The LJMU MA Short Film Festival was first held in April 2021, originally as an online-only festival. Since 2023, it has grown to include a selection of in-person screenings and a live awards ceremony. The festival is curated, promoted and organised by students as part of the MA Film at Liverpool John Moores University, guided by LJMU staff. We are a global celebration of the student short film: fiction, documentary and animation.

In addition to our online screenings and live events, we offer featured filmmakers the opportunity to network and promote their films to our audience across the world, via Q&A sessions which are live-streamed on our YouTube channel. Our extensive promotional and marketing campaign also ensures visibility across all of the major social media outlets, including Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter/X.

Submissions are open to students and alumni from ANY INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION and/or FILM SCHOOL provided their submission was made as part of their student work and completed after JANUARY 2022.

Awards & Prizes

We are proud to present the Paper Bird Award in the following four categories:

-The Red Paper Bird for Best Fiction Film
-The Yellow Paper Bird for Best Animation
-The Purple Paper Bird for Best Documentary
-The Grey Paper Bird for Best Experimental Film

We also award a fifth Paper Bird: The White Paper Bird Audience Award, which goes to the film that receives the most votes from our audience across the duration of the festival.

Rules & Terms

Films must have been completed after January 1, 2022.

The festival welcomes student fiction, student documentary and student animation films with a maximum length of 20 minutes, from any country, completed as part of your student work.

A maximum of three film submissions per filmmaker is permitted - Any more than this amount will not be considered for competition and will be disregarded.

All films not in the English language must include English subtitles (either embedded or submitted as an SRT file).

The films do not need to be premieres.

Submissions are open to students and alumni from any Higher Education Institute and/or Film School.

The LJMU MA Short Film Festival can use parts of your film (including trailer/teaser/film poster) for promotional purposes.

You own the rights to the film.

If your film is selected for the programme, we will contact you separately to receive your permission to make the film available for viewing for the duration of the festival.

You must ensure that there are no outstanding copyright or licensing issues with any of the material or soundtrack in your film - failure to adhere to this will result in disqualification.
11 Reviews
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  • Lucas Kua

    Great festival with all-round fantastic people who clearly just love to see students' works. I am all the more grateful for LJMU's enthusiasm and eagerness to celebrate young people without prejudice. Thank you so much for having Obscura!

    April 2024
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    Response from festival:

    Thank you very much for your kind words, Lucas! It was great to be able to feature Obscura at this year's edition and we are glad you enjoyed the experience.

  • Juan Lossada

    Each Festival has its own personality and character and honestly the LJMU MA Short Film Festival is one that we have loved for its freshness and dynamism, undoubtedly underpinned by a tremendously challenging university environment, seriously, congratulations for your good work!

    April 2024
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    Response from festival:

    Hi Juan and thank you for your kind words. It was a pleasure to be able to screen Are You A Doctor? and we remain focused on showcasing student filmmaking excellence from across the globe. We are very glad you enjoyed being part of the festival!

  • LEANG REN ONG

    Amazing festival run by a group of passionate students from LJMU! Everything is well planned with good updates from the organisers! Very encouraging festival for filmmakers! Thank you very much for this opportunity!

    March 2024
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    Response from festival:

    Hi Jasper - thank you for your kind words and for attending our Experimental Q&A. It was a pleasure to be able to screen Kill Your Darlings, and we are glad you enjoyed being part of the festival.

  • Fitriani Revanda

    Wonderful festival and friendly people. Thank you for hosting an online session so we can meet the audience and other directors from the other side of the world!

    March 2024
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    Response from festival:

    Thank you for your kind words, Fitriani. It was great to be able to screen Little Hiccups and to have you take part in our Q&A. We are very glad you enjoyed being part of this year's festival!

  • Giovanna Castellari

    Loved to be part of LJMUMASFF, everyone was so welcoming and there were online activies (like Q&As and the award ceremony) to bring us all together - even from afar. Would definitely recommend this festival to friends.

    March 2024
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    Response from festival:

    Thank you for the kind words, Giovanna, and for letting us screen Two-Syllable Name. It's great to be able to showcase filmmaking from across the globe and we are glad you enjoyed the experience!