6th Ooty Short Film Festival (Ooty SFF)
December 27-29, 2024

The Nilgiris Film Club (NFC) is thrilled to announce the 6th edition of the Ooty Short Film Festival (Ooty SFF), scheduled to take place from December 27th to 29th, 2024. We cordially invite filmmakers from across the globe to join us in celebrating the art of independent short films in the picturesque mountains of the Western Ghats.

About the Festival
Since its inception, Ooty SFF has grown into a vibrant platform for showcasing exceptional short films. Our carefully curated sections feature some of the most remarkable experimental and artist-made short films, ensuring a diverse and inspiring cinematic journey for all attendees.

In 2024, we are excited to introduce a new initiative: the Green Elephant Award for the best short film focusing on environmental themes. This award celebrates the vital role filmmakers play in raising awareness about pressing global environmental challenges, including climate change, conservation, and sustainability.

Our Vision
At Ooty SFF, we strive to curate a program that embodies unique and original artistic visions. Our focus is on short films that boldly push the boundaries of both form and concept, opening up numerous avenues for interpretation and understanding.

We have a special interest in works by emerging filmmakers and artist-made shorts, believing that these voices bring fresh and innovative perspectives to the cinematic landscape.

Opportunities for Filmmakers
Ooty SFF is more than just a screening platform. We provide filmmakers with:

A platform to share their work with a discerning audience
Exposure to diverse filmmaking styles and narratives
Opportunities to be part of a growing community of independent filmmakers
Recognition through our Golden Elephant Awards for Indian filmmakers and digital awards (NFTs) for international filmmakers, ensuring both physical and modern digital forms of recognition
Submit Your Film
We welcome submissions from filmmakers of all backgrounds and experiences. If you have a short film that challenges conventions, explores new territories, or tells a compelling story in an innovative way, we want to see it!

Join us for the 6th Ooty Short Film Festival and be part of a celebration of cinematic creativity in the heart of the Nilgiris.

The Ooty Short Film Festival is produced by the Nilgiris Film Club (NFC), a pioneering film club nestled in the mountains of the Western Ghats.

Awards & Prizes

Awards at the Festival
The Golden Elephant Awards celebrate outstanding achievements in filmmaking, with distinct categories for both Indian and international filmmakers, each tailored to honor their unique contributions in meaningful ways.

For Indian Short Films:

The Golden Elephant Awards recognize exceptional talent within Indian short films, with winners in the following categories:

Best Film
Best Director
Best Performer
Winners will receive:

A Golden Elephant Trophy, a prestigious physical award symbolizing their cinematic achievements.
A Certificate of Excellence, commemorating their contribution to Indian cinema.
Additionally, festival laurels will be provided to the winners, which can be proudly displayed on film posters, trailers, and social media to enhance the film’s credibility and recognition.

For International Short Films:

International filmmakers will be honored through innovative digital awards, reflecting the festival's commitment to modernity and inclusivity. These awards provide verifiable and enduring recognition, celebrating the filmmakers' global impact.

Award Categories:

Best International Film
Best International Director
Best International Performer
International Award Package:

NFT Award: A custom-designed digital trophy, minted as an NFT (Non-Fungible Token), representing the international award category. This unique and collectible digital asset will be a lasting and verifiable token of the filmmaker's achievement, enhancing their portfolio in the digital era.
Digital Certificate: A beautifully designed certificate recognizing the winner’s excellence. Fully shareable and downloadable, it can be prominently displayed on the filmmaker’s website, social media, or promotional materials.
Film Laurels: Winning international filmmakers will also receive festival laurels, which they can display on their film posters, trailers, and across digital platforms, further adding prestige and credibility to their work.
The Green Elephant Award: Recognizing Environmental Filmmaking
In addition to the Golden Elephant Awards, the Green Elephant Award will celebrate the best short film that focuses on environmental themes. This special award will be presented to a filmmaker (Indian or international) whose work addresses pressing issues like climate change, conservation, and sustainability.

Award Package for the Green Elephant Award:

Green Elephant Trophy (for Indian filmmakers) or NFT Award (for international filmmakers), representing excellence in environmental storytelling.
Digital Certificate and festival laurels, enhancing the film’s recognition across platforms.
Final Round and Screening:

The final round will showcase all selected Indian and international films, screened in front of the curator, jury, and a selected audience. Following the screenings, the winners will be announced, and the respective awards will be presented:

Golden Elephant Trophies for Indian filmmakers.
Digital Awards (NFT and certificates) for international filmmakers.
Green Elephant Award for the best environmental short film.

Rules & Terms

Eligibility Criteria:

Completion Date: Films must have been completed after January 1, 2022, to qualify for submission.
Duration: Only films with a runtime of 30 minutes or less, including credits, will be considered.
Types of Films: We welcome all forms of short fiction, including experimental shorts, animations, avant-garde, and poetry films.
Submission Limit: Each director can submit only one film for consideration.
Excluded Film Types: Please note that industrial and commercial films are not eligible for submission.

General Rules:

Submission Formats: If your film is selected, you will need to provide a high-quality digital file in one of the following formats: mov, avi, mpg, h264, pro-res, or Blu-ray DVD/DCP.
Promotion: Selected films may be featured online or in promotional materials. This includes the use of excerpts, trailers, and stills.
Legal Authority: By submitting your film, you confirm that you hold all necessary rights for its public screening and that you authorize the festival to use your film for its intended purpose.
Agreement to Rules: Submission implies acceptance of all festival rules and regulations. In the event of a dispute, the festival's decisions are final.

Liability:

Copyright Responsibility: You are responsible for securing and maintaining all copyrights related to your film. This includes rights for sound, visuals, and any other content.
Rights Assurance: Ensure that all necessary rights are secured before submission. The festival is not liable for any copyright infringements.
Submission Deadline: If your film is selected, a high-quality digital file must be submitted by December 10, 2024.
Ownership: All copyrights remain with the filmmaker.
Liability Disclaimer: While we handle all submissions with care, the festival is not responsible for any damage or loss during the submission and screening process.
Cultural Objectives: As a non-profit organization, the Ooty Short Film Festival uses submitted works solely to further its cultural mission and enhance the community's appreciation of diverse cinematic expressions.
30 Reviews
Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Gaurav Kulshrestha

    Bad experience to participate in this film festival. After taking download link for screening no communication or notification of nominee, semi finalists, finalists or Winner results from their side. Results are also influenced by local politics which they say technical Problem. Pre judice and biased film festival. Very unprofessional and armature approach
    Bad learning experience . Not recommended to anyone.

    December 2023
    Helpful
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    Response from festival:

    Hi Mr. Gaurav,

    We noticed your review about our short film festival. We would like to explain the system that we follow which might let you understand our festival better.

    Firstly, we would like to let you know that we have a jury team, which comprises of very talented filmmakers from all over the world, who selected the films and nominated the films for the awards. You can have a look at our jury committee at our website (www.festival-ooty.com). Only the jury members are authorized to select and nominate the films and no one else has access to select or nominate the films. So we assure you that there’s no local politics in nomination or the award process.

    Secondly, the directors/producers of the nominated films were promptly informed of their nomination. We didn’t want to release the results before the award ceremony to the public or to the other film directors since it would remove the suspense factor from the award ceremony. We’re sorry that our festival had given you a bad experience but we didn’t intend to and we sincerely apologize for it.

  • Hamid Vatanparast

    I am very happy to have won this festival, it makes me proud

    December 2023
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    Response from festival:

    Hi Mr. Hamid,

    We congratulate you for winning the award. We appreciate and acknowledge your talent. Continue making films that inspire and keep that creativity of yours alive. We would like to watch your future projects at our short film festival.

  • unparalleled imagination

    It's great festival! We are grateful for selected as a winner.
    We could not able to attend the festival but the festival team send us the trophy through post.
    There is mostly festivals who wants money for the trophy but they never asked for money even send through post without any cost.
    Best Wishes and We Highly recommenced this film festival.

    February 2023
    Helpful
  • Vishvajeet Desai

    Good Experience with Ooty short film festival

    December 2022
    Helpful
  • vishal tr

    It was a great experience watching my short film on the big screen. The festival was filled with lots of wonderful short films.happy to be a part of this Festival

    December 2022
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