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ACTRA Montreal Short Film Festival

It’s official, the ACTRA Montreal Short Film Festival will be on Monday, October 19th, 2026, from 18:30 – 21:00, held at Cinéma du Musée. 

The ACTRA Montreal Short Film Festival is an annual film screening and awards aiming to promote independent and member-initiated film-making. The Festival challenges  ACTRA Montreal members to create a captivating and visually-appealing film in under 12 minutes. Following the submission process, a selection committee judges and selects a limited number of short films and puts on a screening at a local venue for the ACTRA Montreal membership to enjoy, together. The screening is followed by an awards ceremony where performers and crew receive prizes and recognition. 

Considerations

  • 12-minute maximum runtime (credits included) 
  • Be inclusive (Diverse cast, diverse crew, inclusive language, etc.) 
  • Closed captioning must be included. 

Rules & Regulations

  1. This Festival is only open to active ACTRA Montreal members. 
  2. All ACTRA Shorts must be produced under the terms of the Member Initiated Production (MIP) Agreement, under ACTRA Montreal’s jurisdiction.  
  3. Members may not submit more than two (2) projects and must be the ACTRA signatory for those projects.
  4. Short Films submitted for last year’s edition of the Festival are not eligible. 
  5. The maximum runtime cannot exceed 12 minutes (including credits) without exception. 
  6. Applications are open to members who have completed a MIP between January 1st, 2025 and the upcoming film submission deadline of August 27th, 2026. 
  7. The ACTRA logo must appear in the closing credits of your short. 
  8. As per ACTRA’s jurisdiction, all films and performances must be submitted in English.
  9. Participants are responsible for filming and editing their own films. ACTRA will not provide any resources. 
  10. The deadline for submitting your ACTRA Short Film application is Monday, June 22, 2026 at 11:59 pm. Applications must be submitted through this form.
  11. The deadline for submitting a copy of your short film is Thursday, August 27, 2026 at 11:59 pm (without exception). The copy must be shared with brabeh@actra.ca
  12. The Festival and Awards will be held on Monday, October 19th, 2026, at Cinéma du Musée (1379-A rue Sherbrooke Ouest, Montreal, QC) between 6:30 PM and 9 PM. The venue is wheelchair accessible.

Selection, Judges, & Awards

  1. Unfortunately, due to time constraints, not all submissions will be shown at the Festival. The Selection Committee will choose the appropriate number of films to fill the allotted runtime. Only those films selected for the allotted runtime will be notified. 
  2. For the 2026 ACTRA Montreal Short Film Festival, the committee will be presenting (seven) 7 award categories: Best Film, Best Directing, 2 Best Performances, Best Cinematography, Best Writing & Audience Choice Award. 
  3. After the film submission deadline (August 27, 2026), the Short Film Festival Committee will meet to view, analyze, and select the films that will be included in the judgment package. 
  4. To maintain the integrity of the selection process, should a committee member submit a film for consideration, they will no longer be eligible to partake in the selection process.
  5. A panel, made up of impartial judges, will view and analyze the film selections and choose the award recipients for each category. 
  6. Award recipients will be selected based on merit. 
  7. The selection process rests at the discretion of the judging panel and committee members. 

Timeline

  • MIP information session: Thursday, May 28th, 2026 at 15:00 (Register here to attend the session – On Zoom)
  • Deadline to submit an application: Monday, June 22nd, 2026 at 11:59 pm 
  • Deadline to submit a film: Thursday, August 27th, 2026 at 11:59 pm 
  • Date of the festival: Monday, October 19th, 2026
Submit your application here

Attend the Event as an Audience Member

This event is free of charge and seating will be on a first-come, first-serve basis. The theatre seats a maximum of 291 guests and has four (4) wheelchair stations. In addition, the building is completely wheelchair accessible. If you require accessibility accommodations, please don’t hesitate to contact us at montreal@actra.ca