LIVE EVENT | CINEMA VILLAGE | OCTOBER 2-8, 2026 | 22 E 12th St. NYC

Welcome to IMDb qualifying NEW YORK INDIE SHORTS AWARDS.

We enjoyed more than 🌟100🌟 international films, networking cocktails, panels and Q&A's.📽.

Our main goal is to find talented filmmakers from all around the world who stand out for having something to communicate through art and help them promote their work.
Some of our former contestants include Iggy Pop, Pauline Chalamet, Julie Pacino, Kevin Bacon, Oscar nominees Jude Law, Brenda Blethyn, Golden Globe winner Kyra Sedgwick and a new wave of talented directors like Student Academy Award Winners Akanksha Cruczynski, De’Onna “Tree” Young, Curry Sicong Tian, Pilar Garcia-Fernandezesma, Kristen Hwang, Murad Abu Eisheh, Simon Denda, Tribeca winning award director Peter Sluszka, Matthew Modine, Molly Ringwald and so many more.

You can submit your film to any of the Main Categories and/or to the Additional Categories and participate for Cash Prizes.

OFFICIAL SELECTION
Once you submit your film, our international screeners team will watch and review your project. The highest scored films will become finalists and automatically will join the Official Selection with +90 films to be screened at our live event.
The entire Official Selection films will receive the festival laurel. At the end of the live event we will announce all Main Competitions and Additional Categories winners chosen by our Judging Team.
Winners will receive the corresponding Certificate of Achievement and Laurel.
Moreover, we will announce the winner of the AUDIENCE AWARD who will receive a cash prize of USD 1000.

SEMIFINALISTS
In addition, the festival will recognize a selection of projects as Semifinalists. All semifinalist films will be invited to take part in our NY New Waves Online Event and will receive the official Semifinalist laurel. These projects will compete for the NY New Waves Award, with the winning film earning a screening at our Live Event.

Awards & Prizes

MAIN CATEGORIES:

NARRATIVE SHORT
FOREIGN SHORT
DOCUMENTARY SHORT
ANIMATION SHORT
NEW FILMMAKERS SHORT
EXPERIMENTAL SHORT
STUDENT SHORT
HORROR SHORT
MUSIC VIDEO
COMEDY SHORT

TECHNICAL AND PERFORMANCE CATEGORIES:

FEMALE DIRECTOR
MALE DIRECTOR
STUDENT DIRECTOR
PRODUCER
ACTRESS
ACTOR
CINEMATOGRAPHY
SCREENWRITING
SCORE & SOUND DESIGN
EDITING

Rules & Terms

1- In order to submit a film, you must own the rights or have permission from the owner.
2- All fees are non-refundable.
3- Any Foreign film that is not in English must have English subtitles.
4- The Festival relationship will exclusively be related to the film submitter.
5- NEW YORK INDIE SHORTS AWARDS will not be responsible for damaged copies.
6- A DCP of the film is required for the Live Event.
7- Not all the submissions are selected for the Official Selection. Our Judges are free to make their own choices and no answers will be given about not selected films.
8- NEW YORK INDIE SHORTS AWARDS can consider any film to be disqualified if the festival considers the content inappropriate. If you have any question regarding this decision you can contact us at our email address: nyc@indieshortsawards.com
9- A fee is required for all the Categories. For payment structure visit FilmFreeway website.
10- The applicants (submitters) must accept NEW YORK INDIE SHORTS AWARDS Rules and Terms.
11- By submitting your movie, you authorize NEW YORK INDIE SHORTS AWARDS to use, distribute and share the film poster, trailer, synopsis and movie stills in our social media.
12- Maximum length allowed is 40 minutes.
13- When submitting your film, you are consenting to our Privacy Policy. We are committed to respecting each filmmaker's preferences. We might contact you through your email or social media provided in the submission page to communicate updates on your submission status, screening and DCP requirements, events ticket confirmation, as well as to provide information about events, services, promotions that we think you might be interested in. You can unsubscribe from any marketing or advertising newsletter from us or any partner festival simply by clicking unsubscribe.
Even when unsubscribing from a marketing newsletter, you can still receive any communication regarding your submission status through the FilmFreeway system. For more information about our associated event, please refer to indieshortsawards.com/newyork. If you need further information, please contact us via nyc@indieshortsawards.com, and we will be happy to help you.

199 Reviews
Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Julie W CARLSON

    Thank you so much for the opportunity to show The Gargoyles, let’s share even more for my next movie, best regards to the wonderful team of New York Indie Shorts Awards Team !

    March 2026
    Helpful
    Response from festival:

    Julie, Thank you so much for your kind words and for sharing The Gargoyles with us
    We’d love to see your next film. Wishing you all the best on your journey! 🎬

  • QDurden Tyler

    Proud to be part of this artistic community.
    "I am incredibly honored to have my animated short film,< ANIMA>, selected for the New York Indie Shorts Awards. The communication from the organizers was prompt and professional, and it's clear they truly value the artistry of independent filmmakers. This festival provides a vital stage for unique voices in animation. Thank you for the recognition and the wonderful support!"

    March 2026
    Helpful
    Response from festival:

    Thank you so much for your beautiful words, QDurden and for sharing ANIMA with us.

    We’re truly honored to have you as part of our community and can’t wait to see what you create next!

  • Weller Vision

    Happy to have participated. The submission process was smooth, communication was clear, and everything ran well. The New Waves Showcase screening was a nice touch. Great experience overall.

    March 2026
    Helpful
    Response from festival:

    Thanks for your feedback!

  • Raphael Oettel

    Excited to have been part of the NEW YORK INDIE SHORTS AWARDS and the NY New Waves Online Event with my short film "The Filthy Three".
    I’m grateful that my film was selected as a Semifinalist.
    Many thanks to the festival team.
    Grateful and excited to have been part of the festival!

    March 2026
    Helpful
    Response from festival:

    Thank you, Raphael, for your kind words, and congratulations again on The Filthy Three!
    We’re delighted to have had your film as part of the New York Indie Shorts Awards and the NY New Waves Online Event, and we’re honored that it was included among this season’s Semi-Finalists. It’s always a pleasure to showcase bold and original work from talented filmmakers like you.
    Thank you for being part of the festival, and we hope to see more of your films in future editions.

  • Filipa Martins

    I’m truly grateful for being selected to participate in this festival. It was a wonderful experience from beginning to end. The quality of the programme was outstanding, showcasing a diverse and inspiring range of works.
    I would also like to congratulate the organisers for the excellent organisation and professionalism. Everything was very well coordinated, and it was clear how much care and dedication went into making the festival such a success.
    Thank you for the opportunity and for creating such a welcoming and high-quality event. I’m honoured to have been part of it and hope to be involved again in the future.

    March 2026
    Helpful
    Response from festival:

    Thank you very much for your thoughtful and generous words, Filipa. We are truly delighted to hear that your experience with the festival was such a positive one.

    It was an honor to include your work in our program, and we are grateful to have filmmakers like you contributing to such a rich and inspiring selection of films. Your kind recognition of the organization and the effort behind the event means a great deal to our team.

    Thank you again for being part of this edition.