Starling Film Festival (formerly Starling Short Film Festival) is taking flight for its third annual film festival. We welcome you to enjoy all that we have to showcase—films from six different categories, with one of them having its unique flair. We have raised submission selections from 25 to 54, so more films can be enjoyed. The festival shall take place both online and in person, with a multitude of events throughout the week to enjoy
Whether you are a participant or an audience member, you can have the chance to watch the films at our live screening or in the comfort of your own home. So no matter where you are in the world, whether you are our next-door neighbour or on the other side of the planet, we want you to be part of our little murmuration.
How the Festival plays out:
Submission Period - 1st Feb to 1st August
Selected Filmmakers - All films are showcased on our online website
Finalist Filmmakers - Of the selected films, finalist films are then shown at the live event (excluding Short Feature Films) alongside the online Award Ceremony
To begin with, successful films that made it into the festival will receive selection laurels to showcase. Here is a breakdown of all the awards we have to give away at our festival. Each of the category winners will receive a winning laurel award.
Best Animation
Best Student
Best Fiction
Best Documentary
Best Horror
Best Short Feature
Murmuration Audience Award - Voted by our online audience
Aviary Audience Award - Voted by our live audience only
Mad As Birds' 'Golden Feather' Award
The Golden Feather Award is an award for excellence in film, sponsored by Mad As Birds Films (MAB). The winner will receive a signature trophy, a small cash prize, and a free mentor session with Mad As Birds Films! Six of our finalist films will be chosen for this award.
If a participating filmmaker wins one of our awards, SFF will send the award to the filmmaker at an address provided by the winning filmmaker. Postage and shipping will need to be covered by the filmmaker if they wish to receive their award, and rates will vary depending on travel distance (MAB will ship their award separately to the other awards).