Elgin Short Film Festival

Welcome back!!!! The Elgin Short Film Festival (ESFF) will celebrate its 13th year on September 18th, 2021, with a hybrid event – virtual and in-theater presentations. On April 1st, 2021 we will begin accepting entries for this year’s festival! 2020 was an unsettling year for everyone, an understatement, we know. While it came with its share of disappointments, it also presented new opportunities for the ESFF and our audience. For the first time we will be a hybrid festival. Every year since 2009 the ESFF has drawn film entries from around the world making this a world-wide competition. This year we will welcome an in-house audience (fingers crossed) as well as viewers from around the world to take part in this impressive event. We are currently inviting filmmakers to submit their short films (20 minutes or less in length including credits) for competition in our festival via filmfreeway.com. This competition will allow any filmmaker to submit work, even if it has been entered into other festival competitions! We encourage submitting films in every genre and subject matter as long as they are within the scope of the official rules. Exciting components to our festival: • The ESFF will feature a Live Action category and an Animation category. • The ESFF will be a hybrid (on line) and a live-in person event. • Next In Finalist - Each category will have five potential finalists. The top two, as voted on by the selection committee, will make the finals. The next three films in each category will compete to make the finals in September as part of the Elgin Fringe Festival. (Dates and times TBD) • The ESFF will accept films that are up to the equivalent of an MPAA ‘R’ rating. • The Top Finalist’s films selected will be treated to a red carpet arrival the night of the festival and will be shown in the 1,200-seat theater of The Hemmens Cultural Center! • Mike Toomey, comedian and integral part of the WGN morning show, returns to MC our event. • Trophies and cash prizes for the top three films--up to $1,000! We encourage your participation and look forward to receiving your film submission for the 2021 Elgin Short Film Festival. The entry fee for films submitted by July 31, 2021 is $40. Films submitted after July 31, 2021 will have a $50 fee. The deadline to submit films is August 20, 2021! For a complete list of rules and regulations, and to download an application, go to: http://www.hemmens.org/annualfilmfestival https://filmfreeway.com/ElginShortFilmFestival https://www.facebook.com/elginshortfilm