ASK & DISCUSS
INDEXBest festivals for 'long' short films.
3 years, 12 months ago - Joe Crabtree
Hello,
I made a short film last year with a runtime of 20 mins (I know far too long!)
The short is well made with a professional cast and crew.
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u99Ga_JVv9M
The short has struggled with festival submissions primarily due to both the backlog of shorts + lack of festivals running due to COVID and its length.
Does anyone have any tips/advice for how to distribute 'longer' short films (15mins+)? Which festivals are likely to accept films of this length? Or is there a better way to go about distribution - i.e. online release or TV?
Cheers.
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3 years, 12 months ago - Paddy Robinson-Griffin
Festival strategy should focus on local and themed festivals. If you have a horror short, target horror-only festivals. Submissions sites will help you find them and will give submission guidelines for length. Local festivals love to show local talent (and rely on friends and family coming to see the film on the big screen to sell seats), so the more local, the more likely they are to be relaxed with length rules for you.
Response from 3 years, 12 months ago - Paddy Robinson-Griffin SHOW
3 years, 11 months ago - Molly Cowderoy
Hi Joe, There's quite a lot of festivals that accept submissions over 20 minutes. Check out London Short Film Festival, Watersprite, Leeds International Film Festival, Encounters, Glasgow Short Film Festival, Emerging Filmmakers Night. Best of luck!
Response from 3 years, 11 months ago - Molly Cowderoy SHOW
3 years, 11 months ago - George Brian Glennon
The general consensus is, the longer the short, the better it has to be. If it’s over ten minutes and approaching fifteen minutes or longer the production quality should be that of a major motion picture to have any real shot at a big festival. And likely at least one known actor involved and some level of industry juice behind the project. That is the brutal reality. There are always outliers, of course, but generally speaking what I’ve said here is true.
Response from 3 years, 11 months ago - George Brian Glennon SHOW