The Hang on to Your Shorts Film Festival is in its 10th year of bringing great short films and art to iconic Asbury Park, New Jersey. In 2022 we returned to our traditional, in-person roots of beautiful Asbury Park, at the Jersey Shore.

New Jersey is the home of a lot of great film festivals. The Hang Onto Your Shorts Film Festival is unique because it is an intimate and inviting affair, without pretense. We celebrate your art, and we celebrate you! Hang Onto Your Shorts strives to create connections among filmmakers and actors, and these connections often result in collaborations that screen the very next year.

In celebration of the spirit of the Jersey Shore's musical history, this year we added a "Music Video" category to the awards. We also aim to promote the arts with future creators and collaborators. Accordingly, we have special STUDENT film rates.

We look forward to sharing our creative universe with you, and we look forward to meeting you!

Awards & Prizes

We have over 28 awards for short films, all different categories and special guests.
**NEW CATEGORY ALERT: MUSIC VIDEOS**

Rules & Terms

Online submissions only via FilmFreeway.
Submissions that are in any language other than English should be subtitled or dubbed.

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80 Reviews
Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Kisha Peart

    I absolutely love this festival and they are so great to the filmmakers! I have been in this festival with both of my short films and i HIGHLY recommend for anyone in the trig-state area to submit to! Great programming and opportunities to network for filmmakers.

    October 2022
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  • Human Telegraphs

    A super fun festival with great communication!

    July 2022
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  • Olga Kalashnikova

    Thank you Hang on to Your Shorts film festival for all the nominations for our short comedy "Anton Chekhov's The Proposal". We are very excited that our writer/director/producer and actor Theo Coumbis won BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR in a comedy award. Thank you for this wonderful recognition. We appreciate the opportunity to have been able to screen at your festival!

    May 2022
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  • joseph messer

    A great event and I am honored to have been included in the show!!

    May 2022
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  • Matt Provenzano

    I've been going to Hang on to Your Shorts for years now and I love it every time! Always honored to be a part of it and meet such wonderful and talented filmmakers in the area.

    May 2022
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