The Chocolate City International Short Film Festival

On June 7th, 2011, the first biennial Chocolate City Short Film Festival debuted in Burlington, WI. Burlington is known as "Chocolate City USA" and has strong connections to the Nestle company (Hosting the huge "ChocolateFest" three day festival over labor day weekend). This short film festival was dedicated to showing short films from amateurs (students elementary through high school) as well as adult professionals. The event is held in downtown Burlington at the historic Plaza Theater. It is the intention of The Chocolate Short Film Festival to take place every odd year in the week following ChocolateFest.

On June 2nd, 2013, the second ever Chocolate City Short Film Festival was held again at the Plaza Theater in downtown Burlington, WI. The response was even greater with a full house and many other firsts. Local celebrities (Miss Burlington Ashely Monti) and national celebrities (Ron Kohlman, filmmaker and former producer of the number hit show ER) were in attendance.

One June 7th 2015, four years to the day the first festival began, The Chocolate City Short Film Festival went world wide. Almost two thousand entries from over 80 countries poured in, bringing the festival to a whole new level. It was only fitting that the festival rename itself as the Chocolate City INTERNATIONAL Short Film Festival. A whole new chapter had begun.

On June 4th, 2017, the fourth ever biennial festival was held. OVER 3,000 submissions from all over the world were submitted. Filmmakers from 9 to 79 submitted their works and the proud tradition continued. Local celebrity and filmmaker BJ Rayni was on hand to present awards. In addition trailers of independent filmmakers kicked off the fest.

In the spirit of community service, the Chocolate City Short Film Festival is free to the public. Attendees are encouraged to bring a food item for the local food pantry or a small monetary donation.

The fifth biennial Chocolate City International Short Film Festival was held on Sunday June 2, 2019. Local celebrity and filmmaker BJ Rayni was on hand to present awards. The films included submissions from filmmakers ages 8 to 80 from a variety of different countries.

The sixth biennial Chocolate City International Short Film Festival was going to be held June 2021 but was canceled due to the global pandemic. After a brief restructuring, we are happy to announce that that sixth ever Chocolate City International Short Film Festival was held May 19, 2024 (thirteen years since it all began back in 2011). It was held at the Plaza Theater in downtown Burlington, Wisconsin, USA from 3-5pm . It was an amazing event with individuals from all over the world.

We hope to host the seventh annual event in late May of 2026. Until then, keep the chocolate and creativity flowing.

The results of that 2024 festival is as follows:

International Films
3rd Place- 261 (FRANCE) directed by Juliette Henry
2nd Place- The Red Ballon (THAILAND) directed by Kasidis Juntapome
1st Place- Siren (TURKEY) directed by Nephan Baykal

Open Genre Films (Adults)
3rd Place- A Tooth Fairytale (USA) directed by Jackson Stake
2nd Place- Depths Below (USA) directed by Cody Broadway
1st Place- Jomon Spirit (JAPAN) directed by Tsubasa Kuribayashi

Documentaries
3rd Place- Black Care (VA, USA) directed by John Monaco
2nd Place- Inside the Veterans Terrace (WI, USA) directed by Ethan and Izac Nienhaus
1st Place- Spirit (JAPAN) directed by Tsubasa Kuribayashi

Animated Films
Honorable Mention- Skeet & Scooter (WI, USA) directed by Tyler Lewis
3rd Place- Paper Dream (WI, USA) directed by Wyatt K. & Owen B
2nd Place- Octopus Ninja (FL, USA) directed by Donghoe Kim
1st Place- Drawn In (AUSTRALIA) directed by Arther Collie

Music Videos
Honorable Mention- Broadway Baby (NY, USA) directed by Herut Ashkenazi
3rd Place- Monsters (USA) directed by Nicholas Byrd
2nd Place- Unrequited Love (CHINA) directed by Everlyn Guo
1st Place- Just Like Heaven (USA) directed by Andre Paras

Student PSAs / Commercials
Honorable Mention- Teen Helping Teens- Suicide (USA) directed by Abby Zidonis
3rd Place- Best Buds Program- Pills (GA, USA)
2nd Place- Duel Reality- Cell Phones (USA) directed by Lila Carusa
1st Place- A New World- Language (NY, USA) directed by Ronald Whitehead

Fictional Films (Students)
Honorable Mention- River’s Day Out (AK, USA) directed by Dawson Brannan
3rd Place- Popcorn Man (WI, USA) directed by Cody Miller
2nd Place- I Built a Paper House (PA, USA) directed by Max Benner
1st Place- Not Quite Quarantine (MD, USA) directed by Julian Lee

Young Filmmakers (Grades 1-8)
3rd Place- Alien Puppet Invasion (WI, USA) directed by Carter D. James
2nd Place- Water, Star Medicine (NM, USA) directed by Turquoise Trail Mid. School
1st Place- Klay Kong (WI, USA) directed by Fontana Film Club