Short Close-Up (shortcloseup.com) is an international, independent magazine offering a unique perspective on the best, new and established talent across all short film culture.

We publish weekly articles on Short Close-Up online magazine. More than that, once per year we publish a print magazine (The Short Film Yearbook – shortfilmyearbook.com).

As we mentioned before, Short Close-Up Magazine’s goal is to promote filmmakers. But it doesn’t mean that we focus only on finished products. We want to give a chance to writers as well. Without writers there would be no industry. So, this is why we created the screenplay contest. We want to dedicate a significant part from our print magazine to the creators of the short film stories.

Short Close-Up is divided in 3 sections:

___

SCREENPLAY CONTEST
Are you confident your screenplay would sell if it was given a chance? Would you like to have your screenplay published in our print magazine alongside an interview with the writer? The only thing you have to do is to submit your screenplay to Short Close-Up, Screenplay Contest.

Up to 10 winners will be selected each season. All awarded scripts will be published in our print magazine. Each script will be accompanied by an interview with the writer.

Short Film Screenplays must be the original work of the writer(s). They must be within 1-30 pages in length. Screenplays must be submitted in English. We accept all genres.

Short Close-Up - Screenplay Contest accepts both produced and non-produced scripts.

___

INTERVIEW
In case your film is selected, we publish online, a full interview with the screenwriter, director, producer, actor/actress, cinematographer or editor and we promote it to our audience. Submit your film to the interview category you are interested in. We don’t screen the submitted films. We watch the films behind the scenes, and we analyze them as a whole, focusing especially on the work of the member of the crew selected at submission.

___

REVIEW
In case your film is selected, we write a review, publish it on our website and promote it to our audience. Submit your film to the review category.

___

By no means does submitting your film guarantee that it will be accepted for the review or interview category. Unfortunately, we cannot refund a submission fee once you’ve submitted your film. Please read all Rules and Terms before submitting. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us by email here: ShortCloseUp@gmail.com.

Awards & Prizes

SCREENPLAY CONTEST
Up to 10 winners will be selected each season. Each winner will get:
+ One screenplay published in Short Close-Up online magazine
+ One screenplay published in THE SHORT FILM YEARBOOK (print)
+ One interview with the writer published in Short Close-Up online magazine
+ One interview with the writer published in THE SHORT FILM YEARBOOK (print)

___

INTERVIEW
+ One interview with the screenwriter, director, producer, actor/actress, cinematographer, or editor, published in Short Close-Up online magazine.

___

REVIEW
+ One review of the submitted short film, published in Short Close-Up online magazine.

Rules & Terms

The Short Close-Up contest is open to any writer from anywhere in the world. Short Close-Up - Screenplay Contest accepts both produced and unproduced scripts. By submitting your project, you acknowledge that you have read and agreed to all of the following. Please read our rules and guidelines before submitting:

1. Must be 18 and above to submit into the Short Close-Up: Screenplay Contest.
2. All scripts must be submitted in English. Screenplays should be formatted according to current industry standards. Pages must be numbered and typed in 12 point Courier font with standard margins. Brief dialogue in another language is acceptable so long as an English translation is provided.
3. All entries submitted to Short Close-Up: Screenplay Contest must be applicants’ original work, screenplays and any source material must be the original work of the author or must be given the right to submit.
4. A writer may enter more than one screenplay; however, a separate entry form and fee are required for each script submitted.
5. Entry fees are non-refundable.
6. Short Close-Up: Screenplay Contest team will analyze the screenplays to determine the finalists and winners. Short Close-Up: Screenplay Contest decides who receives the reward.
7. Lengths:
3 minutes Short Screenplay: 1-3 pages
13 minutes (or less) Screenplay: 4-13 pages
30 minutes (or less): 4-30 pages
Short Films: Less than 33 minutes
8. Once a submission has been received and processed, we do not accept updated drafts of that submission or associated screenplays.
9. Duplicate submissions of the same work are not allowed. Any duplicate submissions of the same screenplay will be disqualified without refund.
10. We happily accept screenplays with more than one author or contributor. Please make note of each author’s name in your submission. Should a screenplay with two or more writers be named a winner of the competition, the award will be divided equally among them.
11. We do not have a rule regarding title pages. But it is recommended that include the title, author(s) and any relevant registration or copyright information.
12. Screenplays should be submitted only as a PDF. We WILL NOT accept Word .docs, Final Draft, Celtix or any other file formats.
13. Screenplays MUST be submitted to the correct category. Any screenplay submitted to the wrong category (based on both genre and page count) is subject to disqualification without refund of submission fees.
14. All screenplays will be reviewed by festival staff, but due to the high volume of submissions we will not be able to provide feedback on entries.
15. Film Genres: All types of short films are accepted. Here are some examples: Absurdist, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Advertising, Art-house, Biographical, Black Comedy, Classic, Children, Comedy, Crime, Dance, Detective, Drama, Cult, Epic, Family, Fantasy, Gangster, Horror, Independent, Indie, Noir, Historical, Kids, LGBT, Magical realism, Musical, Mystery, Melodrama, Road Movie, Philosophical, Political, Romance, Satire, Science Fiction, Silent Films, Slice of Life, Social, Sports, Superhero, Supernatural, Surreal, Suspense, Thriller, Urban, War (Anti-War), Western, Zombie etc
16. Short Close-Up only accepts online registrations and submissions to be assessed. We accept films in any language. However, films not made in English MUST have English subtitles.
17. All submission fees are nonrefundable.
18. You own the copyright to your film as its author and represent and warrant that you have all necessary licenses, rights, consents, and permissions.
19. The running time of films entered for the competitions should not exceed 33 minutes (we have no minimum length limit).
20. There is no restriction about the date of the production of the films.
3 Reviews
Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Michael Hogan

    The Short Close-Up team are knowledgeable and passionate about the film industry. They run a very organized and fun festival and competition; and their communications with and support for participants is top notch. They definitely earn and deserve five stars across the board. I expect them to grow their international presence and prominence significantly in the years to come.

    December 2020
    Helpful
  • Martin Richmond

    Excellent communication and very honoured to be chosen best short screenplay plus given an in depth interview with their top class magazine.

    August 2020
    Helpful
  • Ricardo Gomez

    Very nicely done... Great communication with their team who will be keeping you posted along the process. highly recommended. Looking forward to participate every year with new projects.

    August 2020
    Helpful