"Such a wonderful festival, brilliantly run by a wonderful team"
"The quickest, most in depth response I’ve received from a festival."
"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 a weekend of screenings and awards.

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 annual festival still takes place in London.

COVID-19 UPDATE - Our monthly programs of June, July and August will have a small audience at our regular venue and will be live streamed online for free.

We have also begun curating a separate Coronavirus/Quarantine themed program, 'Lockdown Shorts'.

☻ 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

BEST FILM 2020 - £500 ($650) 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)

Official Selections - The jury now select 7 films per month to compete for the monthly Audience Award, which will also participate at our annual event. Stills and posters are shared across social media, and trailers are played at prior events.

Audience Award Winner - As voted for in-person by all attendees at the end of each monthly event. Only Audience Award Winners are nominated for Best Film 2020.

Script Competition - Selected by the programmer and the festival director exclusively from Filmfreeway submissions. Winners and Finalists are displayed on the 'Scripts' page of our website, with the aim of connecting buyers, financiers and collaborators directly with the writers. Winning writers have the option to have their scripts read and discussed in a live online script workshop with guest directors, actors and writers.

Sunday Shorts Annual 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 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.

Rules & Terms

ELIGIBILITY:

Only projects submitted on 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 online, unless the submitter gives prior permission, or it is already intentionally public.

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.
57 Reviews
Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Christopher Graham

    I thoroughly enjoyed my experience with Sunday Shorts! It was an honor to be included among so many wonderful films and talented filmmakers. Lee, and the folks at SSFF, we're forced to switch the event to an online festival after the fallout of COVID-19. They handled the last minute changes very gracefully and professionally. They communicated with us every step of the way. And not a single one of my inquiries went unanswered (and I had a lot!). I look forward to submitting future work to this festival for consideration. - Chris Graham, Director of Aida

    April 2020
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    Response from festival:

    Thanks for the great review, Christopher! I'm glad your lead actress, Kiko, was able to be part of the live streaming to talk about the film. Would love to see more of your work in the future, and will definitely be checking out your feature!

  • Vera Graziadei

    It was a pleasure to participate in SSFF! The screening in Lisbon seemed so lovely, a pity we couldn't be there. Looking forward to the London edition. And thank you for the Audience Award! We're thrilled! Vera

    March 2020
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    Response from festival:

    Thanks, Vera! Congrats on your great film, 'A Map of the World' being the first, and perhaps only, micro-short nominee for Best Film 2020. See you in London!

  • Matias Bolla

    I was unable to physically attend the festival, but the communication from the festival was fantastic and I was able to do a pre-recorded Q&A. -They used social media fantastically in the lead up to the event and shared photos from the screening which was great for me to see. They give you short yet thoughtful feedback on every submission, which is fantastic and goes a long way to understanding how the film is received around the world. Overall, I definitely recommend this festival as one of the best 'bi-monthly' festivals out there!

    February 2020
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    Response from festival:

    Thanks for the detailed feedback, Matias! Congrats on 'Campesinos' winning our Audience Award, and on your recent Vimeo Staff Pick. I look forward to sharing your film with more audiences later this year!

  • Meik V. Fischer

    I placed second in this contest, but that's only a side note. These people stayed in touch and quickly answered any questions I had. They also kept me in the loop on any progress ( the table read) they were making. It was a great experience compared to other contests and I always felt well treated. I strongly recommend any short script writer to participate in this competition.

    February 2020
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    Response from festival:

    Thanks for the great review, Meik! 'I Wouldn't Touch That' was one of the first scripts we recorded a table read of and the feedback on it was fantastic! I hope to help you find a producer asap.

  • 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.