Submissions are open for the IRISH FILM FESTA short film competition. Selected films will screen as part of the festival’s upcoming edition, taking place in April 2027 at the Casa del Cinema in Rome.
Rules & Eligibility
In order to be eligible for the competition, films must be under 30 minutes in duration and have an Irish producer, director or writer.
Accepted categories are Fiction (all genres), Documentary, and Animation (all techniques).
Entries must be submitted exclusively through FilmFreeway.
Deadline is December 15th, 2026. No fee requested.
A Tip from Programmers: English subtitles are not required during the submission step on FilmFreeway. However, if your short film contains heavy accents or specific slang, English subtitles will ensure your work is fully accessible to foreign programmers.
Guidelines for Selected Films
Out of all the accepted entries, IRISH FILM FESTA will select – at its sole and absolute discretion – a shortlist of films for the competition.
Within a week after admission, authors of selected films must provide:
- a high-definition copy of the film (required formats: .mp4 or .mkv);
- a timecoded dialogue list (required format: .srt) – if the dialogue list is not provided, the short film will be deemed ineligible for the competition;
- a brief synopsis and a full-credits list;
- one or more high-resolution stills and promotional clips from the film to be used for the festival’s catalogue, website and social media.
Please note that we only accept short film submissions through FilmFreeway for the festival competition.
We do not run a formal call for entries for feature films, but feel free to send a private screener to staff@irishfilmfesta.org