UPDATE: In light of Corona-virus, we want to assure our filmmakers that we are fully committed to run our events and honor all filmmakers who have submitted to us from around the world.
Oakland Short Film Festival is an event founded by filmmakers for filmmakers.
We aim to create a festival where independent short films of all genres and countries of origin get the recognition they deserve, where filmmakers can come together and celebrate each other's work, at a fully sold-out cinema, filled with cinephiles.
Short films have difficulties reaching larger audiences, which is why Oakland Short Film Festival's goal is to showcase the best indie short films of the past years to a large crowd. We aim to show people the high quality of short films, and how they provide a unique film experience, which can be just as rewarding and interesting as watching a feature-length film.
Our venue, The New Parkway theater is a community-centered cinema and pub located in Oakland’s Uptown district, a place where you can enjoy great movies with good food and drinks in cozy couches. We believe that a great venue is the first step in creating a truly valuable film festival, it's the best way to reach the right audience and to provide the best possible festival experience for both the filmmakers and the festival-goers.
The festival program will consist of international short films of different genres. All styles, genres and languages are welcome. Our team of judges, who come from filmmaking and film criticism backgrounds, will select the most diverse screening selection.
We will award winners in the following categories:
Best Short Film
Best Documentary Short
Best Drama Short
Best Comedy Short
Best Experimental Short
Best Animation Short
Best Director
Best Writer
Best Cinematographer
Best Student Short Film
All winners will receive certificates, VOD distribution deals and other treats!
The winners will be announced at the festival, after the screening, and online the next day. The evening will be closed with a networking party.