Kinofilm 20th Manchester European Short Film Festival

Overview

***Last few hours to get your film in to KINOFILM's 20th Anniversary Edition. Use the 50% off code special closing offer.Flash sale - 50% off today only. LAST DAY 8/3/25 - SUBMISSIONS CLOSE AT MIDNIGHT. USE CODE: kinodiscount50 via FILMFREEWAY Welcome to MANCHESTER SHORT FILM FESTIVAL. Kinofilm is the North West of England's longest running Short Film Festival and in 2025 we will celebrate 30 years of presenting film festivals in Manchester and the 20th anniversary of the Manchester Short Film Festival PLEASE NOTE: the new dates for the next Festival (20th edition) will be announced soon. Our 19th edition took place 13th - 19th MAY 2024 and following on from this years successful festival we are likely to present another European Edition. (dates to be announced soon) Once again we will be presenting a festival of British and European Shorts only in a week long event, which we aim to be a special feature on British and European short films. We welcome short films from across the UK and Western Europe as the main programmes will be British Shorts, Northwest shorts, with special European programmes of Spanish Shorts, Italian Shorts and Pan European. As always we welcome short animated films of all types for a special programme of Animations and of course, films by women directors for our always popular focus on Films made by Women Directors You can submit to any of these categories or leave it to us to do the final selection and to decide were best we want to show your short. There will be no exclusions if your film has been shown elsewhere or even locally, but you should tell us if your film has had any local screening or if you would like to offer it to us as a premier at the time of applying, all we ask is that your film is not yet online for public viewing and with no plans for a online release before end of the festival dates.. Films previously shown at kino can be submitted for consideration but please note that films not previously shown at KINO will take a precedence in the selection procedure. SUBMISSIONS ARE NOW OPEN Re recommend submitting your films early to get the really cheapest rates - the early bird fee is only £10.00 to submit to our regular deadline until the 31st January. From 1st February entry fee will increase to just £15 until the first final deadline 28th February. For those that need an extra week to finish of their film we have late deadline of the 8th March, the late deadline submission fee will be £20.00. Please note there are 25% discount of all prices for FFW Gold members. Entree fees for all categories are the same apart and are even cheaper for Gold Members of FFW (25% discount). Sections 1. British New Wave Open to shorts from all over the UK (including Wales, Scotland and Ireland), maximum length of 20 mins and made within the last 18 months from the date of our festival. 2. North West of England Open to shorts from the NorthWest of England including off course Greater Manchester, maximum length of 20 mins and made within the last 18 months from the date of our festival. 3. Spanish Shorts Open only to short films from Spain (including its islands and territories), maximum length of 20 mins and made within the last 18 months from the dates of our festival. 4. Italian Shorts Open only to short films from Italy (including Sardinia and Sicily), maximum length of 20 mins and made within the last 18 months from the date of our festival. 5. Pan European Open to short films across Europe (any Spanish and Italian entries will primarily be considered for the Italian and Spanish programme) maximum length of 20 mins and made within the last 18 months from the date of our festival. 6. Animation Open to short animations and documentaries from UK and Europe, maximum length of 15 mins and made within the last 18 months from the date of our festival. 7. UK Student Shorts Open only to Student short films from from the UK, maximum length of 17 mins and made within the last 12 months from the date of our festival. 8. Women in Film Section Women play an important role in filmmaking and we continue our long standing celebration of Women in Film with this programme. This one programme will focus solely on Women directors from UK and Europe. Space in this programme will be in demand, submit to this programme only if you want to be considered for this specific Women in Film programme. Alternatively, please submit to any of the standard categories as listed. Maximum length of 20 mins and made within the last 18 months from the date of our festival. 9. Uk Documentary Open to short documentaries from UK, maximum length of 17 mins and made within the last 18 months from the date of our festival. NB. In some cases you may submit films up to 2 years old from the date of the festival. General Information. Established in 1995 KINOFILM, has been in operation for 29 years though this is only our 19th edition of the short film festival, as due to other projects and funding issues we have taken occasional intervals from the festival whilst concentrating on past educational projects and other specifically themed festivals. KINOFILM has a unique reputation for showcasing the best short films from around the world, whilst being renowned for seeking out diverse, challenging and groundbreaking new films. We welcome filmmakers that are pushing the boundaries of the short film art form. The festival maintains a high standard with many European & International award-winning shorts featured in the Festival. It includes special programmes in North West Shorts (UK), British New Wave, Euro Cine, International Panorama, Kino Exposed (student and youth shorts), low/no budget shorts, Animation and various themed programmes, giving new and emerging filmmakers the opportunity to have their work screened alongside that of critically acclaimed, established short filmmakers. Remember this a flash mini festival, not on the scale or our previous KINO festivals, but in a way much more focused. We intend to put it together really quickly with the festival taking place mid May. There will be one screening a night with Q&As and networking opportunities with the directors. At the weekend there will be more screenings and parties plus our award ceremony on Sunday evening. Films should have been completed since July 2022 to present and be no longer than 15 mins (animations should be no longer than 10 mins). PLEASE NOTE FILMS SHOULD NOT BE ONLINE FOR PUBLIC VIEWING AT THE TIME OF SUBMISSION AND AT ANY TIME PRIOR TO OUR FESTIVAL (APART FROM PRIVATE LINKS). ANY FILMS THAT ARE SEEN TO BE IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN WILL FACE DISQUALIFICATION AND NO REFUND WILL BE OFFERED. SORRY, THIS YEAR, AS A LIMITED MINI-FESTIVAL, WE ARE ONLY ACCEPTING FILMS FROM UK AND EUROPE. Please note, turn around on submissions will be quick. You should know no later than the end of April if your film is selected. Due to the quick turnaround you will be expected to provide no more than two images and your film file within a week of it being accepted. Please do not submit your film if you think such a tight schedule may be difficult for you. REFUNDS GIVEN ONLY IN THE FOLLOWING CIRCUMSTANCES: Please note if you make a genuine mistake and submit your film to us not realising that it does not fit all of the criteria, or you have to withdraw it for other reasons, we will refund your fee if the request is made only within the first two weeks from the date of your submission. Films withdrawn later for other reasons such as you wish to withdraw it as your film has been accepted in another festival that requires premier status, will not receive a refund. (Please note that any refunds will be after FFW (8%) and PP (3.5%) commission fees already deducted from your fee, you will only be refunded the net amount that the festival receives). Aims of the Festival: 1. To deliver a film festival of regional, national and international significance. 2. To nurture new talent and support the work of culturally diverse, emerging filmmakers. 3. To attract an industry base of filmmakers and media industry professionals, to encourage the exchange of ideas and development of partnerships. 4. To attract cinema goers and diverse audiences that would not normally experience the short film art form or film festivals. 5. To focus on the needs of the regions filmmakers, visiting filmmakers and the region’s audiences.

Last updated Sep 6, 2026

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FilmFreeway communityGold festival

• Filmmaker

  Great festival, thoroughly enjoyed - would highly recommend!

• Filmmaker

  An absolute pleasure to be part of this Festival.. Brilliant work from John and the team, great venues and a massive range of Films.. Very proud to win Best North West Film with Gone Fishing Short Film.. We desperately need more Festivals like Kinofilm, where the focus is solely on the films and filmmakers. Paul

• Filmmaker

  Great festival and great selection. Staff people were friendly.

• Filmmaker

  It was a huge honour to have my film INTO HIBERNAITON screened at the Kinoflim Festival 20th anniversary. The team behind it clearly puts in a lot of effort, and it definitely shows.

• Filmmaker

  "Thank you for selecting 'T.I.N.A.' and 'Lovers story fragments' ,great festival."

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