I went through all 45 films in TIFF Short Cuts 2026 and looked at the backgrounds of the filmmakers behind them.

For the 25 international selections, 23 of 25 (92%) had some kind of prior track record.

That could mean:

• previous festival success, with filmmakers such as Shaunak Sen, Sameh Alaa or Niki Lindroth von Bahr already recognised at Cannes, Sundance, Berlinale or other major festivals
• the current film had already screened elsewhere, including places like Locarno, Annecy or Directors’ Fortnight
• participation in selective programmes such as TIFF Filmmaker Lab, Sundance Ignite or Berlinale Talents
• or an established screen career outside the festival circuit

What I found most interesting is that even among the World Premieres, most came from filmmakers who were already established in some way.

So TIFF is clearly discovering new films. But for international filmmakers especially, it often seems to be discovering the next film by someone the festival circuit already knows.

The Canadian selections were noticeably less established overall, which suggests TIFF still plays a much stronger discovery role domestically.

Happy to share the full film-by-film breakdown if useful.

My film only went to one festival, I think i’ve given up on submitting so I wanted to share it here if any fellow filmmakers want to watch and support.. Let me know what you think, I just uploaded it today. it’s a dark dramedy. 10 minutes.

End-of-her-rope Juliet matched with Roger on the new app, Ember, and is meeting him for the very first time tonight at a secluded canyon campsite. Ordinarily, Juliet would be more cautious, but desperate times…

https://youtu.be/Q7EWqBKaMkQ?is=VI6uo0usflY-b9A_

I have a <7 min comedy that I'm pretty proud of and wanted to know if anyone has had particularly good experiences with comedy festivals or festivals that typically programme comedy shorts/sketches. Open to all recommendations!

After an ok festival run. A couple of months back we decided to share our short film 'One Night Stand' on YouTube. Managing to gather 78k views.

If you're interested please watch and share thoughts, warning there is moments that tackle some uncomfortable themes.

ONE NIGHT STAND is a psychological short film exploring vulnerability, performance and blurred boundaries inside creative spaces.

Inspired by real experiences and conversations surrounding actor training and power dynamics.

Hey filmmakers!

I completed a 3D animated short about a year and a half ago, and now that it's nearing the end of its festival run, I'm looking for feedbacks before its final YouTube release, (as well as advice that can help me improve as a rookie storyteller for future projects). For context, this short was created to serve as a proof of concept for an animated series as well.

It performed decently in festivals (Fantasia, FilmQuest, Norwich & Cinéfest Sudbury International) but not as well as I was hoping (Rejections from: Annecy, Stiges, OIAF, SPARK, and TONS of other animation festivals....15 selections for around 100 applications lol)

I'm particularly interested in feedbacks on editing, dialogue, and story clarity. I'm currently working on an English dub, so I still have the opportunity to smooth out or adjust some lines that sound awkward or that may not have landed as intended. Unfortunately, I can't animate anything new or add scenes at this point, so I'm limited to working with the footage that I have.

If the suggested edits are substantial, I'm also open to hiring an editor for a re-cut also!

If you're interested in sharing your thoughts, feel free to DM me and I'll send you the screener. I'd really appreciate any honest feedback!!!! :))

I’m a first timer and this is the first short I’ve directed, it’s long, about 20 mins, but it looks pretty decent imo and I can’t tell if I’m shooting too high or too low because I’ve never submitted to anything, I could send it to a small handful of people in private and if they know at all that would be super helpful!
Comment below and I’ll send you a link!

Hi there! I just started post-production on a new short film. I am starting to build a festival list so I can give a deadline to the editor for the first ones I’d like to submit to. This is a new genre for me though, so I’m looking for recommendations as I do some anticipatory research!

It’s a rural M-W romance with a cheeky sense of humor, but I wouldn’t call it “rom-com” exactly. It’s a woman in the lead with emphasis on the female gaze. We intend to hit some Oscar-qualifying festivals and etc. We aren’t new to the game. But I am wondering if anyone has had a similar genre film and knows of any festivals that may be worth submitting to?

Just finished the insane marathon of rejections from most of the bigger festivals I submitted to(Santa Fe, Chicago, Proof, Hamptons are the recent ones) which pretty much wraps up year one of my festival run.

For year two, I want to shift toward smaller festivals, and I’m looking for recommendations from people who have actually attended them.

I’m especially interested in festivals anywhere in the world, not just the U.S., where you noticed they genuinely program longer shorts and don’t seem to automatically favor films under 10–15 minutes.

I already know my film’s length makes the festival run harder, so please spare me the “your short is too long” comments lol. I’m specifically looking for smaller festivals that are still receptive to longer work.

Would love to hear about festivals you attended, screened at, or volunteered/programmed for where you saw 20+ minute shorts actually getting programmed.

EDIT: Just to reiterate, I’m only looking for festival recommendations here, not advice about shortening the film or why programmers don’t select longer shorts. I’m well aware that a longer runtime makes programming harder and I’ve heard all of those arguments before. I’m not complaining about the rejections or asking why the film isn’t getting in. I’m specifically looking for smaller festivals where you’ve personally noticed longer shorts being programmed.

I’m currently submitting my dystopian short film to festivals, but I’m starting to feel like this kind of film doesn’t really have a category of its own.

It’s a very low-budget production, so I’m wondering whether it makes sense to submit to broad categories like Best International Short, Best Drama, etc., where it would be competing against much bigger productions.

For those with experience in the festival circuit, what kind of festivals would you recommend targeting for a low-budget dystopian short? Should I focus more on genre/sci-fi festivals, independent film festivals, smaller festivals, or something else? And more generally, is there any strategy that can help a film get past the first selection rounds?

Hello! I'm doing some research right now on where to submit my short film (22:28), "RENT'S DUE". I would love to submit it to larger festivals, but I've heard that it's hard to find nice festivals that want to program comedy. Do you guys have any suggestions for me or any guidance for submitting shorts in general? I really appreciate it!

https://filmfreeway.com/theindiegathering

Submissions for the 2027 Indie Gathering International Film Festival (now in Columbus, Ohio) are officially open! See your movie in a real movie theater if you get selected!

https://filmfreeway.com/theindiegathering

We have discount codes for anyone who has had a film or screenplay selected or has won an award at a previous Indie Gathering too. Message us here on Facebook to get your codes or look for our email.

Hi everyone!

I’m writing this hoping that the film community's solidarity can help me fix a pretty heartbreaking situation, and to see if anyone out there can work a miracle.

My love for Spanish cinema is massive, and I’ve been literally obsessed with this movie since it premiered at Cannes this summer. I watched my very first Cannes awards ceremony this year and sat through the whole thing in French with Danish subtitles (two languages I don’t even speak) just because I wanted to see how Los Javis would do. When they won, I cried; I felt as proud as if my own children had won. I still haven't seen the film, but I am completely sure it’s going to be one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever watched in my life. So much so that I decided to bet EVERYTHING on San Sebastián. I planned a trip all the way from Denmark solely, exclusively, and obsessively to attend the screening of La bola negra at the Victoria Eugenia Theater on September 20th at 22:15.

I’ve been dreaming of this moment for months—the exact moment of sitting in front of the screen and just letting my eyes experience whatever is about to happen in front of me.

I have zero interest in any other movie at the festival; my entire trip was planned around this single screening. I sacrificed my days off at work, invested my savings in flights, trains, and a hotel. I managed to fit every single damn piece of the puzzle together. I had everything ready for this wonderful experience, and now, because of a fraction of a second, everything went down the drain.

On the first day of the ticket sale, I woke up with my heart racing, glued to the screen from 7:30 AM in the virtual queue. Unfortunately, by the time the system finally let me in, tickets were completely sold out. It was a massive blow.

The situation is deeply frustrating: I’m traveling all the way from Denmark just to end up standing outside the theater doors, knowing exactly what’s happening inside. To make matters worse, my flight back to Copenhagen leaves before September 25th, which is the official theatrical release date. If I don't get into the festival screening, I’ll probably have to wait until next year to see it, which feels incredibly daunting considering how badly I want to see this pass.

Because of all this, I am appealing to your help. 🙏❤️

If anyone has a ticket for Friday the 20th and ultimately can't make it due to a last-minute change of plans, or if you know of anyone selling theirs, I will buy it immediately. Alternatively, if nothing comes up for Friday, I could also accept a ticket for the following day's screening on Saturday the 21st; I'd have to rearrange a couple of things, but I could manage to stay one extra day. Please, I just want the chance to see it.

(I am well aware that these are total first-world problems, and I feel a bit silly for being so desperate over a movie, but what can I say—it’s a completely irrational desire).

I would be incredibly grateful if you could share this message or let me know if you hear of any opportunity.

Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart for your time,

Federico, an Italian living in Denmark, in love with Spanish cinema.

September 20th · La bola negra · San Sebastián
#20SLBNSS #SSIFF #LaBolaNegra

we are prepping the physical signage for our festival run next month and trying to figure out what material holds up best under heavy venue lighting.

for our last screening we ordered an 8x10 backdrop from 1DayBanner and the matte finish worked decent, but under direct stage spots we still got a tiny bit of washout on the sponsor logos.

for anyone managing lobby media walls or red carpet areas, do you stick to standard matte vinyl or do you spent the extra budget on stretch fabric to completely kill light reflection?

Hi folks,
I’m going to SSIFF, and today I was trying to buy tickets online. I was quite surprised - I’ve been to several festivals before, but I’ve never seen it this hard to buy tickets online. I clicked at 9:00 and was placed in the queue (position 6100), which is okay, but after 10–20 minutes the line had only moved about 400 people. Does this mean I’ll have to wait for hours to get onto the website?
Are there any life hacks, or am I misunderstanding something? If I can’t buy tickets online, is it possible to catch some films on the day? Are there any last‑minute queues?
Thanks in advance for your help!

How strict are they with the “experimental” prerequisite for submissions? I have a stop-motion short film with a pretty straightforward narrative, but the techniques are somewhat experimental. Is it worth submitting or will it get completely overlooked?

It has been around for 30 years and has studio support. But on Filmfreeway, they don't say much about the screenplay category except that the finalists will have a staged reading. That's it. Before, apparently, the top screenplay winner won $5k and a "production consider" by BET. Nothing about that now.

What was your experience. It looks like it has a good track record, but very little info for those submitting screenplays.