The NBCUniversal Short Film Festival is a unique bi-coastal showcase of independent, original short films, pilot presentations, stand-alone webseries and narrative content with a writer, director, cast, or theme of a diverse voice. This includes creatives of diverse backgrounds, including ethnicity, culture, women, members of the LGBTQ community or artists who are differently abled.
NBC Entertainment is producing this festival to discover diverse talented individuals in front of and behind the camera and will screen Semi-Finalists in August in New York City and host a Finalist Awards Gala in Los Angeles in October.
The annual NBCUniversal SHORT FILM FESTIVAL is a nationwide search for diverse talent and story telling. This bicoastal festival hosts a series of events. including acclaimed filmmaker workshops, semi-finalist screenings in NYC and a red carpet awards finale at the DGA Theater in Los Angeles. For over a decade, we have celebrated up & coming directors, writers, producers and actors, introducing them to top industry tastemakers with awarding prizes ranging from camera packages and monetary grants to development meetings and holding deals.
Past Alumni have go on to director episodes or act as artistic directors of our cable network series, shadow directors on NBC Primetime Series, been cast as series regulars for new NBC pilots or have sold their shorts as series to major cable networks.
Join us today in discovering the next generation of storytellers.
Learn more at www.nbcushortsfest.com
ONLY 2-22 minute NARRATIVE pieces are accepted.
No documentaries, animations, or music videos qualify.
Awards & Prizes
Prize Packages are growing as we speak but will not be announced until the night of awards.
Here are last year's prize packages
BEST ACTOR –
1. Announced with Headshot in The Hollywood Reporter
2. Universal Premiere Tickets
3. Annual Subscription to TheHollywoodReporter.com
4. NBC Talent Holding Deal
NBCU Open Possibilities SOCIAL IMPACT Award
1. $5k Cash Grant
BEST WRITER –
1. Two tix to The WGA Awards (East Coast) / WGAW Written by Me mag subscription
2. Final Round Placement into NBC Entertainment's Writers on the Verge Program + Development Meeting with Universal Pictures
3. Writing Software Suite
4. $5k Cash Grant
BEST DIRECTOR –
1. Development Meeting with Universal Pictures
2. Final Round Placement into NBC Entertainment's Emerging Director Program
3. Post Production Services Package from NBCU Studio Operations including lighting, grip, sound mixing, costumes and backlot access
4. $60k Camera Rental Package donation from the Panavision New Filmmaker Program to be used toward next project
#NBCUshortsFEST AUDIENCE AWARD –
1. 8TB GRAID Hard Drive with Thunderbolt and removable drives
2. Plantronics wireless, sweat-proof headphones with portable charging case
3. $1k Amazon Gift Card
Seeso BEST COMEDY –
1. Development meeting with Seeso
2. $10k Cash Grant from Seeso and NBC Entertainment's Talent Infusion Programs
Xfinity BEST DRAMA –
1. $10k Cash Grant (provided by XFINITY from Comcast)
ALL 2016 SEMI-FINALISTS received:
1. NYC Airfare + Hotel accommodations to be honored at the festival
2. Invitation to Introductory Luncheon, hosted by NBCvEntertainment
3. Invitation to SAG-AFTRA Champagne Kickoff Reception
4. Invitation to WGAE Roundtable + Cocktail Reception with Academy Award Nominee, Writer/Director Shari Springer Berman
5. Filmmaker Kits from GoPro & Lume Cube
ALL 2016 FINALISTS received:
1. Los Angeles Airfare+ Hotel accommodations to be honored at the festival
2. Invitation to WGAW Breakfast + VIP Library Tour
3. Invitation to Panavision Equipment Tour + Lunch
4. Complimentary Workshops, including KELDOF branding seminar & pitch workshop with NBC's Karen Horne
5. Universal Studios VIP Backlot Tour
6. Annual Subscription to TheHollywoodReporter.com
7. Premiere Software Editions of both Movie Magic Budgeting & Scheduling
8. 1TB Gtech Hard-Drives
9. Miroir HD Projectors
10. Opportunity to air films on festival HULU channel
SUBMISSION INFO & RULES
- The 2017 submission window opens March 1st and closes May 15th.
- The producer, writer, and director must be over 18 years of age and a legal resident of the US, able and ready for employment.
- The writer, director, cast, or theme of the short must be diverse, either: ethnically, culturally, or of a diverse voice or community. Examples of diverse and inclusive backgrounds, including female writers & directors, the LGBTQ community, and artists who are differently-abled.
- Short films must qualify under one of the following narrative genres: Comedy, or Drama. We strongly encourage Comedic Pilot Presentations and stand-alone Web Series episodes. Any Documentaries, Animations or Music Videos are not eligible.
- Projects must be 2-22 minutes in length. All others are not eligible.
- Submitted works must have been completed no more than 2 years prior the submission date (no earlier than February, 2015). Any film completed over 2 years prior is not eligible.
- Submitting parties must hold complete ownership and rights of submitted product.
- Submitting parties must be able to grant screening rights and online streaming rights.
- Only original works are accepted. Submissions are disqualified if based, in whole or in part, on pre-existing material, fictional or nonfiction, produced or un-produced, published or unpublished, unless such material was originally created and published/produced by the applicant, in another medium.
- This is a non-exclusive festival, meaning there is no conflict for your projects to have screened or to screen in future at other festivals.
- Films with prior commercial distribution or broadcast within the US are NOT eligible to submit. In the case of small non-commercial, non-publicized showings, the committee reserves the right to waive this rule.
- In August, the festival semi-finals events and screening will take place in New York City. The entire team will be invited to attend. NBC Entertainment will award one (1) airfare & accommodation to either the director or writer. All other team members are invited but are responsible for their own travel and accommodations should they choose to attend.
- If selected to screen in the New York semi-finals in August, semi-finalists must provide their shorts in one of the following formats: DCP, HDCam (regular not SR) or QuickTime Pro Res 422.
- No revisions or updated versions will be accepted after the initial submission.
- An applicant may submit multiple separate entries.
- There is NO FEE for submitting a film to this festival.
- The 2017 submission window opens March 1st and closes May 15th.
- FilmFreeway profiles will be noted with a confirmation of receipt within one week of arrival.
- The submitter of each film will be contacted & notified directly if selected as a semi-finalist & finalist. The submitter will have sole responsibility to contact & notify the writer, director, cast, producing parties, joint rights holders, etc.
- In October, the finalist screening will be held in Los Angeles. The entire team will be invited to attend. NBC Entertainment will award one (1) airfare & accommodation to either the director or writer. All other team members are invited but are responsible for their own travel and accommodations should they choose to attend.
- In the event your project is selected as a finalist, you may be asked to provide current additional items, such as: trailer, high res poster artwork, still images from the film, revised synopses, short bios of writer, director and lead cast member and possibly social media handles & hashtags.