LA Shorts International Film Festival ranks among the most prestigious and largest international short film festivals in the world.

The festival is accredited by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences OSCARS®, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts BAFTA and the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television (ACCT) presenters of the Canadian Screen Awards.

60 LA Shorts filmmakers have earned Academy Award® nominations, with 16 taking home the Oscar.

Celebrating 25 years, LA Shorts is the longest-running short film festival in Los Angeles. The festival screens over 300 films and attracts over 10,000 attendees each year including Hollywood industry professionals and emerging independent filmmakers.

LA Shorts is an official qualifying event for the British Academy of Film and Television Arts BAFTA short film awards. Award-winners at the festival are eligible to win BAFTA Awards.

LA Shorts is recognized by The Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television (ACCT) presenters of the Canadian Screen Awards.

Those who have been honored at the festival include directors, Jon Favreau, Paul Haggis, Bryan Singer, Jan de Bont, Shane Black, and actors Gary Oldman, James Woods, Martin Landau and Richard Dreyfuss. Many recognized actors and directors have screened films and attended the festival such as Scarlett Johansson, Demi Moore, Ashton Kutcher, Courteney Cox, Tim Burton, Jason Reitman, Terry Gilliam, Spike Jonze, Eva Mendes, Jessica Biel, Rachel Weisz, Hilary Swank, Josh Brolin, Kirsten Dunst, Rita Wilson, Ralph Macchio, Ricky Gervais, Vin Diesel, John Stamos, Matthew Modine, Dean Cain, Robin Wright and many many more.

The film programming screens all genres from a wide spectrum of categories with high to low budget films under 50 minutes. From recognizable directors and celebrity actors to students from the finest film schools and high school teenagers- they're all here to celebrate the art (and business) of short-form cinema!

Awards & Prizes

*ACADEMY AWARD OSCAR® QUALIFYING
British Academy of Film and Television Arts BAFTA® Qualifying
Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television (ACCT) Canadian Screen Awards® Qualifying

Best of Fest*
Best Foreign Film*
Best Drama
Best Comedy
Best Animation*
Best Experimental
Best Documentary*
Best Sci-Fi
Best Horror

Best Music Video
Best Web Series
Best High School Film

Best Actor
Best Actress

Rules & Terms

REQUIREMENTS

- Films must NOT screen in Los Angeles county prior to our festival. We will factor in previous screenings in the Los Angeles area when determining a film's selection.
- We prefer films NOT be available online prior to the festival.
- Films must have been completed after Jan. 1, 2019.
- Non-English films must have English subtitles.
- Films must be submitted via online screener.
- Works-in-progress will be considered, provided they will be completed prior to the festival.

You may submit more than one film, but you must complete a separate entry form and pay entry fee for each film.

45 Reviews
Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Joel Griffen

    I understand that Covid threw a wrench in the gears of everything this year but considering this is an Oscar/ Bafta qualifier I guess I expected a bit more, even from an "at home" festival. Barely any communication. Last minute changes of file type requirements. No networking events. No QnAs. Essentially, they put up my film on their youtube page. The little social marketing they did do felt kinda meh. IG posts of screenshots from their webpage. No updates or announcements of premiere dates until RIGHT before it was happening. Once their were dates I had to find out myself by digging around their website. All in all I felt pretty out of the loop. Not sure if this is always how it is, but it felt this way the entire time.

    ALSO before they finally decided to take the festival digital they said acceptance of my film was reliant on my presence at the theater which I felt a little uneasy with. I agreed because I wanted my film to play, but I felt like they were pressuring me to take a health risk for their bottom line. I'm glad they changed their mind but it all went downhill from there with the above mentioned details.

    I hope that I get a chance to someday experience the "real" version of this festival as it seems like it was great in the past. I'm grateful my film found a place to premiere, but I can't help but feel pretty disappointed in the experience.

    I'd wait until they are back to physical screenings before submitting.

    UPDATE: After sending this review, LA Shorts immediately changed my status on FilmFreeway to NOT SELECTED, removed my short from their youtube channel, and removed me from their 2020 program on their website. BEWARE!

    January 2021
    Helpful
  • Stephanie Willis

    This is one of the best festivals I've attended. It was very polished, communication was great, and they had networking events for the filmmakers to meet and get to know each other. The festival team was also very friendly and helpful.

    January 2020
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  • Dana Koops

    LA Shorts is absolutely one of the best and most worthwhile festivals available. My screenwriting short film WAKING LIFE world premiered the same year my daughter's directorial debut short film DRIVER'S ED LA premiered, and we were both blown away at the professionalism, the communication, the care, and the orginization. It is a true filmmakers filmmaker festival.

    September 2019
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  • Ysabel Li

    It's a great honor to have my short selected. Hope to be here again next year!

    August 2019
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  • Bill Hoversten-Davis

    Top-notch venues to screen the films. The organizers also provided opportunities for filmmaker networking and camaraderie at the theaters and at nearby establishments. A superb experience!

    August 2019
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