Short Film Festivals

For short films there is no red carpet premiere, there is no huge budget marketing, actor’s interviews on day time TV or huge distribution to the largest cinema chains in the world. Opposed to feature length Hollywood films the recognition, reviews and awards given to short film all come from short film festivals. There are many film festivals around the world each specialise in different genres, some festivals maybe target towards more professional directors where some are directed towards amateur and aspiring directors either way the showcase, nomination and award for a short film are what the directors are hoping for, there is hardly ever a large cash prize and instead of the awards being seen to help market and boost sales of the film like an Oscar would boost the sales of a new Hollywood blockbuster. In a short films case an award from a short film festival would boost the recognition of the director, the award would open new doors for them and those who have won awards at amateur film festivals may later go on to enter professional short film awards. This is why short film is seen as a step for aspiring directors to make their way up the ladder in the film making industry.
Here are some of the festivals that take place around the world.

Sundance
Sundance is a short film festival located in Utah, America that runs from the 21st to the 31st of January. The festival started back in 1978 and is now acclaimed as the largest independent film festival in the USA, the festival was created as an attempt to attract more film makers to Utah; they also wanted to highlight potential of what independent film could be. The festival is divided into two main categories American and international, within these categories the festival concentrates on dramatic and documentary short films.

Encounters
Encounters originally started in 1995 as a one off festival to celebrate 100 years of cinema but due to the festival being so popular it has taken place every year between 17-21 November leading up to now. The festival is British and is based in Bristol, it is also open for anyone to enter, that’s not say that it will instantly go through as each video is watched then decided on whether to showcase at the festival or not. There are many animation shorts broadcasted at the festival but other categories do consist of comedy, music videos and documentaries.