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Button TextUnder 40 Minutes: Films need to be 40 minutes or less. We prefer most films sit on the shorter end of that spectrum—the average film we feature is 10 minutes. The longer your film (over 15 minutes), the tougher judges we tend to be.
No premiere status is required, however, we give preference to films that haven’t yet premiered online. So, don’t wait to submit your film.
We require films to have all necessary rights and releases secured for us to feature them. Yes, this includes music.
We only select films that are free for audiences.
Learn more about why we do submissions the way we do, what we look for in a film, and see examples of real feedback we offer. Learn more
We look for great stories that brave new territory. We value great characters, interesting new worlds, and stories that surprise us over fancy visual effects, famous actors, or silly one-liners that often feed much of online videos. So when screening films, we tend to score them based on three attributes:
The best way to understand what we look for is to watch the short films in our collection. You can get a good sense of our taste by looking at what we have curated in the past.
We have no hard and fast rules. Every film is different and there are always exceptions. In general, though, the following tend to not be a good fit for us:
Unfortunately we cannot refund a submission fee once you’ve submitted your film. Please make absolutely sure you want to submit your film before doing so. As with other festivals, your fee is paid for your film to be considered. By no means does submitting your film guarantee that your film will be accepted for Short of the Week. If your film is not accepted, your submission fee is not refunded. We receive thousands of submissions every year and are only able to select 2–3% (Learn more about our selection process).
For every selected film, we employ a unique strategy we’ve developed that we call Be Everywhere At Once. This means we will be your launch partner and provide our expertise gained from launching thousands of films to tailor a strategy for your film’s online launch that maximizes for impact. We will get your film in front of audiences on all the major platforms—YouTube, Vimeo, Facebook, Twitter—and seed it with key media and industry players. Once selected, the fun begins! The first thing we want to know is more about you—your preferences for things like launch date, your hopes for your film, and perhaps most importantly, where you want to go as a filmmaker. You will have the opportunity to specify a preferred launch date for your film, and we will do our best to accommodate—more advanced notice is better.
Here's where the FAQ content will go once it's available:
You have the freedom to decide when to release your film online after submitting it to our platform. You can submit your film at any time, even if it is not yet fully completed or has not finished its festival run. Some filmmakers even choose to submit their films before they are finished in order to get a head start on release planning. It is not necessary to wait for feedback from other festivals or to finish screenings before submitting your film. We encourage you to submit your film as soon as possible to give yourself ample time for release planning.
In most cases, we do not require exclusivity or premiere status to feature your film. However, if your film is currently on its festival run, we recommend reaching out to us so that we can work together to determine the best premiere or online release date.
If your film is accepted, we will work with you to determine the best release date. In the meantime, we will analyze your film in terms of directing, cinematography, storytelling, and authenticity. Once everything is in place, we will promote the premiere or showcasing of your film along with our analysis of the film.
Yes, if your film is not accepted, we will provide feedback as part of the submission fee. Our team watches every film carefully and provides personalized feedback on why it was not accepted.
We recommend that filmmakers submit their films as early as possible in order to have a better understanding of their release options. If your film is accepted, we will work with you to schedule a release date that fits your plans.
Absolutely! we are all about international filmmaking but please remember to include English subtitles either as burned in sub or closed captions.
It is not a problem if your film has already been released or screened elsewhere. Curated Shorts does not require exclusivity or premiere status to feature your film, although we do prioritize premiere releases.
No. We are looking for Short films and documentaries at the moments
We recommend uploading films to either Vimeo or YouTube. If your film has not yet been released, please ensure that it remains private by setting a password on Vimeo or marking it as unlisted on YouTube.
Please note that when viewers watch films on our website, you will receive the traffic and view time on your platform. Unlike many other festivals, our platform is designed to showcase your film and increase your viewer numbers.
7 days from the submission date.
Not at this time.
Please be aware that your submission fee is non-refundable. It is important to carefully consider whether you want to submit your film before paying the fee. Please note that acceptance into the Curated Shorts is not guaranteed, even if you pay the submission fee. We receive a large number of submissions each year and is only able to accept a small percentage of them.