable partner of hundreds of filmmakers, film festivals, distribution, and exhibition companies. We’re interested not only in just converting films to 2K, 4K DCP, 3D, or HFR, but in making our clients a bit happier.
FILMSTRO
Filmstro Pro is a music publishing library built into a desktop app that enables Filmmakers to adapt and recompose professional soundtracks to suit their films. Available for Windows and Mac users.
DCP2GO
DCP2GO offers complete professional services for DCP authoring including: preparation of materials, authoring, encryption and key management, duplication, control and check-up (test screening), transfer and distribution, translation and subtitling, and technical organization.
