Festival Internacional de Cine Shorts Costa Rica (4)

Festival start: 18 March 2026      Festival end: 29 March 2026

The Shorts Costa Rica International Film Festival is an initiative dedicated to promote and celebrate the richness of the short film, its diversity in themes, styles and voices, and the great national and international talent responsible for its creation.

This festival seeks to strengthen cinematographic diversity through the exhibition, training and dissemination of Costa Rican talent, and participation of international viewings in the country, giving the public the best of short filmmaking.

Our proposal is to provide small and large producers of short films the possibility of obtaining an impact within the cinematographic field, activating presence in cinemas and alternative spaces in the seven provinces of the country as well as in other cities around the world.

We recognize the importance of making short films visible as a means of cultural expression and we hope that you will be part of this great beginning and that we will continue to develop audiovisual diversity nationally and internationally through these efforts.

From March 19 to 29, the third edition of the film festival will be held in San José, with the support of various sectors of the artistic community to raise the efforts present in our present time.

Shorts Costa Rica will be held in four stages: CR Shorts Lab, Shorts Costa Rica Festival, Shorts Communities and SHORTS+, seeking to strengthen cinematographic expressions through the exhibition, training and dissemination of Costa Rican talent, and participation of international viewings in the country, giving the public the best of short films.

The festival exhibits a wide variety of short films from around the world to showcase national and international creativity. Its main objective is to share this artistic diversity with the local audience, highlighting how it influences our ever-changing identity. In addition, it seeks to support all film professionals, offering an inclusive space to promote and develop different regions on a cinematographic level.

SHORT FILM COMPETITIONS

The Shorts Costa Rica International Film Festival offers the opportunity to participate in the different eligible competitions, which, through these, seeks to encourage and promote efforts to export, consume and disseminate the talent and creativity of filmmakers from around the world and expose the cultural, artistic and / or social identities of each region.

Eligible categories: Fiction, Animation, Documentary, Videoclip and Experimental.

NATIONAL COMPETITION

The National Competition encourages the efforts of all audiovisual sectors, regardless of their artistic background and training. The festival is committed to bring this diversity of projects in front of the national audience, expanding these records through the recognition of those artistic foundations that lead to the evolution of our national identity.

Eligible for the National Competition are those short films where the origin of the director or the production are from Costa Rica.

**There is no entry fee for this competition.

CENTRAL AMERICAN COMPETITION

The Central American Short Film Competition aims to promote the efforts of all audiovisual sectors, regardless of their formation and artistic training in this region.

The festival is committed to bring this diversity of projects in front of the public, recognizing those artistic foundations that lead to the evolution of our Central American identity.

Eligible for the Central American Competition are those short films where the origin of the director or the production is from a Central American country.

**To register a short film in the Central American Competition has a cost between $0 and $15 (depending on the stage in which the short film is submitted).

INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION

Short films from all parts of the world (except Costa Rica) are eligible to participate.

Those short films where the origin of the director or the production is not from Costa Rica or any other Central American country are eligible for the International Competition.

**To register a short film in the International Competition has a cost between $0 and $25 (depending on the stage in which the short film is submitted).

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RECOGNITIONS AND AWARDS

National and Central American Competition

Jury Award: The winner of the jury will receive the GOLDEN FROG statuette, an award certificate plus the festival's digital laurel, an accreditation for future editions of the festival for the director or producer of the short film and indefinite access to the SHORTS+ streaming platform.

Audience Award: The audience chooses the best short film in each competition. An audience award certificate will be given to the selected short film plus a digital laurel of the festival, an accreditation for future editions of the festival for the director or producer of the short film and indefinite access to the SHORTS+ streaming platform.

International Competition

Jury Award: The winner of the jury will receive a Crystal Trophy, an award certificate plus the festival's digital laurel, an accreditation for future editions of the festival for the director or producer of the short film and indefinite access to the SHORTS+ streaming platform.

Audience Award: An audience award certificate will be given to the selected short film plus the festival's digital laurel, an accreditation for future editions of the festival for the director or producer of the short film and indefinite access to the SHORTS+ streaming platform.

None of the prizes awarded by Shorts Costa Rica are transferable, exchangeable or redeemable for cash. The Festival reserves the right to change, add or delete awards if circumstances warrant.

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Terms & Conditions

ELIGIBILITY

- All genres mentioned above.

- Short films made after January 1, 2024.

- Maximum length of 30 minutes (including credits).

- Completed productions only (works in progress will not be considered for selection).

- Premiere status is not required.

- The accepted exhibition format is digital (Apple ProRes 422 or H.264).

- By submitting your short film, you commit to its exhibition if selected.

ENTRY PROCESS

-You will only be able to submit your short film on the Festhome platform, which will be closed until Juanuary 18, 2026.

- Upload at least one photograph of the short film.

- Ensure that the viewing copy is working properly.

-The final selection will be announced in the last week of February 2026, on the platforms where you register your short film, to the attached email and on the official website of the festival; shortscostarica.com.

You can request a free application in the Central American or International Competition if the cost means an impediment to be able to participate in this festival.

Considerations

Entries will NOT be received outside of the Festhome platform, nor will exhibition copies be received for the pre-selection process on DVD, Blu-ray and other physical media, no exceptions.

All selected spoken short films must be subtitled in Spanish. The filmmakers of the selected short films agree to deliver the subtitled exhibition copy as appropriate.

IF THE SHORT FILM IS SELECTED

- Note that ONLY the person who submitted the short film will be notified personally.

- The information provided on the entry form (synopsis, credits, etc.) will be used as is in all printed publications and on the website.

- The screening copy must have english subtitles and be identical to the viewing copy.

- The festival is authorized to make excerpts not exceeding 10% of the total length of the selected short films to be used in the promotion of the festival in various media and on the Internet and for promotional, archival and other non-commercial purposes.

Considerations

Minimum 5 images of the short film in JPG format.
Minimum 1 photo of the director in JPG format.
Poster of the short film in JPG format.
Trailer of the short film (in the best quality available).
Text document (Word - NOT PDF) with:
Short synopsis (in Spanish and english).
Technical specifications: (Country, year of production, duration, Color or B/W, original language, names of the technical and artistic team).
Director's profile of maximum one page (in english and Spanish).
Link to the trailer (if available).
Links to the short film's website or social networks (if available).
Contact name and e-mail address.

CASES NOT SPECIFIED

By submitting the entry form, the submitter acknowledges that he/she has read, understood and accepted the regulations without reservation.

Some short films from the competition may be selected (if you wish) as part of the online viewing called SHORTS+ and other Shorts Costa Rica activations one month after the end of the festival.

SHORTS+ is an online platform. Within it you will be able to find an extensive record of the Shorts Costa Rica experience, including exclusive content related to workshops, interviews, and other artistic approaches found at the festival. In addition, this platform presents a catalog of selected short films from our call for entries as part of our commitment to the continued visibility of outstanding talent.

Every effort will be made to ensure that the filmmakers whose short films are included in this section are informed of the locations and dates of the screenings.

We wish the best of success to all filmmakers who enter their short films in our festival.

The Shorts Costa Rica International Film Festival will be held from March 18 to 28, 2026.

Any questions about registration can be sent to festival@shortscostarica.com, phone +506 2224-4696 or WhatsApp +506 8682-3430.

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