815HORTS SUBMISSIONS | SPONSOR 815HORTS | TICKETS SOON!
The fourth annual 815HORTS: A 5HORT Film Festival is slated for Friday-Saturday, November 14-15, 2025, in Rockford, Illinois. SUBMISSIONS FOR 2025 815HORTS ARE OPEN TO FILMMAKERS WORLDWIDE! This year's submission categories include: Animated, Documentary and/or Live Action short films. Submissions should not exceed 40 minutes runtime. This year's award categories include Best 5HORT (Best in Show), Best Animated, Best Documentary, Best Live Action, and Best Shortcuts Student Contest Winner. SUBMIT YOUR SHORT FILMS HERE!
As part of the fourth year of 815HORTS, we are proud to partner with the Illinois Film Office on the return of the Shortcuts Short Film Contest, which is a statewide short film contest curated for Illinois students/residents ages 22 and under. The winner of Shortcuts will receive $250 and the winning short film will be automatically screened at 815HORTS.

2024 RECAP
Last year's 815HORTS screened 25 acclaimed short films including Edgar Barens’s 2014 Oscar-nominated short film documentary “Prison Terminal”, three 815HORTS short film blocks featuring the work of local and national award-winning filmmakers, and the return of the Sundance Film Festival Short Film Tour for the third-straight year. The 2024 festival also incorporated a variety of educational content highlighted by two 5HORT Talk interviews featuring Barens (Friday night) and creative entrepreneur Davarion Jarvelle (Saturday night) alongside moderator Peter Hawley, 815HORTS emcee and director of the Illinois Film Office. Hawley also moderated two panel discussions Saturday morning and afternoon featuring Barens, award-winning Indie filmmaker Colleen Griffen and Tribeca Festival shorts programmer Madison Egan.
The 5HORT Awards closed out the festivities by awarding two 2024 winners: "Nogglers (Mavericks of Time)" [Written by Guilherme Fleury | Directed by Mercello Laruccia | Produced by Cesar Barbosa, João Pedro Costa, Zach Hendrix and Aurelio Ribeiro] won Best Animated Short Film, while "Cruelty" [Written and Directed by Sam Das | Produced by Naomi Alexander and Harris McCabe] won Best 5HORT (Best in Show).
2024 FEATURED GUESTS

EDGAR BARENS
Oscar Nominee,
"Prison Terminal"




MADISON EGAN
Shorts Programmer,
Tribeca Festival
COLLEEN GRIFFEN
Award-Winning
Indie Filmmaker
PETER HAWLEY
Director,
Illinois Film Office
DAVARION JARVELLE
Filmmaker and
Creative Entrepreneur
815HORTS PHOTO GALLERY
2025 815HORTS PARTNERS
ACADEMY PARTNER
CHAMPION PARTNER
IN-KIND PARTNERS
FRIEND PARTNERS
VENUE PARTNER
HOTEL PARTNER
TBA!
SPECIAL THANKS
Sundance Film Festival + Luxe Productions + Peter Hawley
+ Susan Moran + Josiah Sjöström
2025 SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL SHORT FILM TOUR
The 2025 Sundance Film Festival Short Film Tour is a dynamic showcase of seven standout short films from the 2025 Festival, including two Festival Award–winning titles. A 100-minute program curated for theatrical audiences, the tour is a special opportunity to discover a collection of fiction, nonfiction, and animated shorts, and offers an eclectic mix of storytelling that highlights bold voices and fresh perspectives.
The Festival’s Short Film Program has long been established as a place to discover talented directors, such as past alumni Andrea Arnold, Lake Bell, Damien Chazelle, Destin Daniel Cretton, Jay and Mark Duplass, Debra Granik, Rashaad Ernesto Green, Reinaldo Marcus Green, Todd Haynes, Sterlin Harjo, Don Hertzfeldt, Sky Hopinka, Shaka King, Lynne Ramsay, Dee Rees, Joey Soloway, Taika Waititi, and many others. The 2025 Sundance Film Festival Short Film Tour is presented by Vimeo. Since 2022, 815HORTS has screened the Sundance Short Film Tour in Rockford.
CONTACT + PRODUCTION
For partnerships and inquiries contact: Nick@PlusSevenCompany.com or 815.708.1644.