Our latest Live Event took place at the LOOK cinemas from November 14th till November 17th 2024 in New York city !. It was a total success with fully sold-out screenings !!!! 📽. Thank you to all the participants and guests!🌟 Check our photos above 📸 😀.

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 distinguish a selection of films as semifinalists. All semifinalist projects will be invited to be part of our online event and will receive the corresponding laurel.
All films at our Online Event will compete for the NY NEW WAVES GRAND AWARD, which includes a cash prize of USD 1000.

PITCH THE AUDIENCE
New York Indie Shorts Awards is introducing a new competition called
"PITCH THE AUDIENCE," where filmmakers can submit
a 2-minute video presentation for free pitching their next project. See rules and guidelines below.

If selected by our programming team, this presentation will be screened during our Live Event. Both the audience and the programming team will vote for the most compelling project, and the winner will receive USD 3500 to fund their future project!

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.

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🌟 🌟 PITCH THE AUDIENCE AWARD RULES & TERMS 🌟 🌟

Eligibility: The competition is open to filmmakers of all levels, from emerging talents to qualified professionals.
Theme and Format: Submissions can be from any genre or subject matter. The presentation should be concise, engaging, and provide a clear overview of the project. The format must be in .mp4 or .mov, 1998x1080, in 2k resolution.
Duration: The video presentation should not exceed 2 minutes in length.
Language: Presentations can be in any language. However, if the language is not English, English subtitles must be provided.
Originality: Submissions must be original works by the filmmakers or their team.
Submission Process: Filmmakers are required to submit their video presentations through our official submission platform, FilmFreeway.
Selection Process: The programming team will review all submissions and select the most compelling presentations for the Live Event.
Live Event: The selected presentations will be screened during our Live Event, where the jury and the audience will vote for their favorite project.
Grant Award: The project that emerges as the winner will be awarded a grant of USD 3500. It is important to note that the project should be finished within a time frame of 18 months from the moment the grant is received. Additionally, it is required to include the support of Indie Shorts Awards and display their logo in the opening credits of the film.
Rights: Filmmakers retain all rights to their projects. However, by submitting their project, filmmakers grant New York Indie Shorts Awards the right to screen their video during the Live Event.
135 Reviews
Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Nick Batchelder

    We had such a great experience at this festival. The welcome we received when we arrived was amazing (everyone we spoke to who was working at the fest remembered our short well enough to mention specifics about what they liked.) The Q&A was fun, the festival-goers and fellow filmmakers were great to speak with, and the films we screened along with were all so excellent (great curation and programming also isn’t always super common in our experience). Well done all around!

    November 2024
    Helpful
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    Response from festival:

    Dear Nick, Thank you so much for your wonderful feedback! We're thrilled to hear you had such a positive experience and that you felt so welcomed. It’s great to know you enjoyed the Q&A, networking with fellow filmmakers, and the curated selection of films. We’re proud to have had your film as part of the festival and look forward to seeing you again in the future!

  • Ana Sofía Navia

    Wonderful festival! Very welcoming, the staff was so sweet

    December 2024
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  • Ronald Marinakis

    NEW YORK INDIE SHORTS AWARDS was an amazing experience!
    Being among such talented filmmakers and showcasing our art in the incredible New York City was truly exciting.

    The festival and its organizers welcomed us with open arms and put together a well-organized event. Definitely a fantastic experience and a festival worth submitting your upcoming projects to!

    December 2024
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  • Grace Wijaya

    One of the best festivals I have attended! Their communication is top notch and they pay great attention to the filmmakers and their films. It was an honor to be a part of this wonderful festival. I can't recommend this festival enough! ❤️

    December 2024
    Helpful
  • Sebastiaan Buts

    This is the sweetest festival around! Best hospitality and easy communication. Thanks for wonderfully accommodating my film and us during our visit in New York City.

    December 2024
    Helpful