Actor/Musician, Tom Waits is on our film jury panel, along with other cinematic luminaries. Also on the jury panel is Acadamy Award Winning writer, Billy Ray.

We are the founders of both the Bodega Bay and Healdsburg International Short Film Festivals based in the prestigious wine country region of Sonoma County, California, home of Coppola Wineries.

Our past festivals have included over 1,000 short films from 50 countries submitted by filmmakers of all ages and walks of life. The winning films from past festivals have included an Academy Award-winning short and our past panel of notable judges from the entertainment industry make our festival an attraction for new and veteran filmmakers alike.

Awards & Prizes

Cash prize:

Festival Winner - $500

Eligible for inclusion into our worldwide traveling collection where filmmakers get paid a cash royalty for screenings.

Rules & Terms

RULES & TERMS

Short film not to exceed 20 minutes.

Films must be submitted through FilmFreeway.

All selected entries must contain a mini press pack with a one-paragraph synopsis, a short bio of filmmakers for promo use, a cast list, and high-quality promotional photos including the main film poster, and filmmaker contact information.

The filmmaker gives permission for the festival to use of all submitted promotional material on any festival promotional platforms including social media.

We are excited to announce that our film festival is expanding to various worldwide venues as a traveling program for the "Best in Fest." Selected films will be eligible to earn royalties for screenings. These films will be selected after the in-person festival and filmmakers will have an opportunity to review the details before committing to the royalty program.

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REQUIRED SPECIFICATIONS:

Films must have been completed in 2018 or later.

Films cannot appear on YouTube (Vimeo is okay).

Non-English speaking films must have English subtitles.

AUDIO = Stereo (not surround sound)

PROJECTION FILE = .MP4 File format (High quality)

ASPECT: Minimum pixel dimensions: 1920x1080. (or letterboxed within that). NO anamorphic)

ENGLISH SUBTITLES: Burned into to picture when non-English is spoken