BSFF 2027 : Submit a film
Submissions for the 30th BSFF competitions are now open.
Submissions close in:
The Brussels Short Film Festival is now part of the list of festivals that qualify for the Oscars®. The winners of the Grand Prix in the International Competition and the National Competition will be eligible for consideration in the Oscars® pre-selection process in the Best Live Action Short Film and Best Animated Short Film categories (provided that the film complies with the Academy’s rules).
The Brussels Short Film Festival has also joined the prestigious list of BAFTA Qualifying Festivals recognised by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. From now on, British short films and UK co-productions selected for the BSFF's international competitions will be eligible for consideration for a BAFTA nomination, provided they meet the Academy's remaining eligibility requirements.
The Grand Prix of the International Competition also automatically qualifies the winning film for the César Awards, subject to meeting the eligibility requirements set by the Academy.
Since 2019, the winner of the National Competition’s Audience Award has been selected for the European Short Film Audience Award (ESFAA): a tour bringing together the audience award winners of ten European festivals (Brussels Short Film Festival, Curtas Vila do Conde International Film Festival, Lviv International Short Film Festival Wiz Art, 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, and Go Short International Short Film Festival Nijmegen).
All films submitted to the festival will also be made available to industry professionals through the Short Film Market.
NATIONAL COMPETITION
→ Submission deadline: March 1, 2027
→ Submit via Shortfilmdepot
Submission criteria:
♦ Duration: max. 40 minutes
♦ Genre: all genres accepted
♦ Production company based in Belgium
♦ Production date or first public screening: after February 15, 2026
♦ Screening file: unencrypted 2K DCP (named according to the Digital Cinema Naming Convention) and MP4 file – 20 to 30 Mbps – 1920 x 1080
♦ The film must not have already been screened in Brussels in 2027*
*The selection committee nevertheless reserves the right to grant exceptions.
INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION
→ Submission deadline: January 14, 2027
→ Submit via Shortfilmdepot or Festhome
Submission criteria:
♦ Duration: max. 30 minutes
♦ Genre: all genres accepted
♦ The film must have been completed or had its first public screening after November 1, 2025
♦ The film must be available in an unencrypted 2K DCP (named according to the Digital Cinema Naming Convention) and in MP4 format – 20 to 30 Mbps – 1920 x 1080
♦ The screener submitted to the festival at the time of entry must be subtitled in English, even if the film’s original language is English
♦ If selected, the screening copy must be accessible to an English-speaking audience (with English subtitles if English is not the film’s language)
♦ Films completed between November and December 2025 must be submitted before December 3
Next Generation :
NATIONAL COMPETITION
National Student Film Competition
→ Submission deadline: January 14, 2027
→ Submit via Shortfilmdepot
Submission criteria :
♦ Duration: max. 30 minutes
♦ Genre: all genres accepted
♦ The film must have been made as part of a film school programme or a filmmaking course
♦ The film must have been completed or had its first public screening after February 15, 2026
♦ The film must be available in an unencrypted 2K DCP (named according to the Digital Cinema Naming Convention) and in MP4 format – 20 to 30 Mbps – 1920 x 1080
♦ The screener submitted to the festival at the time of entry must be subtitled in English, even if the film’s original language is English
♦ If selected, the screening copy must be accessible to an English-speaking audience (with English subtitles if English is not the film’s language)
♦ The film must not have already been screened in Brussels in 2027*
*The selection committee nevertheless reserves the right to grant exceptions.
Next Generation :
INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION
International Student Film Competition
→ Submission deadline: January 14, 2027
→ Submit via Shortfilmdepot or Festhome
Submission criteria:
♦ Duration: max. 30 minutes
♦ Genre: all genres accepted
♦ The film must have been made as part of a film school programme or a filmmaking course
♦ The film must have been completed or had its first public screening after November 1, 2025
♦ The film must be available in an unencrypted 2K DCP (named according to the Digital Cinema Naming Convention) and in MP4 format – 20 to 30 Mbps – 1920 x 1080
♦ The screener submitted to the festival at the time of entry must be subtitled in English, even if the film’s original language is English
♦ If selected, the screening copy must be accessible to an English-speaking audience (with English subtitles if English is not the film’s language)
♦ Films completed between November and December 2025 must be submitted before December 3