Iron Mule is New York's only monthly short comedy film series, screening narrative, documentary, animated and experimental comedies from around the world. In our 21 years we have presented more than 1,000 movies, including early work from many celebrated filmmakers and comedians such as Stephen Colbert, Seth Macfarlane, Lena Dunham, Aziz Ansari, and Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Galzer.

Each screening features a guest judge from the world of film, comedy, television, or the New York art scene. Hosts Jay Stern and Victor Varnado interview attending filmmakers during the show, and each screening is followed by an after party, in which filmmakers and audience members can mingle.

In addition, Iron Mule produces the "Wanna Be a Star" contest, in which an audience member is chosen to star in a new film directed by an Iron Mule filmmaker to be shown at the following month's screening.

The Iron Mule is an open, accessible festival dedicated to fostering a community of filmmakers and film fans.

Awards & Prizes

The Iron Mule Short Comedy Film Festival awards a monthly Judges' Prize and a monthly Audience Favorite.

Rules & Terms

If the submission is accepted into the festival, the entrant grants Iron Mule a non-exclusive, royalty free license for use for theater screening, and to publish excerpts in print or electronic media to promote the event in any and all media. The filmmaker must secure all rights and clearances. Foreign films must be submitted in English or with English subtitles.

We accept short comedy films as long as 30 minutes, BUT the longer the film, the higher the bar. We have found that the sweet spot for an Iron Mule film is between 2 and 12 minutes, but we will consider any film 30 minutes or less. One note regarding webseries: make sure what you submit to us works as a stand-alone short film regardless of being part of a series.
8 Reviews
Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Annabel Vine

    Fun and funny - love this film festival

    May 2020
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  • Eddie Shieh

    We were thrilled to screen for the Iron Mule at the Alamo Drafthouse in Brooklyn, NY, and even more fortunate to take home the Judges Award. Jay and Daniel are wonderful organizers with great communication and passion. Festivals like the Iron Mule will help ground us with a sense of community and humor in and around hard times. We hope to be back!

    April 2020
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  • Margarita Escribano

    Great social media cover, communication and networking. Thanks a lot! I'll be happy to be part of the Iron Mule Short Comedy Festival again :)

    May 2018
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  • Graceann Dorse

    Iron Mule is an intimate festival, where your film gets to be shown on a boss screen at Alamo Drafthouse. The organizers are very, well, organized, and communicative, and they really care about quirky short films and the weirdos who make them. Their passion comes through and I definitely hope to be part of another round of Iron Mule!

    April 2018
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  • Kenneth Anderson

    Wonderful festival. The hosts are great/funny, and it's an honor to have your work screened at Alamo Drafthouse. Great networking afterparty.

    February 2018
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