This July, film creators and movie lovers from all over the world will gather for the long awaited annual gathering of the LA Shorts International Film Festival. Started back in 1997, the festival has become one of the biggest and well-known international short film festivals in the world.
The festival is now accredited by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) short film awards, the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television (ACCT), and the British Independent Film Awards (BIFA).
All of its award winners will qualify to be put forward for an Academy Awards nomination as well as for the BAFTA awards.
The festival takes place in L.A. Live, which is located in downtown Los Angeles.
This sports and entertainment district is adjacent to the Staples Center and the Los Angeles Convention Center which incorporates the Microsoft Theatre, The Novo, and the Grammy Museum.
The Regal Cinemas L.A. Live Stadium 14 is the official screening venue of the LA Shorts International Film Festival.
The 22nd LA Shorts International Film Festival.
Opening night will take place at the Regal L.A. Live before moving on to Laemmle NoHo 7 in North Hollywood.
Laemmle NoHo 7 now offers stunning state-of-the-art digital projection in all its auditoriums, something which is great for the fans. All its auditoriums also feature full and modified stadium seating with high-backed leatherette rocker seats for extra wide row spacing.
Aside from the opening night gala and the closing night awards ceremony, the festival will also present a workshop called “How to Create Success in Independent Filmmaking” led by British producer and Director Julia Verdin and Matt Dean, the President/CEO of Matt Dean Films, Inc.
History, Reputation, and Past Achievements
The LA Shorts International Film Festival was founded by Robert Aranz in 1997. Since then, it has won acclaim as a prestigious international short film festival.
More than 280 films are screened annually, making it one of the biggest festivals on the calendar. It is also the longest running short film festival in Los Angeles.
Each year, the festival is attended by over 8,000 people, including some big names from Hollywood.
In 2010, MovieMaker magazine revealed that 33 winners of the LA Shorts Fest have been chosen as nominees by the Academy Awards over the years. 11 of these filmmakers actually went on to win the award.
Last year, the number of Academy Award nominees reached 44, while the number of winners rose to 14.
At the 2018 Oscars, a total of four of the nominated films had been previously shown at LA Shorts. Three films from LA Shorts made it to the 2017 Oscars. And at the 2016 Academy Awards, the winners of the Live Action Short and Animated Short awards had both been screened at LA Shorts.
Also according to Film Festival Life, the LA Shorts International Film Festival is the only film festival with seven award categories that are acknowledged by the Academy Awards.
In the past, the festival has been attended but several famous Hollywood directors. These include Tim Burton, Jon Favreau, Bryan Singer, and Paul Haggis.
LA Shorts has also been attended by a number of Hollywood actors such as Gary Oldman, Richard Dreyfuss, Demi Moore, Scarlett Johansson, Josh Brolin, Kirsten Dunst, Vin Diesel, and many more.
Awards and Previous Winners
The LA Shorts International Film Festival includes the following Academy Qualifying Awards:
- Best of Fest
- Best Foreign Film
- Best Drama
- Best Comedy
- Best Animation
- Best Experimental
- Best Documentary
The Festival also presents other special awards to competition winners.
- Best Music Video
- Best Cinematography
- Best Actor
- Best Actress
- LA Shorts Screenplay Competition Winner
Here are the past winners of the LA Shorts International Film Festival.
Best of Fest
- 2017- “The Zim” (USA, Drama, 17 minutes). Director: Alexander Bedria
- 2016- “Shame” (USA, Music, 7 minutes). Director: Paul Hunter
- 2015- “Winter Light” (USA, Drama, 29 minutes). Director: Julian Higgins
Best Foreign Film
- 2017- “Witnesses” (France, Drama, 29 minutes). Director: David Koch
- 2016- “Love is a Sting” (Ireland, Drama, 18 minutes). Director: Vincent Gallagher
- 2015- “Stutterer” (United Kingdom, Drama, 12 minutes). Director: Benjamin Cleary
Best Drama
- 2017- “Red Lopez” (USA, 15 minutes). Director: Stephen Frandsen, Hadleigh Arnst
- 2016- “Complices” (Belgium, 32 minutes). Director: Mathieu Mortelmans
- 2015- “Grooming” (USA, 24 minutes). Director: Kaushik Sampath
Best Comedy
- 2017- “It’s Complicated” (South Africa, 18 minutes). Director: Grant De Sousa
- 2016- “The Eleven O’Clock” (Australia, 13 minutes). Director: Derin Seale
- 2015- “The Parker Tribe” (USA, 26 minutes). Director: Jane Baker
Best Animation
- 2017- “The Head Vanishes” (Canada, 9 minutes). Director: Franck Dion
- 2016- “Schirkoa” (India, 14 minutes). Director: Ishan Shukla
- 2015- “The Ballad of the Homeless” (Italy, 9 minutes). Director: Monica Manganelli
Best Documentary
- 2017- “Yours Sincerely, Lois Weber” (USA, 6 minutes). Director: Svetlana Cvetko
- 2016- “Munich ’72 and Beyond” (USA, 44 minutes) Director: Stephen Crisman
- 2015- “The Gnomist” (USA, 19 minutes). Director: Sharon Liese
Best Experimental
- 2016- “Nimmer” (Belgium, Drama, 16 minutes). Director: Lieven Vanhove
- 2015- “The Weatherman and the Shadowboxer” (Canada, Animation, 10 minutes). Director: Randall Lloyd Okita
Best Music Video
- 2017- “The Sleeping Beauty” (United Kingdom, 7 minutes). Director: Fabio D’Andrea, Rikki Chandler
Best Cinematography
- 2015- “Aden”. Director of Photography: Justin Gurnari
Best Actor
- 2017- Vince Nappo (Serenity)
Best Actress
- 2017- Bai Ling (To Pimp a Butterfly)
LA Shorts Screenplay Competition Winner
- 2017- “The Boarding House” directed by Jess Grant
- 2016- “Etiquette” directed by Michael Rights
How to Enter Your Film
The LA Shorts International Film Festival accepts film submissions via FilmFreeway and Withoutabox.
You can also submit your films online by providing a Vimeo link and simply pay the entry fee with your credit card.
The extended deadline for LA Shorts 2018 is on June 15, 2018.
There is a fee of $75 for shorts under 25 minutes, and $79 dollars for films 25-45 minutes long. . However, for the LA Shorts Screenplay Competition, the call for entries closed on June 8, 2018.
For those of you who have missed the deadline, you will need to enter your film into next year’s competition.
For the complete list of submission requirements and for more information about submission deadlines and fees, visit the festivals official website at www.lashortsfest.com, and go to the 2018 LA Shorts link.
The LA Shorts International Film Festival will begin on July 25, 2018, and will end on August 2, 2018.
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