Oxford Shorts is an international film festival which celebrates the diversity and creativity of short films. We accept both fictional and factual entries with great stories that stir the emotions, strong characters and unique voices or evocative worlds. All genres are welcomed!

We have screened over 500 films live and online and given 86 awards since the festival began in March 2019. Entries have included BAFTA/BIFA winning films and films from former Academy Award winners. Aside from screenings we've also held over 100 Q&As and industry related workshops.

The 2025 festival will run within the historic grounds of St John's College (University of Oxford) in April. There is limited onsite accommodation for international filmmakers wishing to attend and take in the Oxford experience.

We encourage former alumni or local filmmakers to get in contact before submitting an entry.

Find out more by following our website link.

Shortlisted films will automatically be considered for a number of award categories including Best Film, Best Documentary, Best Director, Best Performance, Best Young Performer and Best Upcoming Talent.

1. Eligibility

1.1 Your film (including credits) should be no longer than 21:00 minutes. Longer films may still be considered, but this is down to the discretion of the festival.
1.2 The film must have been completed on or after 1st January 2019.
1.3 Any film not in the English language must contain burned-in subtitles.
1.4 Any work submitted must be the completed version. We will not accept any works-in-progress.
1.5 You must own or obtain all clearance rights for any of the material you submit to the festival.
1.6 Multiple entries are allowed. You can submit more than one film to the festival but the submission fee must be paid for each film.

2. Payment

2.1 All submissions must be entered online via FilmFreeway and paid via credit card.
2.2 All fees are non-refundable.
2.3 The festival and its organisers will not be held accountable for any costs, damages or legal responsibilities incurred by the submitting party.
2.4 The submitting party shall indemnify the festival and its organisers from any claims, liabilities, losses, damages, and expenses (including but not limited to legal 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 videos entered.

3. Film Selection

3.1 We will aim to contact all submitting parties on the notification date.
3.2 Any film shortlisted by the festival must be distributed electronically to the festival organisers within two weeks of the notification date. Failure to do this likely to result in the film being deselected.
3.3 Films should ideally be delivered in mp4/mov format (minimum 1080p quality) and encoded using h.264/AAC or ProRes. We also accept DCP.
3.4 The submitting party will allow festival organisers rights to use promotional material associated to the submitted film (such as posters, trailers, photos, short clips) for related festival purposes.
3.5 No film may be withdrawn from the festival programme by the filmmaker after it becomes an official selection.
3.6 All responses to filmmakers will be by email. Please check your spam folders if things seem quiet!

4. Screenings and Awards

4.1 All attendees must be aged 18+
4.2 Audience numbers are limited, so film screenings will be ticketed. We will aim to give priority to shortlisted filmmakers. Selected filmmakers and guests will be invited for drinks at the private College bar after the screenings.
4.3 Award entries will be judged by an independent panel on their artistic or technical quality.
4.4 If the filmmaker wins an award but is not present to collect at the awards ceremony, we reserve the right to charge shipping and handling fees should the filmmaker want us to post the award.
4.5 The film may be screened to both live and online audiences (please note: these will not be Geo-blocked).
4.6 Food and drink is strictly prohibited in the auditorium area. We do not offer food or drink at the venue, but there many nearby cafes, restaurants and shops.
4.7 Festival attendees are responsible for travel and all other expenses.

Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Olof Berghe

    Thank you so much for sharing my work on the screen and the award. Really hope I can attend some day.

    September 2024
  • Christina Araujo

    Great film festival. We will definitely submit again.

    September 2024
  • Steve Ramsden

    Great festival - location, people and programming are all first class. It was a delight to screen our recent film Pay Back and take part in the Q&A. Will definitely be back!

    September 2024
  • Ed Willey

    Great festival in a fantastic location! The quality of films was inspiring and we were honoured to have been included in this years programme. Hope to be back in future years!

    September 2024
  • Katya Korableva

    A very well-organized festival! I could not attend in person but the email communication was flawless. I thank the team for their hard work, and I hope to attend one day!

    September 2024