First held in 2017, NiSFF, is an IMDb registered live screening festival event of short films at The Royal Exchange Hybrid Performance Space & Cinema in Newcastle Australia that celebrates short films and their makers from all around the world and that is open in all genres. NiSFF looks to present an accessible and cheap platform for filmmakers to have their work screened live before an audience.

Newcastle is a city with a population of approximately 700,000 about 90 mins north of Sydney NSW Australia.

Awards & Prizes

All films selected for screening will be awarded an Official Selection laurel. Best in genre awards will be awarded laurels from Officially Selected films in International, Australian and Regional state NSW categories. However, NiSFF retains the right not to award a 'Best of...' award in a category if no film submitted in that category is of a standard the judges consider to be suitable. All Officially Selected films are Nominations for an award at the festival and can be registered as such on IMDb. We are interested in an imaginative use of the cinematic language and form as well as good comedies, dramas, animations, doco's, art films, experimental, avant garde & genre films (horror, slasher, sci-fi, fantasy etc)

THE MASTERPIECE AWARD.

NiSFF also has its own unique award for films that display an exceptional level of imagination, skill and mastery of the cinema arts. The 'Masterpeice Award' has only been awarded once in the history of the festival and is awarded at the discretion of the festival in consultation with the judges, to a film that shows an exceptional understanding and implementation of cinematic language, or that advances the cinema arts. .

PRIZES - WIN A DCP!!!

In 2026 NiSFF is pleased to enter a partnership with Ready DCP. Award winners in all categories will win a FREE Digital Cinema Package (DCP) from Ready DCP and Official Selections will be given a generous discount on DCP production for their film from Ready DCP. This is a large financial saving for film makers as DCPs can be expensive. A DCP will enable film makers to have their film screened in commercial cinemas and be submitted to prestigious festivals around the world. For instance, having a film in DCP format is, with other things, a mandatory requirement for Academy Award submission and consideration. This is yet another initiative from NiSFF as we try to help film makers advance their careers. We have premiered many films that have gone on to screen and win awards at other festivals all around the world.

NEW!!!! ALUMNI SUBMISSION DISCOUNT.

A 15% submission discount is available for films submitted from filmmakers whose work has been Officially Selected for a previous year's NiSFF and an even greater 25% discount for previous year's Award Winners. These films do not need to be recently made films but can be made during the five years leading up to the festival but need to satisfy the Newcastle Premiere status requirement. If a film maker fits this criteria they should contact the festival by email before submitting their film requesting an 'alumni discount submission code'. This discount will only be available up until the end of the 'Earlybird Submission Deadline'.

Rules & Terms

Newcastle premiere status is required. Films screened in NSW, for example, in Sydney or anywhere else, but not in Newcastle are acceptable.

Films should have been completed within a five year period leading up to the festival. Films submitted to earlier editions of the festival cannot be resubmitted again in future years unless they have been significantly reworked.

Submissions are by online screener with link to Vimeo or other site or by a downloadable version of the film on FilmFreeway. Password protection for the online screener is the responsibility of the submitter.

NiSFF is not obsessed with technology but rather appreciates creativity and ingenuity in cinematic storytelling regardless of the standard and sophistication of the technology used. Consequently, phone films are welcomed and expensive DCPs are not required and we cannot accept submissions on celluloid. The festival will not screen directly from websites such as Vimeo or You-Tube and do not want Blu Ray discs. Submitters are only ever required to provide a link from where a reasonably high resolution copy of the film
(preferred at least 760p) can be viewed and downloaded. MP4 files are preferred.

Copyright remains vested in the film-maker and the film-maker grants the festival a licence to screen their film during the festival.

The film-maker waives any right to screening fees or royalties from the festival by submitting to the festival.

Films are preferably to be in English but films that are not in English may still be selected if the story is still comprehensible for English speaking audiences and dialogue is not fundamental to the narrative. Films may be subtitled at the discretion and expense of the film-maker Subtitles need to be burned into the film's image not provided as a separate file. Film-makers are advised to restrict their beginning and end credits to a minimum duration as audiences do not want to sit through long slow rolling credits that add nothing to the film or their experience of it and that take up screentime that could be allocated to another worthy film.

Applicants are to submit to the category that describes their residence (eg regional NSW, Australian or International) and that approximates the running time of their film regardless of the films genre. The organizers will then categorize the film into the various genre categories e.g. live action drama, animation, doco, experimental, unconventional, art films, sci-fi, horror, fantasy, drama, comedy films etc. The films will then be grouped and judged in the festival on the basis of their genre, duration and regional category. Film-makers can nominate the genre of the film on their FilmFreeway project page and the organizers will take that into consideration when determining the genre of the film and may consult with the film-maker in regard to the genre of the film where necessary.

Awards will be given based upon genre and length and region. For example, these will include:
Best NSW Regional Super Short/Phone Film Live Action Drama;
Best NSW Regional Super Short/Phone Film Experimental Film,
Best NSW Regional Super Short/Phone Film Documentary
Best NSW Regional Super Short/Phone Film Comedy,
Best NSW Regional Super Short/Phone Film Animation.
Best NSW Regional Short Short Live Action Drama,
Best NSW Regional Short Short Experimental Film,
Best NSW Regional Short Short Documentary,
Best NSW Regional Short Short Animation,
Best NSW Regional Short Short Comedy.
Best NSW Regional Short Live Action Drama,
Best NSW Regional Short Experimental Film,
Best NSW Regional Short Documentary,
Best NSW Regional Short Animation,
Best NSW Regional Short Comedy.
Best NSW Regional Long Short Comedy, Drama, Animation, Fantasy, Doco etc, etc.
Best Sci-fi, Best Horror, Best Fantasy, Best Unconventional etc in the various formats.
The same categories will apply separately for Australian and International films in the various genre and running time classifications as those for regional New South Wales (NSW) submissions.

Films judged the best of their genre in the regional NSW, Australian or International categories will be Officially Selected to screen at the festival as finalists and award nominees and a 'Best Short Film Award' will inevitably be awarded from all finalists from all genres and regional locations as the best overall film. All Official Selections are Nominees for an award and for the purpose of listing on NiSFF's IMDb event page. Honourable Mentions will also be awarded but will only be screened at the Festival at the discretion of the Festival.

No screening fees are paid to filmmakers and film-makers bare their own expenses if they chose to attend the festival.

Newcastle International Short Film Festival (NiSFF) welcomes and looks forward your submission.
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  • Jay Daviadams

    Thank you Newcastle International Short Film Festival for showcasing my short film 'Origins'. It was very cool to see my first short film become an offical selection.

    December 2025
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  • Mike Stinnett

    Cheers for including our short film, Ideal Recruit, in your 2025 film festival. When cast and crew were notified, they blew up their social media posting to family and friends about how honored they were to be a part of your event. You screened an absolutely fantastic lineup of films this year. I wish I could have attended. You clearly know how to conduct a festival and how to treat your filmmakers. I much appreciate your professional and timely communication. I highly recommend your festival to other independent filmmakers. You are the best.

    November 2025
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  • Panayiotis Christophorou

    Its a fantastic festival and I very honored that my film is nominated. I am sure that every year will get better and better, like wine. Congratulations to all the people involved and all film participants that made it possible.

    November 2025
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  • Susan Daniel

    It was an honour to have my short The Audition Screened at this festival amongst all the other highly talented individuals whose works I got to see. It certainly was an experience and proud to say this was the festival I got to attend in person. Thank you so much.

    November 2025
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  • Rd Bishop

    Thanks for awarding Tarp Girl a prize in the 2023 NiSFF! We attended and it was a great night. There's not enough of these festivals where there's plenty of categories for students. Well done, keep up the good work.

    December 2023
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