Still Voices Short Film Festival

The Still Voices Short Film Festival is a community-focused, international film festival based in Ballymahon, Co. Longford. The festival takes place every November across Longford, Westmeath and Roscommon. What started out as a showcase for local filmmaking talent in 2014 has grown into a festival which is recognised both nationally and internationally.

We aim to deliver new, exciting and world-class cinema for the local community and wider Midlands region. Through our core programme, the Short Film Competition, we showcase a variety of films, including fiction, horror, dance, non-fiction, animation, student, Irish language and experimental.

Throughout the weekend of the festival, over 150 short films are screened, and each year we have seen the quality of submission increase significantly. Our aim is to ensure that the work of aspiring filmmakers is given as much exposure as possible, with that in mind we make our entire short film programme free to view throughout the weekend. In addition to our short films, we run a wide variety of events, with both national and international feature films, documentaries, Q&As, panel discussions, masterclasses and workshops specifically designed for children.

In addition to the annual festival, Still Voices hosts year-round events in Longford, Westmeath and the wider midlands areas. including the Still Voices Film Society, in partnership with Access Cinema.

The festival has become a strong voice for gender equality in the industry. In May 2019, Still Voices signed the 5050x2020 pledge an initiative led by the Women in Film and Television in Ireland in partnership with 5050x2020 Cannes Collective to encourage gender equality and transparency within the industry. Since 2018, the festival has achieved a 50/50 gender split across the short film selection, judges and guest speakers.