Pensacon proudly presents the ninth annual Pensacon Short Film Festival as one of its official events. As part of this convention, the films screened will celebrate science fiction, horror, fantasy, comic books, pop culture, animation, and documentaries (documentaries must be related to the previously stated genres).

Each Official Selection will be given two weekend passes to Pensacon (travel not included) to attend the screening, and filmmakers may participate in a Q&A session about their films immediately following the screening.

Over the past seven years, Pensacon has taken pride in screening some of the best short films from all around the world. In addition to the United States, we have had submissions from Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Cyprus, Egypt, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Lithuania, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, and United Kingdom.

Awards & Prizes

Pensacon would like to congratulate the 2023 Official Selections:

“A Door Away” - Written, Directed & Produced by Alex H. Rafi

“Agent Heads” - Written by Ajay Varma Nandyala and Joseph Van Landschoot; Directed by Ajay Varma Nandyala; Produced by Ajay Varma Nandyala and Elle Sunkara

“Black Kettles and Pots” - Written & Directed by Takuto Kimura

“Bucle” - Written & Directed by Alvaro Rodrigo Pruneda; Produced by Fabian Saez, Rodrigo Atria and Camila Atria

“Chat History” - Written, Directed & Produced by Fred Zara

“Choice” - Written by Katherine Johnson; Directed by Katherine Johnson and Joseph Klingman

“Duplicitous Minds” - Written by Catalina Yue; Directed by Rober Rippberger; Produced by Catalina Yue

“Hangnail” - Written by Katie Parks, Brian Parks, Cameron Gawne, Jeremy Hawkins, Cassandra Bryson, Lilly Leann Wright; Directed by Brian Parks; Produced by Brian Parks and Katie Parks

“Hellscape” - Written & Directed by Sam Sorenson; Produced by Leigh Sorenson

“His Final Bow?” - Written & Directed by Diana Nicole Robertson

“Launch at Paradise” - Written by Daniel Mitura; Directed by Carrie Anne Quinn; Produced by David M. Night Maire

“Left Side of Memory” - Written by Harrison Lubel; Directed by Gustav Wilde; Produced by Gustav Wilde, Shaunya Bhayani and Jamal Peoples

“Meatballs” - Written by Ella Schulson; Directed by Yevgeniya Regent

“Paracosm” - Written & Directed by Natalia Coiro; Produced by Omar Dabbous

“Pay the Tithe” - Written & Directed by Andrew Sanford; Produced by Keith Rubin

“Power Up” - Written & Directed by Cyril Vrancken; Produced by BC Movies
Produced in Belgium

“Runner” - Written, Directed & Produced by Troy Hayes

“Shut” - Written by Bastiaan Tichler; Directed by Niels Bourgonje; Produced by Daniel Aiss

“Superheroes” - Written & Directed by Rafael de Andrade; Produced by Raphael de Oliveira Dorsa and Tauã Franco

“Superposition” - Written, Directed & Produced by TL L Westgate

“Swipe Right” - Written & Directed by Karry Johnson; Produced by Todd Gosser & Justin Kim

“The Barmaid and the Serpent” - Written & Directed by Rose Louise Hoover; Produced by Andrew Bourne

“The Cure” - Written by TL Westgate and Michelle Bretana; Directed & Produced by TL Westgate

“The Eucharist” - Written by Walter Bender and Gintarė Ilginytė; Directed by Walter Bender; Produced by Donatas Baltrušaitis, Emilis Velyvis, Paul Nethercott and Inesa Kurklietyte

“The Interrogation” - Written, Directed & Produced by Marisa Cohen and Peter Issac Alexander

Trophies for 2023 Best in Show, Jury Selection, and Audience Choice winners provided by GinGee Girls Art.

Rules & Terms

Entry Rules
• Films must have been produced after January 1, 2020.
• Films must have a running time no longer than 20 minutes. Films longer than 20 minutes will be disqualified.
• Categories—science fiction, fantasy, horror, superhero or comic book-related, pop culture, animation, and documentary. Documentary films must have topics in the previously stated categories.
• Films may contain “R-rated” content, but no pornography.
• It is permissible to enter films that have screened at other film festivals, but not commercially distributed.
• Films cannot have been previously screened at Pensacon.
• Filmmakers must retain the rights to characters, stories, and music. Fan films (i.e. fan-made versions of established properties) are not allowed and WILL BE DISQUALIFIED WITHOUT REIMBURSEMENT OF ENTRY FEE.
• Unfortunately, Pensacon Short Film Festival is UNABLE TO OFFER FEE WAIVERS.
• Entry fees are paid for the purpose of being judged for participation in the Pensacon Short Film Festival and will not be refunded in the case of films not accepted, withdrawn, or disqualified from selection.

Selection Process
• Official Selections will be determined by Pensacon staff based on a number of factors, including but not limited to genre, content, quality of filmmaking, time allotment, and copyright ownership. All decisions are final.
• Pensacon staff and their families are ineligible to enter.
• All Official Selections will be announced via email to the filmmakers and on the Pensacon website and social media on December 10, 2022.
• Entry fees will be charged to all submissions, but do not guarantee acceptance into the film festival. Entry fees will not be reimbursed for films not selected, withdrawn, or disqualified.
• Pensacon reserves the right to change the category for submissions as deemed appropriate.

Additional Info
• It is recommended to upload the best quality of your film upon submission. However, an updated screener copy will be accepted until January 14, 2023. Resolution should be 1920x1080 with an audio bit depth of 16 bits.
• We recommend making the video file available to download, either through FilmFreeway, Vimeo, or YouTube (with password is fine). Otherwise, you will need to provide means for us to download the film such as through Dropbox or OneDrive no later than January 14, 2023.
• Publicity material such as stills and a movie poster are optional, but must be submitted no later than January 14, 2023.
• Non-English language films must be subtitled in English.
• All Official Selections of the Pensacon Short Film Festival will be shown as an official event of Pensacon during the weekend of February 24-26, 2023.
• Each Official Selection will be provided with two free weekend passes to Pensacon (travel not included) to attend the screening, and filmmakers may be invited to participate in a Q&A session about their films immediately following the screening.
• Admission to the screening will be free to anyone with a Pensacon weekend pass or day pass on the date of the screening.
• Due to the possible content of the films, anyone under the age of 17 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.
• Posted schedule is subject to change.
19 Reviews
Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Pedro Jaen R.

    Very good festival! Interesting content. You help greatly to promote new films and authors.

    February 2022
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  • Tyler Winstead

    This is a small festival, but I was truly impressed with the quality of films on display. Our horror short "Sheets" was in the festival, and I could really tell the staff put a lot of effort into selecting the films. Would highly recommend.

    February 2022
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  • Katherine Johnson

    This festival is a gem. Steller communication and hospitality.

    As this is connected to Pensacon Comicon, the majority of the audience members are those who read the entire massive schedule and chose to come watch a block of films. That makes for SUCH AN AMAZING AUDIENCE DYNAMIC. So many festivals end up just being filmmakers congratulating each other; at this one you get networking AND and audience.

    February 2022
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  • Tony Olsen

    The kiwi crew of of Aotearoa/New Zealand fantasy film entry 'HOT WOOL' were thrilled to participate in the Pensacon Short Film Festival and were especially honoured to enjoy an additional screening in the All Ages Appropriate stream for family audiences. A huge thanks to the festival team for the excellent communication with international submissions. All the best for the next festival :)

    Tony Olsen,
    Producer, 'HOT WOOL'

    February 2022
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  • Nick Smith

    As part of a busy convention, this festival could easily be an afterthought. But thanks to the care and attention of the organizers and host, it is enjoyable with high quality entries and instructive Q&As. I look forward to seeing the Short Film Festival grow as the years go on!

    June 2021
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