As of 2021, we are proud to be a BIFA qualifying film festival.

* Covid 19 Update.

Because of the continuous uncertainty of the pandemic and the government guidelines to be announced. We are still waiting to confirm a date and venue for this year's screening. Normally the plan would be to screen in Edinburgh at the Fringe but we are pushing screening dates back for later in the year to allow for filmmakers who want to enter Short Com time to complete their film. As a backup plan, we will screen online in the event of another lockdown.

Short Com is a short comedy film festival that has grown from strength to strength from humble beginnings back in 2011, where it started in Manchester.

Short Com prides itself on the quality of its programme and the range of comedy stylings it has screened. The most emphatic thing we look for in a film is its ability to make an audience laugh or smile, thus we consider ourselves the most competitive comedy short film festival in Europe. Short Com has screened films from amateur made films to multi-award films that have screened at major film festivals.

Short Com has screened during the Edinburgh International Fringe Festival, in London, Manchester, Bristol and Berlin. For two years it was a guest programme at the Glasgow Short Film Festival.

Why submit to Short Com? Short Com prides itself on the quality of its programme. There is a great deal of honour to selected filmmakers who make it to the annual best of screenings. In the past we have been sponsored by Blackmagic Design, Final Draft and Festival Formula all donating fantastic prizes for winning films in our category awards section. We will be looking to work with new brands to continue this tradition and bring some excellent prizes.

2020 Programme - https://www.shortcom.org/2020-programme
2019 Programme - https://www.shortcom.org/2019-programme

We are delighted to have very special guest judges to decide on the funniest film award for this year who have proven internationally their comedy prowess.

The writer and director of the super brilliant indie film Limbo; Ben Sharrock

Star and writer of the New Zealand smash hit sitcom Wellington Paranormal; Karen O'Leary

Senior programmer, industry relations manager and development associate for the website Short of the Week, programmer for the Palm Springs ShortFest and the Dublin International Film Festival, associate programmer at SXSW, programming consultant for Quebec City's FCVQ and festival/sales strategy consultant; Celine Rouston

*Judges could be subject to change at any moment.

Awards & Prizes

$500 for the funniest film voted by a panel of judges.

Digital certificate awarded to those screened at the awards ceremony.

Free consultancy meeting from film festival strategy experts, Festival Formula.

Free marketing and or crowdfunding consultation for selected filmmakers from crowdfunding platform Greenlit.

Final Draft Screenwriting Software to best script.

More to be announced in due course.

Rules & Terms

Films ideally should be no longer than twenty minutes for extended narrative based shorts. There is no set minimum length and we have shown shorts under a minute.

Films must be released after March 2020. Try to be honest please.

Foreign language entries must contain English subtitles.

The filmmaker gives permission for Short Com to use images and footage of their film for the purposes of promoting Short Com events and marketing materials.

Submitting your film to Short Com does not mean your film will be selected for screening at Short Com events. Only selected films are screened in the Short Com programme.

A final disclaimer. Filmmakers are responsible for any copyrighted material and licencing rights of music within their film. Short Com cannot be held responsible for the promotion and distribution of materials that contain footage or music that does not have the required legal permissions.

Short Com is under no obligation to screen films that do not satisfy the criteria set above.