Our Short Film Submissions for 2024 are now open 

If you have queries about your submissions please email shorts@filmfleadh.ie or if you have any technical questions please email tech@filmfleadh.ie 

Film Submissions are now exclusively through FilmFreeway here

Terms & Conditions of  Shorts Submissions:

1. A short film is considered to be less than 40 minutes in length. 

2. Submission fees and deadlines:

Earlybird deadline: Friday January 26th, 2024, at 11:59pm. G.M.T. €25 entry fee.
Regular deadline: Friday March 1st, 2024, at 11:59pm. G.M.T. €30 entry fee.
Late deadline International Short Films: Friday April 12th, 2024, at 11:59pm. G.M.T. €35 entry fee.
Late deadline Irish Short Films: Friday May 3rd, 2024, at 11:59pm. G.M.T. €35 entry fee.

*The entry fee of €25 for IRISH Student Animation under 6 min will extend across all deadlines.

3. Please note, we do not provide waivers or discount codes. Thank you for your understanding.

4. The festival is not obliged to view late entries. After the final deadline date, digital submission forms will be unavailable online.

5. Galway Film Fleadh short film programme consists of two primary sections: Irish production/co-production and International Production. An Irish production/co-production is defined as a production that features an Irish resident/born director, producer, lead animator or writer OR a production shot on the island of Ireland.

6. You may select one category only for each film submitted. For experimental works or works that fall in between the categories below, please select one and describe your film type in the notes section on the submission form e.g., docudrama, experimental, etc. The categories are:
Fiction
Animation
Documentary

7. You must indicate if your film is a debut short, i.e., the director’s first short film. If your film is a debut dramatic/animated short, it will automatically be eligible for a Best Debut Drama/Animation. This does not preclude it from winning the Tiernan McBride or James Horgan Oscar qualifying awards.

8. The festival has both competitive and non-competitive programmes. Competition eligibility is subject to these rules and regulations and at the discretion of the festival. All competition categories are judged by a jury of industry professionals.

9. Any short that has been previously broadcast (television, online free/open festivals, streaming sites or video-on-demand) shall be deemed ineligible for competition and receive less priority in programming terms, with the exception of pay-walled secure online festival.

10. All languages of film are accepted. Submissions and screeners of non-English language films must contain English subtitles.

11. We recommend that you observe a standard broadcast safe area for any titling or subtitles, otherwise your subtitles may be cropped during projection in some venues.

12. We accept picture-locked rough cuts of films. Please note this in your submission and notify us when a new version is available to watch.

13. The festival does NOT pay screening fees for titles that have been submitted. Refunds will not be issued for submitted films.

14. In submitting to the festival, the applicant confirms that they possess all rights necessary for the screening of the submitted film at the festival.

15. Please note that selections are made on a rolling basis – therefore, you may be notified before the notification date listed on FilmFreeway.

16. Please upload content to FilmFreeway where possible or provide a valid Vimeo link. *Please ensure, if providing a link, that it does not expire until the middle of June 2024. We do not accept Google Drive or Dropbox links as submission links.

17. If selected, we will require a high-resolution digital copy of the film for exhibition. The format should be Pro Res (ideally ProRes 422 or ProRes 422LT preferred) or if not, then H264 is fine. The file will later be converted to DCP to play on the day as part of a playlist. We only accept DCPs if done professionally through a production house. The exhibition files/DCPs must be either 24 or 25 frames per second.

18. If selected, you will be informed of the latest date at which content must be delivered to the festival. All content must be uploaded to our cloud server which you will get more details about if successful.

19. The Oscars Academy will make no exception to the following rule:

To be eligible for Oscar consideration upon winning a qualifying category: Your film must be available in the “SMPTE DCP” format. SMPTE DCP refers to SMPTE ST 429-2 and related specifications, should you wish to enter it.
Trailers/previews of no longer than 10% of a short film’s length are permitted online.

20. If selected, the entrant agrees that up to one minute of their film (visual or audio) may be used by the festival in promotional activities. These can include screening a clip-on television, radio, the festival’s website, promo reel and/or social media presences.

21. The festival reserves the final say on the awards categorisation of successful entrants.

22. In submitting to Galway Film Fleadh, the Festival may occasionally contact you about relevant industry events and updates.

23. Due to the volume of submissions, the festival is not able to provide feedback.

24. The Galway Film Fleadh reserves the right to change the Terms and Conditions at any time.

Last updated 1st September 2023