The Short Com
International
Film Festival
Submissions for 2023 festival are open via Filmfreeway.
Festival Dates 2023
London 2nd and 3rd September The Garden Cinema
Glasgow 17th September Glasgow Film Theatre
Edinburgh 22nd and 23rd The Cameo
submission Rules
We are looking for the very best funny sketches and narrative short films, whether they have been online or not..
Films must be no older than February 2022 and the final deadline is late September. Though may be subject to change
Non-English language films must have English subtitles
All footage and music must be original content unless copyright has been obtained. Including music licencing Material deemed to be racist, sexist and harmful will be immediately disqualified.
To submit and find out more information. Visit our page on Filmfreeway by clicking on the logo below.
Award Categories
Grand Jury Prize
Recognising the best overall film from the festival by our special select jury.
Tom Kiesecoms - Programmer at Slash Film Festival and Lund Fantastic Film Festival
Amy O’Hara - Development Exec at Film 4
TBA
Funniest Film
The reason what separates Short Com from any other film festival. Celebrating the film that makes audiences laugh no end.
Vedran Rupic - Director and writer of The Diamond - Short Com Winner of Funniest Film 2022
Best Animation
Recognising the best comedy animation short film.
Liam Tate - Short Com alumni and one half of Tea&Cheese
Dr Steve Hendry - Festival Director of Manchester Animation Festival and Editor of Skwigly Magazine
TBA
Best British Film
Recognising the best film from domestic filmmaking talent.
Eva O Flynn - Development Exec for Channel 4 Comedy
Adrian Barber - Festival Director at Bolton Film Festival
Jim Archer - Director of Brian and Charles and Big Boys
History
Short Com has a solid track record over the years for showcasing talent, Ben Mallaby, Tea&Cheese, Big Red Button to name a few have been previous winners of prizes from Blackmagic Design and Final Draft.
In the past, Short Com has screened programmes in some of the UK’s major cities such as Manchester, Edinburgh, Bristol, London and in Glasgow as part of the Glasgow Short Film Festival, presented by Josie Long and local legend Greg Hemphil from Still Game fame.
In 2022, we were delighted to have screened An Irish Goodbye that went on to win both a BAFTA and Oscar for best live action film.
A keen advocate for suicide prevention charities, Short Com has raised over a thousand pounds for charities such as CALM (Calmpaign Against Living Miserably) and Scottish Association for Mental Health.
The underlying belief of Short Com is that there is a wealth of comedic film-making talent out there under appreciated by the industry and also the best way to watch short films is in front of a live audience.
So what sort of films make it into Short Com?
We place a great deal of emphasis on films likely to make audiences laugh. And we've consistently done that by the reaction of our audiences.
We welcome films from all backgrounds. Our programme decision making is purely based on whether we think audiences will laugh at a film.
Short Com is pleased to be a BIFA qualifying film festival.
.jpeg)
Testimonials
Liam Tate from Tea&Cheese
Ben Mallaby
Johnny Burns from Big Red Button
Karel Šindelář
“Short Com was one of the first festivals to lend their support to my films and I’ve always been appreciative of the work they do to raise awareness of emerging filmmakers".
“Winning an award at Short Com felt like the validation that we never got from our parents”.
“Sometimes short comedy films get lost in other festival programmes but with Short Com it feels like a perfect home that gives you a feeling of recognition”
“I hope, that our next projects will make the audience laugh as much as this one has, because a good laugh is one of the best appreciation I know. And I also hope, that this was not our last participation in the Short Com festival“. Karel Šindelář winner of Funniest Film and Best Directed for Why So Sirius 2019
