The 2021 festival ran from 27 August - 4 September. The 2023 festival runs on 15-16 September.
Are you a filmmaker thinking of submitting? Submissions are handled via our Film Freeway page here.
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Oxford Shorts (formerly known as The Oxford International Short Film Festival or OXISFF) celebrates the diversity and creativity of short films. We are located in the heart of the historic university city, on the same road where Inspector Morse, CS Lewis, and JRR Tolkien famously all enjoyed a tipple, a mere stone's throw from Hogwarts' Dining Hall.
We believe short films are an art form, ideally one which should be experienced in unique and beautiful surroundings, on a large screen with an enthusiastic audience. The live festival is held in the beautiful grounds of St John's College at The University of Oxford in the newly refurbished auditorium.
We would like to encourage short films from all filmmakers in any genre (including documentaries). We're looking for great stories which stir the emotions, have strong characters, and unique voices or evocative worlds. The awards will be judged by a panel of industry filmmakers prior to the event across a range of categories.
Our panel of judges are a passionate bunch of filmmakers who just love watching short films! Shortlisted films will automatically be considered for eligible awards.
£10 - £15
£20 - £30
£35
Our very first festival ran in March 2019, so we are now five years old! Since then we have played over 300 short films from countries all over the world and organised talks with industry professionals. The most recent festival ran both live screenings and online from 27 August - 4 September. A friendly atmosphere, live screenings and a wonderful venue are large part of who we are and what makes us different! We are delighted to announce that some onsite accommodation can be made available for International Filmmakers for our 2023 edition. Watch trailers from some of our previous editions below:
The live festival will take place in the beautiful surroundings of St John's College in the auditorium.
The Festival Entrance will be venue via the St John's College Front Lodge (Postcode: OX1 3JP). This is located on St Giles on the opposite side to the Ashmolean Museum.
Registration opens at 8.30am, and will be open throughout the day. Please make sure you bring along copies of your tickets. The event is sold out and we will not be offering any tickets on the door.
A fantastic event to be part of. One of the best film festival experiences to have. We were really looking forward to attending their fantastic venue but Covid hit. So they swiftly moved their festival online, had countless great zoom events, a wonderful selection of films from around the world, and they made sure all filmmakers were included and connected. Probably because the fabulous people who run it (Bravo Andy) are talented filmmakers as well. They know films, they understand the process of making them, they appreciate storytelling, they're smart and lovely and make you feel at home.
Joƫlle Bentolila, Tibo Travers and the Starboy team
"How to do an online film festival when you're not an online film festival"
Being part of Oxford International Short Film Festival this year was an absolute treat, due to Covid the festival went online and moved to showcasing 3 months via an online platform. Every week, they had Q&As, which were super insightful and we even walked away with Best Editing. Thanks for being awesome, I can't wait to screen with you again.
Nicole Pott (Kaleidoscope)
It's one of the most incredible short film festivals i've ever been to in the UK. I would strongly recommend to any film lovers who want to see all the best and most emotional short films world wide! I definitely attend to OXISFF on their next version!!!
Hai Dao (Infill and Full Set)
It was a great first OXISFF held at the beautiful St John's College in Oxford, England. I was impressed by the auditorium, the awards ceremony and the helpful staff. I would strongly recommend entering this festival for the networking opportunities and friendly vibe.
Gisela Nadasy (En Kyss)
As a filmmaker and writer, I truly must say that the inaugural Oxford International Short Film Festival was a fantastic experience in every possible way in terms of venue and the quality of the films presented, and the festival organizers were an absolute delight! It was far and away the best film festival experience I've had the honor and privilege of traveling to, and I would (and will) gladly submit my work to this festival for consideration without question!
Charles M Kline (Human Resources)