Film Festival Research

To make sure our poster looks as realistic as possible, we have researched into some film festivals and the awards they give. This means that if we discover a festival does not have an award for short films or calls the award has a special name, we know about it and can make the changes to our poster design. 

The yellow highlights are the names of the awards for the categories we would enter our short film into. 

By doing this, we are also able to discover any festivals we didn't previously know about as well being able to see which one would suit our short film best.

London Film Festival

"The BFI London Film Festival is Britain's leading film event and one of the world's best and most established film festivals" - BFI website

The BFI (British Film Institute) is a charitable organisation which serves to "preserve and promote filmmaking and television in the UK". The annual festival screens over 300  films from about 50 different countries

Awards 

Best Film Award - official competition winner
Sutherland Award - best first feature competition winner
Grierson Award - best feature length documentary competition winner
Best Short Film Award - best short film competition winner
BFI Fellowship - recognition of contribution to film and TV culture

If we were to enter our film into the BFI London Film Festival, we would be entering for the Best Short Film Award.

Toronto Film Festival

"The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) has become one of the most beloved cinematic events in the world, universally regarded as an ideal platform for filmmakers to launch their careers and to premiere their new work" - About TIFF 

In 2015, 397 films from 71 different countries were screened.

Awards 

Short Cuts Award for Best Canadian Short Film
Short Cuts Award for Best Short Film
City of Toronto Award for Best Canadian First Feature Film
Canada Goose Award for Best Canadian Feature Film
The Prizes of the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI Prizes)
NETPAC Award
Toronto Platform Prize
Grolsch People's Choice Awards
Dropbox Discovery Programme Filmmakers Award

Cannes Film Festival

"The Festival de Cannes is a celebration of cinematographic art. We exist to showcase the new writing, new genres and new visual innovations of our time. Every year in May, Cannes gives a sort of snapshot - both ephemeral and lasting, when one adds up the years - of what constitutes the art of cinema." - About Cannes film festival

Cannes is a non-public event and is attended by many film stars. Film producers take this opportunity of the festival to show new films and try to sell them to distributors who come from around the world.

Awards

Palme d'Or - Highest prize awarded for feature films
Grand Prix - Presented by the jury. Second highest prize awarded for feature films
Award for Best Director (Ex-Aequo) - Best directing achievements in a feature film
Award for Best Screenplay - Chosen by the jury. Best screenplay for a feature length film
Jury Prize - Chosen by the jury. Third highest prize awarded to feature films
Award for Best Actress - in a feature film
Award for Best Actor - in a feature film
Vulcain Prize for an Artist Technician, Awarded by the C.S.T. - in a feature film
Palme d'Or - Short Film - Highest prize awarded for short films
Short Film Special Distinction - Special mention

Though there are two short film categories our short film could be awarded in, we believe that there is only one we could enter for: the Palme d'Or - Short Film award. This is because the other was a special mention, rather than part of the competition.

Berlin Film Festival

"A diverse cultural scene, a critical public and an audience of film-lovers characterise the city. In the middle of it all, the Berlinale: a great cultural event and one of the most important dates for the international film industry." - the Berlinale Festival profile

They sell over 335,000 tickets and have more than 20,000 visitors from 122 different countries who are all professionals (which includes over 3,800 journalists)

Awards

This festival has an entire category dedicated to short films called the Berlinale Shorts which "comprises domestic and international short films, especially those that demonstrate innovative approaches to filmmaking" (taken from here) which include these awards:

Golden Bear - winner qualifies for the next year's short film Oscar
Silver Bear Jury Prize (Short Film)
Audi Short Film - winner given €20,000
Berlin Short Film Nominee for the European Film Awards- winning short film gets the Berlin nomination for the European Film Academy Short Film

There are more opportunities for our short film to win in this category. There are around 30 films which are entered to compete.

Sundance Film Festival

"Sundance Institute is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the discovery and development of independent artists and audiences. Through its programs, the Institute seeks to discover, support, and inspire independent film and theatre artists from the United States and around the world, and to introduce audiences to their new work." - about Sundance

Categories

U.S. Narrative Feature Films 
U.S. Documentary Feature Films
International Narrative Feature Films
International Documentary Feature Films
U.S. Short Films
International Short Films
Episodic Content
Virtual Reality Projects

Though there are two categories designed for short films, because we are from England and not the United States, we would have to enter for the international short film category.