The Edmonton Short Film Festival (ESFF) is dedicated to the elevation of Independent short film. The ESFF gala event showcases Alberta filmmakers with films up to 15 minutes and our Long Shorts program screens Alberta films over 15 minutes PLUS films up to 30 minutes from anywhere in the world.

We value diversity in our submissions and look forward to seeing projects created by filmmakers from any and all backgrounds. The Edmonton Short Film Festival has valued inclusion of all filmmakers and featured projects from Indigenous voices, BIPOC, LGBTQ2S+, and many more.

We feature diverse projects (newly created or “dusted off” favourites) including trailers, music videos, web series, commercials, and any genre short film. ONLY Alberta films under 15 minutes are eligible to submit to the genre categories. Films from outside of Alberta, any length up to 30 minutes, any creation date are to be submitted under the Long Shorts category.

ALBERTA FILMMAKERS:
The Edmonton Short Film Festival partners with other cultural events to showcase Alberta short films. If you are interested in submitting your film to be considered for our Community Screenings please visit our Local Heroes Film Festival FilmFreeway page to submit for $10 per film. ALL of our Community Screening events pay screening fees for films that are selected and can be screened multiple times.

FILM LOVERS:
The audience plays a huge role in the success of the evening by choosing their favourite film. We offer the festival films online as well as in-person.

Awards & Prizes

ALL films screened will receive a screening fee including International
AWARDS will be presented in genre categories
PEOPLE'S CHOICE Award voted by live audience ($250)
Best International Film Award

Rules & Terms

GALA EVENT: The Edmonton Short Film Festival welcomes ALL short film projects that are 15 minutes or less as long AS YOU (Director, Producer) ARE AN ALBERTA FILMMAKER.

Our goal is to support and promote independent film, so we will screen almost ANYTHING (we reserve the right to determine what may be considered as extreme violence, hatred, pornographic or copyrighted material).

You don’t have something new? That’s okay! Drag out something from your archives … maybe you have a fabulous film that you would love to show again. You’re working on a feature? Send us your trailer to promote the project! Of course, we also accept the “usual” – short dramatic or comedic narratives, horror, music videos, web series, documentaries and animations, etc. We would even love to see your amazing commercial!

The ESFF Adjudicators selects independently-created films based on the technical excellence and entertainment value of the film.

If your film is selected for screening you will need to provide:
A. 1920 x 1080 downloadable version of your film in a .mov format or .mp4 format
B. A high res still photo from your film or poster in 300 DPI resolution
C. Director's bio and photo and short film synopsis
D. Contact email and mailing address
E. Confirmation of who is to receive the screening fee (paid by cheque for Canadian filmmakers and by PayPal for International filmmakers)
52 Reviews
Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Sacha None

    Loved this festival! Loved how they had the award ceremony at the end of the event. Our film won two awards, which was an amazing surprise. They have a red carpet and interview all the filmmakers. Highly recommend this festival!

    November 2024
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    Response from festival:

    Thank you for you kind review! We are so pleased you enjoyed our festival and hope to see you again at another one! Congratulations once again!

  • Nancy Kenny

    Thank you so much for our including my film. It was a great experience!

    November 2024
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    Response from festival:

    Thank you for your kind review and we were so pleased to have included your film in our 2024 festival!

  • Randal X Bailer

    Outstanding festival dedicated to Provincial film making and beyond. Especially thankful that ESFF includes a category for music videos which is so often overlooked!

    November 2024
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    Response from festival:

    Thank you for your kind words and yes we agree on how important it is to include music videos in our program!

  • Owen Ljunggren

    My team and I had so much fun at the 2024 festival! What an incredible experience to be able to show your film in a PACKED room of engaged and excited audience members. We will absolutely be coming back next year!

    November 2024
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    Response from festival:

    So glad you had a positive experience and we look forward to 2025!

  • Amir Zargara

    Very smooth process. Thanks for having us at your festival. Hope to be back in the future :)

    October 2024
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    Response from festival:

    Thank you for submitting your film! We look forward to receiving more films from you in the future.