Solihull Council and Culture Solihull are proud to present the third annual Short is Beautiful Film Festival. This exciting short film festival is an exciting opportunity to support and develop new and experienced filmmakers from across the Midlands and is part of an ongoing artist and creatives development support programme.

The festival will take place in November at The Core Theatre, Solihull and feature a host of short films from talented Midlands filmmakers as well as a live Q&A with our judging panel of industry professionals.

Please note only filmmakers living in the Midlands will be considered for screening in the festival.

Awards & Prizes

Our panel will shortlist and judge all submitted films ahead of the festival. All entries are entitled to a x2 complimentary tickets. Shortlisted films will be screened at the live event in The Core Theatre, Solihull and receive a selection laurel.

Short is Beautiful is open to receiving entries from any genre, whether animation, documentary, drama or experimental, we are interested in how you tell stories, explore ideas or concepts in short-form content.

Categories are as listed below:
- 5 minutes or less
- Between 5 and 10 minutes
- Between 10 and 15 minutes
- Between 15 and 20 minutes

Winners of each category will be announced at the festival and each category winner will receive a winner’s laurel, certificate and £50 Amazon gift card. One overall winner will be selected and awarded the Short Is Beautiful Trophy for 'Best Film'.

Please be aware that entries will be credited as the person who submitted the film. This also applies to winners certificates & prizes.

Rules & Terms

By submitting your film to the Short is Beautiful Film Festival, you agree to abide by the following rules and conditions:

Only films submitted by filmmakers living in the Midlands will be considered for shortlisting.

All submitted films will be judged by our panel and shortlisted ahead of the festival. Only shortlisted films will be screened at the festival event. If your film is not screened, your submission fee is non-refundable.

Films must be no longer than 20 minutes (not including credits).

We require all films submitted to have all necessary rights and releases secured before submission, including any music used. We, the festival promoters, are not liable for any copyright infringements or unauthorized usage and any conflict should be settled by the parties involved thereof. You, the filmmaker, are responsible for any claim involving copyright, trademark, credits, and publicity.

You may submit multiple films for consideration.
You may submit multiple films for consideration within the same category.
You cannot submit the same film for consideration in more than one category.

We are unable to refund submission fees once your film has been submitted. Please ensure that your film is ready to submit before doing so.

Please enable 'Festival Downloads' in your film’s privacy settings. Failure to do so may result in disqualification.

We cannot issue any fee waivers.

If your film is shortlisted, we may request a poster and a brief synopsis to include in the festival marketing.

All decisions made by the judges are final, and cannot be contested.

No premiere status required.

All films submitted must be free of charge for audiences to view.

5 Reviews
Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Jack Richardson

    A lovely festival to be a part of - warm, inviting and well curated - Short is Beautiful welcomed us to their great cinema space and introduced us to a wider network of regional filmmakers. Highly recommended.

    November 2025
    Helpful
    Response from festival:

    Thank you for the kind words Jack. Congratulations on your well deserved win. We hope to see you next year!

  • James Mason

    A great Birmingham film festival run by great industry professionals. It was brilliant for both starting filmmakers and festival regulars. We were thrilled to win in our category with ‘You Alright Mate’ and can’t wait to submit another project hopefully next year. Would recommend highly!

    October 2024
    Helpful
    Response from festival:

    Thank you for taking part in this years festival and congratulations on your well deserved win!

  • Jon Gill

    Great little festival – I recommend filmmakers, particularly in the midlands get involved in the future. The screening was a fantastic venue – Cineworld Solihull – biggest screen I've ever had a film screened on. Excellent selection of films, I was honoured to be shortlisted. Thank you.

    October 2024
    Helpful
    Response from festival:

    Thank you for taking part in this years festival. I'm glad to hear you enjoyed the screening and we wish you all the best in the future!

  • Lewis Clements

    Incredibly well organised and such a treat watching our film on a SUPER SCREEN!

    Lovely stuff.

    October 2023
    Helpful
    Response from festival:

    Thanks for the kind words Lewis! I'm glad you enjoyed the festival!

  • Something Quirky

    Well organised and what a privilege it was to have our little film shown on such a big screen. The host and judges kept things moving at a good pace - they were all professional, affable and all offered valuable insights.
    We were so impressed by all the other films and it was such an honour just to have our film included among them.
    Fantastic festival. Thanks to the organisers

    October 2023
    Helpful
    Response from festival:

    Hi Shane,

    Thank you for the kind words. I'm glad to hear you enjoyed the festival! Congratulations and best of luck with the future!