Given the remarkable advances in technology and accessibility of resources, it has never been easier to make a film. In this DIY, control your own material world, legions of filmmakers are turning to short films to have their voices heard. Further, with more and more film festivals adding short programs into their lineups and with so many filmmakers shooting short films as proof of concept to showcase their talents, short films are finally getting the attention they deserve.

We hear all the time from many of the 300+ executives we work with here at Stage 32 that short films have become a huge part of their recruitment model when searching for new talent or ideas which can be stretched to feature length. Take for example last year’s Oscar sensation WHIPLASH, written & directed by Damien Chazelle, which started as a short film and was then developed into a feature with the help of production company Bold Films. Or, consider SUNDAYS, which attracted manager Jairo Alvarado of Circle of Confusion and gave a first time writer & director, Mischa Rozema from Amsterdam, a calling card to a 7-figure deal at Warner Bros.

Over the last year, we’ve polled thousands of filmmakers who are members of the Stage 32 community and asked them what they most need to move the needle on their careers. Of course, the first answer was money! But the second answer was access/exposure/distribution. This, we can help with!

Introducing the Stage 32 Short Film Contest.

From now until August 14, the Stage 32 Short Film Contest will be accepting short film submissions which will be judged by industry talent. Films reaching the final round will be judged by industry executives who have all been involved in either signing filmmakers off a short or shepherding a short film into a feature.

But wait, it gets better.

The top 8-10 films will be screened in a special Stage 32 theatrical Shorts Program Showcase at the Raindance Film Festival in London this September! The films will also be showcased in a special global online screening exclusively on Stage32.com. We will be inviting all of the executives (managers, agents, producers, directors of development, etc) we work with to view the films during this special global online premiere (the executives will also have private access to watch the films as many times as they like) and will facilitate meetings between interested parties and the filmmakers. How’s that for access and exposure?

Oh, and we'll be flying the Grand Prize winning director to London to be at the theatrical premiere of his or her film where he or she will have a live Q&A session with yours truly!

These are just SOME of the short films that our judges have been involved with developing into features or TV shows!

Obviously, the entire team is fired up to present this opportunity to our amazing community of filmmakers. To read more about the contest and see our All-Star team of judges, click below!

To learn more and to enter, click here!

Like this blog post? Please share it on social media (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, email etc) by using social media buttons at the top of the blog. Or post to your personal blog and anywhere else you feel appropriate. Thank you.

As always, we welcome thoughts and remarks on ANY of the content above in the Comments section below...