1. SSFF - The Organisation
Sunderland Short Film Festival is supported and facilitated by Sunderland City Council (SCC) and presented by Culture House, Sunderland.
The Sunderland Short Film Festival champions emerging and established filmmakers, providing a platform for them to showcase their short films to local, national and international audiences.
The 11th Sunderland Short Film Festival (SSFF) will be taking place in May 2026.
As a BIFA qualifying festival and founding member of the Association of Independent Film Festivals, we pride ourselves on striving to create a fairer festival landscape and deliver an event which provides transparency, integrity and gives peace of mind to submitting filmmakers.
Please read these rules carefully before you submit your film. By submitting your film, you expressly acknowledge and agree that you shall be bound by the terms of the submission rules detailed in this document.
2. SSFF - Eligibility
We accept short film submissions which are no longer than 30 minutes long including credits that were completed after May 2024.
All music videos must be no longer than 10 minutes in length. You must have made the music video with the correct rights for all usage.
If you are submitting a student project you will be asked for the name of your academic institution.
3. SSFF - General Rules For All Films
The SSFF is open to short films made anywhere in the world of all production techniques, forms, genres and budgets providing they comply with these rules, however promotional films are not eligible (for example, films promoting tourism, charitable appeals etc.).
Films must have been completed after 1st January 2024. Films completed prior to this date will be automatically disqualified unless they have been specifically invited by the SSFF organising team.
Films must not exceed 30 minutes in length, including credits.
All non-English language films must have English subtitles burnt into the film file. If you would like to submit a film with non-English scenes and no subtitles, please contact the SSFF Programming Team prior to submission to discuss your entry. The only exception is with song lyrics, which do not have to be translated.
Only completed films will be considered. If you wish to submit a partially completed film, please contact the SSFF Programming Team prior to submission to discuss your entry.
Films previously submitted to previous editions of the festival will not be considered. If substantial structural changes have been made to the film since a previous submission, please contact the SSFF Programming Team prior to submission to discuss your entry.
You may enter more than one film to the SSFF, however a separate entry form, film upload and additional entry fee is required for each film submitted. There is no discount for multiple films submitted.
To make a submission to the SSFF you must be authorised to submit the film for consideration including having the relevant permission(s) from a distributor or sales agent representing the film and you must have obtained the necessary permissions for the inclusion of copyrighted music and/or images within your film. By making a submission, you confirm you possess all rights necessary for the screening of the submitted film at the SSFF, including holding the relevant ownership rights and you are agreeing that the work is original. SCC, its members, employees, partners and volunteers of SSFF will not be held responsible for the authorised inclusion of any copyrighted materials contained within or in connection with the submitted film or where the appropriate rights or permissions have not been obtained. SSFF reserves the right to disqualify, without refund of the submission fee, any film with the unauthorised inclusion of copyrighted materials or incorrect rights/permissions.
All submitted film material must not defame or invade the rights of any person living or dead and you are required to keep SCC indemnified for any violations of the law in this respect.
By making a submission you consent to your film being considered for any awards that may be given at the SSFF.
We do not have a premiere status requirement. We will accept submissions of films that have previously screened elsewhere, including at other festivals both nationally and internationally.
However, we do ask that films are not readily available online through the duration of the festival and ask you to please include information on previous screenings with your submission.
4. SSFF – Virtual Reality Guidelines
TBC
5. SSFF - Submission Process
SSFF only accepts digital submissions via filmfreeway.com. You are able to upload your film as a digital file via a secure external link through the FilmFreeway website once your registration details have been completed. SSFF will not accept submissions via any other means.
Illegible or incomplete entry forms will not be accepted, and the submission fee will not be refunded.
Any submissions made after 8 March 2026 may not be accepted, subject to the discretion of the organisers, and the submission fee will not be refunded.
SSFF welcomes the inclusion of your Press Kit (if one is available) with your submission. If your film is successful, we will use high resolution stills from your film for promotional purposes.
Films previously submitted to SSFF will not be considered. If substantial changes have been made to the film and you wish to submit the film please contact the SSFF Programming Team prior to submission to discuss your entry.
6. SSFF - Preview Materials and Online Screeners
Please submit your film digitally via the filmfreeway.com website. You are able to upload your film as a digital file via a secure external link, or to provide a password-protected Vimeo link, once your registration details have been completed. If you wish to use another online screener, please contact the SSFF Programming Team prior to submission to discuss your entry.
SCC, its members, employees, and volunteers of SSFF will not be held responsible for broken or incorrectly submitted URLs.
It is your responsibility to ensure there is a working online screener submitted by 8 March 2026.
It is your responsibility to ensure that the film is in full working order and submitted in the correct format. There are no refunds for entries with incorrectly formatted preview materials or non-working online screeners.
7. SSFF - Important Dates and Submission Fees
There is a submission fee to enter your film in the SSFF. Payment must be made online using the filmfreeway.com website and you will be asked whether you wish to pay using a credit or debit card. Payment is in US dollars and therefore an exchange rate will apply at the time of the transaction.
Submission fees listed are non-negotiable and not transferable.
The final deadline for submissions to the SSFF 2025 is 8th March 2025.
There is a discount for student films and festival alumni are entitled to a discount waiver.
Multiple discounts cannot be applied retrospectively after the films have already been submitted.
Applicants may enter as many eligible films as they wish. A separate entry form, upload and additional entry fee is required for each film submission.
If your film does not match the criteria contained in these rules and you proceed to submit your film, your fee will not be refunded. If you only partially complete the submission process your film will not be accepted and your fee will not be refunded. It is therefore your responsibility to check that your film matches the criteria contained in this document and you fully complete the submission process prior to payment of the fee.
8. SSFF - Review and Selection Process
Once a film has been submitted it begins its journey of a fair and considered consideration period. All submitted films will be viewed by 3 or more members of the SSFF Reviewing and Selection team, composed of a volunteer group of filmmakers, film enthusiasts and critics.
All of our reviewing team must complete a comprehensive training course we have devised which discusses our aims as a festival as well as a detailed overview of how to effectively use the Filmfreeway platform.
Leading up to the festival our team continually reviews the available submissions and begins to build longlists of entries, continually narrowing down the selection until the final line-up is decided after consulting with programmers, reviewers and Festival Director and Lead Programmer, Chris Allan.
Where there is a dispute, final selections of all submitted films will be at the sole discretion of the SSFF Programming Team.
The SSFF Programming Team reserves the right to apply to the relevant licensing authority to classify a film that is submitted as unclassified in order to allocate it to a relevant programme strand, as appropriate. If you are asked to provide additional information to assist with the classification process you are required to respond within the timescales given, otherwise your film may be disqualified with no refund of the submission fee.
9. SSFF - Notification of Acceptance and Rejection
Letters of acceptance and rejection will be sent to the email address provided on the entry form no later than 1st April 2026.
In the event that SSFF 2026 receives a high volume of high calibre films, the SSFF Programming Team may ask to hold your film in reserve with a view to screening if the opportunity arises. This request will be sent to the email address provided.
Those filmmakers whose films were not selected may request feedback comments from the SSFF Selection Committee and these will be provided after the SSFF 2026 has taken place.
If successful, you will be provided with a full acceptance pack including a legal contract which you will be required to complete and return together with any supporting documents the SSFF Programming Team requests. Please ensure that you provide a digital file of your film within the size range we request. You may also be asked to provide a backup file of your successful film.
You are not entitled to recover shipping costs from SCC, its members, employees, partners or volunteers of SSFF.
You must seek the permission from the SSFF Programming Team should you wish to use any of the Selection Committee’s comments in your own publicity for your film.
All selected films may be stored in the festival archive and used for internal research purposes. The SSFF will not publicly screen or publish online a film for which permission has not previously been granted.
All communications from the SSFF will be sent to you by e-mail. It is your responsibility to ensure the contact email address used in your application form is accurate and you keep the SSFF Programming Team advised of any changes. It is your responsibility to check your e-mails, including junk and spam folders, for communication from the SSFF. SCC, its members, employees, partners and volunteers of the SSFF will not be held responsible for any late actions by yourself because of a failure to check e-mails being received.
SCC, its members, employees, partners and volunteers of the SSFF will not be held liable for e-mails delayed by spam filters, server rejections, outdated e-mail addresses or any other technical or human error.
10. SSFF - Festival Screenings
Our previous instalment of the festival was a packed line-up with 7 days of events across 4 city centre venues, where we were able to share over 150 short films & music videos across more than 20 screenings. We also hosted a number of networking and industry events, workshops, masterclasses and Q&A's to our biggest audiences yet! It was a genuine pleasure to welcome you all to celebrate cinema here in the North East.
If successful you will be notified of the screenings of your film as part of your acceptance pack and you are entitled to attend the screenings free of charge. All films selected will be made available for public viewing. There may also be private screenings to accredited guests. The SSFF Programming Team reserves the right to show each film at a time, date and venue of their choosing.
The SSFF Programming Team reserves the right to place films into relevant programme strands as they see fit.
No rental or other fees will be paid for the screening of your film at the SSFF.
No travel, accommodation or other expenses will be paid should you wish to attend the screening of your film at the SSFF.
11. SSFF - Submission Agreement
At the point of payment on your submission you will be asked if you have read and agreed with the SSFF Rules and Regulations. By agreeing to proceed with your submission you are agreeing to the rules contained in this document. In the event of disagreement concerning the interpretation of the rules, the SSFF Programming Team’s interpretation will take precedence.
These rules shall be governed by construed and enforced in accordance with English law and shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts.
SCC, its members, employees, partners and volunteers of the SSFF will not be held responsible for lost, misplaced, delayed, damaged or otherwise undelivered films, media, forms or payments.
SCC, its members, employees and volunteers of the SSFF will not be held liable for any claims, demands, damages, judgement, liabilities, expenses arising out of or in connection with any and all claims by you or third parties based on films submitted to or screened by the SSFF.
Failure to comply with these rules may result in your submission being disqualified.
Sunderland Shorts reserves the right to remove a film from the festival program for any reason or for no reason and shall not be liable for any refund or claims of any kind arising out of such removal.
These rules are subject to change without prior notice.
12. SSFF - Delivery of Materials
Full delivery instructions will be provided on notification of selection. It is the responsibility of the submitter to keep in contact and provide the required assets in the requested formats.
13. SSFF - Attending the Festival
SSFF encourages all selected filmmakers to attend the festival, and offers guest passes to each film selected for the day their film is showing in the competition.
It is the filmmaker’s responsibility to ensure that all delivered material is technically correct. The festival adheres to a strict quality control check before all of our events, but ultimately it is the responsibility of the filmmakers to check the quality of their work. We ask that you please check your film thoroughly before delivery.
SSFF does not accept responsibility for visual or sound errors.
14. SSFF - Press and Publicity
By submitting your film to the SSFF you agree to grant SSFF the non-exclusive right to utilise your publicity materials related to the production (e.g. press kits, posters, stills, etc.) for promotional purposes and to broadcast or screen your film for the purposes of promoting the SSFF in 2026 and future years.
15. SSFF - Access to Information
Current UK law allows people to access information that is held by public authorities: Sunderland City Council is a public authority for the purposes of Data Protection, Freedom of Information and Environmental Information legislation. As such, information held by the Council in connection with the SSFF may fall within the scope of this legislation. The following general principles would apply to such requests:
Freedom of Information and Environmental Information legislation: Anyone, anywhere can ask for access to information held by the Council. However, exemptions are found within both pieces of legislation that protect personal data, copyright materials and artistic / journalistic / literary materials from general disclosure. In practice, this means that information about how SSFF is run might be subject to disclosure – particularly if it involves the use of public funds – but information comprising details of entrants and their materials (films, scripts, associated intellectual property etc) would be protected.
Data Protection Act: Any individual can ask to access information held about themselves by the Council. There are exemptions to this access right, but it is not anticipated that SSFF / the Council will be processing personal data other than to manage and process entries through the course of the festival.
16. SSFF - Our Aims
- To deliver an annual Film Festival for the North East which celebrates the art of short film & music video from around the World.
- To provide a platform where diverse stories from different perspectives and experiences, across all genres can be shared.
- To offer unmissable screenings, events & networking opportunities.
- To make all events available and accessible to all of our audiences, regardless of social and economic circumstances or barriers.
- To generate opportunities for regional filmmakers to showcase and launch their work internationally.
- To increase the knowledge and skills of emerging filmmakers through workshops, masterclasses and development opportunities with experienced sector professionals.
- To operate with transparency and fairness in our screening and submission process.
- To cooperate with local, national and international partners to deliver the most beneficial experience for our community.
- To contribute to the developing screen industry in Sunderland and the wider North East region.
- To be an inclusive cultural hub, screening works from underrepresented communities and championing themes of equality, diversity and creativity.
17. SSFF - Contact
For all enquiries please contact the SSFF Programming Team:
E-mail: info@sunderlandshorts.co.uk
Address: Sunderland Shorts Film Festival
c/o Sunderland City Council
City Hall
Plater Way
SR1 3AA
18. Thank you for making it the end of our rules and terms, as a reward please feel free to use the Code: 10SSFF2026 when submitting for an additional discount!
