The 43rd Uppsala Short Film Festival will take place 21-27 October 2024. Founded in 1982, the festival has since become Sweden’s main arena for short film and one of the most important short film festivals in Europe. Every year the festival screens more than 300 short films in different sections exploring the diversity and richness of the short film – from new film to retrospective programmes, from fiction film, documentaries and experimental film to animations, and welcoming hybridity beyond these categories. Films are submitted to either of the three competetive sections, awarding prize money amounting to 20 000 EUR. Submitted films also make up the base for out of competition programmes, including recurring programmes on Fantastic Film, queer films and comedies.

Uppsala Short Film Festival is recognised by Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which means that winning the international or national competition at the festival may make a film eligible for a nomination for an Oscar. The festival is also recognised by the European Film Academy and BAFTA. Screening at the festival qualifies Swedish short films for Guldbagge nominations.

Taking place in the university city of Uppsala, in the city’s classic cinema district, the Uppsala Short Film Festival is a meeting place for audience and film industry. During the seven days of the festival, 300 short films are screened in three cinemas. Among the cinemas are Slottsbiografen, where the famous Swedish director Ingmar Bergman discovered cinema as a child. Buyers, distributors and festival representatives have access to a video library during the festival. The festival offers filmmakers many opportunities to meet their audience, including Q&A's at the screenings. All selected filmmakers are invited and offered free accreditation to the festival, with an offer to provide free accomodation for three nights to one representative per international film.

The festival is a meeting point for the Swedish and international industry, bringing together emerging and established Swedish and international filmmakers in networking and social events and parties, where collaboration can begin. The industry events include Uppsala Talks, which is the festival focus on seminars, talks and workshops and Uppsala Talent Days, a national meeting for filmmakers on the verge of entering the professional film industry. The meeting is a unique opportunity to make contact with filmmakers from all over the country and to start creating a professional network

Uppsala Short Film Festival is recognised by Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which means that winning the international or national competition at the festival may make a film eligible for a nomination for an Oscar. The festival is also recognised by the European Film Academy and BAFTA. Screening at the festival qualifies Swedish short films for Guldbagge nominations. Films are submitted to either of the three competetive sections, awarding prize money to the amount of 20 000 EUR.

GENERAL REGULATIONS:

1. The deadline for entry is May 31, 2024. Entries that arrive later than deadline will not be considered.considered.

2. Short films of all genres with a running time of no more than 40 minutes are accepted for consideration.

3. Entries must have production year 2023 or 2024.

4. A film can be submitted only once, including if it's submitted as a work in progress. A work in progress should have an introductory still frame detailing the work still to be done.

5. Preview copies with other than English or Swedish dialogue/commentary must come with subtitles in English, or they will not be considered.

6. Entry must be made via Shortfilmdepot or FilmFreeway. For FilmFreeway submissions, preview links to Vimeo are preferred. Direct uploads to FilmFreeway are also valid, but links requiring download from third parties or individual password requests will not be considered.

7. It's the submitter's responsibility to ensure that the preview copy is in full working order and that passwords and links on the submission platform are clearly displayed and functional, from the date of submission until September 15, otherwise the film will not be properly considered.

8. The festival charges no entry fee for entering the National Competition. The entry fee for the Children’s Film Competition is 5 euros. The entry fee for the International Competition fluctuates according to the below levels. These fees do not include possible administrative fees charged by the submission platform. In the event of withdrawal, cancellation or incorrect or ineligible submission, entry fee will not be refunded.

Early bird fee (January): 10 euros
Regular fee (February, March, April): 15 euros
Late fee (May): 20 euros

9. A multiple entry discount may apply. For more details, please contact programme@shortfilmfestival.com. Discounts for multiple entries must be granted before the films are submitted. Discounts cannot be applied retroactively, nor can previous entry fees be refunded.

10. Films with Sweden as main production country should submit to the National Competion and/or the Children's Film Competiton (if applicable). All entries for the National Competition and International Competition may be suggested for the Children’s Film Competition and vice versa, but films intended for children should be submitted to the Children's Film Competiton. Films submitted to the competitions may also be included in out of competition programmes, subject to the submitter’s permission.

11. All preview copies and submitted entry information may be available for viewing in a video library by accredited industry guests during the festival and up until 30 days after.

12. All preview copies may be stored in the festival archive and used for research purposes.

13. Decisions regarding the selection of films will be reached by September 15, at which time a full list of the selected competition films will be published on the website.

14. The festival office do not have the possibility to answer questions about status of entries or progress of selection.

15. In case of selection, the festival reserves the right to use stills and excerpts from the films for promotional purposes, not exceeding 10 % of the running time, or a maximum of 3 minutes.

16. Submitters are not entitled to claim screening or rental fees for the screenings of their films in competition. Screening fees are offered for out of competition screenings.

17. Eligible formats for screening copies for films selected for the National Competition and International Competition are DCP, 16 mm and 35 mm. In addition, a digital file in.mp4, for backup, online and promotional purposes, must be provided upon request. Eligible format for the Children's Film Competiton is .mp4 file in the h264 or h265 codec, for translation reasons. The festival reserves the right to make a Swedish dubbed or translated transfer from the file, to be screened for the youngest audience.

18. Screening copies for the National Competition and International Competition with language/commentary other than English must have English subtitles. Screening copies for the Children's Film Competition with language/commentary other than English or Swedish must come with or without English subtitles and/or time-coded dialogue list in English in .srt format, depending on the result of the festival programming, as notified by September 15.

19. Selected films for the Children's Film Festival are screened in the cinema and streamed in classrooms in the Uppsala region during the festival.

21. Screening copies of selected films must arrive to the festival no later than October 9.

22. By submitting the entry form, the submitter acknowledges that they have read, understood and accepted these regulations without reservation.

AWARDS:

23. The festival is recognised by The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, BAFTA and The European Film Academy. The awards are listed below. All awards are subject to change without prior notice.

International Competition:

- The Uppsala Grand Prix (Uppsala Film Jackdaw and 50 000 SEK) The award goes to the director of the best film in the International Competition. The festival is recognised by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences and the winner of the Uppsala Grand Prix may qualify for the short films' Oscar®.

- The Uppsala Award in Memory of Ingmar Bergman (50 000 SEK awarded by the Cultural Affairs Board in Uppsala) The award goes to a young and promising director who pushes the boundaries of film art.

- The Uppsala Short Film Candidate for the European Film Awards.

- The Audience Award.

National Competition:

- Best Swedish Short Film (Uppsala Film Jackdaw and 50 000 SEK) The festival is recognised by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences and the winner of the Best Swedish Short Film may qualify for the short films' Oscar®.

- Uppsala Early Bird (distribution offer from Draken Film and 10 000 SEK)

- The Audience Award.

Children’s Film Competition

- Best Children’s Film (Uppsala Film Jackdaw and 15 000 SEK).

24. The jury for the National Competition and the International Competition is appointed by the Uppsala Short Film Festival and is comprised of representatives from various fields of film industry. The jury for Children’s Film Competition is appointed by the Uppsala Short Film Festival and is comprised of school children of various ages.

25. In the event of the live festival being unable to go ahead due to extreme circumstances such as the COVID-19 crisis, the festival may take place online. Selected filmmakers will be informed in advance of this change, and will have the opportunity to withdraw their film from selection if they so wish. In the event of withdrawal, submission fees will not be refunded.

Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Thank you Uppsala Short Film Festival! An exceptionally hospitable team with great communication - very pleased to have our world premiere here. Incredible films in a beautiful town and with great venues. An international film festival truly for filmmakers - highly recommend attending.

    November 2023
  • Barbara Brunner

    Thank you for including "Rainboy" in this year's festival. Communication was great. Really wish I could have attended. Fingers crossed for another year!

    November 2023
  • Susanne Walström

    Thanks for including our short film “Disused” in your festival! Overall a good communication from a very kind and professional team, and we had a great time in Uppsala.

    November 2023
  • Thank you, Uppsala Short Film Festival, for an amazing experience at the festival. We're happy to screen our second film at the festival!

    November 2023
  • Aila Stefansdotter-Franck

    Absolutely fantastic being part of this festival!

    November 2023