Sunderland Shorts Film Festival

About Sunderland Shorts Film Festival

Sunderland Shorts has been an inclusive community for filmmakers and film lovers since our launch in 2015 and we are dedicated to showcasing the best short films from around the world to the North East of England. We are proud to be a BIFA (British Independent Film Awards) Qualifying Film Festival as well as a "Top 100 Best Reviewed" event on FilmFreeway from over 13,000 festivals worldwide. We welcome short film and music video submissions from around the globe, across the country as well as championing homegrown local talent from our region. In our curation process we make sure every film that has been submitted is carefully considered by our reviewing and programming teams in a fair and rigorous manner. We provide unmissable film experiences for our filmmakers and audiences including a wide variety of screenings featuring a diverse range of films and genres, as well as networking and industry events, masterclasses and workshops. In previous years these have included industry leading names including BFI Network, Aardman Animation, BBC Writers Room & North East Screen.

Awards this festival can qualify you for

• BIFA Short · British Independent Film Awards — Best British Short Film

  Auto-added from official BIFA Short qualifying list (2026). Verify against current regulations.

Sunderland Shorts Film Festival submission FAQ