THAPASYA ARTS SAN FRANCISCO INTERNATIONAL SHORT FILM FESTIVAL

Thapasya Arts San Francisco International Short Film Festival intends to bring high-quality independent short films from around the globe to San Francisco Bay Area.

We promote new emerging talents and filmmakers and showcase the power of independent shorts. We are open to all film genres and we take pride in our screening programs that promote diversity and give voice to people of all backgrounds from all around the world.

Share your creations with us and let’s celebrate independent cinema together.

Awards & Prizes

The festival program will consist of international short films of different genres. All styles, genres and languages are welcome. Our team of judges, who come from filmmaking and academic backgrounds, will select the best films to screen for the audience.

• Nominations: All the films that have been nominated for an award in a category. Not all nominated films will be screened.

• Official Selection: All the nominated films selected for screening will be notified via email. If you received a Nomination email, but no Official Selection email, it means your film will not be screened, but is still a contender for an award in its category.

• Award Winners: Chosen from the Nominations (which includes the Official Selection).

We will award winners in categories such as:

1. Best Short Film
2. Best Director
3. Best Cinematography
4. Best Scriptwriter
5. Best Actor in a Male Role
6. Best Actor in a Female Role

The winners will be announced at the festival, after the screening, and online later. Awards will include a Cash prize for Best Film and mementos for other categories. The finale will include Award presentations and a networking event.

Timelines

• Entry submission should be received by March 31, 2024.
• Nominations will be notified by April 22, 2024.
• Official Selections will be notified by May 5, 2024.
• Short Film Festival finale and award distribution ceremony will be conducted at Cubberley Theatre in Palo Alto, California on May 26, 2024.

Rules & Terms

• All films must be submitted in English or with English subtitles (if in a different language).
• All films must have been made in or after 2022.
• Short films must not exceed 30 minutes.
• Filmmakers are responsible for sorting out the copyright on their own materials.
• Films must be non-watermarked.
• Films must not contain pornography, racist, sexist, offensive or defamatory statements intended to harm anybody.
• By submitting to us, you give us consent and right to screen your film in front of a live audience, and, under special circumstances, online screening.
• We retain the right to change the date and venue of the festival under special circumstances. All filmmakers will be informed about any changes through email and our online platforms.
• We place no restrictions on your work in terms of premiere status or whether your work has been made available online.
• We do not accept partial screeners, trailers, or screener links that require access other than password protected links.
• Any technical issues with the submitted films are 100% the responsibility of the filmmakers. If, at the time of judging, your video file doesn’t work or doesn’t have English subtitles (if in a language other than English), it will be automatically rejected, without a refund. Please contact the festival team ASAP if there are any issues with the submission process, and a solution will be found.
• We cannot provide refunds.
• Selection and decision made by judges are confidential and final. We cannot share feedback or judgement details with anyone.
• By submitting to us you agree to our terms and conditions and to receiving marketing newsletters and discounts about film festivals in the form of emails. We will never sell your information to third parties.
• We reserve the right to update our terms and conditions.

FESTIVAL UPDATE: MAY 27 2024

SHORT FILM FESTIVAL FINALE AND AWARD CEREMONY WERE CONDUCTED IN PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA ON 26TH MAY 2024

Here are the winners of TSISF2024. Awards were announced and presented at the festival event. Thapasya Arts thanks and congratulates everyone.

1. Best Short Film Award and cash prize goes to "4-C" by filmmaker Abhijith RV. Honorable mention and cash prize goes to "RAJANIGANDHA" by filmmaker Abhishek Basu.
2. Best Director Award goes to Amitabh Aurora for film "ASYLUM" by filmmaker Amitabh Aurora
3. Best Cinematography Award goes to Anil Pingua for film "ASYLUM" by filmmaker Amitabh Aurora
4. Best Scriptwriter Award goes to Amitabh Aurora for film "ASYLUM" by filmmaker Amitabh Aurora
5. Best Actor in a Male Role Award goes to both Bilas Chandrahasan for film "4-C" by filmmaker Abhijith RV and Debopriyo Mukherjee for film "RAJANIGANDHA" by filmmaker Abhishek Basu
6. Best Actor in a Female Role Award goes to Aswathi Ramdas for film "Barsa" by filmmaker Akhilesh KA. Honorable mention goes to Jayashree Mani for film "Thedal" by filmmaker Venkat Arunachalam.