Long Story Shorts is an international film competition that aims to connect the audience to short films, music videos, documentaries, and screenplays from all around the world.

Aiming to inspire, motivate and award new talents as well as experienced filmmakers, Long Story Shorts takes the way visual stories are shared and experienced to a higher level.

Here’s how we do it:

☞ Online coverage - Website & Social Media
☞ Live Screenings - Cinema Blue Velvet
☞ Access to global audiences with the help of our partner Filmocracy.com

The competition runs on a monthly basis, with a total of 12 selections in a competitional year.

BEST SHORT OF THE YEAR will be awarded:

♢ $1,000 of Stock Footage Credit to Nimia.com 

♢ $2,000 of Rights Clearance Labor (2 days) Free of Kurator services

All films submitted to our festival are rigorously rated by our programmers who later publish their selection on our website and social media channels during the next month.

The final deadline for our next selection, as well as the notification date are posted in the right-grid competition timeline.

At this moment, the home of our competition, where we also hold film screenings, is Bucharest, an effervescent cultural hub in Europe, with a highly dynamic social life.
We partnered with Cinema Blue Velvet, the first micro-cinema fully dedicated to promoting art films in Bucharest.

The film selections are categorized in two main sections that intertwine as follows:

☞ Official Selection - Non-competitional programme showcasing films with a strong story and approach, carefully curated by our programmers
☞ Official Competition - Winners & Nominees

♢ Understanding Official Selection & Competition

Film Selections shouldn’t only be about having films competing with each other. We embrace the idea of creating a space where talented filmmakers are recognized and appreciated, without necessarily putting a stamp on what is valuable and what isn’t from a critical point of view.

Not all selected films will run in the Competition as well; however, their value is supported by welcoming them in the Long Story Shorts Community.

☞ All Films accepted in the Official Selection will be given a benefits pack worth $367:
• Filmstro 1-Year Pro Licence Exclusive discount worth up to $125
• DCP2GO Exclusive Discount for mastering services worth $125
• 3 Months Studio License from iPitch TV - worth $117

At the end of the year, we will pick ‘BEST SHORT OF THE YEAR’ from every film that has won Best Short Film in our 12 monthly seasons of 2024.

BEST SHORT OF THE YEAR will be awarded:

♢ $1,000 of Stock Footage Credit to Nimia.com 

♢ $2,000 of Rights Clearance Labor (2 days) Free of Kurator services

☞ Best Short Film will receive

♢ Live Screening
♢ Filmoracy Screening (only with prior permission from the filmmaker)
♢ 3 Months Filmmaker Pass from Filmocracy - worth $100
♢ Access to Filmocracy Film Market
♢ 12 Months Studio License from iPitch TV - worth $189
♢ Cloud19 Full DCP Service Pack worth 299$
♢ Filmstro Pro Licence discount worth 125$
♢ Award Certificate signed by the Festival Director
♢ Official Laurels from the festival

Our vision is to create opportunities for independent filmmakers to have their work showcased. We believe in the public’s potential of becoming a significant actor in developing the filmmaking process.

2020 came with a new set of challenges. The ‘new normal’ reshaped in many ways the entire film industry. However, giving up was never an option, and this has been our core belief throughout this whole period.

As physical event planning has become a lot more challenging, only competition-awarded films will be eligible for live screenings at this moment.
SCREENINGS take place at CINEMA BLUE VELVET.

But the future looks bright, as new ways of promoting films have come up.

Starting with 2021 we focus on the future of cinema interaction, which is a hybrid one.

♢ What does this entail?

Physical screenings merge with the focus on a better, faster, safer & easier online screening solution.

We believe it makes Long Story Shorts even more attractive, as there are many benefits of joining our community.

Starting with 2021 we offer all the films qualified for Official Competition the opportunity of having online screenings.

It is important to mention that this IS NOT A MANDATORY REQUIREMENT for joining the festival and online screenings will only be provided WITH THE PRIOR PERMISSION granted by the filmmaker.

Our Online Catalogue will be offered in partnership with Filmocracy, a highly secured streaming platform, where you can introduce your content to a worldwide audience.

☞ Filmocracy

Filmocracy is an innovative film and media festival, bringing together the best of traditional festival events, while integrating unique digital programs to create a memorable and productive experience. Cofounded by Jon Fitzgerald former director of multiple prestigious festivals such as Slamdance, AFI, and Santa Barbara.

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The publication of the Official Selection, as well as Competition Results will correspond to each season's notification information, available in your submission details.

☞ PARTNERS:

♢ Filmocracy

Filmocracy is an innovative film and media festival, bringing together the best of traditional festival events, while integrating unique digital programs to create a memorable and productive experience. Cofounded by Jon Fitzgerald former director of multiple prestigious festivals such as Slamdance, AFI, and Santa Barbara.

♢ Nimia

Nimia, founded in 2013 by Zachary McIntosh and Eric Harrison, is an international technology company specializing in video licensing, management, and distribution related products and services. These include a stock footage marketplace and digital asset management software. The company is headquartered in the USA.

♢ Kurator.com

Kurator is a company specialized in content curation, rights clearance, and music supervision services for all types of footage, photography and music needs.

♢ iPitch.TV

Looking for a way to pitch your idea for a television show or movie? iPITCH.TV offers a next generation platform for creators of original pitches for TV, Film & Digital Media to connect directly with Hollywood Producers and Studio Executives and gives creators industry pro advice on how to pitch a television show or feature film. Pitch your idea for a Movie, Screenplay, Television Show, Short Film, New Media Project and more.

♢ CLOUD NINETEEN

For 15 years, Cloud 19 has been a 1-stop resource for post production & mastering services, providing digital media solutions to Hollywood studios, Indie distributors and film producers everywhere! Consider us for your QC reports, Hardware-based DCP’s, DVD & Blu-ray Authoring, Color Grading and other Finishing services.

♢ FILMSTRO

Filmstro Pro is a music publishing library built into a desktop app that enables Filmmakers to adapt and recompose professional soundtracks to suit their films. Available for Windows and Mac users.

♢ DCP2GO offers complete professional services for DCP authoring including: preparation of materials, authoring, encryption and key management, duplication, control and check-up (test screening), transfer and distribution, translation and subtitling, and technical organization.

MAIN AWARDS

At the end of the year, we will pick ‘BEST SHORT OF THE YEAR’ from every film that has won Best Short Film in our 12 monthly seasons of 2024.

BEST SHORT OF THE YEAR will be awarded:

♢ $1,000 of Stock Footage Credit to Nimia.com 

♢ $2,000 of Rights Clearance Labor (2 days) Free of Kurator services

All Films accepted in the Official Selection will be awarded:

♢ benefits pack worth 250$ offered by Filmstro & DCP2GO
♢ 3 Months Studio License from iPitch TV - worth $117

☞ Best Short Film will receive

♢ Live Screening
♢ Filmoracy Screening (only with prior permission from the filmmaker)
♢ 3 Months Filmmaker Pass from Filmocracy - worth $100
♢ Access to Filmocracy Film Market
♢ 12 Months Studio License from iPitch TV - worth $189
♢ Cloud19 Full DCP Service Pack worth 299$
♢ Filmstro Pro Licence discount worth 125$
♢ Award Certificate signed by the Festival Director
♢ Official Laurels from the festival

Apart from the Best Short Film Award, the Film Competition has two award categories:

♢ CATEGORY AWARDS

☞ Best Animation
☞ Best Student Film
☞ Best Experimental
☞ Best Documentary
☞ Best Music Video

♢ INDIVIDUAL AWARDS

☞ Best Director
☞ Best Screenplay
☞ Best Actor
☞ Best Actress
☞ Best Editor
☞ Best Cinematography
☞ Best Original Score

All the films awarded within these categories will receive the following prizes from the festival:

♢ Filmoracy Screening (only with prior permission from the filmmaker)
♢ 3 Months Filmmaker Pass from Filmocracy - worth $100 
♢ 12 Months Studio License from iPitch TV - worth $189
♢ Cloud19 Full DCP Service Pack worth 299$
♢ Filmstro Pro Licence discount worth 125$
♢ Award Certificate signed by the Festival Director
♢ Official Laurels from the festival

☞ Best Written Screenplay (Screenplay Competition)

The screenplay competition runs in 2 annual seasons, depending on the number of entries and quality of the scripts.

• SCREENPLAY AWARD (Winner) •

♢ Free Attendance at Filmocracy Scriptwriter Showdown 
♢ 12 Months Studio License from iPitch TV - worth $189
♢ Cloud19 Full DCP Service Pack worth 299$
♢ Filmstro Pro Licence discount worth 125$
♢ Award Certificate signed by the Festival Director
♢ Official Laurels from the festival

Submission guidelines

Submission fees are non-refundable after receiving the Selected / Not Selected notification. Refunds or withdrawals are possible, but we ask you to contact us prior to the notification.

In order to review your film as quickly as possible, we prefer online screeners, digital copies, or a link to an online video (such as native FilmFreeway, YouTube or Vimeo).

Please include a valid password if your film is protected. We will not accept films with poor quality standards (lack of sound quality, absence of subtitles/captions for non-English films, screener resolution lower than 1080p HD).

Movies with a native dialogue in languages other than English must have english subtitles.

ALL films selected for the Official Screening will need to provide English subtitles no later than 1 week prior to the festival screening.

Films submitted to LONG STORY SHORTS should be under 40 minutes, with a minimum of 1 minute.

Films must have been completed after 2016.

All submitted films must be available for a further screening, if required.

Films accepted in the Official Selection will be notified according to the notification date published on the platform.

Films selected for the Official Screening will need to provide a download link or a full quality 1080p online screener file no later than 1 week before the festival screening.

The selection decisions are final.

Entrants are responsible for obtaining any necessary licenses, royalties, release forms, clearances, and permits necessary to present their work. LONG STORY SHORTS is not responsible for any claim involving copyright, trademark, credits, or royalty infringement related to the work. In the event of copyright disputes, accepted films may possibly be pulled from festival exhibitions.

Please carefully read the LONG STORY SHORTS Guidelines and all Terms & Conditions as well as the Disclaimer and Rights below, before submitting to our festival.

TERMS & CONDITIONS

By entering or submitting to LONG STORY SHORTS, the participant acknowledges understanding and agreeing to all festival Rules, Terms, Conditions, Guidelines, and Disclaimer of Warranties associated with the Festival and listed below.

Submitters agree that clips from films and other materials related to their project may be used and/or published on the website, digital and print event programs, and for any promotional purposes deemed appropriate by the festival.

If selected, all commercial/private property including all trademark/copyrighted materials shown or recorded are the responsibility of the filmmaker.

Disclaimer & Rights

Submitter owns or controls the copyright in and to this film, and is authorized to submit this film to LONG STORY SHORTS and to the best of their knowledge, all statements the following statements are true; This film contains no material which could result in tort claims, royalty claims, claims for breach of contract, or claims of any sort whatsoever; If this film is selected for screening, Submitter grants the festival the right to screen this film.

Submitter understands and agrees that this film entry, if selected by the Festival, may have elements used for promotional purposes for the Festival, and/or its partners and submitter grants the rights to use up to eight minutes of footage, photographic stills and/or titles and information from the film for promotional purposes.


Film Review

As our vision is to help improve and promote contemporary films, we offer filmmakers the opportunity to have their work reviewed by our specialists. By requesting a professional review, our team of film professionals will give you comprehensive feedback on your work. Moreover, if requested by the filmmaker, the review will be posted on our website and promoted on our social media channels, so a larger audience will discover your film.


Screenplay Competition

LONG STORY SHORTS organizes a two season screenplay competition, parallel with the Official Film Competition. Available exclusively through FilmFreeway, we welcome screenplays of any genre, up to 120 pages.
There will be quarter finalists, semi finalists and finalists out of which a winner, and two finalists will be awarded.

Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Marcus Graham

    Thank you Long Story Shorts for selecting ‘ I am’
    I hope you enjoyed the film !

    September 2023
  • Dinesh Vaidya

    Our film was selected & nominated for this prestigious Long Story Shorts festival..Our team & me had very excellent experience..Thank you Filmfreeway & Long story shorts festival team🙏🌹

    September 2023
  • Juan-Carlos De Bock

    Wow! I submitted our short to LSS with the idea of getting the short out there. Never in my wildest dreams did I expect the outcome.

    The communication went exclusively through FilmFreeway but am so very happy right now. Thank you kindly! Multumesc!

    September 2023
  • Daniele De Muro

    Honoured to have my short film"Horizon" at this beautiful Festival. I hope to submit a new project next year.

    July 2023
  • Everything is ok.
    Thank you

    May 2023