Welcome to the McMinnville Short Film Festival. Come celebrate our 12th anniversary with us in February 2023!

Located one hour south of Portland, in the heart of Oregon wine country, the McMinnville Short Film Festival (MSFF) is a true filmmaker’s and film lover’s festival. Our team carefully considers every submission and we strive to identify independent voices and original storytellers. The MSFF has been selected as a “Top 100 Best Reviewed Festival” by FilmFreeway multiple times, most recently in 2020! Once selected, the films are then reviewed by our award winning and noteworthy film industry professionals to judge for category winners and awards.

We foster a critical component to the Oregon arts community by connecting local filmmakers with their counterparts around the world, and by providing a venue for culturally diverse screenings, events, and gatherings.

MSFF organizers cater to filmmakers from the moment a film is submitted to the moment the festival wraps. Experience why New York City based filmmaker, Nancy Nagrant, had this to say, "The McMinnville Short Film Festival stands out for all the right reasons: easy and prompt communication, high-quality programming, a great venue, and plenty of networking events where you can really get to know fellow attendees. The vibes here are fun, warm, and welcoming. You can feel MSFF’s love for film and filmmakers from the first email you receive to the closing night after party. Highly recommended."

The MSFF held an in-person 2022 festival showcasing over 105 short films from all over the world. Highlights included filmmaker Q & A's, networking mixers hosted at local wineries, and a fully catered closing awards ceremony with keynote speaker - and self proclaimed Angry Filmmaker - Kelley Baker (Good Will Hunting, Psycho, To Die For, Birddog.)

"Imagine screening your film in a beautiful setting with welcoming audiences who appreciate your work and what it takes to make a film. Imagine networking events where filmmakers truly want to help each other. Imagine world class wine and amazing restaurants. Now imagine yourself here, at the McMinnville Short Film Festival. Come once, and you’ll want to come back every year." - Kelley Baker, Independent Filmmaker & Author

We look forward to watching your work and celebrating independent filmmakers with you! Questions? Email: films@mcminnvillefilmfest.org.

vineyard photo credit: Linfield University

Awards & Prizes

Each Official Selection will receive a certificate. Each Award Winner will receive a certificate and a trophy (cash prizes noted below.)

Grand Jury Award - $1000 prize

Founders Award - $500 Awarded to Outstanding Female Filmmaker
(Director, Writer, DP, Editor, and/or Producer are all eligible)

Will Vinton Award for Best Animated Short Film - $300 prize

Best Environmental Film (Sponsor: Zero Waste McMinnville) - $250 prize

Best Experimental / A Bit Strange

Best Documentary

Best Drama

Best Comedy

Best Suspense/Horror/Sci-fi

Best LGBTQ+

Best Oregon Filmmaker

Best Student Film (College)

Shawash Ilihi Award - presented in partnership with The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde

Rules & Terms

Short films in any genre, maximum 20 minutes in length.

Submission to the 2023 McMinnville Short Film Festival constitutes an agreement with all festival terms and conditions, and permission to exhibit the work during the festival if selected. Entrants warrant that they have the legal right to submit the work to MSFF, that all statements made in this application are true and accurate, and that all necessary rights and clearances have been secured to exhibit the work at the festival.

MSFF DOES NOT provide screening fees or honorariums for submitted work — or for any film screening as part of the festival’s juried competition.

MSFF may deny acceptance of any film at its sole discretion. ENTRY FEES ARE NON-REFUNDABLE.

All films must be submitted through FilmFreeway.

Entrants will be notified of their submission’s selection status on or about December 16, 2022. Accepted films are required to deliver a 1080P MP4 file. Foreign language films must be subtitled in English.

Any costs necessary to deliver the exhibition file to MSFF in the required format, or for any necessary subtitling, is the sole responsibility of the entrant.

All accepted films grant MSFF and their designated agents’ permission to utilize clips, trailers, and images from the film for MSFF and McMinnville Short Film Festival promotional content. The entrant agrees to notify MSFF if or when they may lose ownership of the clips, trailers, and images and no longer be able to grant said permission.

If the submission becomes an "Official Selection" and/or wins a Jury or Audience Award, MSFF requests that this be noted on promotional materials. Festival laurels are available to all Official Selections and Award winners.

Although every possible care will be taken with exhibition material in our possession, MSFF is not responsible for loss or damage. Please do not send originals, special prints or master tapes.
78 Reviews
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  • Jess Joy

    Wonderful wonderful festival with really lovely organizers and hosts! My film screened virtually but I still got to be involved in a Q&A with other fantastic filmmakers and was always receiving plenty of communications to keep my involved in the festival. We were also given passes to watch all the work screening throughout the festival which was very nice. The location seemed absolutely beautiful and I hope to attend in person someday soon.

    May 2022
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  • Carl Hansen

    I had a wonderful time at the virtual McMinnville Short Film Festival this year. The communication was great and the festival was very responsive to any questions that came up. Being able to socialize through Discord was a great addition to the virtual experience, though I hope to be able to attend it in person in the future. The quality of the films was exceptionally high and am grateful and honored to have been a part of it with both my film, "Connections," and the making-of documentary about it, that discusses disability representation in film. Great festival!

    April 2022
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  • Dave Paull

    Communications about submissions were clear and to the point, with prompt response times for questions. These people know what they're doing. Plus, there was a sense of personal connection with festival staff.

    March 2022
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  • Rett Bowers

    My heartfelt thanks to Nancy and Dan Morrow and all the staff and volunteers at the McMinnville Short Film Festival for making me and my wife feel so welcome. This festival is a professional grade event that provided us with a wonderful experience. I will definitely submit future projects. Thank you again. Rett Bowers

    February 2022
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    Response from festival:

    Thanks, Rett! It was a pleasure to meet you and Brenda. We look forward to seeing you at future festivals!

  • Rosa SanMarchi

    It was such a great experience to be a part of the McMinnville Short Film Festival. Our film screened virtually so we did not attend in-person, but we still received so much support from the organizers. As a first time filmmaker I was really impressed with how organized, communicative, and professional everyone was. I'm sure this is an amazing festival to experience in-person and highly recommend submitting your film to it.

    February 2022
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    Response from festival:

    Thanks, Rosa! You have great talent, and we know we will see you at a future festival in person.