The Short Film Festival Circuit
The route a short film actually travels. The majors are widely known; the value is the tier below them — festivals programmers, distributors and filmmakers take seriously but that rarely reach a general audience. Compiled from each festival’s own published records.
The majors
- Cannes Film Festival — France, founded 1946. The most prestigious short film competition in the world. Top short film prize: Palme d'Or — Short Film. Watch the winners · Official site
- Sundance Film Festival — United States, founded 1978. American independent cinema. Top short film prize: Short Film Grand Jury Prize. Watch the winners · Official site
- Annecy International Animation Film Festival — France, founded 1960. The world's largest animation festival. Top short film prize: Cristal for Best Short Film. Watch the winners · Official site
- Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival — France, founded 1979. The largest short film festival on earth. Top short film prize: Grand Prix. Official site
- Berlinale — Germany, founded 1951. Political and formally adventurous work. Top short film prize: Golden Bear for Best Short Film. Official site
The tier below
- Tampere Film Festival — Finland, founded 1970. All-genre shorts; the oldest short film festival in Europe. Top short film prize: Grand Prix. Official site
- International Short Film Festival Oberhausen — Germany, founded 1954. Experimental and avant-garde shorts. Top short film prize: Grand Prize of the City of Oberhausen. Official site
- Uppsala International Short Film Festival — Sweden, founded 1982. General shorts, Oscar-qualifying. Top short film prize: Uppsala Grand Prix. Official site
- Curtas Vila do Conde — Portugal, founded 1993. Arthouse and general shorts. Top short film prize: Grand Prize — Cidade de Vila do Conde. Official site
- Krakow Film Festival — Poland, founded 1961. Documentary. Top short film prize: Golden Horn. Official site
- Aspen Shortsfest — United States, founded 1992. General shorts, Oscar-qualifying. Top short film prize: Ellen Award. Official site
- Palm Springs International ShortFest — United States, founded 1995. The largest short film festival in North America. Top short film prize: Best of the Festival. Official site
- Encounters Film Festival — United Kingdom, founded 1995. Short film and animation. Top short film prize: Animated Encounters Grand Prix. Official site
- Flickerfest — Australia, founded 1991. General shorts, Oscar and BAFTA qualifying. Top short film prize: Best International Short Film. Official site
- Melbourne International Animation Festival — Australia, founded 2001. Animation. Top short film prize: Best of the Fest. Official site
- Fantoche — Switzerland, founded 1995. Animation. Top short film prize: Best Film — International Competition. Official site
- Hiroshima International Animation Festival — Japan, founded 1985. Animation. Top short film prize: Grand Prize. Official site
- Animafest Zagreb — Croatia, founded 1972. Animation; home of the Zagreb School. Top short film prize: Grand Prix. Official site
- Stuttgart Festival of Animated Film — Germany, founded 1982. Animation. Top short film prize: Grand Prix Animated Film. Official site
- Ottawa International Animation Festival — Canada, founded 1975. Animation. Top short film prize: Grand Prize. Official site
- Leeds International Film Festival — United Kingdom, founded 1987. General shorts. Top short film prize: Louis le Prince International Short Film Award. Official site
- Cork International Film Festival — Ireland, founded 1956. General shorts, Oscar-qualifying. Top short film prize: Grand Prix International Short. Official site
- Galway Film Fleadh — Ireland, founded 1989. Irish and international shorts. Top short film prize: Tiernan McBride Award for Best Fiction Short. Official site
- Flickers' Rhode Island International Film Festival — United States, founded 1997. General shorts. Top short film prize: Best Short Film — Grand Prize. Official site
- Nashville Film Festival — United States, founded 1969. General shorts, Oscar-qualifying. Top short film prize: Best Narrative Short. Official site
- Atlanta Shortsfest — United States, founded 2010. General shorts. Top short film prize: Best Short Film. Official site
- Chicago International Children's Film Festival — United States, founded 1983. Children's and family films. Top short film prize: Best Short Film — Juried. Official site
- Guanajuato International Film Festival — Mexico, founded 1998. General shorts, Oscar-qualifying. Top short film prize: Best Short Fiction. Official site
- Morelia International Film Festival — Mexico, founded 2003. Mexican and Latin American shorts. Top short film prize: Ojo — Best Short Film. Official site
- Cartagena Film Festival — Colombia, founded 1959. Ibero-American cinema; the oldest festival in Latin America. Top short film prize: India Catalina. Official site
- Bogotá Short Film Festival — Colombia, founded 2003. Short film, Oscar and Goya qualifying. Top short film prize: Santa Lucía Award. Official site
- Valdivia International Film Festival — Chile, founded 1993. Latin American cinema. Top short film prize: Pudú — Best Short Film. Official site
- BAFICI — Argentina, founded 1999. Independent cinema. Top short film prize: Grand Prix. Official site
- Durban International Film Festival — South Africa, founded 1979. African cinema, Oscar-qualifying. Top short film prize: Best Short Film. Official site
- FESPACO — Burkina Faso, founded 1969. Pan-African cinema; the largest festival in Africa. Top short film prize: Étalon d'or de Yennenga. Official site
- Carthage Film Festival — Tunisia, founded 1966. African and Arab cinema. Top short film prize: Tanit d'Or. Official site
- Zanzibar International Film Festival — Tanzania, founded 1997. East African and Indian Ocean cinema. Top short film prize: Golden Dhow. Official site
- Golden Horse Film Festival — Taiwan, founded 1962. Chinese-language cinema. Top short film prize: Best Live Action Short Film. Official site
- Fresh Wave International Short Film Festival — Hong Kong, founded 2005. Youth and local shorts. Top short film prize: Fresh Wave Award. Official site
- Busan International Short Film Festival — South Korea, founded 1980. Short film. Top short film prize: Grand Prix. Official site
- MAMI Mumbai Film Festival — India, founded 1997. South Asian cinema. Top short film prize: Light Camera Impact Award. Official site
- Dharamshala International Film Festival — India, founded 2012. Independent and Himalayan-region cinema. Top short film prize: Best Short Film. Official site
- Iris Prize — United Kingdom, founded 2006. LGBTQ+ shorts; one of the largest short film prizes in the world. Top short film prize: Iris Prize. Official site
- Ann Arbor Film Festival — United States, founded 1963. Experimental and avant-garde; the oldest of its kind in North America. Top short film prize: Ken Burns Award. Official site
- Interfilm Berlin — Germany, founded 1982. General shorts. Top short film prize: Berlin-Brandenburg Short Award. Official site
Watch the winners