Talkies London Short Film Awards – Celebrating the Best in Short Film

Since 2012, Talkies has brought communities together through a shared love of independent cinema. We have built a reputation for championing short films and supporting emerging talent.

In 2026 we had 13 award winners, a judges choice prize and an audience choice prize

Our new awards celebrate outstanding short films made in the past three years.

What are we looking for?

We’re looking for English-language films that are bold, fresh, and deeply human – stories that surprise, challenge, entertain, and move us. Whether it’s fiction, documentary, animation, or experimental, if your film has something powerful to say, we want to see it.

Submit your short and be part of something special.

What our film makers say:

"Screening to a really engaged public audience is a great change from screening in front of other film makers - their response is tangible feedback"

"Submitting to Talkies means more than entering an awards programme – it means joining a community that actively supports emerging and independent talent."

"Talkies offers great support and genuine commitment to independent filmmakers, creating a welcoming community that champions new talent."

"Talkies is a supportive hub for indie filmmakers. They go the extra mile to ensure they put on cracking live events for their film loving community. "

"It was an honour to be screened at Talkies and the awards that celebrate filmmaking talent. Thanks to the team for spreading your love of cinema!"

Awards & Prizes

Cash awards for all films selected to screen.

-Cash awards for all films screened, Further cash awards also for:
-Audience Choice Award
-Judges Choice Award

Rules & Terms

Talkies London Short Film Awards - Terms and Conditions

1. Eligibility
• Entrants must be over 18 years of age
• Films must not exceed 20 minutes in length, including credits
• Films should be in English language
• AI creativity must be declared

2. Submission
• All submissions must be made via FilmFreeway
• You may submit more than one film, but each must be submitted separately
• Submission fees are non-refundable
• Submission does not guarantee selection
• Films not selected will not receive feedback

3. Rights and Permissions
• You must own the rights to your film and have full permission from all relevant rights holders (including but not limited to; music, footage, images, actors, etc.)
• By submitting, you grant Talkies cinema the non-exclusive right to screen your film (if selected) and to use stills, trailers, and excerpts (up to 30 seconds) for promotional purposes
• Use of AI and LLMs must be disclosed
• Filmmakers must obtain necessary licenses & clearances for their films, Talkies Short Film Awards WILL NOT hold responsibility for any copyright infringement

4. Selection and Awards
• All submissions will be reviewed by a panel of judges
• Decisions are final and cannot be contested
• Selected films will be notified by November 30th in year of entry
• Awards include prizes as listed on our FilmFreeway page

5. Publicity and Promotion
• If selected, you agree to your film being promoted on our website, social media, and in marketing materials
• We will never publish your full film without explicit permission

6. Liability
• The entrant indemnifies Talkies Community Cinema against any claims connected to copyright infringement, defamation, or legal issues related to the film’s content
• We are not responsible for any technical issues, lost submissions, or FilmFreeway errors

7. Privacy
• Your contact details will only be used for communication regarding your submission, unless you opt-in for updates. See our Privacy Policy for more details (https://talkies.org.uk/privacy-statement/)
• Talkies is compliant with GDPR requirements

8. Amendments
• Talkies Community Cinema reserves the right to update these Terms and Conditions at any time. Major changes will be communicated via our FilmFreeway page
2 Reviews
Overall Rating
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Value
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  • IAN SCIACALUGA

    Lovely little festival that's just got going in North., North London, run by local cine enthusiasts. It is known as a community festival and that is at the heart of it. Prizemoney giving for winners was unexpected but really welcome. It will only grow form strength to strength as an all inclusive get together of film-makers and watchers.

    May 2026
    Helpful
    Response from festival:

    Thanks Ian and we are so glad that our audience was so responsive to your great project. The audience award was well deserved as your dance project resonated with so many people

  • Vanessa Bailey

    We had an absolutely lovely time sharing our short film WE NEED TO TALK with a very engaged audience and a larger audience than at many of the bigger name festival which we have screened at. The hosts were really warm and welcoming and genuinely enthusiastic about the films that were being screened. We were thrilled to be an award winner and we're really looking forward to returning to the next Talkies Award!

    May 2026
    Helpful
    Response from festival:

    Thanks Vanessa, we reaily enjoyed having you as an award winner and glad you enjoyed the evening amongst the Talkies audience!