Comedy isn’t usually the first genre that people associate with film festivals. But movies like “Napoleon Dynamite,” “500 Days of Summer,” “Palm Springs,” “The Big Sick,” and “Clerks,” which all premiered at Sundance before getting picked up by major studios, show that anything that can make audiences guffaw is going to catch the attention of industry professionals.
Since premiering at Sundance may be more aspirational than attainable for the early career funny filmmaker, entering comedy-specific film festivals—like the five listed here—is a great way to get eyes on your project and laughs from your viewers.
1. Los Angeles Comedy Festival
Regular deadline: Dec. 12, 2025
Late deadline: Jan. 2, 2026
Final deadline: Jan. 23
11th hour deadline: Feb. 13
Last chance deadline: March 6
Now entering its 25th year, the biannual Los Angeles Comedy Festival attracts submissions from Hollywood and beyond. Its intention is to bring the funniest independent films to the many industry professionals who work in the city. The festival is regularly attended by managers, agents, and producers from various networks, studios, production companies, and agencies in L.A.
Beck Bennett and Kyle Mooney of “Saturday Night Live,” Jillian Bell of “Brittany Runs a Marathon,” and Sarah Haskins and Emily Halpern, the creators of ABC’s “Trophy Wife,” have all screened their work at the Los Angeles Comedy Festival.
Want to tickle some funny bones and maybe take home one of the festival’s prizes? Submit your comedy feature, short film, animated short, TV pilot, web series, sketch comedy, or music video with English language or subtitles, a nonrefundable fee per entry, and an online screener.
The Los Angeles Comedy Festival’s next run takes place April 23–26, 2026.
2. HollyShorts Comedy
Regular deadline: Jan. 9, 2026
Late deadline: Feb. 6
Extended deadline: March 6
During this festival, approximately 3,000 people descend on Glendale’s LOOK Dine-In Cinemas to watch up to 95 chosen submissions. Thanks to its proximity to Hollywood, the screenings are regularly packed with industry insiders, too. Those that have their films selected get to walk a red carpet, attend panels and parties, and hold their own filmmaker Q&As.
HollyShorts awards prizes valued at over $10,000 to 13 films, with categories including short comedy, dark comedy short, web series, TV episodic, and comedy screenplay.
The next HollyShorts Comedy festival runs May 1–3, 2026.
3. LOCO London Comedy Film Festival
Regular deadline: Dec. 31, 2025
As a BAFTA-qualifying shorts film festival, the LOCO London Comedy Film Festival has been bringing the U.K. and Ireland’s funniest films to England’s capital for over a decade.
Held at the 114-year-old Ritzy Picturehouse in Brixton over four days, LOCO hosts anniversary screenings, panels, workshops, and various networking events, with the aim of encouraging attendees to collaborate on future films.
U.K.- and Ireland-based filmmakers can submit shorts (up to 20 minutes, with special categories for films under four and two minutes) with English subtitles if needed, a nonrefundable fee, and copyright clearances. LOCO dishes out prizes for the best short films for each time category, and also gives out awards for the best script and best performance.
The next run of the LOCO London Comedy Film Festival will take place May 14–17, 2026.
4. The Broad Humor Film Festival
Super early deadline: Jan. 17, 2026
Early bird deadline: Feb. 8
Regular deadline: May 3
Late deadline: May 24
Extended deadline: June 14 (for student, short, and feature films)
Made up entirely of comedy films written and directed by women, the Broad Humor Film Festival selects 65 films from over 500 submissions for its 2,400 attendees. The four-day L.A.-based festival also holds script readings and networking events, with the hope that women writers and directors will one day make their own comedies.
The 20-year-old festival hands out 14 prizes, four of which are reserved for screenplays. The best short short, feature, documentary or mockumentary, experimental short, and animated films are just some of the other films that are given gongs.
To submit, women must be the sole writer or director of comedic films (completed after 2021, with runtime limits by category) or screenplays submitted with a nonrefundable fee.
The Broad Humor Film Festival’s next run will take place Sept. 3–6, 2026.
5. Short Com International Comedy Film and Animation Festival
Early deadline: Dec. 19, 2025
Regular deadline: May 22, 2026
Late deadline: June 26
Final deadline: July 10
A BAFTA- and British Independent Film Awards–qualifying event, Short Com is one of the most competitive comedy film festivals in Europe.
Previous judges have included Film 4, BBC Comedy, and Channel 4 Comedy’s development executives, as well as festival programmers and comedy directors. The judging panel is always on the search for an eclectic array of comedies, from amateur films to award contenders from other film festivals. In 2022, it even screened Tom Berkeley and Ross White’s “An Irish Goodbye,” which would go on to win BAFTA and Oscar awards for best short.
To be eligible for one of the festival’s awards—which include Grand Jury, Best Animation, Best British, Funniest, Best Script, and Best Short-Short—films must be released after February 2025, with a preference for shorter, non-AI projects that use English subtitles if needed.
The Short Com International Comedy Film and Animation Festival will screen Sept. 25, 2026 to Aug. 14, 2027 in London, Glasgow, and Edinburgh.
