"Such a wonderful festival, brilliantly run by a wonderful team"
"They take filmmaking and filmmakers really seriously."
"The communication and feedback provided are second-to-none."

Better than a film festival and script competition combined.

Sunday Shorts Film Festival provides feedback for every submission, hosts two events per month, and culminates with annual weekend of screenings and an awards ceremony.

In 2019, we relocated our monthly screenings to Lisbon; Portugal's historical capital, fast becoming the creative and start-up hub of Europe, but our main festival still takes place in London once per year.

Our submissions now start at an even lower fee of just $5 for students, $6 Gold, and $7 regular, for films under 3 minutes, and scripts under 5 pages.

NEW £500 ($650) CASH PRIZE for the winner of Best Film 2020.

50%-off Dating Films! This month, we are finalising a separate program for Valentines Day, and are therefore encouraging films about this subject, both Documentary and Fiction, by offering 50%-off regular fees.

☻ Script Judging - All short scripts are read to the end by the programmer and receive short feedback as standard, and short-listed scripts are read by the festival director. We're looking for scripts with the most potential, that have utilised the screenplay medium.

☻ Film Judging - All submissions are watched in their entirety by the programmer and/or the festival director and receive short feedback as standard. We aim to curate diverse programs of different styles and lengths, and are especially interested in cross-genre films, but story always comes first.

☻ Q&As - We emphasise the importance of sharing our experiences, and strive to present a Q&A along with every official selection. Filmmakers are encouraged to attend their screening, but also have the opportunity to pre-record a Q&A video.

☻ Semi-Finalists - We award Semi-Finalist status to only a handful of projects that we really liked, but are unable to include in the current program. Semi-Finalists also receive a laurel, are promoted on social media, and are considered for future programs.

Awards & Prizes

Official Selections - 8 films per month are selected by the Jury to compete for the monthly Audience Award, and are then screened again at our annual London event. Stills and posters are shared across social media, and trailers are played at at least two prior events.

Audience Award Winner - As voted for in-person by all attendees at the end of each monthly event. The winner is presented with a certificate and the Audience Award Winner Laurel. Absent winning filmmakers receive their certificate by post. Audience Award Winners are nominated for Best Film 2020 (£500 cash prize).

Script Competition Winner - Chosen by the programmer and the festival director exclusively from submissions that month. The winner is notified on the notification date and receives the Script Competition Winner Laurel, a Sunday Shorts certificate, and personalised media coverage. Winners are displayed on the 'Scripts' page of our website, with the aim of connecting buyers, financiers and collaborators directly with the writers

Script Competition Finalist - A runner-up is notified on the notification date and receives the Script Competition Finalist Laurel. Finalists are also displayed on the 'Scripts' tab of our website, with the aim of connecting buyers, financiers and collaborators directly with the writers.

Sunday Shorts Film Awards - Once per year in London, a weekend of screenings and events culminates with an awards ceremony. Each category is judged by an industry guest who are invited to present the award in person. All Award Winners receive a physical award, a unique laurel and a goodybag of prizes from us and our partners. All selections from August 2019 - May 2020 are eligible for nomination in the following categories for the 2020 awards:

BEST FILM (£500 cash prize)
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE
BEST MICRO SHORT (< 3 minutes)
BEST PRODUCTION
BEST DRAMA
BEST COMEDY
BEST DOCUMENTARY
BEST ANIMATION
BEST THRILLER (inc. Horror)
BEST EXPERIMENTAL (inc. Music Video)

Rules & Terms

ELIGIBILITY:

Only projects submitted through Filmfreeway are considered.

Films not in English language must have English subtitles.

No premiere requirements, and films may already be available online.

Student projects must have been a majority student production. Submitters must have been a student at the time of production. All levels of education are eligible.

Submitted scripts would ideally be unproduced original screenplays, but not exclusively. Writers of all ages are eligible, from any country in the world, but entries must be written in English language.

All film selections will be notified, and will be required to provide a HD .MOV or .MP4 of the film.

Selected films wishing not to use their 'Official Premiere', can request to screen as a 'Preview', but will not be eligible for the Audience Award.

Selected films won't be uploaded or shared online, unless the submitter has given prior permission, or it is already publicly available.

Submitter grants us authorisation to include images, extracts and promotional material for our own promotional purposes, but the project will always be credited.

Submitter agrees they have read and understood all the terms and conditions, rules and guidelines before submitting.
53 Reviews
Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Léonard Vuilleumier

    Great communication, great night at the Sunday Shorts. The festival is cosy and it gives great Q&As for the directors. The audience was super friendly too. Loved it !

    January 2020
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    Response from festival:

    Thanks Léonard! For your first ever Q&A it was fantastic, and it was a treat to see your film on a big screen! If you have the opportunity to come to our London event, it will be great for networking.

  • Nico Franks

    I really appreciated Sunday Shorts' brilliant communication throughout the whole process, from letting us know we'd been accepted to the useful feedback to advice on other short film festivals to apply to. They use social media really effectively to generate buzz around the event itself, which I went to and was really well attended. The Q&A was fun and it was a brilliant way to meet other filmmakers in Lisbon. Such a great experience all round, three cheers for Sunday Shorts Film Festival!

    December 2019
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    Response from festival:

    Cheers for the detailed review, Nico! 'Revenge Á Paris' went down a treat! It was great to have you at the event, and to also spend some time with you in Lisbon. Looking forward to doing it all again in London!

  • Charlie Grant

    Great team. Great site. <3

    November 2019
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    Response from festival:

    You're a dope guy, Charlie! Thanks for the Q&A video and your kind words about the festival. Can't wait for Earpiece to be released online!

  • Christer Wahlberg

    They take filmmaking and filmmakers really seriously. First they give you feedback on your work, then they give you the possibility to do a Q and A that is shown after the film. Then they use social media before the festival (showing trailers and posters of the movie), and when the festival is running. It’s a perfect way for your movie to get the maximum spread. And on top of this they are so kind and communicative. The only question I have is why they don’t rename it to “The Perfect Film Festival”.

    October 2019
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    Response from festival:

    Thank you so much, Christer, for the very kind words. We're truly grateful to have your film in our festival. It's very brave and provocative, but a rewarding film, and I hope more festivals will take the risk! We can't wait to see what you're dreaming up next.

  • Aliona Ortega

    We are happy that our short film "the Painting" was selected as a semi-finalist in Sunday Shorts Film Festival. Thank you!

    October 2019
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    Response from festival:

    Thank you, Aliona! Such an interesting film, especially knowing it is a true story! We hope to screen it soon either in competition, or at a themed event - perhaps a 'based on true stories' special!