MoPOP in partnership with Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF) presents the 15th annual Science Fiction + Fantasy Short Film Festival.

Bringing together industry professionals in filmmaking, science fiction, and fantasy, SFFSFF showcases new, creative additions to cinema arts.

The festival will showcase animated and live-action science fiction and fantasy films.

Filmmakers from around the world are encouraged to submit. Admitted films are judged by a nationally recognized jury of luminaries in the fields of science fiction and fantasy.

CALL FOR ENTRIES NOW OPEN!

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About the Festival

Science Fiction + Fantasy Short Film Festival brings together industry professionals in both filmmaking and the genres of science fiction and fantasy to encourage and support new, creative additions to science fiction and fantasy cinema arts. The film festival is co-presented by MoPOP and SIFF. For more detailed information, download the Rules and Regulations and the Info Sheet.

Date + Location

July 16, 2019—Call for Entries Open
August 19, 2019—Early Submissions Due $20
September 17, 2019—Regular Deadline $30
October 14, 2019—Late Deadline $40
November 1, 2019—Extension $50
December 2, 2019—Notification of Acceptance
December 23, 2019—Film Print due
March 2020—SFFSFF (Exact date TBA)

Jury

A nationally recognized panel of distinguished film, television, literature, and science fiction industry professionals, peers, and film critics will review qualifying submissions. A jury, which includes science fiction notables and award-winning film professionals, will view the top selected films in competition during the festival to determine the winners.

Awards

Grand Prize, Second Place, Third Place, Douglas Trumbull Award for Best Special Effects, and Audience Favorite.

Format

10 short films will screen in the first session followed by 10 short films in the second session. An awards ceremony will follow the second session, and all filmmakers are invited to a post-festival reception with jurors, MoPOP and SIFF supporters, and members of the Seattle film and sci-fi/fantasy communities.

Mission + Objective

The Science Fiction + Fantasy Short Film Festival promotes and encourages an awareness, appreciation, and understanding of the art of science fiction and fantasy cinema. Its mandate is to create a forum for creative artistry in science fiction and fantasy film and recognize the most outstanding short films produced.

Questions?

Contact MoPOP at FilmFest@MoPOP.org.

Eligibility

Completion Date
Films must have been completed no earlier than January 2015.

Film Length and Genre
Films must be no longer than 15 minutes.* Films are selected on the basis of quality and originality, and preference is given to original premieres.

*Films that exceed 15 minutes may still be considered for the festival, but will not be eligible for awards.

Animated or live-action

Science fiction or fantasy (examples: futuristic stories, space adventure, technological speculation, social experiments, utopia and dystopia, sword and sorcery, folklore, urban fantasy, magic, and mythic adventure)

Presentation
Selected films must be made available for presentation as high-resolution digital files (2k or 1080p resolution [.mov file encoded using Apple ProRes 422 or equivalent pro codec] or hi-res mpeg-4 file). Accepted films must arrive as high-resolution digital files. Failure to provide the film in the specified format will result in the film being dropped from the festival. To ensure the wide variance of frame rates and resolutions conform properly to our system we convert the high quality files to DCP in house.

Language
Foreign language films must be made available with the original language soundtrack and English subtitles.