Since 2019, the winner of the Audience Award of the National Competition is selected for the European Short Film Audience Award (ESFAA): a tour of Audience Awards from 10 European short film festivals (Brussels Short Film Festival, Curtas Vila do Conde International Film Festival, Lviv International Short Film Festival Wiz Art, Encounters Short Film and Animation Festival Bristol, Interfilm International Film Festival Berlin, ALCINE – Festival de Cine de Alcalá de Henares, Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival, Tampere Film Festival, Short Waves Festival, Go Short International Short Film Festival Nijmegen).
Since 2018, the Brussels Short Film Festival is an Oscars® Qualifying Film Festival.
The winners of the Great Prize of the International and the National Competitions will be eligible for consideration in the Animated Short Film/ Live Action Short Film category of the Academy Awards® without the standard theatrical run, provided the film otherwise complies with the Academy rules.
BSFF 2021: Submit your film (Short film competition)
National Competition
↓ Submission deadline: March 1st, 2021.
↓ Online submissions on SHORT FILM DEPOT.
To be admitted, each film must match the following requirements :
Films don’t have to exceed 40 minutes in length, all genres are accepted ;
Films have to be produced (or the 1st public exhibition) after January 1, 2019 ;
Work versions can be submitted as long as the film is finished before the festival in case of selection;
Films have to be available for Festival screening on DCP non-encrypted (named according to the Digital Cinema Naming Convention) and mp4. codec ProRes – 20 to 30 Mbs – 1920 x 1080 ;
To be eligible to the national competition, a film cannot be screened in Brussels two months before the festival (except for private projections necessary to the film’s completion).
!! The student films have to be submitted to the Student Films Competition “Next Generation”.
International Competition
↓ Submission deadline: January 24th, 2021.
↓ Online submissions on SHORT FILM DEPOT or FESTHOME.
To be admitted, each film must match the following requirements :
♦ Films have to not exceed 30 minutes in length. All genres are accepted ;
♦ Films have to be produced (or the 1st public exhibition) after January 1, 2019 ;
♦ Films have to be available for Festival screening on DCP non-encrypted (named according to the Digital Cinema Naming Convention) and mp4. codec ProRes – 20 to 30 Mbs – 1920 x 1080 ;
♦ For the screener, the film imperatively has to be understandable in English (for an English speaking film, the screener can be sent as it is or with French subtitles, for any other languages, English subtitles are mandatory);
♦ In case of selection, the screening file imperatively has to be understandable in English (subtitles in English if English is not the language of the film). If necessary, French and/or Dutch subtitles will be screened live during the screening.
!! The student films have to be submitted to the Student Films Competition “Next Generation”.