Submit your bike-themed short film to the third annual Bicycle Shorts Film Festival, happening on Sunday, September 28th at Yellow Bicycle Theater in the heart of Philadelphia.

Last year's festival took place in May and featured thirteen bike-themed films from across the globe, ranging from riveting travelogues, trippy animation, and inspiring documentaries to immersive visual poems, edgy family drama and a laugh-out-loud short about bike shorts. Visit our Instagram channel for photos and trailers. In September we re-screened the winning films together with bicycle-themed monologues as part of the Philadelphia Fringe Festival.

And this year we're moving the festival back to its original date in September, on the last day of Philly's amazing Fringe Festival. We look forward to watching your film and seeing you at the Bike!

Awards & Prizes

Audience Choice Award
Golden Bicycle for Best Short Film
Chick Vennera Prize for Best Narrative Film
Joseph R. Fusco Jr. Award for Best Documentary
Prix Duchamp for Best Experimental Short
Jan Švankmajer Prize for Best Animated Short
Tom Petty Prize for Best Music Video
George Melies Award for Best Screenplay

Rules & Terms

RULES FOR FILM SUBMISSIONS

1) All films must have a runtime of 20 minutes or less, including credits.

2) The submitter retains all rights to the film.

3) All fees are non-refundable.

4) Principal photography must have been completed no earlier than January 1, 2024.

5) All films must include English subtitles (unless the spoken language is English).

6) YBC does not offer criticism on submissions.

7) All films must have some connection to bicycles.

RULES FOR SCREENPLAY SUBMISSIONS

1) All screenplays must have a length of 20 pages or less in standard screenplay format.

2) The submitter retains all rights to the screenplay.

3) All fees are non-refundable.

4) All screenplays must be submitted in English.

5) YBC does not offer criticism on submissions.

6) All screenplays must have some connection to bicycles.

7) If a screenplay is produced after winning the screenwriting award, the film is guaranteed entry in the following year's festival.
8 Reviews
Overall Rating
Quality
Value
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  • Kevin McDevitt

    Josh and Thoeger do an excellent job communicating in the lead-up, and were able to address accessibility needs that came up as well. The presentation of films was top-notch, especially for a festival that is only just getting started. We were honored to take home the Audience Award for our film "Bike Short!"

    June 2024
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  • Stephen Bobinski

    Thank you for the Jan Švankmajer Prize for Best Animated Short !!! I am honored to be part of this wonderful film festival :)

    May 2024
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  • stefano cinti

    Nice Festival and nice people! Thanks to Joshua and his colleagues for being given the opportunity to participate with the videoclip "Che bell'andè"!!

    May 2024
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  • CJ Murr

    Excellent festival with a focused on cycling. Highly recommend you submit.

    May 2024
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  • Shankar Sudhakaran

    It was a huge honor to have our film "Ractors" screened At The Bicycle Shorts Film Festival. Great Communication and a kind festival runners. Thanks again.

    October 2023
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