The 2nd edition of Sofia Short Fest will take place June 11-14, 2026 in Sofia, Bulgaria at a set of renowned locations and cinema halls, part of the Europa Cinemas network. The program features three days of film screenings, workshops, presentations, Q&A, live events and, of course, parties. SSF celebrates the brave and often hidden charm of independent short cinema. Although the festival is an international event, for our first year we will accept only Bulgarian short films as a form of recognition and appreciation for the new wave of Bulgarian filmmakers. We invite you to submit your films and become part of this new cinema forum, which will accentuate the grand impact of short stories.
The festival accepts films in three main categories: live-action, animation and documentary. The films are divided into two groups: professionals and students.
competition categories
MASTER LEVEL
- Live action films
- Animated films
- Documentary films
|
STUDENT LEVEL
- Live action films
- Animated films
- Documentary films
|
competition categories
MASTER LEVEL
- Live action films
- Animated films
- Documentary films
|
STUDENT LEVEL
- Live action films
- Animated films
- Documentary films
|
Student films are those produced by students during their time of study. All other films fall under the Master category.
Awards
- ◼ Original idea
- ◼ Audience award
- ◼ Best short film
- ◼ Best animation film
- ◼ Best documentary
- ◼ Best student short film
- ◼ Best student animation film
- ◼ Best student documentary
- ◼ Award „Focus“
- ◼ award by Kinobox
|
audience
- all nominated films are additionally subject to an independent by the jury voting available for the viewers - the favorites are getting support grants for professional services provided by our partners
|
A specially appointed Jury committee will select the winners of the competition programs. Independent audience voting will also be held with data publicly shared in real time. However, the audience vote is not connected with the awards and will not affect the jury evaluation process.
Films submissions for Sofia Short Fest are being accepted through FilmFreeway only.
You can submit your film on this page. Please get acquainted with our regulations before submitting.
