Bucharest Short Film Festival (10)

Festival start: 06 September 2025      Festival end: 12 September 2025

Bucharest Short Film Festival [BSFF]

Independent is the key word for Bucharest Short Film Festival [BSFF], as it is founded by independent film professionals and focuses on independent artists in cinema, from all over the world. Bucharest Short Film Festival aims at recognizing, showcasing and spreading-out the most professional, most innovative, and most interesting fresh short international films, while always prioritizing independent short films.

Bucharest Short Film Festival will showcase some of the finest short international film in Narrative, Animation, Student, Experimental, Documentary, Music Video and Human Rights. We take to heart the amount of work put into each film. Therefore, the festival rules ensure that each movie is reviewed at least two times and well-debated by our team. Some of the awarded films will also be screened at other international film festivals.

Independent artists and their short films will meet an effervescent, and a quite experienced with cinema and film festivals audience, ensuring quality networking, and engaging opportunities, while the selected films will be determined by a panel of industry experts.

Bucharest Short Film Festival is building a strong community of interest around international independent film professionals and film lovers, in the heart of one of the most interesting emergent capitals of arts and culture, a city that never sleeps – Bucharest.

The festival will run film screenings, preceded or followed by artists Q&A, or networking side events, and, surely, parties, that all take place in various conventional and unconventional stages around Bucharest, as in cinemas, open spaces, and even summer theatres. Bucharest, you’ve heard about it, eventually – a city for young people. Well known for different things – like “Old Paris” nickname, in its bourgeois times, before the communism decades, or the world’s biggest parliamentary building [and one of the largest buildings of any kind], from its communism times, new architecture, or the explosive contemporary art scene, and the also quite impressive underground arts and music and nightlife communities, in its current times.

All selected participants will receive the Official Selection Laurels.

Winners will receive the Winner Laurels and Certificates of Awards.

Best Film winner will receive the Bucharest Short Film Festival trophy.

BEST FILM

Best Director
Best Cinematography
Best Edit
Best Actor
Best Actress
Best Sound Design
Best Music Soundtrack
Best Debut
Best Animation
Best Student
Best Experimental
Best Documentary
Best Music Video
Best Human Rights

Special Jury Mention
Jury Award Of Recognition

Rules & Terms

General Rules:

All entries must be submitted digitally. Send us a link to your film on an online platform like Vimeo. Be sure to give us the online location of your film, with any relevant passwords needed for viewing, as well as your submission tracking number.

If you are submitting more than one entry, a separate submission is required for each film.

If the Project is selected please send any related press materials, including electronic press kit, and photos to contact@bucharestshort.ro, including your tracking number.

All genre films will be accepted.

The film production may be from the last 5 years.

All films must be under 30 minutes.

Submissions in languages other than English must be subtitled in English.

Multiple entries are allowed. You can submit more than one film to the same category or different categories.

We will not screen your work online.

Only online submission will be accepted through film festival platforms.

All submissions are final. No refunds are provided.

After a film has been selected and the filmmaker is notified, the film will be listed on the festival website under official selections.

The official language of the Festival is English.

Whilst every effort will be made to adhere to the published schedule, Bucharest Short Film Festival reserves the right to make changes at any time for any reason. Bucharest Short Film Festival will not be liable for any costs claimed as a result of a change in scheduling.

Films can not be withdrawn from the festival program after being selected.

Each participant is responsible for the content of his/her work and for any possible copyright problems. The participant owns all rights concerning the usage of his/her work according to the regulations. The Festival Committee has no responsibility to third parties. The Festival Committee has the right to reject films, if the content or technical quality does not correspond to the Festival conditions.

The candidates must respect the following rules:

Each entry will be accompanied by non-refundable fees. No Checks are accepted to pay submission fees, only online payment through Festival Platforms.

Entrance fee is non-refundable. Entries will not be processed without entry fee payment.

The Festival reserves the right to make any necessary changes in regulations or scheduling.

Any Film, selected or not selected, will be a decision of selection panel which is final and accepted by all.

The decision of jury members will be final and accepted by all.

By Submitting the film, you agree to our GENERAL AGREEMENT FOR PARTICIPATION IN Bucharest Short Film Festival and that you have read our Rules and Regulations.

Liability:

The sender of the submitted film is responsible for all copyrights. He is legally authorized to enter his film in the festival and, if selected for the festival, authorized to give screening permission.

Filmmaker agrees that film entered into the festival may be selected for screening at the Festival, and that fragments of the film might be also presented through mass media, in association with the promotional campaigns of the Festival.

The applicant has secured all necessary rights for both picture and sound, and the exhibition will not violate or infringe upon any rights, including but not limited to music, images, and content.

If selected for the festival the applicant acknowledges and agrees that an exhibition quality digital screening file must be made available for screening by the Date of Event.

The film, including all copyrights, remains the property of the author.

If screenings or information are inaccurate or flawed, the organizer is only liable in case of gross negligence.

The applicant has to read and accept the regulations and guidelines for participation.

GENERAL AGREEMENT FOR PARTICIPATION IN Bucharest Short Film Festival:

I have read and accept the Rules and Regulations of Bucharest Short Film Festival. I authorize Bucharest Short Film Festival to screen my film at the ceremony each season to compete for the award of the best film in each category:
Narrative, Animation, Documentary, Experimental, Student, Music Video, Stop Motion, Human Rights.

I certify that I hold necessary rights for the presentation of this film in Bucharest Short Film Festival and that all rights and permissions have been made. This film is not subject to any litigation nor is threatened by any litigation. By accepting these conditions, I transfer to Bucharest Short Film Festival the right to use excerpts of the submitted film, its stills, and trailers, for the purposes of publicity and marketing of the film at the various social networks and on the website of the festival, and for other non-commercial purposes related to the promotion of the festival. I hereby agree to indemnify Bucharest Short Film Festival, in the event that such rights have not been properly transferred.