Toronto Shorts International Film Festival is the largest short film festival in Canada.

Toronto Shorts is a non-profit organization that provides a showcase for the best short films from filmmakers around the world.

We believe that short-form cinema and its creators should have their own premier film festival in Toronto deserving similar recognition given to the feature film.

Toronto Shorts is where films from all genres intersect. The heart of the festival is the quality and scope of extraordinary film programming which consists of a wide spectrum of categories from high to low budget films under 45 minutes.

Now in our 11th year, the festival has become a career stepping stone, establishing a tradition of discovering and promoting filmmakers who have gone on to Academy Awards Nominees, including :

2021 Oscar Nominee 'The Present' by Farah Nabulsi
2019 Oscar Nominee ‘Weekends’ by Trevor Jimenez
2018 Oscar Nominees 'Watu Wote - All of Us' (Germany) and 'The Eleven O'Clock' (Australia)

Toronto stands as the largest media market in Canada, it boasts the world-renowned Royal Ontario Museum, the massive Art Gallery of Ontario, the Soulpepper Theatre Company, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and now includes a premier international short film festival.

In order to showcase the best short films and its filmmakers from around the world, we created the Toronto Shorts International Film Festival.

Awards & Prizes

Best of the Festival
Best International
Best Drama
Best Comedy
Best Animation
Best Documentary
Best Experimental
Best Sci-Fi
Best Horror
Best Music Video
Best Web Series

If any award category does not meet the standard deemed award-worthy by the judges, it’s possible there will be no award given in that category.

Rules & Terms

2023 REQUIREMENTS
Films must have been completed after Jan. 1, 2022
Non-English films must have English sub-titles.
Works-in-progress will be considered, provided they will be completed prior to the festival.
You may submit more than one film, but you must complete a separate entry form and pay the entry fee for each film.

Film selection for the festival will be made by the screening committee.
All filmmakers will be notified via email of acceptance.

33 Reviews
Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Beatrice Jäggi

    Thanks a lot for selecting my film!

    May 2023
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  • Wesley Howard

    thank you so much for having us! we loved it!

    January 2023
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    Response from festival:

    Very impressive production with great attention to detail.

  • Aaron Rota

    My Team and I had an awesome time at Toronto Shorts International Film Festival. We felt proud to have screened our short film "Wayne" alongside such a strong program of films. Thank you for having us!

    January 2023
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    Response from festival:

    We look forward to seeing more of your work in the near future.

  • Kris Fleerackers

    Very happy and excited that "IDOL" has won the Best Experimental award! Thank you!

    January 2023
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    Response from festival:

    Poetic story explores contemporary issues with originality.

  • Amine Boucekkine

    It's a real honor to have won the best music video award as part of the 10th edition of the great Toronto Shorts International Film Festival with "Dead Dreams Falling", the experimental musical short movie I have created with director Craig Murray. I feel very grateful for this award and I sincerely want to thank all the festival team. I am definitely looking forward to applying again in the future with new projects, and hopefully next time I can be there to meet you all in person! Thanks a lot!

    December 2022
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    Response from festival:

    Excellent unconventional storytelling using magnificent images.