FOLCS
International Short Film Competition
As of September 9, 2025, we are now accepting submissions for the festival’s 2026 season.
Last year, we were thrilled to have received over 200 submissions from filmmakers representing more than 30 countries, showcasing a diverse range of powerful stories and perspectives. We are now accepting submissions.
Finalists will be announced in February 2026, leading up to the highly anticipated Awards Night on April 23, 2026, which will take place in New York City.
Thank you to all the filmmakers who shared their work with us this season—we are inspired by your dedication to illuminating justice, human rights, and societal change through film.
Submit your short film today for a chance to be part of the 13th Annual Awards Night in April 2026!
The FOLCS International Short Film Competition (ISFC) invites independent filmmakers worldwide to submit bold, original short films that challenge, inspire, and spark dialogue on justice, culture, and society.
In 2025, ISFC received submissions from over 40 countries and recognized twelve films across all continents. For 2026, we’re looking for films that push boundaries—whether your lens captures resistance, resilience, or a reimagination of the future, we want to see it.
Why Submit?
You have the change to screen your film in New York City, one of the world’s most dynamic cultural hubs.
You get to join a global community of filmmakers committed to storytelling with impact.
You get to compete for awards in these categories: Best Short Film (1st, 2nd & 3rd), Best Screenplay, Best Young Filmmaker (21 & under), and Audience Favorite.
Eligibility
Films must be 20 minutes or fewer. Films of all genres welcome—animation, documentary, comedy, drama, sci-fi, musical, experimental, and more. We encourage a broad interpretation of social justice—from human rights and identity to climate, migration, technology, and beyond.
Be Part of the Change
This is your chance to use cinema not just to entertain, but to provoke thought, inspire dialogue, and move people to action. Finalists will be recognized at the 13th Annual ISFC Awards Night in Spring 2026 in New York City.
Submit your film and join a community of filmmakers who believe in the power of cinema to question, challenge, and inspire!
Films should run 20 minutes or less; there is no minimum runtime requirement.
The deadlines must receive entries for consideration:
Early Entry: October 23rd, 2025
Regular Entry: December 1st, 2025
Late Entry: January 2nd, 2026
About the ISFC
The FOLCS International Short Film Competition (ISFC) was created in 2011 to encourage the creation of short films exploring themes of law and justice. Expanding in reach each year, independent and aspiring filmmakers from around the globe are invited to submit their original shorts. Entrants have the chance to have their work screened before a New York audience and their shorts viewed by distinguished professionals from the legal and entertainment fields. Each year, ISFC features renowned filmmakers, actors, writers, journalists, public intellectuals, and members of the legal profession. ISFC also attracts overflowing and diverse crowds of film enthusiasts, which provides a great platform for showcasing your winning work!
Annual Awards Night
The FOLCS Awards Night plays host to emerging filmmakers, screening a diverse set of legal, social justice, and human rights-themed shorts from around the world. This FREE event is the closing night of the competition and includes a red carpet and an awards presentation. Additionally, audience members can vote on which short will receive the Audience Favorite Award. In keeping with the FOLCS Film Series tradition, the finalist filmmakers participated in a post-screening discussion about their films at this red carpet event.
ISFC 2025
12th Annual Awards Night
The 12th Annual Awards Night of the FOLCS International Short Film Competition, held on April 24, 2025, at the Leonard Nimoy Thalia at Peter Norton Symphony Space, was a spectacular success. The event celebrated diverse short films that powerfully addressed social justice, human rights, and the influence of law through cinema.
The evening started with a lively reception featuring music and refreshments, followed by finalist film screenings that highlighted the festival’s global scope. A discussion with the filmmakers provided insights into their creative processes and the motivations behind their impactful works.
The awards ceremony was the evening’s highlight, recognizing exceptional contributions to filmmaking. This year also saw the recipient of the Bob Hollweg Memorial Award, Hugo Barreca. This award honors the legacy of the late board member’s dedication to justice through film.
We thank all participants for making this event a milestone in international short films and look forward to future celebrations of film, justice, and society. For more details, please visit our here.
FOLCS believes that film is a powerful way to address issues of injustice and human rights. Movies and documentaries, beyond being entertaining, can be enlightening; they can be a catalyst for conversation and a call for social change. The International Short Film Competition seeks to give a platform to these emerging voices.
Forum on Life, Culture and Society
Awards:
Best Short, 2nd Place, 3rd Place, Best Screenplay, Best Young Filmmaker (18 years and younger), and Audience Favorite Awards are announced each year after a series of rigorous evaluations by jury members. Award Winners will receive a certificate and FOLCS’ unique glass-made trophy, FOLCS-Y.
Past Jury
William Fichtner, Actor (Contact with Jodie Foster; The Perfect Storm with George Clooney; Ridley Scott’s Black Hawk Down); Margarita Levieva, Actress (The Deuce, In From The Cold, Diary Of A Teenage Girl, Sleeping With Other People); Isaiah Sheffer, co-founder of Symphony Space; Annette Insdorf, film historian and director of undergraduate film studies at Columbia University; Daniel Anker, Emmy-winning and Oscar-nominated documentary filmmaker; Miguel Cruz, Director, producer, and writer (Emmy nominated Disney show Bunk’d, the #1 Spanish Sitcom Aida); Ali Fakhrmousavi, Award-winning filmmaker, writer, and producer; Federico Torrado, Award-winning director and producer; Neo Li, Award-winning screenwriter and director; Herschel Faber, Chair of Filmmaking Department, New York Film Academy (South Beach Campus); Crickett Rumely, Director, Film Festival Department, New York Film Academy (LA Campus); Henry Bean, director/screenwriter; Piero Basso, Chair of Cinematography, NYFA; Randall Dottin, Chair of Screenwriting Department, NYFA; Andrea Swift, Chair of Documentary Filmmaking, NYFA; Jonathan Whittaker, Chair of Short-Term Intensive Programs, NYFA; Ronald Guttman, film and TV actor; Nikzad Nodjoumi, art critic and fine art painter; Mark Ethan, actor and film professor; Sandy Gotham Meehan, Producer/Director/Writer; Larry Gross, producer/screenwriter; Dahlia Lithwick, Slate senior editor, and legal correspondent; Veleka Gray, director/actress/Emmy judge; Sara Nodjoumi, producer/screenwriter.
Explore FOLCS Past Competitions
"Independent short films give us perspective, ground us, take us outside of the realm of our day-to-day, connect us with people we otherwise would not encounter and inevitably inspire us to reflect on our own values and the values of the society within which we live."
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