4th Annual Monarch Short Film Festival
Friday, February 27, 2026
7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
University Theatre
The Monarch Short Film Festival is an annual event showcasing and highlighting the work of 51³Ô¹ÏPro students and alumni.* The Festival is a competitive event where members of a jury individually watch and assign points (1-10) to each of the movies submitted. At the Festival’s award ceremony event, the top scoring movies (as determined by the points assigned by the jury) are screened to the audience, and the winners of the competition are announced and awarded. Best Student Film (overall) and Audience Favorite are also awarded during the ceremony.
Submit Film
Dates and Deadlines
Opening for submissions: October 6, 2025
Deadlines for submissions: February 1, 2026
Notification of selections: February 16, 2026
Film Festival/Awards: February 27, 2026
How to Submit a Film
Complete entry on FilmFreeway using the link:Ìý
* FilmFreeway allows you to submit a Secure Online Screener. Please log on to the website, set up an account or login into your existing account, and follow the instructions to submit your film to Monarch Short Film festival directly via the website. From there, your submission will be processed and assigned to the Monarch Short Film Festival organizers.
* Submissions must be uploaded and submitted no later than the deadline date by 11:59 pm ESTÌýto enter the festival.
Awards and Prizes
* Best Student Film
* Best Short FictionÌý
* Best Short Documentary
* Best Short Animation
* Best Short Alumni
* Audience Favorite Film
Rules and Terms
- Date of Production: Films must have been completed between February 3, 2025, and February 1, 2026.Ìý
- Duration: 20 minutes or less
- A student may submit more than one film.Ìý
- A film can only be submitted in one category (Short Fiction, Short Documentary, Short Animation or Short Alumni).Ìý
- The student submitting the film must be the director and/or producer of the film. This information should be clearly stated in the submission entry and in the film credits.
Ìý - Categories for Submission:
- Short Fiction (51³Ô¹ÏPro enrolled students only)
- Short Documentary (51³Ô¹ÏPro enrolled students only)
- Short Animation (51³Ô¹ÏPro enrolled students only)
- Short Film Alumni*
*51³Ô¹ÏPro Alumni may only submit and compete in the Best Short Alumni category. But, if the work to be submitted was created while the alumnus was enrolled as a student at 51³Ô¹ÏPro (before graduation), this work should be submitted in one of the three student categories--Best Short Fiction, Best Short Documentary or Best Short Animation.
Questions?
For questions or more information on this event, please contactÌýfilmshowcase@odu.edu.