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The Short. Sweet. Film Fest. is a short film only film festival created by actual filmmakers. We found it challenging to showcase our own short films at film festivals who mainly program around feature films. In the age of streaming there are more opportunities than ever before to share your work, but we often asked ourselves, "do we really want to premiere our short film alongside silly kitten videos?" Even though we love kittens (who doesn’t?), we love short films more and want to present them in the professional setting they deserve.
With fifteen festivals under our belt, our goal for our sixteenth annual film festival is to showcase films under 40 minutes to the growing art scene in the greater Cleveland area and highlight the works of student to veteran filmmakers across the country. We look for short, sweet, original, and unique films that would often soar under the radar of most festivals. Our staff are looking for the best short films locally, nationally, and internationally. So send them our way!
Students should submit to the short student film category to receive a significant discount off of the submission fee.
Our festival will take place at Atlas Cinemas in the heart of downtown Shaker Square.
Dramatic, fictional narratives
Comedic, fictional narratives
Nonfiction narratives
Animated films of all genres
Speculative fictional narratives based on imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology
Any short film made outside of the United States (can also apply to any other corresponding category)
A film that meets any listed category but produced while the filmmaker was a student
A film of any category produced in Northeast, Ohio
A film/episode that is either a pilot for a series or an episode in a series
A film/episode that are centered on the environment or awareness of climate change, pollution, deforestation, etc. Also films that are centered on outdoor activities and the natural world.
Horror based, fictional narratives
A film of any category that focuses on LGBTQ+ topics
A film of any category directed or produced by a woman
A film of any category that is experimental in style
A short film based on an existing song
A film of any category that focuses on Asian culture or directed by someone who identifies as Asian
A film of any category that focuses on Latin American culture or directed by someone who identifies as Latin American
Films centered on action, physical feats, thrills, excitement, and suspense.
A film or series that is shot in a vertical format to typically be viewed on a phone. Submit a series as one submission.
Michael Suglio
Festival Director