Now in it's fifth year, the International Shorts Film Festival (ISFF) is a non-profit film festival promoting short films and the filmmakers who make them, dedicated to the celebration of short films. The festival is open to all filmmakers, across the world.

Films are selected and judged on two main criteria; the quality of the work as well as the filmmakers' ambition. We are fully inclusive, do not censor work and have no restrictions on your submissions. We encourage all filmmakers to submit their films, regardless of country of origin, the film's content or a filmmaker's worldview. All genres are extremely welcome!

We will screen all winning and finalist films from our 'Official Selection' in front of a live audience, and all film are promoted on social media via the festival's twitter @shorts_ff. All films chosen to be in 'official selection will receive laurels and are automatically nominated for additional individual award categories such as Best Director, Best Writing, Best Cinematography and Best Performance.

Amazing stories deserve theatre exhibition and independent short films deserves a larger audience, which is why the International Shorts Film Festival was born. We look forward to your participation as filmmakers in 2022.

... and don't forget to follow us on Twitter @shorts_ff where we will be announcing all films in 'Official Selection' through the year.

Awards & Prizes

- Best Short Film
- Best Drama
- Best Comedy
- Best Horror
- Best GLBTIQ Short Film
- Best Performance
- Best Directing
- Best Writing
- Best Cinematography
- Best Animated Film
- Best Documentary Short
- Best Adult or Erotic Film

Rules & Terms

Festival Rules:

- International Shorts Film Festival (ISFF) is open to all filmmakers from around the world.

- All submissions must agree to have the film's promotional material, including a film's poster and artwork, used by the International Shorts Film Festival (ISFF) in order to promote the submitted film and filmmaker.

- For screening and judging purposes, films submitted via FilmFreeway must be free of masking or watermarks.

Category Rules:

- Best Film: this is an open competition category. All films are eligible, and all submissions are automatically entered considered in the 'Best Performance', 'Best Director', 'Best Writing' and 'Best Cinematography' categories.

- Best Short Film: to be eligible to submit to the category for 'Best Short Film' a work must be no longer than 30 minutes. All submissions are automatically entered considered in the 'Best Performance', 'Best Director', 'Best Writing' and 'Best Cinematography' categories. No documentaries will be considered in this category.

- Best Drama: to be eligible to submit to the category for 'Best Drama' a work must be dramatic in nature, and no longer than 30 minutes. All submissions are automatically entered considered in the 'Best Performance', 'Best Director', 'Best Writing' and 'Best Cinematography' categories. No documentaries will be considered in this category.

- Best Comedy: to be eligible to submit to the category for 'Best Comedy' a work must be comedic in nature, and no longer than 30 minutes. All submissions are automatically entered considered in the 'Best Performance', 'Best Director', 'Best Writing' and 'Best Cinematography' categories. No documentaries will be considered in this category.

- Best Horror: to be eligible to submit to the category for 'Best Horror' a work must be horrific in nature, and no longer than 30 minutes. All submissions are automatically entered considered in the 'Best Performance', 'Best Director', 'Best Writing' and 'Best Cinematography' categories. No documentaries will be considered in this category.

- Best GLBTIQ Short Film: to be eligible to submit to the category for 'Best GLBTIQ Short Film' a work must associate with the GLBTIQ communities in theme, and be no longer than 30 minutes. All submissions are automatically entered considered in the 'Best Performance', 'Best Director', 'Best Writing' and 'Best Cinematography' categories. No documentaries will be considered in this category.

- Best Performance: performances from films submitted into the 'Best Short Film', 'Best Drama', 'Best Comedy', 'Best Horror' and 'Best Adult or Erotic Film' categories will be automatically considered in this category. This is a gender-neutral category with no submission fee.

- Best Director: all directors of work submitted into 'Best Short Film', 'Best Drama', 'Best Comedy', 'Best Horror' and 'Best Adult or Erotic Film' and 'Best Documentary Short Subject' will be automatically considered in this category. This is a gender-neutral category with no submission fee.

- Best Writing: all writer of work submitted into 'Best Short Film', 'Best Drama', 'Best Comedy', 'Best Horror' and 'Best Adult or Erotic Film' and 'Best Documentary Short Subject' will be automatically considered in this category. This is a gender-neutral category with no submission fee.

- Best Cinematography: all cinematographers of work submitted into 'Best Short Film', 'Best Drama', 'Best Comedy', 'Best Horror' and 'Best Adult or Erotic Film' and 'Best Documentary Short Subject' will be automatically considered in this category. This is a gender-neutral category with no submission fee.

- Best Animated Short: to be eligible to enter the category of 'Best Animated Short' category your film must consist of more than 75% original animated material. All submissions are automatically entered considered in the 'Best Director' and 'Best Writing' categories if relevant.

- Best Adult or Erotic Film: to be eligible to submit to the category for 'Best Adult or Erotic Film' a work must be adult or erotic in nature. All submissions are automatically entered considered in the 'Best Performance', 'Best Director', 'Best Writing' and 'Best Cinematography' categories.

- Best Documentary Short Subject: to be eligible to submit to the category for 'Best Documentary Short Subject', the work must be non-fiction. All submissions are automatically entered considered in the 'Best Director', 'Best Writing' and 'Best Cinematography' categories.
66 Reviews
Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Tony Hickson

    The Film Festival is an incredible event that showcases the best of world cinema. I was honored to have my film She He It screened at the festival.
    One thing that stood out to me about the Film Festival was the quality of the films that were selected for the program. The festival showcased a diverse range of genres and styles, from compelling documentaries to thought-provoking dramas and everything in between. It was clear that the organizers had a keen eye for exceptional storytelling, and it was a privilege to be included in such great company.
    One of the highlights of the festival was the opportunity to connect with other filmmakers and industry professionals from around the world. The networking events were well-attended and provided a great opportunity to exchange ideas, learn from other artists, and build new relationships.

    May 2023
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  • Aguinaldo Flor

    It was a great pleasure to attend this festival. Our team is so happy to be part of the lineup. Thank you so much!

    May 2023
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  • Patrick Harris

    Wonderful experience being accepted by International Shorts, thank you

    December 2022
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  • Christy Lee Hughes

    Grateful for the selection. However, we can't rate the festival as we were selected and notified and then never heard from them afterwards. We followed up but we still don't know if our films screened or not.

    December 2022
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  • Elena Madrid

    I got the announcement from the festival that my short film LOVELY RITA had been selected. This was in June and since then I didn't hear anything from the festival. No upgrade, no request to send the film file, no announcement about the programs and events. So, I can't really give a review to International Shorts because I don't know anything. Sorry for that.

    December 2022
    Helpful