‘Betting on Shorts’ (BoSs) is an annual short film festival which brings together cutting-edge venues and film festivals across and beyond Europe in a unique short film competition with a simultaneous screening: “More than a Eurovision of Shortfilm”.

What interests us is to create a situation which takes on a different shape in each city and inspires a different reaction. In an audio/video conference which takes place after the screening we compare results in each city crosses geographical borders by creating a space where people can meet and communicate on common ground, encouraging a playful and creative cross-cultural exchange.

Decisions that are based on the personal tastes and opinions of cultural critics and curators are always to a certain degree arbitrary. Whether a film wins is not only based on its outstanding quality but also on luck. It’s a bit of a gamble. We liked that and decided to give the audience a chance to play as well. Therefore, we invite everyone to bet on which film will be the winner.

A week before the event, short trailers of all films are streamed on our website and are on show in the participating venues. On the day of the screening everyone receives a betting booklet (containing a still and synopsis for each film) and a betting form. Bets must be placed before the screening. Those who have placed their bets well can win cinema tickets or similar small prizes.

To sidestep the issue of a betting licence no money can be bet. It is more like a game than a gamble. The audience will simply be asked to fill in a form with their name and the title of the film they believe to win.

Get in touch with us! We will explain any questions you might have.

No, entering the festival is entirely free.

Each entrant may only submit one film.

Films submitted for consideration can be as short as you like, but we can’t accept films longer than 10 minutes.

Only films that have some relevance to the overall theme of each year’s festival will be considered for the shortlist. Your film might address the theme indirectly, or in a more suggestive and ambivalent way. We welcome unexpected or surprising interpretations of the theme, as long as the connection is evident to the viewer after watching.

We are happy to receive any films, regardless of when they were made or whether or not they have been screened previously. Please let us know, however, if your film has yet to premiere so we can be sure to let our audience know they are the first to watch your film.

Please read this year’s call regarding submission instructions and deadline.

The applicant is responsible for the costs of sending the preview copy and, should the film be selected, also the screening copy.

Preview copies can only be returned if the applicant provides a self-addressed and stamped envelope.

For entry to Betting on Shorts we require you to submit your film on DVD (Pal). Should your film be selected you may be asked to provide your film on DVD as a hi-res quicktime, targa sequence or AVI.

All foreign language films must be subtitled in English. Should your film be selected we will also ask you to supply a version without subtitles, and a script featuring all the dialogue and the corresponding time codes from your film. This will be used to create subtitles in the various languages of our participating institutions.

As we expect to receive several hundred submissions we regret that we can only write to the selected filmmakers. If you have not heard from us by end of September 2009 please assume that you have not been successful this time.

When we receive your entry, we log your film for shortlisting. All entries are viewed and a shortlist of roughly 40 films is selected by the Betting on Shorts team in London. This shortlist is viewed by representatives from all our partner institutions across Europe and a final list of 10 – 15 films is selected.

For “More than a Eurovision of Shortfilm” the shortlisted films are screened simultaneously in all participating venues and judged by a panel of film-curators and critics. Each jury from the participating cities chooses only one winner. In an audiovisual-conference we compare results in all venues and determine the overall winner. There is only one winner.

The winner is awarded a cash prize to help realize future projects…and immense fame!