How to submit your short film
You can submit a short film of any genre, up to 59 minutes long. Submitting is free. A person watches your film in full, and a standard review can take up to 3 months. Here is everything you need before you start.
What you need ready
- Your film. H.264 in an MP4 or MOV file, 720p at the smallest and Full HD 1080p at the largest (landscape or portrait), under 5 GB. The upload form checks the file in your browser and turns away anything larger than 1080p, such as 2K, 4K or DCP-sized exports, and master formats like ProRes. If you see that message, export a standard 1080p H.264 file and try again.
- A poster. 2:3 portrait, JPG or PNG.
- A hero banner. A wide image, 16:9 works best, with no text on it if you can.
- A synopsis. Around 100 to 200 words. It appears on your film page, so give it a proofread.
- Optional: a thumbnail, a trailer, and a behind-the-scenes image or clip.
- Subtitles. If your film has dialogue, upload VTT or SRT files if you have them. If you don’t, you can have them made in up to six languages from your filmmaker dashboard once your film is selected.
Make the export clean and final: no colour bars or tone, slates, watermarks or timecode, and clear, balanced audio.
The form
It has a few short sections. About you stays private. About your film is what viewers see: title, short description, language, genre, country, runtime and content flags. Credits help people find the film and the people who made it. If your film has screened or won anything, there is a place to say so.
Please be accurate with content flags. They keep the right films in front of the right viewers, and they matter for the 24/7 channel.
Start the main film upload first. It runs while you fill in the rest.
Choose your licence
At the end you pick one of two:
- Non-exclusive. Your film can stay on YouTube, Vimeo, your own site and other platforms while it’s here.
- Exclusive. Your film is only here for 12 months, and we promote it harder.
You can’t switch afterwards, so decide before you upload. Exclusive or non-exclusive? The full guide
Accept the agreement
On the same last step you tick two boxes: you accept the agreement for the licence you picked, and you confirm you own or control the rights to your film, including any music, images and performances. You must be 18 or over. Then you press Submit and choose your review. Start your submission
What it costs and how long it takes
Submitting is free. Because of the number of films we receive, a standard review can take up to 3 months. We email you our decision either way.
If you need a decision sooner, choose Fast-track (£19) when you press Submit. You get a decision within 7 days of your payment, with three lines of notes from the reviewer, and if we miss that, the full £19 is refunded automatically. Fast-track places are limited, so it can be full when you submit; if it is, you can choose a standard review instead, or try Fast-track again in a few days. How review and Fast-track work · Fast-track terms · What's free and what's paid
If we invited you to submit a film, submit it the same way as any other film.
After you submit
You’ll get a confirmation email within minutes. Open My Films in your filmmaker dashboard at any time to see where your film is. It moves from In review to Approved and then Live, and we email you when it goes live. If you have the app, you’ll get a notification when we decide.
Some films come back as Changes needed. That means we think the film can work with a fix, and we’ll tell you what.
Once you’re live
Your film gets its own page with your credits, a place in the genres and collections, and the chance to play on the 24/7 channel. You can see how it’s doing in your dashboard, and you can update details like your synopsis and links.
Each week we feature up-and-coming filmmakers on the home page, under Ones to Watch. To be considered, have a live film that credits you, a profile photo and a bio of at least 20 words.
You can withdraw a film within 14 days of uploading it by emailing support@theshortfilmshow.com. How the Filmmaker Impact Fund fits in
Stuck?
Email support@theshortfilmshow.com with your film’s title and, if you can, a screenshot of any error. Or use the contact form.
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