Indy Shorts Film Festival, Presented by Heartland Film

About Indy Shorts

The Academy Award®-qualifying Indy Shorts International Film Festival presented by Heartland Film (Indy Shorts) is the largest shorts festival in the Midwest running in Indianapolis, Indiana, since 2018! Originally an expansion to the Heartland International Film Festival (starting in 1992), Indy Shorts has become its own six-day summer festival that celebrates the unique, creative and captivating art of short films in a wide range of categories including horror, comedy, documentary, narrative, animated, and more!

Categories

Indy Shorts selects and films in three main film types/categories (all 40 minutes or less in running time):

- Narrative Short, Live-action dramatic or comedic narratives.
One Narrative Short will win the $5,000 Grand Prize for Narrative Short and 2027 Academy Award qualification.

- Documentary Short, Live-action nonfiction films.
One Narrative Short will win the $5,000 Grand Prize for Documentary Short and 2027 Academy Award qualification.

- Animated Short, Animated films, dramatic or nonfiction.
One Narrative Short will win the $5,000 Grand Prize for Animated Short and 2027 Academy Award qualification.

Official Selection Status

Standard lineup films are considered Official Selections and are eligible for Grand Prizes and other awards. Special Presentation films play outside of competition and are not eligible for Grand Prizes.

Films highlighted in the Indiana Spotlight, Comedy, Horror, etc.- sections are still considered Official Selections and are eligible for other awards, including Grand Prizes.

Selection Criteria

Each submitted film goes through an involved judging process and is screened in its entirety by at least one member of the selection committee, but most often 2-3 individuals. Selected films could eventually be seen more than six times by members of the screening committees, programming staff, and juries.

Films submitted to Indy Shorts are judged on their overall artistic and technical quality. We ultimately look for a strong mix of technical skill, story, and unique vision. The films we select and exhibit – whether they inspire conversation, ignite imagination, or shift perspectives – all have one thing in common: they are films that do more than just entertain.

Awards & Prizes

Indy Shorts has earned the special designation of being a qualifying festival for the Annual Academy Awards® for all three Short Film categories: Live Action, Documentary, and Animated. This means that the winner of the Indy Shorts Grand Prize for Best Narrative Short, Grand Prize for Best Documentary Short, and Grand Prize for Best Animated Short will qualify for consideration in the Short Films category of the Annual Academy Awards® without the standard theatrical run, provided the film otherwise complies with the Academy rules.

Indy Shorts is also on the Qualifying Festival List for the BAFTA Film Awards. British short films programmed at Indy Shorts, along with one other festival from the Qualifying Festival List, qualify for entry. The full rules and eligibility guidelines for BAFTA’s short film categories are available on the BAFTA website.

The 2026 edition of Indy Shorts will bestow more than $35,000 in cash prizes across multiple categories, including:

• Narrative Short Grand Prize ($5,000 Cash Prize)
Academy Award®-qualified category

• Documentary Short Grand Prize ($5,000 Cash Prize)
Academy Award®-qualified category

• Animated Short Grand Prize ($5,000 Cash Prize)
Academy Award®-qualified category

• High School Film Competition (HSFC) Summer White Lynch Memorial Grand Prize, Underwritten by Gary D. and Marlene Cohen ($2,000)
- HSFC Indiana Spotlight Winner ($1,000, must be an Indiana resident/high school filmmaker to be eligible)

• Children's Resilience Short Film Prize presented by Shine Global ($2,500 Cash Prize)

• Lens of Hope Award presented by the TDB Family Foundation ($5,000 total prize - $2,500 to film team and $2,500 to affiliated nonprofit)

• Indiana Spotlight Narrative Award ($1,000 Cash Prize)

• Hoodox Indiana Spotlight Documentary Award ($1,000 Cash Prize)

• Jenni Berebitsky Legacy Award ($1,800 Cash Prize)

• Richard D. Propes Social Impact Award ($1,000 Cash Prize)

• Episodic Award ($1,000 Cash Prize)

• Horror Award ($1,000 Cash Prize)

• Comedy Award ($1,000 Cash Prize)

• Directorial Debut Award ($1,000 Cash Prize)

• Overall Audience Choice Award ($1,000 Cash Prize)

• Audience Choice Awards in the Narrative, Documentary, Animated, Indiana Spotlight, Comedy, Horror, High School categories ($500 each)

Eligibility

To be eligible for Indy Shorts, films must comply with the following:

The film must have been completed on or after January 1, 2025. Please DO NOT submit projects completed in 2024 or before as they will be automatically disqualified with no refund given.

The film must be available for up to two (2) in-person screenings during Indy Shorts, July 21-26, 2026, and virtually on-demand via Eventive Virtual Festival (US geofence, 250 cap per program)

There must not be a screening fee attached to the film. Heartland will not pay a screening fee to any film featured in the Festival; there are no exceptions.

The film cannot require dual projection (interlock) or separate soundtracks. Non-English films must be subtitled in English.

Films must provide an H.264 or ProRes copy suitable for exhibition by the deadlines communicated. Failure to provide film print files and/or other requested film contract materials can result in your film being pulled from the lineup.

Premiere status does not affect eligibility, but if a premiere status is confirmed with Heartland Film in the filmmaker contract it cannot change. Indy Shorts has the right to pull the film from the lineup if this status is changed after confirmation.

Short films available prior to the Festival via paid or unpaid streaming/online services are still eligible for Festival consideration.

No public/in-person exhibition of your film can take place in Indiana from the time of confirmation through the Indy Shorts event. If your film is not available online at the time of confirmation, we highly suggest that you do not make it available until after the event.

Confirmed films cannot drop from the Festival lineup once the filmmaker contract is signed. Any title breaking its filmmaker agreement and pulling from the lineup once confirmed will be subject to a fine equivalent to the loss in venue fees and lost ticket revenue.

Short films that have already applied for the Academy Awards (in 2025 or before) are not eligible for the Grand Prizes. Titles that have already applied for Academy consideration are still eligible to be Official Selections and are eligible for other awards.

Rules for Submission

In addition to the eligibility requirements listed above, filmmakers must comply with the following submission rules to be considered as a Finalist in their respective category:

The submitting filmmaker must be either the producer or director of the film.
Entries are accepted exclusively through www.FilmFreeway.com.

A completed official entry on FilmFreeway.com

Payment of the non-refundable entry fee must accompany the submission.

A functional streaming video file (YouTube, Vimeo, etc.) in high definition 720p or 1080p included with your submission, either embedded or linked with working password.

Multiple submissions must be provided as individual submissions.

If submitting a film that is not yet complete, place "WORK IN PROGRESS" in the submission with brief bullets describing the WIP elements.

Notification

All filmmakers will be notified by email after that date or before June 3, 2026. Heartland Film reserves the right to release basic information about selected films before that time.

What are the Festival’s Terms and Conditions of Entry to Which All Applicants Must Agree?

Submitting filmmaker (producer or director) of the film, acknowledge and agree that they have read, understood, and complied with the Indy Shorts submission rules.

I hold that any claims I have made about the premiere status of my film are accurate at the time of submission. I hereby acknowledge that I will notify Heartland International Film Festival of any changes in the film’s premiere status as soon as they occur. I accept that changes in the film’s premiere status prior to the Indy Shorts may result in the film being pulled from the lineup.

Heartland Film, Inc. / Indy Shorts reserves the right to withdraw any film from screening consideration at any point in the process.

Use of AI: The use of artificial intelligence (AI) in any aspect of the final submitted product must be disclosed and clearly identified at the time of submission, and then again if and when the film is invited for program inclusion.

Filmmaker warrants that they are authorized to commit the film for screening, and understand and accept these requirements and regulations, and, if accepted for Indy Shorts, agree that no screening fee will be demanded. I hereby warrant that I have all the necessary rights to exhibit all elements of my submission, including music rights.

If selected to screen at Indy Shorts, you authorize Heartland Film, Inc. to publicly exhibit your film again as part of year-round screening series, for at least one potential screening in 2026 or 2027.

If your film is chosen as a Grand Prize Winner in a respective category attached with a cash prize, Indy Shorts mandates the use of the Grand Prize laurel/prize language on the film’s ongoing written and visual promotional materials including, but not limited to: press releases, website, posters, etc. It is the responsibility of the filmmaker to convey this requirement to distributors if said title is eventually picked up for distribution.

Filmmakers shall indemnify and hold harmless Heartland Film Inc. / Indy Shorts from and against any and all claims, liabilities, losses, damages, and expenses (including but not limited to attorney’s fees, and costs of the court) which may be incurred by reason of any claim involving copyright, trademark, credits, publicity, screening, and loss of or damage to the screening prints/films entered.