How long is too long for a short film

[Sven]

I was just curious what Dvxuser's experiences have been with entering 20min+ shorts into film festivals.

I've read that while most festivals say they have a 15, 20, or even up to a 60 min runtime acceptance for shorts, most judges are only allowed to recommend 1 or 2 with a 20 min max run time. Anything over is discouraged and rejected, even if it is good. They could screen 5, 5min shorts in one 20min time slot.

Our film is 30min. So I'm figuring if we have a shot of getting screened we'll have to cut 10min of our movie. That means 10minutes of story that is well...important to making the movie not have holes in the plot. Is it a catch 22? Do I sacrifice run time for a fighting chance at being accepted? Has anyone had any luck entering medium length shorts?

 

[Eastside Parkway]

Usually 40 mins is the cutoff. As far as I know.

 

[Jim Brennan]

Every fest is different. I did a 40 min short a few years ago and some would accept it and some wouldn't.

Don't make your film incomprehensible to meet a time requirement. Pick fests that have a long enough requirement and send the best movie you can.

 

[Sad Max]

Yes. As much as possible - within reason - don't edit for length when you can edit for content.