The Discover Film Awards is one of the biggest short film festivals in the world with over 5,000 annual submissions from 100+ countries, global premiers in London's Leicester square with packed cinema audiences, filmmaker parties, red carpet events, script-pitching round tables with funding available for new projects and an annual cash prize fund of over $50,000, including the prestigious Craghoppers Film Prize.
The film festival is consistently voted in the top 50 in the world. Spread over 5 days in October 2019, the festival involves public cinema screenings at the Prince Charles cinema in London's Leicester Square. Quentin Tarantino describes it as his favourite cinema in London saying it is "everything an independent movie theatre should be”.
Discover.film are looking for the best short films: stories that share a glimpse of filmmakers lives; what bothers them or makes them laugh, of injustices, of unsung heroes, of the serious, the bizarre, the funny or just where filmmakers' imaginations take them. All types of short film are welcome to enter with awards for: action, drama, sci-fi, docs, horror, comedy, experimental and everything in between (a full list of award categories is provided, below). All films must be under 45 minutes.
A major supporting partner of the festival is Craghoppers, the global outdoor clothing brand, which awards The Craghoppers Film Prize, one of the largest cash prizes available for short films. The first prize is £20,000 ($26,000) in cash with a second prize of £5,000 ($6,500) and additional awards of £5,000 ($6,500) for the best social impact film and £2,000 ($2,600) for the best student film. In addition, there are various in-kind awards from sponsors.
Selected films get the option of various paid distribution opportunities including international TV, major trains, hotels and airlines. Distribution is optional and entirely up to the filmmaker.
As well as cash prizes, winners can get help with future film projects in the form of discounted rates from partner firms (such as production houses) and mentoring from senior commercial film and business executives. The festival also introduces filmmakers to funding sources for future projects and offers publicity across a wide range of media (print and social) so enter today!
