Frequently Asked Questions

The festival takes place every October in San Jose, California. The 18th annual festival ran October 22–25, 2026, and dates for the 2027 festival will be posted here as soon as they are announced.

Screenings take place at Cinemark’s CineArts Theatre at Santana Row, 3088 Olsen Drive, San Jose, CA 95128, a state-of-the-art cinema with stadium-style luxury recliner seating. Santana Row’s restaurants, shops and cafés are steps away.

More than 150 short films from around the world screen over four days, programmed into nearly 30 blocks of drama, comedy, documentary, animation, sci-fi, family films and World Cinema. In 2026, more than 160 shorts from 28 countries were shown.

Yes. The jury’s Best of the Fest winner is Oscar qualified. The 2024 Best of the Fest winner, I’m Not a Robot, went on to win the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film.

A festival jury selects winners for Best of the Fest, Best Drama, Best Comedy, Best Animation, Best Documentary, Best World Cinema, Best Family Film, Best Sci-Fi and Best Student Film, and the Emerging Filmmakers Award was added in 2026. Audiences also vote for their favorites, which return for Audience Choice screenings on closing night. See every year’s winners on our Awards page.

Yes. Many of our award winners and festival favorites can be streamed right on this site. Visit the Awards page, choose a year, then flip a winner’s card for its Watch button or click the red play buttons in that year’s festival lineup. Our News page also rounds up favorite animated, sci-fi, comedy, documentary and World Cinema shorts you can stream.

Yes. Every festival includes a Family Films program of family-friendly shorts and animation. A few programs, such as the late-night horror and after-dark comedy blocks, are aimed at adult audiences, so check the program descriptions on the schedule before you go. Our First-Timer’s Guide has more tips for families.

For the 2026 festival, General Admission tickets for a single screening block were $10–$15, Day Passes covering every block on one day were $30–$50, and the All Access VIP Pass was $175. The VIP Pass includes every screening, the Opening Night Screening & Afterparty, VIP Lounge access, a festival T-shirt and the Awards Screening & Event. Passes for next year’s festival go on sale on our Tickets page.

The VIP Pass gets you into every screening block of the festival. It also includes the Opening Night Screening & Afterparty, access to the VIP Lounge, a festival T-shirt, the Awards Screening & Event, and a commemorative pass and lanyard. For the 2026 festival, the VIP Pass was $175.

Yes. With nearly 30 blocks of films, you can buy a General Admission ticket for only the programs you want to see. Sci-fi fans can pick The World Beyond, and there are World Cinema blocks for international films. Comedy fans can choose Make ’Em Laugh or Make ’Em Laugh: After Dark. For the 2026 festival, General Admission tickets were $10–$15 each.

A Day Pass gets you into all of the film blocks on one day of the festival, so it’s a good fit if you only have one day free or want to make a day of it with friends. For the 2026 festival, Day Passes were $30–$50.

Ticket sales for the 2026 festival have closed. Passes for next year’s festival will go on sale on this page.

Santana Row’s public garages, including the Olin, Olsen and Santana garages, offer free self-parking for the first two hours, then an hourly fee up to a daily maximum. Valet parking is also available outside Hotel Valencia. Rates can change, so check santanarow.com before you go. See Plan Your Visit for a parking map.

Yes. CineArts at Santana Row is wheelchair accessible, and Cinemark offers assisted listening devices at the theater; ask the staff when you arrive. Closed-caption and audio-description devices work only with films that include those tracks, so email contact@sjsff.com before the festival if you’d like to know which programs include them. More on our Plan Your Visit page.

Yes. Films in languages other than English are shown with English subtitles.

Rideshare drop-offs at Santana Row are easy, and VTA buses run along Stevens Creek Boulevard. San José Mineta International Airport (SJC) is about 15 minutes away by car.

Santana Row’s restaurants, cafés and shops are a few minutes’ walk from the theater, and Hotel Valencia Santana Row is right on the Row. See Plan Your Visit for our favorite spots and nearby hotels.

Submissions are accepted through FilmFreeway, and submissions for 2027 open December 1, 2026. The festival accepts short films in every genre with runtimes from 60 seconds up to 30 minutes, and international films are welcome in their native language with English subtitles. Learn more on our Film Submission page.

Films must be at least one minute and no longer than 30 minutes, including credits. Films under 5 minutes are always especially welcome.

Short films in every genre are welcome, including drama, comedy, documentary, animation, sci-fi, horror, family films and music-driven films such as music videos. The festival has an expanded focus on comedy, animation and shorts for kids and families, and it also holds dedicated screenings of adult animation. More than half of our selections are international.

Yes. Rough cuts and work-in-progress versions are accepted, as long as the finished film can be delivered before notifications go out.

The preferred way to submit is an online screener: a private or password-protected link on Vimeo or a similar site. Selected films are projected in 4K from a DCP with up to 5.1 surround sound. You can provide your own DCP, or the festival can convert your film to DCP for a nominal fee from a high-resolution source such as DNxHD, ProRes or DPX.

Submissions for the 2027 festival open on FilmFreeway on December 1, 2026, and the 2027 dates and deadlines will be posted then.

Yes. Once a film is accepted, the festival may use excerpts, stills, the title, logline and synopsis, and the filmmaker’s name and likeness to promote the festival before and after the event. Accepted films may also be shown at related SJSFF events, such as Road Show or Showcase screenings, the Yountville International Short Film Festival and Best Of screenings.

Anyone 21 or older who loves film can volunteer. Sign up on our Volunteer page: shifts are listed on the form, and you may get to see some of the films before or after your shift.

We offer customized partnership packages designed to meet your marketing, advertising and sales goals. See our Sponsor page or email contact@sjsff.com.

Festival Members help support filmmaker outreach, special events and visiting filmmakers. See our Festival Members page to join.

SJSFF is produced in association with Harmony Werks Inc., a 501(c)(3) arts nonprofit.