Introduction to the film festival
Nonprofit arts organization Heartland Film, Inc. will host the ninth annual Indy Shorts International Film Fest (Indy Shorts) to exclusively showcase short films (40 minutes or less in length) from July 21-26, 2026, with in-person screenings in Indianapolis and virtual. All winners will play encore screenings at the Heartland International Film Festival the following October. An Academy Award®-qualifying film festival in all three categories (Live Action, Documentary, and Animation short film categories), the winner of the Narrative, Documentary, and Animated Grand Prizes will qualify for Academy Awards without the standard theatrical run, granted they meet all the other requirements needed to qualify. Short films featured at Indy Shorts/Heartland over the years have gone on to be short-listed, nominated, and winners of Academy Awards®. In recent years, 39 programmed short films have been nominated with 10 going on to win Oscars®.
Top Reasons to Submit to Indy Shorts
1. Major cash prizes, including grand prizes at $5,000 each!
2. Qualifying festival: Academy Award® -qualifying festival in all 3 Short Films categories*, BAFTA®-qualifying festival and Goya-qualifying festival!
3. One of MovieMaker Magazine's Top 50 Coolest Film Festivals, Top Short Fests in the World, and 50 Festivals Worth the Entry Fee!
4. Regarded for our Hoosier hospitality with a strong community between filmmakers, moviegoers, industry, and volunteers (check out our reviews!)
Awards
Indy Shorts has earned the special designation of being a qualifying festival for the Annual Academy Awards® for all three Short Film categories: Live Action, Documentary, and Animated. This means that the winner of the Indy Shorts Grand Prize for Best Narrative Short, Grand Prize for Best Documentary Short, and Grand Prize for Best Animated Short will qualify for consideration in the Short Films category of the Annual Academy Awards® without the standard theatrical run, provided the film otherwise complies with the Academy rules. Indy Shorts is also on the Qualifying Festival List for the BAFTA Film Awards. British short films programmed at Indy Shorts, along with one other festival from the Qualifying Festival List, qualify for entry. The full rules and eligibility guidelines for BAFTA’s short film categories are available on the BAFTA website. The 2026 edition of Indy Shorts will bestow more than $35,000 in cash prizes across multiple categories, including: • Narrative Short Grand Prize ($5,000 Cash Prize) • Documentary Short Grand Prize ($5,000 Cash Prize) • Animated Short Grand Prize ($5,000 Cash Prize) • High School Film Competition (HSFC) Summer White Lynch Memorial Grand Prize, Underwritten by Gary D. and Marlene Cohen ($2,000) • Children's Resilience Short Film Prize presented by Shine Global ($2,500 Cash Prize) • Lens of Hope Award presented by the TDB Family Foundation ($5,000 total prize - $2,500 to film team and $2,500 to affiliated nonprofit) • Indiana Spotlight Narrative Award ($1,000 Cash Prize) • Hoodox Indiana Spotlight Documentary Award ($1,000 Cash Prize) • Jenni Berebitsky Legacy Award ($1,800 Cash Prize) • Richard D. Propes Social Impact Award ($1,000 Cash Prize) • Episodic Award ($1,000 Cash Prize) • Horror Award ($1,000 Cash Prize) • Comedy Award ($1,000 Cash Prize) • Directorial Debut Award ($1,000 Cash Prize) • Overall Audience Choice Award ($1,000 Cash Prize) • Audience Choice Awards in the Narrative, Documentary, Animated, Indiana Spotlight, Comedy, Horror, High School categories ($500 each)
Academy Award®-qualified category
Academy Award®-qualified category
Academy Award®-qualified category
- HSFC Indiana Spotlight Winner ($1,000, must be an Indiana resident/high school filmmaker to be eligible)
Rules
To be eligible for Indy Shorts, films must comply with the following:
The film must have been completed on or after January 1, 2025. Please DO NOT submit projects completed in 2024 or before as they will be automatically disqualified with no refund given.
The film must be available for up to two (2) in-person screenings during Indy Shorts, July 21-26, 2026, and virtually on-demand via Eventive Virtual Festival (US geofence, 250 cap per program)
There must not be a screening fee attached to the film. Heartland will not pay a screening fee to any film featured in the Festival; there are no exceptions.
The film cannot require dual projection (interlock) or separate soundtracks. Non-English films must be subtitled in English.
Films must provide an H.264 or ProRes copy suitable for exhibition by the deadlines communicated. Failure to provide film print files and/or other requested film contract materials can result in your film being pulled from the lineup.
Premiere status does not affect eligibility, but if a premiere status is confirmed with Heartland Film in the filmmaker contract it cannot change. Indy Shorts has the right to pull the film from the lineup if this status is changed after confirmation.
Short films available prior to the Festival via paid or unpaid streaming/online services are still eligible for Festival consideration.
No public/in-person exhibition of your film can take place in Indiana from the time of confirmation through the Indy Shorts event. If your film is not available online at the time of confirmation, we highly suggest that you do not make it available until after the event.
Confirmed films cannot drop from the Festival lineup once the filmmaker contract is signed. Any title breaking its filmmaker agreement and pulling from the lineup once confirmed will be subject to a fine equivalent to the loss in venue fees and lost ticket revenue.
Short films that have already applied for the Academy Awards (in 2025 or before) are not eligible for the Grand Prizes. Titles that have already applied for Academy consideration are still eligible to be Official Selections and are eligible for other awards.
| Jury Name | Judge photos | Jury Profile |
|---|
Authorization type
Duration (several sessions)
Film Festival Features
Dates & Deadlines
2025-08-08
Submission start time
2025-12-12
Earlybird Deadline
2026-02-27
Regular Deadline
2026-03-03
Extended Deadline
2026-03-20
Late Deadline
2026-03-20
Submission end time
2026-06-03
Finalist notification start time
2026-06-03
Finalist notification end time
2026-07-21
Award ceremony start time
2026-07-26
Award ceremony end time
Categories and fees
2025/12/12
Earlybird Deadline
Standard: 50 Dollar
Student： 41 Dollar
2026/02/27
Regular Deadline
Standard: 65 Dollar
Student： 43 Dollar
2026/03/03
Extended Deadline
Standard: 100 Dollar
Student： 81 Dollar
2026/03/20
Late Deadline
Standard: 80 Dollar
Student： 65 Dollar
2025/12/12
Earlybird Deadline
Standard: 50 Dollar
Student： 41 Dollar
2026/02/27
Regular Deadline
Standard: 65 Dollar
Student： 43 Dollar
2026/03/03
Extended Deadline
Standard: 100 Dollar
Student： 81 Dollar
2026/03/20
Late Deadline
Standard: 80 Dollar
Student： 65 Dollar
Related film festivalMore
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