Film Festival Deadlines (Week Commencing 5th December)

1. Tribeca Festival – December 7

For more than two decades, Tribeca Festival has been a destination for new, groundbreaking storytelling from established and emerging artists. The 2023 Tribeca Festival will take place from June 7-18 in New York City. Next June, Tribeca will continue to explore creative innovation across film, TV, immersive, games, audio storytelling, talks, and more.

SHORTS: Submissions for short films open on October 26th.

STUDENT SHORT DIRECTORS: Submit via our website for the discounted rate ($30 USD): https://extranet.tribecafilm.com/submissions

2. Sunday Shorts Film Festival – December 7

Better than a film festival and script competition combined, Sunday Shorts provides feedback on submissions, hosts monthly film and script events, and culminates with a Film Festival of screenings, networking and awards.

3. Crystal Palace International Film Festival, UK – December 8

Established in 2009, Crystal Palace International Film Festival (CPIFF) screens only the very best of the Independent film it receives. They vigilantly curate our selections so a night of short films, for example, offers one after another of pure quality, an eclectic mix of genres combined with amazing food and drink in fab venues, making every night a social evening to remember. Filmmakers want an audience and the public want to be entertained; unlike many other festivals – they provide both. Submit your film for a chance of winning a coveted CPIFF Award at the Finale of this film extravaganza

4. Flatpack Festival, December 11

A BAFTA qualifying festival which takes over venues across Birmingham every May, Flatpack is not your average film festival. Substituting warehouses for red carpets, screenings pop up in all manner of unusual spaces, and the programme mixes film with music, performances, contraptions and surprises. Flatpack takes the traditional film festival and turns it on its head. The result? A “magnificently eclectic” (Time Out) and “joyously inventive” (the Guardian) celebration of film in all shapes and sizes. Recurring themes include animation, music, artists’ film, archive discoveries, offbeat shorts for kids, audiovisual performance, and live cinema. 

5. FFI London – December 14

The London International Film Festival LONDON, is an IMDB Qualifying Festival and, a unique film and unproduced script event in its 19th year that is celebrating the best and most popular independent and studio films from the global film industry, and has wonderful opportunities for the business of film.

6. Discover Film Awards – December 15

The Discover Film Awards is one of the biggest short film festivals in the world with over 3,000 annual submissions from 100+ countries. There are global premiers in London’s Leicester square with packed cinema audiences, filmmaker parties, red carpet events with funding available for new projects. This festival has one of the largest short film cash prize funds of over £30,000, including the prestigious Craghoppers Film Prize. The Discover Film Awards is consistently voted by filmmakers in the top film festivals in the world. Spread over 5 days in September 2023, the festival involves public cinema screenings at the Prince Charles cinema in Leicester Square. Quentin Tarantino describes it as his favourite cinema in London saying it is “everything an independent movie theatre should be”.

7. UK Asian Film Festival – December 16

Founding director Dr Pushpinder Chowdhry conceived the festival in 1998. She recognised the impact films can have on society, particularly those which tackle complex, challenging issues. Over the years, the UK Asian Film Festival has brought the work of acclaimed talents in cinema including award-winning filmmakers. In 2023 UKAFF will be in its 25th year and will take place between 4th May and 14th May 2023. In 2023 the UK Asian Film Festival will be seeking film submissions from filmmakers of feature films, short films, long shorts, and documentaries, on the theme Celebrating our Stories.

8. EFN Short Film Festival – December 18

EFN Short Film Festival (Emerging Filmmakers Night) is a BIFA qualifying international festival that showcases, educates and promotes emerging filmmakers. Through our annual festival in September and targeted industry events throughout the year, we provide new filmmakers from all socio-economic backgrounds and age groups with the space to express themselves and the tools to navigate within the industry intelligently and with confidence.