Montreal Shorts

Although this festival seemed to have potential initially, it ended up being both disappointing and frustrating.
The festival only gave notice a week before the event (not 4 weeks as per their site & FilmFreeway page), and the online event tickets quickly ran out (too small a venue apparently), and showed a different date than the published date for the festival, but then the time and venue changed again ~24 hours before the event (!) This was not only embarrassing to explain to guests I had invited to attend on the original date, but also frustrating since the last-minute change ended up messing up my schedule for both afternoons (original and new date).
Emails from the festival (original notice and change of time/date/venue) were both anonymous.
While I had sent a link to my film beforehand and emphasized that they should double check that it played on the screening system okay (since it was at the higher end of HD resolution, but still at the bare minimum for 4K).
The event host present at the venue was apparently asked by the festival at 2am the morning before to host the event. Sadly, he was not social and quite unavailable to speak to, mostly standing over his computer and mentioning occasionally that we could buy drinks and food at the bar. He asked out loud (for each film with the director present, though a few times before the film had even finished!) if any of the dozen or so attendees had questions for the director, and then quickly moved on to the next film - leading to a very poor Q&A experience in contrast with most other festivals I have attended.
And, although he did try a few times, he never even managed to play my film past about the 30 second mark before it froze (a couple times well before the 30 second mark), which is odd since it played fine at the many other festivals I had the good fortune to be at, and also because, as people were leaving, I logged on the venue's wifi and streamed it on my phone to an interested person with no problem whatsoever.
Thank goodness that none of the guests I had invited could make it after the festival changed the venue, time, and date at the last minute.
I post this with the hope to inform potential future submitters and offer feedback for the festival staff.

I’m thrilled that the film had the best Experimental Short Award inMontreal Shorts, and I’d like to thank the Jury and the festival team. Congratulations to all the participants! Thank you!

he Montreal Shorts Film Festival is a wonderful celebration of short films, featuring diverse and captivating entries. I was thrilled to win Best Cinematography for my short film "Our Favorite Song." The festival's excellent organization and strong community vibe make it a standout event for filmmakers and audiences alike.

I am honored by this recognition. A heartfelt thank you to the Jury for appreciating my work.

We are incredibly grateful to the MONTREAL SHORTS FESTIVAL Jury for embracing our cinematic ideas and awarding AVE GRADIV in the category of Best Film.
Sending all our love and warm regards from TEL AVIV to MONTREAL.
Yours sincerely, Bella Dora Cinecreations Team