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LA Shorts International Film Festival has opened its 2027 call for entries, accepting international live-action, animation and documentary shorts of up to 40 minutes. The early deadline is 23 October 2026.
Submissions are now open for the 2027 LA Shorts International Film Festival, one of Los Angeles’ longest-running festivals dedicated specifically to short-form filmmaking.
The new call for entries opened on 30 August 2026, with the festival’s official submission listing currently scheduling its next edition for 4–10 March 2027 in Los Angeles.
For short filmmakers, LA Shorts carries particular value because the festival holds qualifying recognition connected with the Academy Awards, BAFTA, Canadian Screen Awards and Spain’s Goya Awards.
The early submission deadline is 23 October 2026, giving filmmakers almost two months to enter at the lowest standard short-film fee.
LA Shorts 2027 submission deadlines
The current submission schedule is:
- Opening date: 30 August 2026
- Early deadline: 23 October 2026
- Regular deadline: 20 November 2026
- Extended deadline: 18 December 2026
- Late deadline: 22 January 2027
- Notification date: 5 February 2027
- Festival dates: 4–10 March 2027
Submissions are being accepted through FilmFreeway.
How much does it cost to submit?
For most short-film categories, the submission fee increases across each deadline window.
- Early deadline — $49
- Regular deadline — $59
- Extended deadline — $65
- Late deadline — $70
The same standard fee structure currently applies to live action, animation, documentary, series, music video and AI-film submissions.
High-school shorts have a reduced fee structure beginning at $30.
The festival is also accepting narrative branded content from agencies and production houses free of charge.
What films are eligible?
LA Shorts accepts films with a maximum runtime of 40 minutes.
For the 2027 edition, eligible films must have been completed after 1 January 2026.
International filmmakers can submit, and films do not need to be in English, although non-English productions must include English subtitles.
Works in progress can also be entered as long as the completed version will be ready at least four weeks before the festival.
Filmmakers can submit more than one project, but each film requires a separate entry.
Be careful with Los Angeles screenings
Filmmakers planning their festival strategy should pay particular attention to LA Shorts’ screening preferences.
The festival says it factors previous screenings in Los Angeles County into its selection decisions and prefers films that have not screened in the area before LA Shorts.
It also prefers films that have not already been made available online.
Those points are particularly relevant for filmmakers attempting to build a festival run before releasing their short publicly on YouTube, Vimeo or another streaming platform.
LA Shorts does not phrase either point as a blanket global-premiere requirement, but filmmakers targeting the festival should consider delaying Los Angeles screenings and public online availability until a selection decision has been made.
Live-action, animation and documentary shorts are accepted
The 2027 call includes several submission categories.
Live-action filmmakers can enter work across drama, comedy, experimental, science fiction and horror.
Dedicated categories are also available for:
- Animation
- Documentary
- Music Video
- Series
- High School Shorts
- Branded Content
- AI Films
The AI category is intended for films created primarily using AI tools, making LA Shorts one of the established qualifying festivals now formally separating AI-generated filmmaking into its own competition category.
Why LA Shorts matters on the qualifying circuit
LA Shorts is more than a general Los Angeles short-film showcase.
The festival currently lists itself as qualifying for the Academy Awards, BAFTA, Canadian Screen Awards and Goya Awards.
Its Academy Awards connection is particularly important for filmmakers attempting to qualify a short without completing a traditional theatrical run.
However, simply screening at LA Shorts does not automatically make a film Oscar-qualified.
Qualification is attached to designated awards and remains subject to the Academy’s rules for the relevant awards year. Filmmakers should always confirm the exact qualifying prize and current Academy eligibility requirements before planning an awards campaign.
The same distinction applies to other accreditation systems: being selected by a qualifying festival and actually satisfying the requirements for a subsequent awards submission are not necessarily the same thing.
LA Shorts has a long Oscar track record
LA Shorts has been running for more than three decades and focuses specifically on short-form work.
Its FilmFreeway profile reports that 68 filmmakers who have screened at the festival have subsequently received Academy Award nominations.
The festival has also hosted work involving filmmakers and performers who later became major names in the industry, although that history should not be interpreted as a guarantee of career or awards success for new entrants.
More relevant to independent filmmakers is the festival’s established position within the international qualifying circuit and its focus on shorts rather than treating them as a small section of a predominantly feature-film programme.
What happened at LA Shorts in 2026?
The festival’s most recent edition awarded its Best of Fest prize to I Will Be Alright, directed by Cyrus Neshvad.
Mine for a Moment by Kristian Lever received Best International, while Yoruba Richen’s Free Joan Little won Best Documentary and Joachim Hérissé’s The Flesh Dress received Best Animation.
The 2026 programme also included awards across drama, comedy, horror, science fiction, experimental film, branded content, AI filmmaking, music video and high-school film.
For filmmakers considering the new round, those categories provide a useful indication of the range of work LA Shorts currently programmes.
Should short filmmakers submit early?
There is a straightforward financial advantage.
A standard short costs $49 before 23 October, compared with $70 at the final deadline on 22 January.
Submitting early does not guarantee a stronger chance of selection, but filmmakers already planning to enter can avoid the higher late-entry fee.
There is also enough time before the early deadline for filmmakers to check their Los Angeles screening history, online availability and completion date against the current rules.
The next important date is therefore 23 October 2026, when the early submission window closes.
For filmmakers building a 2027 festival strategy around major qualifying events, LA Shorts is one of the calls worth evaluating early rather than discovering shortly before its final deadline.
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