Short Film Festival

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About

The ACTRA Montreal Short Film Festival, or the “ACTRA Shorts Fest,” is an annual film screening and awards show spearheaded by the ACTRA Montreal Young Emerging Artists’ Assembly (YEAA) Committee. The Festival takes place at a local venue each year and aims to promote independent and member-initiated film-making.

The Shorts Fest challenges ACTRA members to create a captivating and visually-appealing film in under 10 minutes. After the date of submission, a selection committee judges and selects a limited number of short films and puts on a screening at a local venue for the ACTRA Montreal membership to enjoy, together. The screening is followed by an awards presentation show where performers and crew receive prizes and recognition.

The ACTRA Short Film Festival 2023 – It’s gonna be Reely good!

It’s official, after a four-year hiatus, the ACTRA Shorts Fest is finally back and bigger than ever! The ACTRA Montreal Short Film Festival will be held at Cinéma du Musée on Monday, October 16, 2023, from 6:30 PM – 9:00 PM. For the 2023 Festival, the YEAA Committee will be presenting six (6) awards: Best Film, Best Directing, Best Performance in a Leading Role, Best Performance in a Supporting Role, Best Cinematography, & People’s Choice Award.

Considerations

  • 12-minute maximum runtime (credits included)
  • Be inclusive (Diverse cast, diverse crew, inclusive language, etc.)
  • Consider accessibility (Closed captioning)

Rules & Regulations

  1. This Festival is only open to active ACTRA Montreal members.
  2. All ACTRA Shorts must be produced under the terms of the Member Initiated Production (MIP) Agreement.
  3. Members may not submit more than one (1) project in which they are the majority owner.
  4. The maximum runtime cannot exceed 12 minutes (including credits) without exception.
  5. The ACTRA logo must appear in the closing credits of your short.
  6. As per ACTRA’s jurisdiction, all films and performances must be submitted in English.
  7. Participants are responsible for filming and editing their own films. ACTRA will not provide any resources.
  8. The deadline for submitting your ACTRA Shorts Application is Sunday, August 13, 2023. Applications must be emailed to montreal@actra.ca.
  9. The deadline for submitting a copy of your short film is Wednesday, September 13, 2023 (without exception).
  10. The Festival and Awards will be held on Monday, October 16, 2023, at Cinéma du Musée (1379-A rue Sherbrooke Ouest, Montreal, QC) between 6:30 PM and 9 PM. The venue is wheelchair accessible.
  11. While liability insurance is encouraged, it is not required. However, basic coverage in case of accident is required and you can register your project with CNEEST: https://www.cnesst.gouv.qc.ca/fr/organisation/documentation/formulaires-publications/demande-protection-travailleurs-benevoles.

NOTE: (Consider accessibility) While not a mandatory requirement, it would be appreciated by audiences who are Deaf, deafened, and hard of hearing if your film contained closed captioning.

Selection, Judges, & Awards

  1. Unfortunately, due to time constraints, not all submissions will be shown at the Festival. The Selection Committee will choose the appropriate number of films to fill the allotted runtime. Only those films selected for the allotted runtime will be notified.
  2. For the 2023 ACTRA Montreal Short Film Festival, the YEAA Committee will be presenting (six) 6 award categories: Best Film, Best Directing, Best Performance in a Leading Role, Best Performance in a Supporting Role, Best Cinematography, & People’s Choice Award.
  3. After the film submission deadline (September 13, 2023), the YEAA Film Fest Sub-Committee will meet to view, analyze, and select the films that will be included in the judgment package.
  4. To maintain the integrity of the selection process, should a sub-committee member submit a film for consideration, they will no longer be eligible to partake in the selection process.
  5. A panel, made up of impartial judges, will view and analyze the film selections and choose the award recipients for each category.
  6. Award recipients will be selected based on merit.
  7. The selection process rests at the discretion of the judging panel and sub-committee members.

Timeline

  • Deadline to submit an application: Sunday, August 13, 2023
  • Deadline to submit a film: Wednesday, September 13, 2023
  • Date of festival: Monday, October 16, 2023

Attend the Event as an Audience Member

This event is free of charge and seating will be on a first-come, first-serve basis. The theatre seats a maximum of 291 guests and has four (4) wheelchair stations. In addition, the building is completely wheelchair accessible. If you require accessibility accommodations, please don’t hesitate to contact us at montreal@actra.ca

Grow your brand’s value in support of local, unionized talent and emerging artists! Sponsors may support the Festival and its awards show in any of the following ways:

  • Offering services as a category prize
  • Offering products as a category prize
  • Offering monetary prizes
Sponsorship Package

Land Acknowledgement

ACTRA Montreal would like to acknowledge that we are located on unceded indigenous lands.

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Equality Statement

ACTRA fosters an environment that supports solidarity based on the principle that all union members are equal. Mutual respect, cooperation, and understanding are our goals.

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Updated June 20, 2023