World Smart Shorts Independent Panorama WSSIPFest (1)

Festival start: 18 September 2025      Festival end: 19 September 2025

World Smart Shorts Independent Panorama (WSSIPFest) to międzynarodowy festiwal poświęcony prezentacji filmów krótkometrażowych stworzonych przy użyciu inteligentnych technologii, w szczególności smartfonów.

Wydarzenie to celebruje innowacyjność, kreatywność i niezależne opowiadanie historii przez filmowców z całego świata.

World - odzwierciedla globalny zasięg festiwalu, przyjmując różnorodne głosy i kultury.

Smart - podkreślający sprytne wykorzystanie dostępnej technologii i nowoczesnych technik opowiadania historii.

Shorts - skupiający się na filmach krótkometrażowych, które dostarczają mocnych narracji w krótkim formacie.
Independent - wspierający twórców filmowych, którzy pracują poza studiami głównego nurtu, broniąc oryginalności i wolności twórczej.

Panorama - oferuje szeroki wachlarz stylów filmowych, perspektyw i historii z całego świata.

Main Award

- Grand Smart — Best Short Award

The festival’s highest honor, awarded to the most outstanding short film made with a smartphone.

It recognizes artistic excellence, originality, and creative use of smart technology. Includes a 1-year scholarship at the Academy of Art and Design (Wyższa Szkoła Sztuki i Projektowania) in Łódź, Poland.

Honorary Category Awards:

These honorary distinctions highlight exceptional achievement in various genres and forms:

- Best Documentary
- Best Fiction
- Best Music Video
- Best Experimental

World Smart Shorts Independent Panorama — Festival Regulations 2025

Festival Description

World Smart Shorts Independent Panorama is a global festival dedicated to showcasing short films created using smart technology, particularly smartphones. This event celebrates innovation, creativity, and independent storytelling from filmmakers around the world.

World — reflecting the festival’s global scope, welcoming diverse voices and cultures.Smart — emphasizing the clever use of accessible technology and modern storytelling techniques.Shorts — focusing on short films that deliver powerful narratives in a brief format.Independent — supporting filmmakers who work outside mainstream studios, championing originality and creative freedom.Panorama — offering a wide-ranging view of cinematic styles, perspectives, and stories from across the globe.

§1. Organizer

The Festival is organized by the Grzegorz Królikiewicz Institute Foundation in cooperation with the Academy of Art and Design in Łódź (WSSiP).

§2. Idea and Purpose of the Festival

World Smart Shorts Independent Panorama promotes creativity, accessible filmmaking tools, and precise narrative form. The guiding motto is:“One film – three minutes – one smartphone.”

Objectives:

- To promote ultra-short film forms created exclusively with smartphones;

- To support creators outside of the professional film industry;

- To inspire storytelling through minimal means;

- To encourage formal minimalism and narrative maximalism.

§3. Participation

The Festival is open to all individuals regardless of age or nationality.

Minors may participate only with written consent from a parent or legal guardian.

Each participant may submit an unlimited number of films, but each film must be submitted separately using its own entry form.

§4. Technical and Formal Requirements

Submitted films must:

- be made entirely with a mobile phone (smartphone);

- have a maximum duration of 3 minutes (180 seconds) including opening titles and end credits;

- be submitted in MP4 or MOV format;

- be edited using any editing software.

Audio may be recorded directly with the smartphone or using external accessories (microphone, recorder, etc.).

Films containing dialogue or significant on-screen text in a language other than Polish must include subtitles in Polish or English.

Films that do not meet the technical or formal requirements will be disqualified.

§5. Competition Categories

Entries may be submitted in one of the following categories:

- Fiction
- Documentary
- Experimental
- Music Video

§6. Awards
Main Award "Grand Smart — Best Short Award" i.e. the festival’s highest honor, awarded to the most outstanding short film made with a smartphone. It recognizes artistic excellence, originality, and creative use of smart technology.

Includes a 1-year scholarship at the Academy of Art and Design (WSSiP) in Łódź, Poland.

Honorary Category Awards — Recognizing exceptional achievement in each genre:

- Best Documentary — For the most compelling, truthful, and thought-provoking nonfiction short.

- Best Fiction — For a narrative short with strong storytelling, direction, and character development.

- Best Experimental — For boundary-pushing works exploring unconventional forms, structures, or concepts

- Best Music Video — Honoring creativity and synergy between sound and image.

An Audience Award may also be granted, based on online voting or audience feedback during screenings.

The Organizer reserves the right to grant additional honorable mentions or withhold awards in any category if the artistic quality of submissions is insufficient.

§7. Schedule

Opening Date: July 10, 2025
Regular Deadline: August 15, 2025
Late Deadline: August 30, 2025
Notification Date: September 10, 2025
Event Date: September 19, 2025 (Łódź, Poland)

§8. Submission Guidelines

Submissions are accepted exclusively via the electronic form available on the Festival website.

Required materials:

Link to the film (WeTransfer, Google Drive, Dropbox, Vimeo or other open-access link);

Completed submission form;

Statement of authorship and rights to use the image and
music.

The submitter must be the author or co-author and have full rights to the film.

In case of team production, the applicant must list co-authors, but the Main Award can only be granted to the person submitting the film, provided they meet all formal requirements for admission to the university.

§9. Jury and Awards

Films will be judged by an independent jury appointed by the Organizer.

Honorary awards will be granted in each category.

The Grand Smart – Best Short Award includes:

One year of free tuition at the Academy of Art and Design in Łódź (WSSiP).

The award can only be granted to one person — the official applicant.

§10. Copyrights and Use of Films

By submitting a film, the participant declares that:
They own full copyright and property rights to the film;

The film does not infringe upon any third-party rights;

They have consent from all people appearing in the film for public distribution.

The participant grants the Organizer a non-exclusive, free license to use the film (in full or in part) for the purpose of promoting the Festival:

On social media, the Festival website, and video channels;

In printed and digital promotional materials;
At special, educational, and partner screenings.

The Organizer does not charge participation fees and does not pay remuneration for the promotional use of submitted films.

§11. Final Provisions

Jury decisions are final and cannot be appealed.

The Organizer reserves the right to make changes to this regulation and the Festival schedule, notifying participants via the official website.

Submitting a film to the Festival is tantamount to accepting this regulation and consenting to the processing of personal data for organizational purposes, in accordance with GDPR.