Short Film Competition

2024 Call for Entries

One of the featured programs of our fall festival is the Annual Short Film Competition. This audience favourite is an exciting program that presents a selection of short films submitted by regional, national and international filmmakers. This is a juried event and the official selections will be publicly screened as part of the Barrie Film Festival’s annual Short Film Program Showcase in October.

Submission Deadline: September 6, 2024

Films should be no longer than ten (10) minutes in length (including credits) and all genres are eligible including narrative, documentary, animation and experimental film. Corporate and promotional films are not eligible.

Video: BFF Shorts | Advice for Filmmakers: Filmmakers in order of appearance: Andrew Korogyi, Brendan Hiles, Preston Carruthers, Mitch Graszat, Faith Howe and Cameron Killingsworth. Produced by: Travesty Productions (created in 2019)
Proudly funded in part by The County of Simcoe

Categories:

High School: Open to filmmakers across Canada that created their film while in high school. The work can be produced as part of, or independently of a school programme or class. Film must have been made before your 19th Birthday and have been completed after January 1, 2022. Deadline to submit is September 6, 2024.

For high school filmmakers within Central Ontario, there is an additional opportunity to enter with our regional Central Ontario Youth Short Film Festival (COYSFF), also found on FilmFreeway (deadline/run times/criteria will differ to this competition).

Simcoe County Division: Open to all filmmakers, however to qualify one of the key members of the creative team must reside in the geographic region of Simcoe County (including Barrie and Orillia) or have been a resident in the last 5 years. Simcoe County is located in the central portion of Southern Ontario, Canada. Film must have been completed after January 1, 2022. Deadline to submit is September 6, 2024.

Open: Open to all independent filmmakers regardless of age or residence. Film must have been completed after January 1, 2022. Earlybird rate for submitting in this category is $15 – deadline is August 16, 2024; then rate goes up to $30. Entry fees are non-refundable. Final deadline is September 6, 2024.

There will be 1st, 2nd and 3rd place prizes awarded for each of the three categories:
High School, Simcoe County and Open.

The “People’s Choice” is awarded to one of the films screened at the Shorts Showcase in October. Votes are cast by the audience immediately following the showcase and the award is presented as part of the Shorts Awards Ceremony.

Guidelines

To be eligible, films must be no longer than ten (10) minutes in length (including credits).

All genres are eligible including narrative, documentary, animation and experimental film. Corporate and promotional films are not eligible. This is a juried event and official selections will be publicly screened as part of the Barrie Film Festival’s annual Short Film Program Showcase to be held in October 2023.

Entries must be submitted through FilmFreeway in digital format (MOV, AVI, MPEG, MP4).

All filmmakers submitting a short film for consideration must guarantee that they own all rights associated with their entry including the rights/permissions for use of accompanying music. Please ensure that you have all necessary releases.

Entries must have been completed after January 1, 2022 and must not exceed ten (10) minutes in length (including credits).

Non-English films must have English subtitles embedded into the video.

Films that have been previously submitted to the Short Film Competition are not eligible.

Submissions received by the closing date of competition will be reviewed by a jury and will be judged based on: Production (directing, writing, originality and acting), Cinematography (camerawork, lighting, composition), Sound (music, dialog, effects, mixing), and Post-production (cutting/editing, transitions, pacing). The decisions of the jury are final and the results will be communicated to the entrants via supplied e-mail. Select Prizes will be awarded in an awards ceremony directly following the Short Film Showcase (October 2024).

There is no entry fee for the Short Film Competition for the Simcoe County or High school categories. Open Category costs: $15 for Earlybird rate (deadline is Aug 16), then it goes up to $30.

A brief description/synopsis is also required.

While not mandatory, a promotional electronic press kit containing digital high res still images, mini bios, and/or a press kit is always appreciated. The Barrie Film Festival makes every effort to ensure accuracy with the credits listed in the program/promotions but shall not be held liable for errors or omissions, should they occur.

Please Note: Entering the competition gives the Barrie Film Festival the right to use the work for public presentation, promotion and education. For the purposes of promotion and education, all entries will be identified as follows: “Provided courtesy of the filmmaker and the Barrie Film Festival”. The Barrie Film Festival reserves the right to disqualify any entry that violates the guidelines of the Short Film Competition as stated. Entries selected for presentation will be kept by the Barrie Film Festival and archived for controlled use as reference material.

We look forward to seeing your film, enter by CLICKING HERE