Everybody can win an Oscar. All you need to do is to follow those defined steps. This article assumes that you are familiar with the art of filmmaking and have all it takes to produce your own short film. So grab a coffee and read the pathway to the golden statue.

3 options to qualify a short film for the Oscars

Generally speaking, there are three ways to qualify your short film for the Oscars. You have to win a student award at their Student Academy Awards, rent a theatre for a week in Los Angeles to screen your short, or win an award at a qualifying film festival.

The option for students filmmakers

If you’re a student filmmaker, your short film can be qualified for an Oscar nomination by winning in the categories of the Student Academy Awards Competition. The qualifying categories are Animation, Narrative, Alternative and Foreign Film. However, documentary student films cannot qualify through the Student Academy Award Competition.

The “Short” pathway

If you are not a student, follow these steps.

We have created a flowchart demonstrates Short option, plus the list of the qualified festivals. View it below. Click on the chart for full size:

 Make your best short film (<40 minutes)

The easy way to enter into the Academy Awards consideration process is by being nominated to one of best short film categories: Live Action, Animated, and Documentary. I am not saying that making a short is an easy task, but it defiantly less expensive than doing a feature. Just do your most professional and best jaw-dropping short film. BTW, it’s important to mention that the Academy defines short film as “an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes or less, including all credits.”

It’s important to mention that the Academy defines short film as “an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes or less, including all credits.”

Submit to qualified festivals

Submit your film to a qualified film festival.

Not every film festival is defined as an Oscar qualified. The updated list can be downloaded from the Academy Awards Rules and Eligibility page. Please note that the list dynamically changes and it’s your responsibility to check and verify the most updated version.

Sundance first? (9,000 candidates)

The rule of thumb is to send your film to Sundance first. Be aware that everybody sends their short to Sundance (about 9,000 films per year!). Furthermore, it is crucial that your film will be eligible specifically for the festival. For example, there are festivals that do not allow your film to be screened at other festivals, or your film to be available online on the net (Vimeo, Youtube). Each festival has very strict rules you must follow unless you will be disqualified. Remember to maintain eligibility in regard to each festival rules, terms, and conditions.

Be aware that everybody sends their short to Sundance (about 9,000 films per year!)

Winning an award at a qualifying film festival will qualify your short film for the Oscars, which means you can now submit your film to the Academy. From this point your film will undergo several rounds of voting till final decision (Oscar…?).

The Los Angeles screening option

If your film doesn’t get accepted to any of the qualified festivals then choose the third option which is screening your short film at one of Los Angeles theaters. Short films that are publicly screened at a commercial theater in Los Angles County, California, are qualified for Oscar consideration. It’s important to remember that the screening of your film must charge admission, be open to the general public and run for at least three consecutive days with a minimum of two screenings a day. There are some additional formatting rules for this qualifying option. Read carefully the little words regarding the Academy’s submission rules and terms.

If your film doesn’t get accepted to any of the qualified festivals then choose the third option which is screening your short film at one of Los Angeles theaters

Final thoughts

It’s important to take into consideration that this is a long process. Making a documentary (even short) is about 1 year, plus 1-year submission process plus Oscar consideration. By doing this math we can conclude that the time range from pre-production to Oscar can be about 3 years, and without any connections that can boost and accelerate the process.

The Path to the Oscar: Flowchart for filmmakers: PDF version

[pdf-embedder url=”https://ymcinema.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/The-Path-to-the-Oscar-Flowchart-for-Filmmakers-.pdf” title=”The Path to the Oscar – Flowchart for Filmmakers”]

Would you consider taking this rocky road? Let’s know your thoughts.