About

"I started this film festival out of frustration from dealing with other festivals because there was almost never any feedback provided or there was an additional charge to receive it. Filmmakers need the same kind of critique as screenwriters, which is why we send everyone their scoresheet. Improvement requires assessment."

Southern Shorts Awards is a seasonal competition in which each entry is judged on its own merits. Every film is screened by three judges using a 10-point scale and you will receive the scores of all three judges whether you win an award or not. We are the only film festival that does this.

Your composite score will show where you excelled as well as the areas which could be better. We believe this is vitally important because you cannot improve if you do not know what needs improving.

Our Judging Process

Southern Shorts Awards offers a level playing ground for filmmakers to have their work judged by a panel of three industry professionals. All of our judges either have a page on IMDb or equivalent experience in video and film production. Scoring covers 10 criteria:

• Originality — Creative and unique concepts
• Screenplay — Story structure and dialogue
• Direction — Vision and execution
• Acting — Performance quality
• Cinematography — Visual composition
• Sound Design — Audio quality and effects
• Editing — Pacing and flow
• Music — Score and soundtrack
• Production Design — Overall production value
• Overall Quality — Holistic assessment

Award Levels

• Award of Merit (70–79) — Basic filmmaking competence demonstrated
• Award of Excellence (80–89) — Higher levels of creativity and ability
• Award of Distinction (90–95) — Professional quality filmmaking
• The Orson Award (96–100) — Reserved for films that show true genius

Our Mission

Another goal of Southern Shorts Awards is to raise the quality of short films by offering a professional benchmark. SSA is a great first-entry test for filmmakers who intend to enter their short film into festivals. Receiving an award from SSA does not guarantee that a festival will accept your entry, but those films which do not receive any award from us may be less likely to find success in the festival circuit.

SSA is also unique in that we score individual achievements at no additional cost. All major cast and crew members are graded on the same 10-point scale by each judge, and it is possible for an individual to receive an award even if the film does not.