Since 2012, the PBS Short Film Festival has been a platform and partner for promoting short films from independent filmmakers that are presented by public media partners and PBS member stations. Many of the films cover social issues that traditional film festivals tend to shy away from such as identity, culture, family, and race.

Every year, PBS reaches out to PBS member stations and other public media partners during an open submission period. From the hundreds of films submitted, a final collection is picked to represent each partner along the themes of the Festival. The Festival runs for two weeks in mid July. All films are released at midnight and will stream on PBS digital platforms. A screening event will be held during the run of the festival in the DC/Virginia area (details to come). When the festival ends, one film receives the Juried Prize, picked by a panel of independent film professionals. Films are generally available for streaming for two years after premiere in the Festival.

Awards & Prizes

One film, picked by a panel of independent film professionals will be awarded a jury prize. The films are made available for streaming through the PBS Short Film Festival official site on pbs.org, the PBS App, and on PBS’s YouTube channel.

Rules & Terms

***PBS requires all films to adhere to our Standards and Practices guidelines. In order to be considered for the festival, we require your film file (on FilmFreeway), and all S&P documentation (via email). Please submit your film through Filmfreeway and email all paperwork to filmfestival@pbs.org. ***

Submissions must include the following to be considered for the film festival.

· Funding Grid (Complete)
Only the Excel form is acceptable

· Production Credits
Only a Word document is acceptable.

· Special Thanks & In-Kind Form (Complete)
Only the Word form is acceptable; see attached document

Please note that edits might be required to meet S&P standards in order for the film to be deemed acceptable for PBS distribution. Please do not submit these forms as PDFs.


NOTE: When submitting, please title all film submissions and funder documents similarly. I.E., PARTNER NAME-FILM NAME-SCREENER or PARTNER NAME-FILM NAME-FUNDER

Looking Ahead
The PBS team will screen all submissions and will notify partners of accepted films by early March 2024. All final deliverables for accepted films will be due to PBS by mid-April/ We will send you details about our required specs for all deliverables and specific deadlines with the official acceptance notification at the end of March.

More Festival Information

OBJECTIVE
The 2024 PBS Short Film Festival aims to promote great independent short films coming from local stations and our public media partners. By leveraging all our digital and social platforms, PBS aims to win over new audiences while promoting short films that traditionally have not had a space on television. Like last year, this year’s People’s Choice winner will be measured by social media engagement.

TARGET AUDIENCE
As this is a digital first film festival with a strong social media element, we aim to attract younger audiences, while still appealing to our traditional demographic. In the long run, we hope the increased number of cord-cutting Americans will recognize the value of PBS and become PBS station members.

IDEA SUPPORT
With films coming from our minority consortia and stations across the country, this festival offers unique and diverse perspectives and stories that one rarely sees on broadcast or cable television. We also aim to help all our filmmakers with national promotion.

PERSONALITY & TONE
Our films are irreverent, introspective, challenge the status quo, and highlight underrepresented people and issues facing our country.

EXECUTIONAL CONSIDERATIONS
The 2024 festival continues to grow in relevance in the short film festival space. Because of this, it is imperative that all partners meet asset delivery deadlines, are responsive with communications, follow our promotional calendar, and are active participants in promoting not just their station’s films, but the Film Festival as a whole on social media and other communications channels. Looking forward to working with you all on another great film festival!