Short. Sweet. Film Fest. (15)

Festival start: 01 March 2027      Festival end: 07 March 2027

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 in Cleveland, Ohio.

All selections are eligible to win best, outstanding, or honorable mention in their respective categories. These awards will be announced at the end of programming for each category of film and for the screenplay competition.

Films will be juried by a panel of judges. We also will have an audience choice award for each program.

• Productions made after January 1, 2022 may be submitted.

• Do not submit works in progress.

• Do not submit industrial or instructional works.

• All films submitted must be available in .mp4 format for presentation. No exceptions.

• All films will be transferred temporarily onto a hard drive system for presentation.

• Filmmakers are strongly encouraged to send films with closed captioning if selected as they as they may be featured in additional programming.

• All entries must be submitted by Thursday, December 31st, 2026. (Early submission discounts apply until September 30th – see fee schedule.)

• Flash or Memory sticks submitted will NOT be returned.

• Films selected for the Short. Sweet. Film Fest. will be announced no later than Friday, January 22nd, 2027.

• Video files for presentation must arrive no later than Monday, February 1st, 2027.

• By submitting your film to our festival you agree that, if selected, our qualified staff will review your film and upon their judgement add appropriate trigger and or content warnings on our website along with your film's description. Additionally you agree that, if necessary, an epilepsy warning will both accompany the description of your film on our website and precede the screening of your film during our festival. If you have questions about this policy please reach out to us prior to submitting your film.

• The Short. Sweet. Film Fest is dedicated to the cultivation of the best possible film and community for every individual involved in the creation of the incredible media we showcase as well as for the audiences we host. For this reason, we feel it is important for us to make clear this position: The Short. Sweet. Film Fest does not support nor condone the use of Artificial intelligence in any form or at any point of the filmmaking process and makes the important distinction separating artificial intelligence from computer-generated imagery (CGI). AI is a tool used only by the uncreative to steal from those compelled to create. There is not now nor will there ever be a place for AI at our festival, or, we hope, our industry at large. We will never knowingly show any project that utilized AI, and, if we come to find that a project we have selected has used AI, it will be immediately removed. We love our filmmakers and we will always strive to protect their art. Sincerely, SSFF Team.