BFI London Film Festival
London, United Kingdom
100
Tier AFIAPFOscarScreenings
Festival dossier
The Shortest Nights
London, United Kingdom · Est. 2014 · Established legitimate festival with meaningful track record
Tier BTrusted
London, United Kingdom
65
Legitimacy ScoreShould I submit?
Solid signals — do normal diligence
Tier B looks established enough for many filmmakers. Check fees, programming fit, and recent editions before submitting.
- No physical screenings
- 12 years of verifiable history
- 3 verified pro signals
Overview
As a BIFA-qualifying festival, we pride ourselves on curating exciting, entertaining, high-quality programmes celebrating the best in BRITISH SHORT FILM. Now in our 12th year, we’ve grown our reputation for programming brilliant events for filmmakers and film-fans alike. We are a boutique festival, but our standards for selection are extremely high. Every strand we programme is designed to showcase your films alongside other works that compliment and amplify their themes and narratives. Selected shorts are created exclusively by filmmakers living, working or studying in the UK, inclusive of British Filmmakers working overseas. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PRAISE FOR THE FESTIVAL: “If it’s film that floats your boat, take up Short Sighted Cinema’s invitation to watch all their short films in one go…. bliss.” – Time Out “A festival that highlights some of the best filmmaking currently at large in the British film industry.” - Directors Notes “The eagle-eyed curators who run things are known for spotting the best new short films around. ” – Londonist
Last updated Sep 4, 2026
Legitimacy Analysis
Positive Indicators (+30 pts)
- 12 years of verifiable history
- 3 verified pro signals
- Verified trusted status
- Legitimacy signals outweigh concerns (3 vs 1)
Red Flags (-15 pts)
- No physical screenings
Trust Signals
Positive Signals
- FilmFreeway Gold festival
- Documented history with archived programs
- Has FilmFreeway community ratings
Festival Details
Founded
2014
FilmFreeway communityGold festival
Avg. rating
4.3/ 5
Reviews
68
Synced 4 days ago
- Filmmaker
A brilliant festival. Great communication, great networking and such care and attention shown for all films. Having our film How Fast Can You Eat A Pickled egg open the festival was an honour only beaten by organiser Gem racing an egg in the bar afterwards. Loved it!
- Filmmaker
Brilliant programme, brilliant hosts, brilliant world premier of our short ALONE.
- Filmmaker
Love this festival. Gem’s a legend. Got to shake hands with Chattering Cenobite from Hellraiser. All at the fabulous RichMix in Shoreditch. What’s not to love.
- Filmmaker
Such a warm and wonderful festival! Huge thanks to the whole team. I watched some amazing short films and met some incredible filmmakers. 100% apply to this festival!
- Filmmaker
Wonderful festival, run by a small passionate team of volunteers. Very high quality of programming: a higher standard than some of the biggest festivals. Highly recommend.
FilmFreeway reviews are filmmaker opinions, not our score. Cross-check red flags before paying fees.
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At a glance
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Scores are calculated from structural indicators: accreditations, physical screenings, award category count, submission frequency, and acceptance rate. Higher scores reflect more verifiable legitimacy signals.
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