The Short Cinema

The 2016 festival takes place at Phoneix Cinema and Art Centre, Leicester, UK, between 28th– 29th August.



Filmmakers for the "Main Competition" and "Shortish Cinema" must reside or work in the Midlands counties of the United Kingdom; Derbyshire, Herefordshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire, Rutland, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, the West Midlands metropolitan boroughs and Worcestershire.



Filmmakers for the International Departures programme must reside outside of the Midlands counties of the United Kingdom.



Film durations:

"Main Competition": All films submitted must be 15 minutes and under including credits.

"Shortish Cinema": All films submitted must be between 15:01 and 30 minutes in length including credits.

"International Departures": All films submitted must be 30 minutes and under including credits.



Please make sure you submit your film into the correct category.



The closing date for entries is 22nd July 2016.



You must be over 18 to attend the screenings.



You may submit short films of all production techniques and genre including drama, documentary, comedy, music, animation and experimental films. However, exploitation and pornography genres are not eligible.

The main contact completing the application form must be authorised to submit the film for consideration including permission from a distributor or sales agent representing the film and must have obtained necessary permission for the inclusion of copyrighted music and/or images within the films.

The Short Cinema does not require any premiere status but please note that this may come into consideration during the selection process.

If the original language of any dialogue or text featured in the film is not English, the preview and screening copy must be subtitled in English or be accompanied by an English transcription.

All films are viewed by more than one person to be given a non-subjective decision but after that all programming selections are final.

If your entry is chosen for the programme, you will be asked to supply a DCP or MPEG-2 (H.262) file for screening at the festival.

There are no fees for participating in the festival. Participants are not entitled to claim rental or other fees for the screenings of their films at the festival.

At the point of payment on your submission, you will be asked if you have read and agreed with the Terms and Conditions laid out on this page. By agreeing to proceed with your submission, you are agreeing to these Terms and Conditions and your application can then be processed. Entry of a film is binding and implies acceptance of these regulations.

In the event of disagreement concerning the interpretation of the regulations, the interpretation of the festival will take precedence and failure to comply with these Terms and Conditions may result in the submission being disqualified.

These regulations are subject to change without prior notice.