10th Annual Awards Night, Thursday, April 27, from 6 to 10 PM EST, where Finalist Films to be showcased in Red Carpet Event featuring Post-Screening Discussion, Audience Favorite Award Voting, and Awards Presentation!
FOLCS is currently hosting its Screening Days, our online screening that allows a worldwide audience to appreciate our finalist short films. Due to high demand, Screening Days has been extended until April 30th, but the voting ballot for the Audience Favorite Award has not. Don't forget to cast your vote before online voting closes on April 27th at 4:00 PM ET.
The International Short Film Competition annually encourages and showcases the creation of short films exploring themes of social justice, human rights, and the law by independent, emerging filmmakers worldwide. Finalist films are screened at the FOLCS Annual Awards Night.
“Social justice” may be broadly construed. You are free to choose any subject in which the relationship between law, justice, and society can be fashioned into a unique visual story. For example, your film could be about rights that have been denied, harms that have gone unaddressed, the aftereffects of courtroom decisions, government regulations, and statutes, or an attempt to take a new look at what “justice” really means. Any genre (animation, comedy, documentary, drama, musical, sci-fi, etc.) is permitted.
Films should run 20 minutes or less; there is no minimum runtime requirement.
About the Competition:
The FOLCS International Short Film Competition (ISFC) was created in 2011 to encourage the creation of short films exploring themes of law and justice. Expanding in reach each year, independent and aspiring filmmakers from around the globe are invited to submit their original shorts. Entrants not only have the chance to have their work screened before a New York audience, but also the opportunity to have their shorts viewed by distinguished professionals from both the legal and entertainment fields. Each year ISFC features renowned filmmakers, actors, writers, journalists, public intellectuals, and members of the legal profession. ISFC also attracts overflowing and diverse crowds of film enthusiasts, which provides a great platform for showcasing your winning work!
Some of the jury members throughout the years include:
- William Fichtner, Actor (Contact with Jodie Foster);
- Margarita Levieva, Actress (The Deuce);
- Herschel Faber, Chair of Filmmaking Department, New York Film Academy;
- Crickett Rumely, Director, Film Festival Department, New York Film Academy (LA Campus);
- Daniel Anker, Emmy-winning and Oscar-nominated documentary filmmaker;
- Henry Bean, director/screenwriter;
- Piero Basso, Chair of Cinematography, NYFA;
- Randall Dottin, Chair of Screenwriting Department, NYFA;
- Andrea Swift, Chair of Documentary Filmmaking, NYFA;
- Jonathan Whittaker, Chair of Short-Term Intensive Programs, NYFA;
- Isaiah Sheffer, co-founder of Symphony Space;
- Ronald Guttman, film and TV actor;
- Nikzad Nodjoumi, art critic and fine art painter;
- Mark Ethan, actor and film professor;
- Sandy Gotham Meehan, Producer/Director/Writer;
- Annette Insdorf, film historian and director of undergraduate film studies at Columbia University;
Annual Awards Night:
The FOLCS Awards Night plays host to emerging filmmakers, screening a diverse set of legal, social justice, and human rights-themed shorts from around the world. This FREE event is the closing night of the competition and includes a red carpet and an awards presentation. Additionally, audience members have the opportunity to vote on which short will receive the Audience Favorite Award. In keeping with FOLCS Film Series tradition, at this red-carpet event, the finalist filmmakers participate in a post-screening discussion about their films.
Best Short, 2nd Place, 3rd Place, Best Screenplay, Best Female Filmmaker, Best Young Filmmaker (18 years and younger), and Audience Favorite Awards are announced each year after a series of rigorous evaluations by the members of the jury. Award Winners will receive a certificate and FOLCS’ unique glass-made trophy, FOLCSY.
