Following the success of The Bite Size Film Festival, The Big Short Film Festival brings another essential evening of curated short films to the heart of Shoreditch. Championing independent filmmakers, this event provides a fantastic opportunity to network with industry professionals and to showcase your work on the big screen, perhaps for the first time ever!

Hosted by London’s intimate Close-Up Cinema, The Big Short Film Festival is open to all filmmakers from around the world, from any background or level of experience. Selected filmmakers will be invited to attend the screening event on April 30th in Shoreditch. Attendance is not mandatory, but if we loved your work, we would love to meet YOU.

Open to all genres of short film, we are looking for stories that inspire, shock, move and enthral us. Films that are personal to you, or ones that capture the universal human experience. Both narrative and documentary shorts will be accepted, with the screening hoping to incorporate a mixture of both.

Doors will open at 6pm. Following the screening, there will be an opportunity to network with fellow filmmakers at a local venue (TBD). The Bite Size Film Festival will also return in October for another Halloween spookfest. Submissions open January 1st.

Awards & Prizes

All submissions selected for inclusion in the festival will receive our Official Selection laurel, as well as an invite to the screening for up to two filmmakers associated with the short. In addition, selected shorts will be promoted via our website and Instagram channels.

All filmmakers, whether selected or not, will receive feedback on their entry.

Rules & Terms

1. Submissions must be entirely original works, with all rights to the media owned by the submitting filmmaker(s).

2. Submissions can be any length, however shorter films are more likely to get selected. Between 5-25 minutes is the sweet spot.

3. Submitted films may have been made any time between January 2023 and the date of the screening.

4. We do not require first screening rights. Submitted films may have been screened, placed or awarded in other festivals.

5. Films primarily in languages other than English must include English subtitles.

6. Submissions must not be pornographic in nature.

7. All selected films will need to be made available to the festival organisers in MP4 format.
3 Reviews
Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Paul Harry Thomas

    great festival, good hosts, and looking forward to seeing what the guys do next!

    May 2026
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  • Benjamin K. Dyson

    Thank you for selecting Ice Cream Headache was such a great evening was well curated in a wonderful venue, can only grow for here. Thanks. Ben

    May 2026
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  • MADGIO FILMS

    Attending the inaugural Big Short Film Festival was a genuinely rewarding experience. We were delighted that our film Triggered was selected for inclusion, and the event itself more than lived up to expectations.

    The venue was excellent, very comfortable, well organised, and perfectly suited to showcasing independent cinema. What really stood out was the passion of the filmmaker hosts. Their enthusiasm for both film and filmmakers created a welcoming, supportive atmosphere that made the whole experience feel truly special.

    The selection of films on display was impressively diverse and of a very high standard. It’s clear that a great deal of care and thought went into the programming.

    Overall, The Big Short Film Festival got off to a fantastic start, and I would thoroughly recommend it to filmmakers and film lovers alike.

    Christian Azzola
    Creative Director
    MADGIO Films

    May 2026
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