FrostyFest Film is Hollywood's holiday-themed short film festival, and it's designed to welcome everyone. All backgrounds. All experience levels. All warmly invited in from the cold.

Curation is light. The only rules: keep it seasonally appropriate, and keep it under 20 minutes. That's it.

But let's be clear about what "seasonally appropriate" means to us, because it is not a euphemism for "Christmas festival." We want stories as diverse and numerous as the countless ways humans celebrate this time of year. And there are a lot of them! Time Magazine counts eleven major religious and secular holidays in December alone. Every single one is welcome here.

- A new take on A Christmas Carol? Excellent.
- A deep dive into the traditions surrounding Makar Sankranti? Perfect.
- A Hanukkah noir musical? Love it.
- A New Year's Eve door-slamming farce? Bring it on.
- A Rocky musical for Boxing Day? ...I mean, that's how Boxing Day works, right?

Whatever you bring us, FrostyFest is a performing arts celebration of the entire holiday season in all its many forms.

Submit your film now! However you celebrate, there's a seat for you.

=====

FrostyFest Film is the Sgt. Al Powell to FrostyFest's John McClane - a film-based Trusted Companion event running inside Hollywood's Holiday Theatre Festival.

FrostyFest Film will screen one night only: Tuesday, December 15th at The Hobgoblin Playhouse in Hollywood.

Our judges will hand-pick ten standout films from our pool of submissions. Doors open at 6:30. Screening begins at 7pm.

Voting for the Audience Choice award and the announcement of the Judge's Selection award happen live immediately after the screening.

Want the full picture? The live performance lineup and everything else festival-related lives at FrostyFestLA.com.

Awards & Prizes

Audience Choice
Judges Selection

Rules & Terms

- FrostyFest is open to entries from the United States and internationally.

- Entries must fit within the greater Holiday genre.

- Our judges will select ten films for screening.

- Multiple entries are accepted.

- Entry fees are non-refundable.

- Films must be under 20 minutes in runtime.

- Non-English language entries must include English subtitles.

- All entries must include submitter contact information, including an email address and, where possible, a phone number.

- No physical submissions. Digital only, please.

- Selected films must be delivered in MP4 or MOV format at 1920x1080 resolution, with audio between stereo and 7.1 surround. Films should be delivered via direct download through FilmFreeway. Files that do not meet these specifications may be excluded from screening.

- The submitter warrants that they own or have obtained all necessary rights, licenses, and clearances (including music, footage, and performance rights) to submit and exhibit the film, and agrees to indemnify FrostyFest Film against any third-party claims arising from the screening.

- FrostyFest reserves the right to screen any film or project submitted to the festival.

- FrostyFest reserves the right to decline or remove any submission that includes content it deems inappropriate, unlawful, or in violation of these guidelines, at its sole discretion.

- By submitting, entrants grant FrostyFest the right to use film stills, trailers, and promotional excerpts of up to 60 seconds for festival marketing, press, and social media purposes.

- All decisions made by the festival are final.
1 Review
Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Ryan Dylan Wargnier

    Such a great festival with so many fun and exciting films! The awesome team behind it really went above and beyond and ensured that we were taken care of, informed at all times, and really let our film shine! Highly recommend

    February 2026
    Helpful